Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Paneer Broccoli Do Pyaza AND Mix Veg Kootu for Arusuvai

First off, I'm absolutely overwhelmed by your love and response to my Blogiversary post HERE! I'm so very thankful to all of you who left such sweet and wonderful messages for my blog :) I truly appreciate it and loved reading each and everyone of them a few times over ;)
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Also, a big thanks to my readers who tried my Khasta Kachori and wrote to me how they enjoyed it, was a pleasure hearing from you.

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Feel free to click on the image for a close up view :).......
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Now, as a part of the Arusuvai chain I received some lovely gifts from my dear friends and this post is in continuation of that chain. My dear friend Musy sent me a package, I call it 'jadoo ka pitara' aka magic box with endless gifts flowing out...... :) I got some great tasting home made garam masala with an enticing aroma that filled my kitchen and my home! I also got long peppers and a speciality rice & lentils, will discuss them in greater detail in my next post. I did not want to delay this post any longer than I already have, will try to post the next in the series soon. I also got freshly ground kuttu podi from dear Deepa, she ground it the day she sent it to me, can't get any fresh than that :) Accompanying that was a cute card and a choc bar! Thank You ladies for the goodies, had fun preparing these dishes! Sorry, had to say no to a few other friends :(
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I wanted to prepare something different with the garam masala, so I paired it with my favorite paneer and then added some broccoli for added nutrition...lol
The flavor combination is very different from my daily cooking, I let go of my obsession with garlic for this one and used ginger in a juice form, try it, it sure turned out very good!
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Paneer Broccoli Do Pyaza
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1 cup cubed paneer (I used homemade)
1 big onion finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
1 tsp grated ginger, to be juiced later
1.5 tbsp ghee/oil
1/2 tsp ajwain/oregano
1/4 tsp garam masala ( if using store bought, you may need to increase it to 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric
1/4 tsp red chili pwd, as per taste
salt, as per taste
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1. Steam broccoli fork tender, reserve.
2. Heat ghee/oil.
3. Add ajwain, let splutter a bit.
4. Add onion and saute on medium till soft and pinkish on the edges.
5. Add all spice powders, except garam masala and mix well.
6. Add Paneer and steamed broccoli, mix well. Add juice squeezed from the grated ginger & garam masala, saute a minute, cover and switch off the gas. Allow a few minutes for flavors to mingle.
Enjoy Paneer Broccoli Do Pyaza with roti/paratha and a bowl of chilled yogurt...YUM!
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I decided to use the kuttu podi to make a mix veg kootu. I followed Shilpa's recipe for kootu and it turned out amazing, the medley of flavors was wonderful, a coconut lover's delight :)
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Mixed Vegetable Kootu

1/2 cup toor dal
1 tsp kootu podi
2tbsp coconut
1 cup veg (I used carrot, potato, beans, onion & tomato)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
curry leaves
a pinch hing/asafoetida
a pinch turmeric/haldi
1/4 tsp tamarind extract
1. Boil toor dal and vegetables separately.
2. Grind coconut, tamarind and kootu podi. I added cinnamon & clove as Deepa mentioned that it did not contain these.
3. Add paste to dal and veg, cook 7/8 minutes.
4. Heat oil, add mustard, curry leaves, hing and add to the kootu.
Enjoy delicious Kootu with rice!
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It was fun using the ingredients, I would now like to extend this friendship chain to Pravs, who cooks up some wonderful dishes over at her blog! Thank You for being a part of this chain, Pravs!

45 comments:

Shilpa said...

Yay...you got two surprises...thats so cool Richa. Good use of surprise ingredients :).

Richa said...

thanks shilpa!
your recipe was so good, loved the flavors, anyway i like coconut based gravies :)

Kalai said...

Wonderful use of the surprise ingredients, Richa! Both dishes look great. :)

musical said...

You really have made the most amazing dishes, Richa! Paneer broccoli is a combo that i'd love to try! YUMMY! The pictures are looking so inviting, as if someone just served me food fresh off the stove! And i' love the kootu recipe from Shilpa's blog!

Glad you enjoyed the lil' goodies :).

hugs,
musical.

Cham said...

The kootu and paneer broccoli looks delish :) Great flavoring dishes :)

Richa said...

thanks kalai!
yes, i was very pleased with the results myself :)

thanks musy!
yup, do try the paneer broc combo, it was one hot spicy combo :) thanks for the lovely goodies, sure was fun, will try the other stuff soon! kootu was so delicious!
hugs to you too!

thanks cham!
glad u liked the flavor combo, they did turn out good, a lil' diff from the usual fare ;)

DEEPA said...

The Kootu and Paneer broccoli looks awesome ..Thanks for mentioning me !!!

amna said...

paneer and broccoli seem like such a good mix :) good one!

Seena said...

Richa, that looks sooo good!! :)

Sig said...

Wow, I clicked on the first pic... the close up view is mouthwatering Richa!!! I still haven't posted my arusuvai entry... can't believe you posted before me, you lazybones... :)

FH said...

YUM!!! You have got lot of goodies to cook for Arusuvai. Both look yum!:))
Paneer Do pyazaa is delicious. Enjoy the endless Arusuvai!:))
See you after I come back, hugs to you!

sunita said...

