Spicy Peanut potato fry

At times we (I and my better 1/2 ) are couch potatoes.Now let me tell you,that is not a "Small potato". It is indeed a "Hot potato"!

Well,are you racking your brains,are your eyes falling out of your eye pockets or are your eyebrows raised like small mount Everest ? Are you ?

Well, stop,Stop,STOP right there.Don't torture your body parts.You look horrible like that.

Alright I can hear you saying,"Then why the heck are you saying so many potatoes...what the hell do you exactly mean ??".

My dear friends,I was just checking your expertise in English and upgrading mine .All those words above that ended with potatoes are nothing but idioms of the word potato .Did you know that ?

If yes,you are hired,help me to polish my grammatical skill in English.If no,you are fired,learn something people ...like ME .

ROFL..I got ya !!...look at your eyes rolling like my fan . well,that's how much I like Potatoes .You see when you love something that bad,you sound and act little crazy ...that's true love :D.

At least,I am like that - be it a person,place,animal,food or anything for that matter !

Ok now let's get to the "meat and potatoes" of this post.

Damn,again another idiom of potato ..Well,well,well, that's my love for potatoes ..wink wink !!

Yep,myself and Honey P,we lovvve potatoes .We often wonder if they hide and grow under ground being afraid of us.

Did you know that -

1. Potato,Tomato and eggplant are from same plant family.
2. Another research found out that potatoes not only has lots of essential vitamins,minerals but also can help in lowering blood pressure.
3.  Some evidence suggests that Potatoes contain a compound known as alpha-lipoic acid, which helps the body to convert glucose into energy ,which can aid in blood glucose control, improve vasodilation ,protect against retinopathy in diabetic patients ,help preserve brain and nerve tissue. (Source:Medicalnewstoday.com)
4. Research at the Agricultural Research service has shown that potatoes contain a compound called quercetin, which has antioxidant properties aka anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties.(Source:Organicfacts.net ) 
5. The downside,it is not a low glycemic index food item ,so not that helpful to people who are trying hard to lose weight .Until and unless it is eaten raw/boiled/baked/roasted(with less oil) and not like chips or deep fried ,then it is quite healthy .

 So,today I have a spicy potato recipe that becomes extra healthy because of the additional spices we add and less oil making it totally yummy . It is inspired by our great celebrity Indian chef,Mr.Sanjeev Kapoor's.

Spicy healthy peanut potato recipe

Ingredients

Red potatoes,boiled & cubed- 6-7 nos.

Peanuts,roasted and crushed - 4 tablespoons

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon

Cloves - 3-4 nos.
Black Peppercorns- 1 teaspoon
Sesame seeds - 2 teaspoons
Dry red chillies ,broken - 2-3 nos
Black gram - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/3 teaspoon
Curry leaves ,a few
Salt to taste
 Oil - 2 tablespoons

Method:

1.Dry roast cumin seeds,coriander seeds,cloves,peppercorns and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds.Add red chillies ,roast until fragrant.Cool it and then grind into a coarse powder.Keep it aside.

2.Heat oil in a pan.Add black gram to it.Allow it to light brown.

3.Add asafoetida,curry leaves ,potato cubes to it and on medium heat,saute until the potatoes turn light brown.

4. Now add the coarsely ground powder to it ,crushed peanuts and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds and mix everything well.

5.Saute for a few minutes .

6.Spicy peanuts potato is ready !Serve hot with roti,chapathi,rice or like me Quinoa :\

Now,"Don't Let Go of the Potato".....ohhh..another idiom but hey....anything..just for the love of potatoes....

Until we meet next again,you go potato people..wink wink 

Live,laugh,love,eat DELICIOUSLY,

How to make Paneer at home (Video )

"Say cheese ! " .Those were the two words that my ears heard for the first time ever in my life that gave me a vague idea about "cheese" . My hi-fi IQ ,when I was a little girl with a developing brain and neurons ,even thought "Cheese" was in fact the present tense of the word "Choose" ;like ,Cheese,choose,chosen !!

