Homemade Cooking Recipes and Cooking Tips

Veg Noodles
General

Paneer Noodles

Paneer Noodles

Paneer Noodles is a delightful recipe for all the vegetarian and paneer lovers. This is the season of lent and thought of sharing something special with Paneer. I was basically a noodles lover since my childhood. My lazy days of cooking goes with maggi noodles even now. Who can’t resist the taste of maggi noodles ?

Basically I don’t support giving maggi noodles to toddlers and kids. Nowadays, Markets had introduced millet and atta noodles, which tends to be the healthier version of noodles. I don’t prefer adding ajinomoto in my chinese recipes. With rich vegetables and sauces alone, you can make your noodles taste better.

The noodles I had taken here is of atta noodles, which are commonly called as hakka noodles or egg noodles. They are commonly available in transparent packets. My toddler also loves noodles. Thinking of her, I took atta noodles packet from my go to supermarket. Along with noodles I bought a paneer pack also.

Dinner preparation began with the opening of noodles packet. Using hands, crush the noodles net to medium length pieces. Take a large vessel with water. When the water boils, add noodles to it along with salt. Once the noodles are cooked, strain off the excess hot water using a colander. Then add cold water over the colander. This makes the noodles non-sticky. Keep the cooked noodles aside.

Now heat oil in a kadai and saute paneer till it becomes golden in color. Remove paneer cubes from the kadai and keep it aside. Then saute all the vegetables one by one. Do not overcook the vegetables. Cook till the raw taste is gone. But it should be crispy and the vegetable colours should also be maintained. Over cooking makes our noodles look dull at the time of eating the same. So orange carrots and green beans makes the look awesome.

After sauting of vegetables, add all the sauces. Then combine the vegetables with paneer and the cooked noodles that is kept aside. Garnish the noodles with celery. You can serve the noodles hot with your favourite curries. Gobi manchurian, chilli paneer, paneer butter masala, etc. are good accompaniments for this delicious paneer noodles. As a noodles lover, I eat the same without any side dishes. How about you ? Do you prefer having noodles without accompaniments ? Do let me know in the comments section.

Ingredients :

  1. Noodles – 1 big packet of 4 nests
  2. Onions, chopped medium sized – 2
  3. Carrot, chopped to thin long slices – 1/4 cup
  4. Beans, chopped straight – 1/4 cup
  5. Cabbage, chopped medium sized – 1/4 cup
  6. Capsicum chopped – 1/4 cup
  7. Paneer cubes, cut into small pieces – 200 g
  8. Green chillies, chopped – 2
  9. Tomato sauce – 2 tablespoon
  10. Chilli sauce – 1 tablespoon
  11. Soy sauce – 2 tablespoon
  12. Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  13. Salt – to taste
  14. Oil
  15. Celery chopped – 1 teaspoon

Method of preparation :

  1. Take a large vessel and add sufficient water in it to boil the noodles.
  2. Once the water becomes hot, add salt and the noodles nest to it.
  3. Cook the noodles for 8 to 10 minutes. Cooking time differs with brands. Now transfer the noodles to a colander to strain the hot water.
  4. Add cold water over the noodles to make it cold, hence they do not stick each other.
  5. Keep the cooked noodles aside.
  6. Heat oil in a kadai and add the paneer cubes. Stir fry until golden brown and then keep it aside.
  7. To the same kadai, pour little more oil and then add onions and green chillies.
  8. Now add carrot, beans and cabbage one by one. Do not overcook the vegetables. Saute the vegetables and make sure they are crispier and the vegetable colours are maintained.
  9. Add capsicum, followed by tomato sauce, chilli sauce and soy sauce.
  10. Now add salt and pepper to the vegetables.
  11. Add roasted paneer cubes and stir fry it with vegetables for a minute.
  12. Add cooked noodles to the sauted vegetables and combine altogether.
  13. Finally garnish the noodles with celery and serve hot.
Tilapia Fish Fry
Appetizer Fish Recipes

Pan Fried Crispy Whole Fish

Fried Fish Recipe

It’s been some weeks I had shared a fish recipe with you all. I got fresh Tilapia fish and was planning to prepare something special using this big fish. Initially I thought of grilling the same, but the recent posts of my blog was of grilling and barbecue recipes. So, how about trying a pan fried fish with double marination ?

