Gajar ki Sabzi

It is very interesting to watch the interactions between my almost 6 year old daughter and her 2 year old brother. They are the best of friends some times and can play together for hours, with the little fellow following his sister's lead very well. Then there are other times when they are constantly bickering about something or the other. Screaming, yelling, hitting, jealousy, sibling rivalry all coming to the fore. And the big sis asking why on earth we had to go get her a brother instead of a sister! She is also very protective of him and wants to help take care of him and feels very proud when anyone (not me or the Dad, of course) says good things about him. But not if he gets too much attention, mind you. So it has to be just right! It gets exhausting sometimes, just to do this act of keeping situations, both internal and external, under control.

Food wise, they both cannot be more different. Big sis M likes pancakes, sausages and eggs for breakfast while the li'l fella likes his idlies and dosas. She will plain clean out a bowl of soup and chicken in any form while he wants rice, saaru and yogurt. I'm glad though, that there are foods that work for them and even when fussy, I have some fall back options for them. This sabzi I'm writing about today, btw, baby S really loved! He ended up eating more rotis only because of this.

I'd bookmarked this recipe when Priya posted it last year. I've tweaked it a bit to turn it to a sabzi, instead of a launji, which has a more chhundo/pickle like consistency. A very delicious dish this. Thanks Priya!



Source

Ingredients:

Carrots - 2 cups, chopped small
Saunf - 3/4 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/3 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Tamarind concentrate - 1/2 tsp (original calls for amchur)
Sugar - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Microwave the chopped carrots on high for 5 minutes to parcook.
Heat oil in a pan. Add saunf, methi seeds and allow it to crackle.
Add the parcooked carrots, red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric and fry for a few minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook on low for 6-7 minutes until cooked, but not mushy.
Add tamarind (or amchur), sugar, salt and garam masala and mix well.
Cook for a few more minutes until all the flavors are well incorporated.
Serve with plain parathas or phulkas.

Paneer Saufin/Paneer Ajwaini

With hundreds of food blogs on my reader (with many, many recipes bookmarked), the umpteen cookbooks I have and the food channels/shows that I watch, you'd think I have enough and more food related things to see/read/do. But then I still found myself downloading a recipe app (called Sweet n Spicy) that looked interesting. I generally like going through recipes and hey, if the app is free, why not?! Right? Anyway, though the app could be better and is a work-in-progress, it gave me this really nice dish that I'm posting today called paneer saufin, an ajwaini paneer in a yogurt sauce. Just goes to show, you never know what recipe hits the right note at the right time and gets you going!



Source

Ingredients:

1 cup paneer, cubed
1.5 cup yogurt, beaten
1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds, roasted and pound (or 1 tsp coriander powder)
2 tsp cumin, roasted and pound (or 1 tsp cumin powder)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2-3 green chiles, chopped fine
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kitchen king masala (optional)
1 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil (or any other)
salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil n a pan. Add ajwain and fry for a few seconds.
Add onions, garlic and sauté for a few minutes, until translucent.
Add the cubed panner along with the pounded coriander, cumin and red chilli powder.
Season with salt and mix well. Let it cook on low for a couple minutes to infuse the paneer with spices.
Turn heat to low and add yogurt, green chilies, mint, cilantro and garam masala.
Mix well, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.
Finish with KK masala, if using. This was a last minute addition for me, as I found the yogurt gravy wanting. It made all the difference.
Serve with rotis.