It was during my favorite part of going to school - "Lunch breaks" ,that I realized, there is another story behind the word "Cheese" .Being brought up in North India ,most of my classmates were North Indians,whose lunch box emitted that mouthwatering aromas since first period of the class itself and made me utterly restless and piqued my curiosity until the lunch break. Being a South Indian,my lunch box used to be mostly Idli-dosa which my North Indian friends were crazy about and being scared of their craziness ,humble me would always giveaway my lunchbox without even being asked for and the biggest reason being,how else would I return my lunch box to my amma darling completely clean and done .

In exchange, of course, my equally humble friends would give me their lunch boxes .Most of the time,I would find these cubes floating in different types of curries which even though was in my hand ,my friend would certainly pick a cube or two without fail .I was so busy in eating that I didn't even bother to waste my precious lunch break time asking what exactly these things were called ..you know as the Malayalam saying goes," 'Appam thinnal pozhe, kuzhi ennano??("Just eat the appam/a Kerala food item, don't count the moulds "- meaning -Just enjoy the final product ,don't worry about its whereabouts.)

As I grew up,whenever I went to my friend's birthday parties or a North Indian wedding or festivals I would again come across these white square-y things swimming in different curries respectively.

One day my friend said, "Paneer khaogi?" /(Wanna eat Paneer?) .Since it sounded like Paani meaning water in Hindi and even Neer meant liquid,I thought ,it is some kind of North Indian drink ! Yes,You are right - My hi-fi IQ !!

Later in the evening,my friend finally introduced me to those square-y,cube-y things drowning in those curries as if crying SOS .She said,"Ye le Paneer,aaj maa ne fresh banaya hai!"( Mom made fresh Paneer today-try it! ).Aaaahann..and finally I had my tube lit moment ,that's exactly the mystery behind Paneer was finally solved.

My amma never made Paneer or any paneer related curries as far as I can remember.That was the main reason why I never knew about these square-y ,cube-y whitey paneer . However, the taste of those fresh homemade paneer always lingered in my taste buds forever.

I did try some store bought ones ,but they failed to impress my palate and rekindle the fresh homemade paneer's taste.It was after I became the ultimate in charge of my wonder kitchen(my old blog's name ) in U.S. ,that I tried my hand referring to different recipes online ,failed sometimes ,proving this saying wrong,"Don't cry over the spilt milk ", and that saying right ,"Practice makes a man/woMan perfect " and eventually,came out with a successful way of making paneer at home.

To those who don't know,Paneer is the famous ,one and only Indian cheese ,that can be easily prepared at home .All you need - Milk,any food acid like lemon juice,vinegar,yogurt or even with any leftover whey etc ,Muslin cloth and colander.

Paneer is widely used in North Indian dishes due to the eminence of milk in their cuisine.Paneer/Panir is in fact the go-to cheese in most of the South Asian countries .

There are two types though - Firm paneer/Ponir/Panir used in different curries and soft paneer known as "Chenaa/Chhena or Chhana" used for making delectable sweets/ North Indian desserts.

Paneer is in fact a very protein rich food with many health benefits ,though not that calorie-friendly.It is most sought after protein for non-meat eaters/vegetarians and equally enjoyed by the non-vegetarians as well.Paneer curries despite of being sumptuous and expensive,rules every menu in most of the Indian restaurants all over North India.

In US,I've seen my American friends who are equally if not the biggest fan of this Indian cheese .The reason being the simplicity and the "It factor" that this cheese is an un-aged,acid set and can be made by anyone at home with a few fresh organic ingredients,totally preservative free.

So,you see, how in the world ,I could have not tried my crazy hand and come up with the foolproof recipe to make Paneer with milk in my humble abode .

So,this is how I make homemade Paneer cheese with lime/lemon:-

Paneer recipe made at home

Ingredients

(Makes about 2 cups of paneer cubes)

Organic Whole milk - 1/2 gallon/ 2 liter (approx)

Fresh organic Lemon juice - 1/2 cup

Method: Pls watch my quick video that will show you clearly how to make it properly .

Note :

1. Always use Organic whole milk ,but if you are calorie conscious, you can use 1% or 2% fat reduced milk.The skim milk,fat free milk or the Ultra Heat temperature(UHT) pasteurized milk will not yield apt paneer cubes as hardly any cream will be left in such milks.