Don’t get confused or worried with the word double marination. It is the process of making a marinade using spices and rubbing with it initially and later coating the marinated fish with all purpose flour. You can substitute all purpose flour with wheat flour for a healthier version of this recipe. But I had used all purpose flour since the taste is absolutely perfect with this batter.

Always make sure the fish is washed and cleaned properly. After cleaning, make closer gashes over the fish. It is to make the marinade reach the inner flesh of the fish, as it is a big fish. If there are less gashes, the marinade won’t get spread evenly on the inner side of the fish. So, making gashes using a sharp knife is an important part of this recipe.

I had taken the whole fish for this recipe,instead of dividing it into 2 to 3 parts. Take a large mixing bowl and add all the spices required for preparing the marinade. Mix well and rub it evenly on the fish. Leave it undisturbed for minimum of 30 minutes and then coat the marinated fish with all purpose flour. So, this becomes the second marinated coating over the first marination of fish using spices.

Heat oil in a pan, preferably non-stick pan. Add the fish to this hot oil. The flame should be low to medium. Do not flip the fish before it is done. You can see the fish will detach itself from the pan when one side is cooked completely. So, this is the time you need to flip the fish. Similarly cook the other side also.

Take out the fish from pan and transfer it to a plate. You can see that the outer layer of the fish is crispy and the inner flesh is too soft and fluffy. Serve this pan fried fish with fresh salads and special rices.

Russian salad is a good accompaniment for this pan fried fish.

Ingredients :

  1. Whole cleaned Tilapia – 1 big
  2. Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  3. Kashmiri chilli powder – 2 teaspoon
  4. Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  5. Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
  6. Lemon juice – 1/2 teaspoon
  7. All purpose flour – 2 teaspoon
  8. Salt – to taste
  9. Oil – to fry

Method of preparation :

  1. Wash and clean the fish properly.
  2. Make several gashes close to each other using a sharp knife.
  3. Take a large mixing bowl and add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, pepper powder, lemon juice and salt.
  4. Mix the ingredients of the marinade and rub all over the fish and leave it undisturbed for minimum 30 minutes.
  5. Coat the marinated fish with flour. Wait till the flour gets moist over the fish.
  6. Heat oil in a pan and add the marinated fish to it. It will be better to use a non-stick pan.
  7. Fry the fish till both sides become golden brown in color.
  8. Serve hot with fresh salads and special rices.
Barbecue Prawns
Appetizer Fish Recipes

Barbecue Prawn Skewers

Barbecue Prawns Sqewers

Hello all, sharing an absolutely delicious sea food recipe with prawns, which is widely used worldwide. Prawns can be prepared in various ways. Prawns fry, prawns roast, prawns with coconut slices, prawns masala are some of the main recipes which we prepare commonly using prawns.

This is the recipe of barbecued prawns with skewers. I had used wooden skewers here and grilled the prawns in oven. The difficulty level of this recipe is “easy”. A beginner can easily go ahead with this recipe. The main part lies in the preparation of marinade. The prawns are cleaned and marinated with the prepared marinade for over 1 hour. This makes the prawns more juicier after grilling.

You can grill the prawns using a grilling machine or on stove top. While cooking prawns, keep close eye on the prawns to make sure they are not over cooked. Over cooking of prawns makes them rubbery and as a result, it will become hard to eat. So cook them in such a way that you get hot, juicy and tender prawns barbecue. When the flesh becomes strong and firm, you can stop cooking.

It will be good if you de-vein the prawns if they are bigger in size. Use a sharp knife or scissors to make a long incision down the length of the back. Then slowly remove the vein (which is black in colour) from the prawns. Then you can add the prawns to the marinating bowl.

