Paneer Kofta curry

Another one from the movie "Lunch Box".
Remember how I wanted to eat the brinjal curry made in the movie? I had not watched the movie fully and the other day I sat and watched it for the sake of knowing what all curries she makes for her 'lover'(?).
She makes a paneer curry, which her husband loves and they show her rolling a paneer ball with 2 green peas inside. OOH! I knew I would / should try it out.
Result: Compliments from my daughter who was home for vacation..."Amma, You are the BEST cook in the World!" :D

Note: Make this curry when you want to impress people. It is rich and very tasty. You can make the balls and gravy much ahead of time. Just reboil and bring it all together just before serving.

Ingredients for 4 people:
For the Kofta:
Paneer - 100 gms (made from 1/2 lt milk)
Potato - 1 medium, boiled and grated
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
Green chilly - 1, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Salt to taste
Coriander leaf - 1 tbsp
Green peas - 2 per ball (or) any dry fruit like raisins, cashewnuts
Oil for deep frying

For the gravy:
Onion - 1 large, chopped fine
Tomato - 3
Ginger - 2 inch
Green chilly - 2
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cashewnuts - 8
Milk - 1/4 cup
Ghee / oil -  4 tbsp
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Jeera -1/2 tsp
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Salt
Turmeric powder -1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaf for garnish
Grated cheese / cream for garnish

Method:
To make kofta balls
Mix all the ingredients mentioned under kofta together.
Now make balls and flatten. 
Place 2 green peas inside each ball and roll back into shape.
Deep fry till golden brown and keep aside.

To make the Gravy:
Grind the ginger, garlic and green chilly together.
Grind the cashewnuts with the milk into a fine paste.
Grind the tomato into a puree.
Heat the ghee / oil and splutter the whole spices - jeera, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
Into this add the chopped onion.
Once it turns golden brown, add the powders - salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and jeera powder.
After 30 seconds, add the ginger- garlic- green chilly paste.
Fry for 30 seconds and add the tomato puree.
Bring to a boil and cook covered on a low flame for 5 minutes.
Once oil starts floating on top, add some water and bring to a boil.
Now add the cashew paste.
Boil and turn off flame.
Just before serving reboil and slide in the kofta balls.
Turn off flame almost immediately.
Carefully remove the balls to the serving dish and pour the gravy on top.
Garnish with coriander leaf and grated cheese.

Pictorial of Kofta:

Pictorial of Gravy:

Chinna ulli sambar / chinna vengaya sambar / Shallot Sambar

The other day I read a blog on Onion Sambar which got me thinking of my school days when my mom used to make 'special' Sambar when guests arrive. She still does it when I go to visit her with my husband. Really, if  'kunju ulli / chinnulli/ chinna vengaya' sambar was made, then the lunch was indeed special.

And the best accompaniment is - urula kizhangu podimas!

2 varieties of potato podimas

"Innikki unga aathula enna Sunday special?”

“Engaathula innikki chinna vengaya araichuvitta sambar"

If you notice in the above Tamil (written in English) dialogue, there is an extra word between vengaya (onion) and Sambar. It is "araichuvitta", meaning ground paste added Sambar. That means , we do not use Sambar powder in this recipe. The spices for this sambar has to be ground fresh. And unlike ordinary sambar which has coconut as optional, this recipe NEEDS fresh coconut.

Ms.Jayasree Srinivasan has done a wonderful job in explaining how special this sambar is for us Tamil Brahmins, as is Vathakozhambu. I would just like to add that this sambar - made with onions, is a considerably new entrant to our cuisine. Our forefathers (read: till my grand mother's generation) used to never include Onion or Garlic in their diet!

My co-sister's grandmother thought that the small onions floating in the sambar were baby fish and thus the Nair uncle prepared ulli sambar went untasted and became fertiliser for the coconut tree!

I follow my mother's recipe of making ulli sambar.

Recipe Courtesy : Mrs. Radha Parameswaran

Ingredients:
Small onion/ Shallots/ Madras kantha/ chinna ulli - 1/2 kg
Tur dal - 1 cup
Tamarind - lemon sized ball, ball of 2 inch diameter
Oil (preferably coconut oil) - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilly - 2
Curry leaf - 2 sprigs
Gur / Sharkara - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

For the ground masala:
Coriander seed - 2 tbsp
Channa dal / kadala parippu - 3/4 tbsp
Red chilly - 6 to 8
Methi seeds / uluva / menthayam - 1 tsp
Fresh coconut - 3/4 cup
Coconut oil - 1 tsp

Prep:
1. Peel the onions.
2. Pressure cook the washed tur dal with 2 and 1/2 cups of water. Mash well and keep aside.
3. Preparing masala: Heat the oil in a heavy vessel. Fry the coriander seeds, Channa dal, red chilly and methi seeds. When the dal turns red, add the coconut and turn off flame. Continue stirring often. Cool and grind into a smooth paste.

4. Soak the tamarind in warm water and extract 3 glasses of pulp.

Method:

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the heavy kadai and splutter the mustard. Add the broken red chilly and 1 sprig of curry leaf.

Add the peeled onions, reduce flame and start sauteeing till it gets golden brown. Some of it might get a darker shade as they peel away, that is fine.

Now add the tamarind syrup.

Bring to a boil, add salt and turmeric powder. Reduce flame and continue simmering for 5 minutes.

Add the boiled tur dal and again continue cooking for 5 more minutes.

Add the jaggery and mix well.

Add the ground paste, stir well and bring to a rolling boil. 

Continue boiling for 1 minute. 

Turn off flame and garnish with the last sprig of curry leaf.

Serve hot with a side of potato fry or potato podimas.

Homemade Phyllo Filo pastry sheet (eggless) / Brick Pastry / Moroccan Warka

So thin!

Crispy spring rolls

I usually buy the pastry sheets which I use to make my samosa and spring rolls. My friend, Mrs. Safeena Harris, does make her own sheets, but the time and effort involved will make tears well up in your eyes!
Yesterday while watching Masterchef Australia, they mentioned something called 'pate au bric' or something like that. They also said that usually it is used to encase savory fillings and then baked / deep fried. Surely I had to get hold of the recipe!
After researching online, I got to know that it is indeed something like filo pastry, but a lot thinner. It is Moroccan / north African in origin and is called - warka there.
I followed a video online to make my warka sheets. Find the Link here.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 150 gms
Salt - 1 tsp / 2 gms
Water - 1 cup + 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Mix all the above into a smooth paste, and keep covered and refridgerated overnight.

 After mixing at night

How it looks the next day

Next morning, heat a deep vessel with water and place a non-stick pan slightly bigger than the water holding vessel over it.

Mix the batter well.
Use a basting brush to spread thin lines over the heated non stick pan and wait for the pastry to change colour from transparent to translucent to white.

 Started making round sheet 

Square shape is better

Apply 3-4 drops of oil on the pastry.

Peel from the pan.

See how thin the sheets are!

Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Keep the sheets covered and refridgerate the unused sheets for upto 3 days.
Make samosas, spring rolls or other sweets like baklava with these tasty sheets.
P.S -You might have to use more than 1 sheet per piece, as the sheets are VERY thin.

Filling made with red cabbage and capsicum

To know more on spring roll filling, folding, click here.