Hope you'll like it .Say CHEESE ,keep smiling always!!:D

Live,love,laugh,eat DELICIOUSLY,

Barilla Penne Pasta recipe -An Italian affair

 'Life is a combination of magic and pasta.'  ~ Federico Fellini

Life is the best-est magician I've ever seen and I am it's wonder child ; it gave me surprises after surprises from time to time and made me go totally in awe of it -sometimes happy ,sometimes sloppy. Same thing happened when I came across these surprisingly cute shaped food items ,famously known as Pasta -  Spaghetti,Macaroni,Farfalle,Fettuccine,Penne,shell,Fussilli,Rigatoni to name a few .Honestly,I never ever saw (other than in some Hollywood movies) or even tasted or knew these names or there are more of it's kind until I left India.

Well ,if it was not Mr.Federico Fellini,it would have been my better 1/2 who would have coined this saying for sure.I think I've told you once,twice or thrice ,or if you are not aware ,there is another reason why I call my better 1/2 "Honey "P" "."P"izza,"P"asta,"P"uttu,"P"avvakka etc etc any foody- goody item that starts with letter "P" is his utter weakness even more than the letter "M" ("M"e!) . .

As genius people like you might have already guessed it,he was the one who introduced me to "Pasta" and my better 1/2 who was head over heels over her,the Pasta,set up a date .A threesome!! (Now keep your dirty mind under control hahaha...) .Honey P,Myself & she,Pasta- An edible Indo-Italian rendezvous !! 

Well,she failed to impress yours truly though. So,I brought her home. We still didn't get along well. Whenever I tried to makeover her (read:cook) - she either became jiggly,or mushy and sometimes stiff as a stick as if she wanted to spank me :D.Not to mention,honey P,didn't approve it either.This and this versions were good .But still ,I was not at all impressed ....the "WOW" factor was missing somehow,until I bought ,"Barilla's (Italy's #1 brand of pasta), Penne Veggie Pasta " ,which is made with fresh carrots and tomato purees. Each 3.5 oz portion of Barilla Veggie provides 20% of the daily recommended amount of vegetables.

It has the natural color of the vegetables it contains.Moreover,it also has sufficient Vitamin A,C,Calcium,Iron,Phosphorus,,fiber and protein as well .

And do I've to tell you ,"I was sold" !! Now that is impressive !! Ain't it ? Since I was already impressed by its content ,I strictly followed the instructions given clearly at the back of this packet ,"How to cook pasta the right way ?"  and then I added more veges to it like onion ,garlic,Broccoli and then added some spices,sauce and cream to give it the extra zing that can make my pallet dance and finally romance this pasta named Penne (even though I am married & straight). By the way "Did you know ?"  - Penne means "pen" in Italian, got its name from its tube shape with angled ends cut to resemble a quill or pen point. Penne have ridges, which allows them to hold more sauce.(Credit:Barilla.com)
So,here it is ,how to make an easy penne pasta recipe ..... Penne Pasta with Broccoli recipe Ingredients Barilla's Veggie Penne Pasta - 1 Packet (12 oz) Broccoli florets- 2 cups Onion,medium,sliced - 1 no. Garlic cloves,minced - 2 tablespoons Dry red chilly flakes - 1-2 teaspoon Chicken Broth - 1/4 cup(optional) Marinara sauce - 2 cups Sour cream - 1/4 cup (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil/butter - 2-3 tablespoons Method: Cook pasta exactly according to the instruction at the back of the packet. Heat oil in a wide pan. Add the onions,garlic and chilly flakes,saute it until onions are transparent ,on medium flame. Add pasta and chicken broth to it .Boil ,then let it simmer for a minute. Add broccoli ,salt,pepper and 1 cup of marinara sauce to it,mix well,on low flame. Finally, add the sour cream and mix everything well. Just before serving ,add another cup of marinara sauce to it as this pasta recipe does have the tendency to get thicken if kept for long. Enjoy..a healthy al dente nutritious pasta !! Note: You know right,you can add any vegetable of your choice and chicken,egg,sausages etc as per your taste.   If you are a cheese person,add some shredded cheese to it.
Well,that's how I fell in love with honey P's passion-ate,Penne Pasta.An edible Italian affair is just to be continued................ Live,love,laugh,eat DELICIOUSLY