Kaju Paneer Pasanda

Kaju Paneer Pasanda – Indian curry with rich gravy and crispy cashwnuts and moist paneer. This can be served with roti, naan or our special Chilly Cheese Naan.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients	Quantity
Cottage cheese (paneer)	400 grams
Cashewnuts	15-20
Onions chopped	2 medium
Coconut grated	1tbsp
Ginger chopped	1 inch piece
Garlic chopped	2-3 cloves
Fresh coriander leaves chopped	a few sprigs
Kashmiri red chillies	5-6
Poppy seeds(khus khus)	1tbsp
Cumin seeds	1tsp
Coriander seeds	1tbsp
Cloves	2
Cinnamon	1 inch stick
Oil	3 tablespoons
Tomato puree	1 cup
Sugar	1tsp
Salt	to taste
Kasoori Methi(optional)	½ tsp

Method

Cut cottage cheese into one and a half inch sized cubes. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and shallow fry the cottage cheese cubes till light golden. Drain onto an absorbent paper and immediately drop them into a bowl of warm water to keep the paneer moist.

Shallow fry cashewnuts in the same oil till light golden. Drain onto an absorbent paper and keep aside.

Dry roast kashmiri red chilies along with poppy seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Combine onion, coconut, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, kashmiri red chilies, poppy seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon and sunflower seeds and grind to a paste using little water. 

Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the ground paste and fry for four to five minutes till oil separates from the masala. Add tomato puree, sugar, salt and half cup of water and continue to simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes or till gravy is thick. 

Add the cottage cheese and cashewnuts and cook further for a minute. Gently stir in the fresh cream. Garnish with kasoori methi. Serve hot.

Aloo Bhujia Sev

Aloo Bhujia is a savory dish that falls in the category of namkeen.  It is an easy and quick snack which you can try at home for this Diwali.

All Aloo Bhujia's have a distinct taste from one another, but the process used in making them is similar. The three major ingredients are gram flour, potatoes and spice powder.One important tool you will need to make this dish is the sev press.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Recipe Courtesy - Smt Somayajula Gayatri Devi Sharma

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes (boiled and grated)	250 gms
Gram(Chana) flour	150 gms approximate
Asafoetida	1/8 tsp
Turmeric powder	1/2 tsp
Salt	to taste
For Spice powder
Pepper	1 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon stick	1 inch
Cloves	8-10

Method

Grind the spices to fine powder.

Sieve together dry ingredients like gram (chana) flour flour, asafoetida, turmeric powder, salt and spice powder and mix well. 

Add grated potato and make dough. No need to add water. Make the dough very tight or else it will absorb lot of oil.

Heat oil in a skillet. Grease sev press from inside using oil and then fill dough. When oil is hot press the sev directly into skillet. Once the sev feels little hard turn it and fry till the bubbles in oil is completely stopped. Don’t let the sev turn golden.

Drain and let it cool. Crush slightly. To make it taste like store bought, sprinkle chaat masala on the sev immediately.