Barbecued prawns are a good accompaniment for basmati rice. The flavour of the prawns gets easily sinked with the basmati rice and that is such a heavenly combination. You can also serve this prawns as starters for the parties. Nowadays, prawns play a major part in party starters. They can be served along with chutneys or your favorite sauces. A fresh vegetable salad, along with the barbecued prawns will help to enhance the flavour of the prawns and make your tummy happy.

Ingredients :

  1. Prawns – 250 g
  2. Sunflower oil or olive oil – 1 tablespoon
  3. Sqewers – 4 to 5
  4. Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon

For Marinade :

  1. Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
  2. Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  3. Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  4. Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
  5. Barbecue sauce – 1 teaspoon
  6. Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
  7. Salt – to taste

Method of preparation :

  1. Wash and clean the prawns by removing the shell and de-veining it.
  2. Take a large mixing bowl and add kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, barbecue sauce, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and salt.
  3. Add the prawns to the mixing bowl and marinate well using the marinade.
  4. Keep them undisturbed for 1 hour. This will make our prawns more tastier after grilling.
  5. After that, grill the prawns in oven or grill or stove top based on your preference.
  6. Preheat the oven to 200°C (I had grilled the prawns in oven)
  7. Sqew the prawns on sqewers and brush the marinated prawns with oil.
  8. Grill the prawns for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overcook the prawns as they may turn rubbery.
  9. Once done, sprinkle some coriander leaves to garnish and serve them hot with chutney or sauce of your choice.
Tandoori Chicken
Appetizer Chicken Dishes

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken

Chicken is one of the best option in non-vegetarian list of foods to make starters or appetizers for parties and functions. This is a lip-smacking recipe of tandoori chicken which you can prepare easily in oven, grill, air fryer and also stove tops.

Tandoori chicken is a North Indian recipe, where chicken pieces are marinated with yogurt, lemon juice and spices and is then grilled or roasted until it is cooked properly. The yogurt in marinade helps to keep the chicken pieces soft after grilling. Lemon juice gives a tangy favour to the chicken and the spices helps to increase the aroma of the chicken.

Tandoori chicken were made in tandoors or clay ovens. Since modern houses do not have these facilities, we grill the same chicken in oven or stove top. I had marinated the chicken pieces and grilled them in my oven. The oven I am using is of Philips, which is very convenient for me.

You can use any pieces of chicken. It can be bone in pieces, chicken breast pieces, chicken drumsticks or bone less chicken pieces. It is upto you to choose the chicken and decide the size of the chicken pieces. If the pieces are bigger, you have to make slits on the pieces using a sharp knife. It is to make the marinade to indulge completely in the chicken pieces.

The chicken pieces needs to be washed and cleaned properly. Then the chicken pieces are marinated and kept to rest for 5 to 6 hours. More the marination time, the chicken pieces will be more juicy and tasty. The time required for grilling the chicken will be more if the pieces are big. So, you need to adjust the time and temperature of your oven accordingly.

Tandoori chickens are best served with mint chutney or mayonnaise. You can prepare both of these accompaniments at your home itself. This is an easy to go recipe of chicken since there is no chopping of onions or tomatoes for the preparation of gravy. Everyone will definitely become love with this recipe once prepared. Do check out this recipe and let me know your valuable feedback.

Ingredients :

  1. Chicken, cut into small pieces – 300 g
  2. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
  3. Yogurt – 3 tablespoon
  4. Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  5. Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
  6. Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
  7. Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  8. Garam masala – 1 teaspoon
  9. Salt – 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp ( depending on your taste )
  10. Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
  11. Oil – 2 tablespoon

Method of preparation :

