Kitchen Corner-Try It

Spinach Paneer Rice This is a simple and tasty one pot meal with spinach/palak and paneer.Spinach with paneer or cheese is a much loved and popular combo and for me,a well made palak paneer is an irresistible, healthy dish. This  meal is filling with rice,healthy greens and the flavor is enhanced by the marinated and sauteed paneer. You can bring innumerable variations for this rice dish.If you wish you can blanch spinach and blend it to give the rice a rich green color.To marinate the paneer I used a little of tandoori masala.You can add other type of flavorings or just add simply fried paneer.Serve this with raita,pickle and papad. Ingredients Basmathi rice cooked- 3 cup To marinate  Paneer- 200 gms Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder-a pinch Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp Garam masala- 1/2 tsp Kasoori methi powder- a pinch (optional) Yogurt- 1/3 cup salt to taste To saute Spinach chopped- 2 1/2 - 3 cup Onion- 1 medium Garlic cloves-3 Garam masa...

Vellarikka Pachadi/Cucumber Pachadi Today's recipe is a simple and refreshing pachadi made with golden cucumber.Mixed with yogurt and seasoning,you have a delicious side dish for rice. Ingredients Cucumber- 1 medium sized Green chilly- 2 Salt to taste To make a paste Coconut- 1/2 cup Cumin- 1/3 tsp Mustard seeds- 1/3 tsp Garlic- I clove (optional) Yogurt- 1 1/2 cup Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp Dry red chilly-2 Curry leaves- a few Coconut oil- 2 tbs Cut cucumber into thin small pieces. Cook this along with green chilly, salt and 1/3 cup of water. Make a fine paste of coconut, cumin,mustard seeds and garlic.Mix this into yogurt and whisk . Pour this to the cooked cucumber and mix well and put it back to stove and simmer in low flame for one till it gets warmed up. Switch off the flame. Note : do not put in a high heat, Do not heat it too much,otherwise the yogurt will separate. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and when it splutters add dry red chilly...

Gulab Jamun Gulab jamun needs no introduction. It is India's most famous dessert and is equally popular in different regions of South Asia. And did I say it is addictive! well, you already know that- just look at those plump yummy dumplings soaked in sugar syrup- a die for! It creates magic with your senses with all Indian flavors- khoya or milk solids, rose essence, saffron, and cardamom. These fried dumplings are made with solid milk and flour and then dropped in sugar syrup. The syrup is flavored with rose water and hence the name Gulab (rose flower). It gets fluffy, juicy and has a melts in your mouth texture. This is a classic, luscious and decadent dessert you will never get tired of eating. There is never a festive occasion or a celebration without a bowl of this deep-fried goodness served with sugar syrup. Gulab jamun is a traditional dessert and its origin is traced from the Mughalai cuisine. There are folklores from medieval India about how gulab jamun was acciden...

Chemmeen Kovakka Thoran Kovakka/ivy gourd thoran with prawns is a simple and quick side dish for rice. Thoran is a kind of vegetable stir fry and is part of the everyday meal in Kerala. Ivy gourd is a healthy vegetable and looks like cute small cucumbers. It is juicy and crunchy and goes well with almost any flavor. I love cooking this vegetable with prawns or dried prawns. It is an old habit of mine, adding prawns to charu curries and stir fry. Prawns and spiced coconut elevates the flavor profile and taste of this vegetable. Crunchy delicious ivy gourd with prawns and the sweet crunch of freshly grated coconut, cumin, and garlic make this a seafood delicacy that you will never get tired of eating. Ivy gourd is popular in India and is known as tindora,tendli, dondakaya, kovakkai, etc. It grows on vines and is regularly used in cooking. Tindora is available in most Indian and Asian grocery stores. It has great health benefits. It is rich in vitamins and antioxidants and is consid...

Today's recipe is a cookie- Baking Partners second challenge post. Our first post was Julia Child's Chocolate Almond Cake. Baking partners created by Swathi is a lovely group and I am happy to be part of it.This months theme is very interesting with three types of cookies and the partners could select one. I selected this one because my kid love chocolate chips cookies. If you wish to know more about the group check here . I selected the recipe Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito . This recipe was suggested by our baking partner Tina . Thanks Tina for this wonderful recipe. This chocolate cream cheese cookie is irresistible. You got to try this to believe it,yes.. they are THAT good,chewy and melt in mouth cookie, and has a wonderful texture. I first planned to reduce the recipe in half as this cookie has small shelf life, but finally I decided to stick to the original recipe..glad I did so :). The remaining cookies I placed in...

Pazha Manga Curry/ Kerala Style Sweet Mango Curry Pazha manga curry is a sweet and spicy curry made with ripe sweet mangoes. Mangoes and coconut have an affinity for each other, and this curry is a classic example. Ripe mangoes are cooked, in mildly spiced ground coconut paste. It is an old-fashioned recipe still made and served in many homes in Kerala. This curry invokes the real nostalgia of simple village life, a taste that lingers in your memories. I love the mango season. Well, how can anyone not love mangoes! Whenever I get ripe mangoes, I cannot help remembering the mango season in Kerala and the aroma of different mango dishes that my mom and grandmother make. Mangoes are processed with great care and stocked up for the rest of the year as salted mangoes, pickles, and sun-dried mangoes. But this curry is seasonal as you need ripe mangoes. Ripe sweet mangoes are good to make curries like pulisherri (yogurt-based curry), pachadi, or manga curry with coconut paste. Now coming...

Pomegranate Granita Pomegranate Granita is a super simple dessert to make. It is refreshing, sweet, tart icy dessert and best for those hot summer days.I am addicted to granita's as a afternoon summer treat.This one with pomegranate and a touch of ginger-citrus flavor has a super cooling effect just like an ice cream and you can enjoy without adding the extra calories.Try it,you will surely love it. Ingredients Pomegranate juice- 2 cup (Squeeze and strain or use store brought one) Lemon juice- 1/2 Ginger juice- 1 tsp Sugar- 1/4 cup (add according to your taste) In a bowl mix in pomegranate juice,lemon juice,sugar and ginger juice.  Pour into a shallow freezer dish and freeze for 2 hours. Take it out after two hours and using a fork scrap it so that it does not freeze into one block.Put it back in the freezer and after a couple of hours scrap again into large crystals and scoop into a bowl and serve immediately. Hope you will all enjoy! ...

Fish Manchurian Today's dish is a simple version of the  Indo Chinese recipe-Fish Manchurian.Fish Manchurian is a popular dish in Indian restaurants and sea food lovers who wish  a change in flavor and taste should definitely give this a try . It is a simple recipe,marinated fish is dipped in batter and deep fried and finally mixed with sauces.I used Cubanelle peppers a variety of sweet pepper in this recipe and it had a unique flavor. This is a dry version so it can be served as an appetizer/starter or as a side dish with fried rice. Ingredients To marinate Fish- 1 1/2 lb (I used King fish) Pepper powder- 1/4 tsp Ginger- garlic paste- 2 tsp Chilly paste- 1/2 tsp Lemon juice- a few drops For the batter Egg-1 Corn starch- 2 tbs Flour- 1/3 cup Pepper powder- a  pinch salt- a pinch To Saute Onion - 1medium chopped Cubanelle peppers- 1/2 cup (or green chilly slit lengthwise 4-5) Garlic- 3-4 pods Soya sauce- 2 tbs Dark soya sauce- a few d...