Paneer Chilly is a spicy starter. Its fun to make it and experience the colors as we get preparing the Paneer Chilly.

Ingredients:

200 gms Paneer (Cottage cheese)  I used Amul Paneer which comes frozen in cubes.
4 tbsps Cornflour or Maida
Vegatable Oil for deep frying
2 Onions
3-4 cloves Garlic 
3-4 Green chilli 
3 medium Capsicums
Salt to taste
Ginger
2 tbsps Soy sauce
1/4 tsp Ajinomoto  (optional – i didnt use it)
1 tbsp Red Chilli sauce, Curry leaves and cilantro ( as per taste)
Cumin Seeds
Coriander powder
1 Egg (use of egg is optional for pure vegetairans)
Lime juice ( or vinegar)

 Method:

1) Mix cornflour, egg, salt, garlic-ginger paste. Roll the paneer cubes in it. Deep fry it in medium heat until the edges turn brown. Drain the oil in paper tissues and keep aside

2) Cut capsicum and onion into thick slices.

3) Heat oil in a wok.  Add cummin seeds and let it splutter.

4) Add ginger-garlic paste. Mix curry leaves and the slit green chilly and stir them in the wok.

5) Add coriander powder. Form a gravy by adding water to the mixture

6) Add onions and capsicum to this.

7) Enrich the gravy with soy sauce, red chilly sauce and some lime juice.

8) To this mixure, add the paneer cubes that had been deep fried. Cook for 5 minutes until the gravy blends into the paneer.

Paneer chilly is ready to serve hot!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Peeled and chopped Potatoes
• 3 tbsp curd
• Begal gram flour/besan
• Hing/asafoetida
• Mustard seeds
• 1-2 green chillies
• Vegetable oil
• Masalas: Red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala (from local indian store) and salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in pan/pressure cooker.Throw in mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.
• Add a pinch of hing/asafoetida and green chilly whole. Stir the mixture.
• Put the chopped potatoes.
• Add all the masalas ; i.e., Red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt to taste.
• Mix and add water and pressure cook for 2 whistles for making aalus soft.
• Take curd and add gram flour and water and mix well. Pour the mixture to the aalu’s and add garam masala on top. Keep stirring.
• Add a little water and then boil it to the desired consistency.
  Please note: Dont use too much curd, else the curry becomes very sour.
  

• 2 cups plain flour (maida)/all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. soda bicarb
• 1 tsp sesame seeds/til
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
• pinch of ajwain(carom seeds) – this is optional
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. curds or buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. butter or oil for kneading the dough
• Milk to knead dough
• Vegetable oil to deep fry

Method:

• Sieve together flour, salt,soda, jeera and ajwain.
• Mix in curds/buttermilk. Knead the dough. Use oil too.
• Add enough milk to make it into a soft pliable dough.
• Cover with a wet cloth.Keep aside for 5-6 hours. Make sure the cloth does not dry up, or wet again.Knead dough again.
• Take fistful of dough. Roll and spread them like chapati; but make them thick (appx. 1/4 inch).
• Fry in hot oil and keep pressing the bubbles till the side flares up.
• Turn only once till the bhatura turns golden.
• Serve it hot with chana masala and with sliced onion and lemon by the side!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup kabuli channa/chickpeas soaked overnight
• 1 large tomato
• 2 large onions
• 2 green chillies slit
• 1 tsp. ginger grated
• 1 tsp. garlic crushed
• Cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp. chopped coriander/cilantro leaves

Masalas/Condiments :-

• 2 tsps Chole masala ( available in Indian stores)
• 1 tsp. red chilli powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• turmeric powder(optional)
• pepperpowder (optional)
• salt to taste
• Fenugreek (Methi) Powder
• Tomato ketchup or puree
  

Method:

• Soak chole in water overnight or to cook the same day soak them in warm water for atleast 5-6hrs. Leave a tea bag in it to add to the rich color ( optional). Soda could be added for adding volume to the chana.
• Pressure cook chole with 1/3 tsp turmeric, water and salt upto 3 whistles. Drain the chole; but, reserve the liquid

• Take some onion and all tomoatoes with 5-6 chana that have cooled. Grind them into a paste. (Optional pure tomato puree could be used.)
• Blend garlic and ginger too.

• Heat oil in a deep saucepan and add cumin seeds.
• When the cumin seeds splutter, add ginger-garlic paste and 2 split green chillies. Saute them.
• Add chopped onion to it and saute till they are brown.
• Add the onion-tomato-chana paste and stir them.
• Mix all the masala powders to it and saute for a minute.
• When the mixture is cooked, add some reserve water and bring to a boil.
• Add the chole to the mixture and mix gently so that chole are properly coated in the mixture
• Put more reserved water depending on the gravy you need, check and adjust the seasoning.
• Simmer the stove and cook covered for 5-6 minutes. Finally add some fenugreek/methi powder and take mixture off the stove.
• Garnish it with cilantro leaves

Serve it with bhature, puri or chapatti with sliced onion and lemon by the side!
Recipe for Bature follows in my next blog:-). http://tastebuds4experiments.blogspot.com/2009/08/bhatura.html