  1. Take a large mixing bowl and add yogurt.
  2. Then add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, pepper powder and salt to it.
  3. Now add 1 tablespoon of oil and lemon juice.
  4. Mix well everything and make a marinade which is thicker in consistency. Taste the marinade and add more salt and pepper if required as per your taste.
  5. Add chicken pieces to the bowl. Marinate the chicken pieces such that the marinade completely covers the chicken pieces.
  6. Allow the marinated chicken pieces to rest for 5 to 6 hours.
  7. After 5 hours, preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 220°C.
  8. Place the chicken pieces on a foil over the tray or place the chicken pieces on sticks over the tray.
  9. Brush the tray with one tablespoon of oil if you are using the tray directly.
  10. Place the chicken pieces over the tray once the preheating is done.
  11. Select grill mode in the oven and bake at 220°C for 45 minutes.
  12. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken pieces to the opposite side.
  13. Bake again for 15 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked completely. The cooking time depends on 3 factors, size of the chicken pieces, time and temperature of your oven.
  14. If the pieces are bigger, you have to grill the chicken pieces for 1 hour or above.
  15. Take out the tray and place a small bowl of burnt charcoal in the centre of tray for a smoky effect. Make sure you cover the tray with a foil or large bowl. Keep it undisturbed for 10 to 15 minutes
  16. Tandoori chicken is ready to serve.
  17. You can serve this hot chicken with mint chutney or homemade mayonnaise.
Tandoori chicken in oven
Garlic Mushroom
Vegetarian Curry

Garlic Mushroom

Garlic Mushroom

This is the recipe of an appetizer using mushrooms. Mushrooms are sauted in butter and then mixed with pepper powder and mixed herbs. This garlicky butter mushrooms are so delicious and irresistible.

This is an easy and simple recipe of mushroom, which you can prepare with the ingredients readily available at your kitchen. You may wonder, how can this be possible to prepare a wonderful recipe with 3 or 4 ingredients at your home. But I can guarantee that once you prepare this recipe, you will finish off the plate in few minutes.

One of the most important thing to keep in mind is about sauting of mushrooms. Usually people keeps on sauting the mushroom while cooking. It is better to saute the mushroom for a minute and cook them till the water goes completely from inside.

The flavour of garlic and mixed herbs covers the mushroom and the mushroom slices tastes amazing. You can see and feel it while the cooking itself. Mushrooms are immersed in a butter garlic herbs sauce and I must say, this is such a beautiful recipe to easily try out at your home.

I think butter mushrooms are best suitable for this recipe. You may not get the complete flavour with other types of mushrooms. You need to clean the mushroom properly before cooking. There are chances of the presence of small mud pieces if they are not cleaned properly. After cleaning, slice the mushrooms to thin pieces and keep it aside for cooking.

I had used onions in this recipe to get a little gravy and saucy dish. I had made fried rice last day. So, I was planning to make a mushroom recipe which goes well with fried rice. Thus reached in this recipe. This mushroom recipe goes well with noodles, naan, roti’s, etc. You can also try this recipe at your home. Feel free to post the photos in our social media pages.

Ingredients :

  1. Button mushroom – 250 g
  2. Butter – 1 tablespoon
  3. Finely chopped onion – 1 tablespoon
  4. Finely chopped garlic – 1 tablespoon
  5. Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
  6. Mixed herbs – 1 teaspoon
  7. Coriander leaves or celery chopped – 1 tablespoon
  8. Salt – to taste

Instructions :

  1. Rinse and clean the button mushrooms, slice them to medium pieces.
  2. Melt butter in a tawa and add chopped garlic, followed by onion.
  3. Add mushrooms, Saute for a minute and then allow the mushrooms to get cooked such that the water inside mushroom goes off completely and the mushroom becomes dry.
  4. Add mixed herbs, pepper powder and salt.
  5. Saute for one minute and then switch off the flame.

Method of preparation :

  1. Rinse and clean the mushroom well, slice them into thin pieces. Keep the cleaned mushroom aside.
  2. Melt butter in a pan and add chopped garlic to it.
  3. Then add mushrooms to the pan. Saute for a minute and then allow the mushrooms to leave out the water and cook them till dry.
  4. Add pepper and mixed herbs and saute again.
  5. Finally add salt and celery, mix well and then switch off the flame.
Kaalan
Vegetarian Curry

Banana Kaalan | Banana Yogurt Curry

banana Kalan
Banana kaalan

Kaalan or Banana kaalan is one of the traditional dish of Kerala which is prepared by using banana nendran, coconut and yogurt. Kaalan plays a major role in the onam sadhya. There are many recipes of kaalan with slight variations in the ingredients used. Some people uses plantain (raw banana) or elephant yam to prepare this dish. I had used banana nendran, which is sweet as I basically loves sweet curries with hot rice.

