Stuffed Spinach (Palak) Parathas

Pin It Now! What do I do when I have a big batch of washed, freshly cut spinach to use up ? I make us some stuffed spinach parathas.
Actually I am a big fan of all kinds of stuffed parathas - Aloo,Muli,Methi..the list goes on. Fan as in the eating kind not the making one.. I have tried my hands a couple of time and the result was just satisfactory - not great , just fair.

This time I attempted some again and the result was more than just satisfactory making them blog-worthy. Actually these parathas are much easier to handle than any of the other kinds I tried before.

The recipe comes from my aai (mom). She always packed them for lunch with some cilantro chutney. As a kid I loved them because of their green color and enjoyed them with some pickle and yogurt.
Here is my recipe for them : -

For the Stuffing :-
1 or more bunches of chopped spinach
2 cloves of garlic
4-5 tbsp of gram flour
1-2 tbsp chilli powder
oil to fry
salt to taste

 For the dough
 1-2 C whole wheat flour (atta)
 water for kneading
 2 tbsp oil

To make the dough
1. Mix all the ingredients for the dough and make a soft dough.
 Keep aside for 30 min.

To make the stuffing
1. Heat some oil in a pan and add garlic.
2. When garlic turns brown add the spinach, salt, chilli powder and mix well.The mixture releases moisture.Cover and cook till the spinach has wilted.
3.Open the lid and add gram flour. Mix well. Gram flour will absorb all the moisture. Simmer and cook for another5-7 minutes till mixture is dry and lumpy.
4. Cook on high heat if required and allow the mixture to cool before making parathas.

To make the parathas :-
 1. Take agolf ball sized ball of dough and place 1tbsp of mixture in center.Bring the edges together to make ball. Press down and roll carefully into parathas.
 2. Parathas might be thick at first but make sure that the filling does not spill out.
 3. Fry on tava till golden brown with some oil.

I served mine with some garlic chutney. Great for kids lunches !.
Goes to the Kids Delight event hosted by Srivalli at Spice your life .

Summer Dessert - Date Walnut Kulfi

Pin It Now! As a child summer vacations were marked by a visit by the Kulfiwallah in the afternoon. And mind you not any kulfiwallah. This particular one patronized by everyone in my neighbourhood sold the creamiest and nuttiest of the kulfis. But as time passed our summer vacations were replaced by summer classes and later by full-time jobs. The childhood kulfiwallah too found another lucky neighbourhood.

I never thought that I would be making this dessert at home. But I did ! And it turned out to be exactly similar to the kulfi I relished a few years back.
The recipe is very simple. Just mix and freeze ! Result is a creamy,nutty and absolutely delicious dessert.

Ingredients
 12 oz can evaporated milk
 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
 1 C heavy whipping cream
 1/4 C chopped walnuts
 1/2 C chopped pitted dates ( I used the pitted dates sold at Walmarts)

1. Line a round or rectangular baking tray with cling wrap (plastic wrap). This makes it easier to remove the kulfi.
2. Soak the dates in 1/2 C milk or water and let stand for 5-10min till cooled.
3. In a blender pulse 1/2 of the walnuts and dates till the mixture is smooth.
4. Add the evaporated and condensed milk,cream and pulse till the mixture is smooth and creamy.
5. Pour into a baking tray and freeze for 6-7hours till set.

Unlike other ice-creams it is not required to pulse the mixture every few hours to remove the sugar crystals. Cut into slices and enjoy !
I served this kulfi at a Chaat Party hosted for some dear friends. The leftovers were a huge hit at work !
Sending this childhood favorite dessert to be Monthly Mingle - Sweet Treats hosted by Erin at The Apartment Kitchen and started by Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey.

Our Anniversary and some curry...

Pin It Now! Yes, it was our anniversary this month. Five years back on a pleasant day we promised to be with each other through thick and thin. Ever since, its been a whole new life for both of us. There was laughter and there were tears. But for most part there was love and understanding. And today even though I do miss the warmth of my family back home I feel truly blessed to be with him. Who else could have put up with so many kitchen experiments ?
Like this baby corn and green beans curry. It was rustled up with whatever caught my fancy at that moment. Nonetheless it resulted in a dish I was proud of.

Cashews are the new cream here.The whole spices lend their wonderful sweet aroma to the dish. The crunchy vegetablse get along very well with the thick gravy making it perfect for dinner or lunch.

For now here is a recipe for baby corn and green beans curry : -


1.  Make a paste of following :- 

• 1/2 an onion diced
• 2 green chillies
• 1/4 inch ginger
• 7-8 cashew

2. In pan add oil and add : 1 bayleaf, 2-3 cardamoms, 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon
3. Add the onion paste and fry for 1 min. To this mixture add the following:-

• 1 tomato chopped
• 1-2 tsp chilli powder

4. Chop baby corn and green beans into 1/2 inch pieces or shorter if you prefer. Add them to the pan.
5. Mix well and add water to get the desired consistency.Add 1-2 tbsp of thick yogurt to get a creamy texture.
6. Bring it to a boil and garnish with chopped cilantro.

The vegetables should have a slight crunch and must not get mushy. Serve hot  with rotis or rice

Madhur Jaffrey Style Chicken Korma

Pin It Now! I do not make chicken curry often. When I do I try to experiment with a different recipe each time. This time I tried this Chicken Korma from BongMom's Cookbook.

She has patiently narrated her vesion of the recipe along with orginal one which is by Madhur Jaffrey.
I was surprised to find that the curry did not use any form of tomato(paste or whole). The base of rich gravy was rather a paste of almonds and spiced up yoghurt.

I followed Madhur Jaffrey's recipe. The result was a mildly spicy yet flavourful curry.

We had it with some rotis and raita for a nice weekend meal.
Thank you BongMom for the recipe.