Richa,both the dishes look wonderful :-)

sra said...

The paneer sure looks good. I too made paneer today.

Richa said...

thanks deepa!
podi was so tasty, hv some more ideas to use it :)

thanks nags!
yup,the combo worked beautifully :)

thanks seena!

Coffee said...

hey Richa.... lovely dishes! The paneer broccoli and pyaz combination sounds great. This Arusuvai thingy is really creating great wonders.... you people are lucky to stay around one another to share such wonderful treasure. :)

Richa said...

thanks sig!
isn't the texture groovy on that one...;)
yoohoo i beat you to it, u still ruminating over it...lol

thanks asha!
see ya after ur break, enjoy sweetie :)

thanks sunita!
i do like ajwain in my dishes :)

thanks sra!
so what did u make?

Raks said...

Love the paneer and broccoli combi! Nice recipes!

Rachna said...

Hey Richa...

sorry i missed your bloganiversary... tuhanu dher saari vadhaiyan!!! ive started reading up on all my fav blogs and all the posts i missed over the last few months...i am slowly settling down so will post soon on soul food....take care sweetie...

Mansi said...

mast laage chhe richa! that kootu is looking good, but the brocooli in the paneer sets me off:) though I know you are a health nerd and like it a lot! hehehee

I'm waiting for my A parcel to come this week!!

Unknown said...

paneer broccoli is such a healthy combination and nice pics richa:)

TheCooker said...

paneer-broc: that is my kinda combo.
Must try ginger juice. BTW, did you just squeeze the grated ginger for the juice?

Pooja said...

Lovely dish :) .
Is this a twin of Bhindi Do pyaza :D?
Dish looks nice, and veg kottu looks yummy too :) .

Srivalli said...

oh richa...those dishes look lovely...you guys are rocking..my belated wishes for your blog anniversary...

Rachel said...

Lovely colour to the paneer....great use of the ingredient!

Uma said...

the curry and the kootu look wonderful, Richa! nice use of the surprise ingredients.

Prema Sundar said...

Paneer pyaza looks delicious Richa. We south indians would love the mixed vegetable kootu too.

Richa said...

thanks coffee!
true, the flavors worked beautifully :)

thanks raks!

thanks rachna!
good to know u r settling down, does take some time....hope u enjoy ur new place!

thanks mansi!
su vaat che, taney broccoli nathi gamti? try karje...lol

thanks saswati!
sure, was a healthy combo & tasty at that :)

Richa said...

thanks tc!
yes, just squeeze grated ginger to extract juice, the fresh flavor is amazing(for ginger lovers), also no need to cook much after adding it!

thanks pooja!
yup, long lost mele may bichda hua twin...:)

thanks srivalli!
u r not late at all sweetie, u already wished me :)

thanks rachel!
yes, they did work well!

thanks uma!
appreciate ue sweet words here!

thanks prema!
so nice to see ya around :) i like the coconut gravy :)

evolvingtastes said...

Two lovely dishes.
So who said that I was into healthy stuff? :)

Finla said...

Wow looking to the picture itself i am hungry and on top ofit i went and clicked to see the begger picture.
Delicious

Sagari said...

nice recipes with surprice ingresind love paneer and broccoli curry

Sagari said...

nice recipes with surprice ingresind love paneer and broccoli curry

Laavanya said...

Broccoli and paneer combination looks superb. I've not made a mixed veg kootu so far.. looks delicious!

TBC said...

I like that combination- paneer and broccoli. Looks super tasty!:)

Richa said...

thanks et!
kabhi kabhi karna padta hai ;)

thanks hc!
u r too kind !

thanks sagari!
glad u liked them dear!

thanks Laav!
do lemme' know if u try!

thanks tbc!
the combo is unique & worked rather well :)

Seema said...

Paneer do Pyaaza & Kootu look yum....2 surprise ingredients.. great you accepted both & did it...

Cynthia said...

Ummmm, another one of your paneer recipe for me to try.

Anonymous said...

Can't go wrong with broccoli and cheese in any form, yum! Kootu looks great too! :)

Pravs said...

Thanks richa, for extenting the Arusuvai friendship chain to me. Both the dishes looks good.So you like to cook with coconut ?

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

wow! Love the kootu pic.It looks really good

Susan said...

Mmmmmm. Broccoli smothered in a complex gravy sure beats a thick blanket of gooey American cheese, not that I don't like cheese...; )

Raaga said...

I have broccoli and paneer at home :-)

And I've never made koottu myself... yours looks tempting :-)

Richa said...

thanks seema!
yup, it was fun!

thanks cynthia!
do lemme' know if u do try!

thanks linda!
yup, paneer & broccoli do go so well together :) kootu was so good!

thanks pravs!
glad that u r part of this sweetie!
yes, i do like coconut ;)

thanks ramya!

thanks susan!
yeah, sometimes one can get by without too much cheese...lol

thanks raaga!
lemme' know if u try :)

Meera said...

paneer and broccoli sounds like an amazing combo. i have never tried it before, but it goes on my "must try" list now. Just made paneer at home the other day. That's the only cheese I love!:-)

Deepa Kuber said...

thanks Richa.. i love this paneer brocolli dish. main thing, ur pictures are so attractive, that it can easily make people drool over them.. i will check out ur other recipes now :D