The consistency of this curry is little thick. This curry, which plays an integral part of onam sadhya is easy and simple to make. This curry has a long shelf life and you can prepare and refrigerate it for a week. When needed, you can just reheat it. Kaalan is served with hot boiled rice or Kerala matta rice along with sambar, thoran, etc.

This creamy dish is a must try recipe at home. This curry is almost similar to pulissery. But pulissery texture is a bit loose compared to kaalan. The total time taken to cook this dish is approximately 30 minutes.

Here, the bananas are peeled and then cut into small cubes. These banana pieces are then boiled with salt and green chillies to become more soft and tender. When the bananas are getting cooked, you can prepare the coconut paste. Coconut paste is prepared by blending grated coconut, cumin seeds, shallots and garlic along with water. Then this coconut paste is added to the cooked bananas.

Bring the curry to boil and add fresh curd also to this curry. Curd need not be blended. Thicker consistency is always good for kaalan. So I had poured the curd directly without blending. Mix the curd well with the gravy. Once the curry is hot, you can switch off the flame. Kaalan becomes more thicker when cooled. So, if you need a pouring consistency, you may add water to adjust the thickness of the gravy.

The last and the final step is tempering. Heat coconut oil in a Tadka. Coconut oil provides a better taste than other vegetable oil. Splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Be careful not to burn. You can pour the tempering over the prepared banana kaalan kept aside. Serve this delicious curry with hot rice along with pickles.

Ingredients :

Boiling Bananas :

  1. Banana, cut into cubes – 2
  2. Green chillies – 2
  3. Shallots chopped – 3
  4. Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  5. Water – 1/2 to 3/4 cup (water should cover the banana cubes )
  6. Salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Making Coconut Paste :

  1. Grated Coconut – 2 cups
  2. Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  3. Shallots – 3 to 4
  4. Garlic pods – 3
  5. Water – 1/2 cup

Adding of curd :

Fresh curd – 2 cups

For Tempering :

  1. Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
  2. Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
  3. Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  4. Dry red chillies – 3
  5. Kashmiri chilli powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  6. Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method of preparation :

  1. Peel, rinse and chop the banana into cubes or squares. Then add the chopped bananas to a pan.
  2. Add 2 split green chillies, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 3 shallots chopped and 1/2 teaspoon salt into it.
  3. Then add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of water to the pan. Make sure the water has covered the banana pieces.
  4. Keep the lid closed, switch on the flame and cook the bananas in low to medium flame until the water has completely evaporated.
  5. By the time the bananas are cooked, you can take a mixer to blend the coconut.
  6. In a mixer, add 2 cups of grated coconut, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 3 shallots, 3 garlic pods and 1/2 cup of water.
  7. Grind the coconut mix to a fine paste and keep aside.
  8. Then check if the bananas are cooked and become tender.
  9. Once the bananas are cooked, keep the flame to low and then add the ground coconut paste to the bananas.
  10. Once the gravy starts boiling, add 2 cups of fresh curd to the curry and mix well.
  11. If you feel the curry is too thick, you can adjust it by adding 1/4 cup of water. Kaalan becomes more thicker once cooled.
  12. Heat the curry till you can see vapours coming out from the spatula used to stir the curry. ( expose the spatula to light to see the vapour)
  13. Switch off the flame.
  14. For tempering, heat coconut oil in a tadka and add 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, followed by mustard seeds. Keep the flame low.
  15. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add 1/4 teaspoon of kashmiri chilli powder, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Make sure you do not burn them.
  16. Pour the tempering mix over the kaalan curry.
  17. Mix well with curry and serve with steamed rice.
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