Vegetables in white sauce

Many times we do not feel like making an elaborate dinner and yet want to eat something healthy.  One of those evenings I cooked this medley of vegetables in a white sauce but without any cheese.  Most of the time people like to bake this dish but I did not have the time and the patience for that.  First time I had this dish at my sister’s home.  She cooked it with very little white flour and I loved the taste of it.  It was light and healthy.
I have used cauliflower, broccoli and corn but you may add mushrooms or any other vegetables you prefer.  It is not spicy as I have used just salt and black pepper  but the end result was very tasty and I enjoyed with crackers.

Ingredients

1cup Broccoli (cut into small pieces), 1 cup cauliflower (cut into small pieces), 1 cup of uncooked sweet corn kernels, 1 medium onion(chopped finely), 1 tbsp of white flour, 1tsp of butter, 1 ½ cup of skimmed milk, salt and black pepper to taste, 1 ½ tsp of cooking oil

Method:

 Wash broccoli, cauliflower and corn kernels well and soak them in water.   Sauté onion in a cooking oil till they turn pink.  Now drain the water of the vegetables in a colander and add to the sautéed onion.  Lower the flame and cover the lid.  Stir the vegetables occasionally.  When the turn tender turn off the flame.
In another pan, roast the white flour on a very slow flame. After thirty seconds add butter and mix it well.  Add milk and stir it well so that no lumps are formed. When it gets well blended add to the vegetable mix.  Add salt and pepper. 
Enjoy with your favorite crackers or bread. 

Citrus Saffron Sweet Rice

How many times we all have to deal with leftover rice.  I generally make some savory dish out of those by adding vegetables, peanuts and other condiments.  This time I decided to make a dessert out of my leftover rice.  The result was a gourmet dish which can make anyone take second helping.  Saffron rice is a popular dish on any auspicious occasion in India but by adding orange zest it gave a very refreshing citrus flavor to my rice dish.

 Ingredients:

2 ½ cups cooked rice, 1 cup sugar, 1 ½ tbsp ghee (purifying butter),  2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 pinch of saffron, 1 tbsp of warm milk, a few drops of saffron color, 20 almonds slivered, 10 cashews divided into two parts, 15 raisins, peel of one orange

Method:

Scrape the white bitter pith of the orange peel.  Wash the zest, dry it between the paper towel. Take ¾ cup of sugar and zest of the orange and mince it in the mixer. Combine rice and this orange sugar mix in a bowl and keep it aside. Sprinkle leftover ¼ cup of sugar on the top of this rice mix.
In the meanwhile, combine warm milk, saffron threads and saffron color and keep it aside.
Heat ghee in a non stick pan and add cloves and cardamom and sauté for 30 seconds on a slow flame. Add rice and orange sugar mix into this.  Stir it occasionally on medium flame for 4-5 minutes till liquid of the sugar almost evaporates.  Now add saffron milk to it and lower the flame. Cook for another two minutes.
Add almonds, cashews and raisins to the mix.
Enjoy it warm.

Dark Chocolate Truffles

A wise man has rightly said: “Flowers wilt, jewelry tarnishes, and candles burn out…but chocolate doesn’t hang around long enough to get old.”  Hence it is never a sin to indulge in chocolate.  It is Valentine Day around the corner, a perfect time to make your own chocolate truffles.

One wonders why chocolate on Valentine Day.  There are many legends about it.  On February 14, 270 A.D. Roman Emperor Claudius II beheaded a priest named Valentine for performing marriage ceremonies despite the Emperor’s decrees outlawing them.  Another Roman martyr named Valentine was jailed and passed the time by writing love letters to jailor’s daughter, signed “Your Valentine”.  During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that birds chose their mates each year on February 14.  It is believed that in the 17^th century, lovers began exchanging mementos on Saint Valentine Day, perhaps heeding the words of Shakespeare in Hamlet: “Sweets to the Sweet.”

In time though, chocolate made its way to the masses. By the 1800s, the Cadbury Brothers had set up shop in England making and selling chocolate to average citizens. In 1861, Richard Cadbury created the first ever heart-shaped box for Valentine’s Day. Thus, began the common link between chocolate and Valentine’s Day.   Little did he know that he was starting a new tradition?

Another important truth is modern science has linked the chemical phenyl ethylamine in chocolate to feelings of excitement, attraction and even pleasure. Indeed, chocolate and love go hand in hand.

I have made these truffles with dark chocolate but if dark chocolate is bit strong for you, feel free to use semi-sweet milk chocolate to make these truffles.  I have used orange flavor in these truffles.  You may use coffee, strawberry or any other fruity flavor in your truffles.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup grated dark chocolate, 2 tbsp cream, 1 tsp ghee or unsalted butter, ¾ cup roasted and chopped almonds, 1 tbsp orange marmalade

Method:
Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  Make sure it is not melted all the way.
In another heavy bottomed pan, add butter (ghee) and cream and warm it till cream starts to make small bubbles from the edges.  Add orange marmalade and stir well.  As soon the marmalade gets blended, add immediately to the semi melted chocolate. Stir it vigorously.
Add chopped almonds and mix it well.
Put in the refrigerator for five minutes.  Rub cooking oil on your palms and make round balls with the chocolate mix.
Place these balls on the parchment paper and put in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
It made 14 chocolate truffles.
 Enjoy with your valentine.

Shahi Paneer in Three Minutes

Today I am going to share with you a much loved recipe that I have been cooking when guests arrive at a very short notice. It is called Shahi Paneer which loosely translated in Indian means Royal Cottage Cheese. It is a simple recipe that cooks fast, almost in three minutes, and something that you won’t usually find in Indian restaurants.
Paneer can be easily made at home.  You can buy a ready made at any grocery store.   Shahi Paneer, also called Royal Paneer, features cubes of fresh cottage cheese in a richly-spiced tomato cream sauce.  Like many "royal" dishes from India's Mughal cuisine, it features a slightly sweet, Persian-inflected spice combination from Mughal era. Although I am normally a bit shy about the mixing of sweet and savory but this dish calls for the beautiful blend of sweet and sour.

Ingredients:

2 cups Paneer(farmers Cheese) cut into cubes, 1 cup tomato puree, 3 medium size tomatoes, ¾ cup cream, ½ cup ketchup, salt to taste, 1 tsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp brown mustard seeds, 1 tbsp cooking oil, ½ cup tomato ketchup

Method:

Heat oil in a pan.  Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.  Reduce the flame and add tomato puree. In a mixer puree fresh tomatoes and add to the mix.  Let it boil.  Add salt and sugar. Add paneer cubes and let it simmer for a few seconds. Add ketchup and simmer for another 30 seconds.  Just before eating heat the mix and then add cream.  Enjoy with Nan or Parantha.

Note: If you don’t want to add cream you may replace it with plain yogurt.