Bhindi Fry

It's my go to recipe of bhindi, I just love it with dal rice or with rotis! Its simple and just lovely.

Recipe Type: Veg
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• Bhindi/Lady fingers, 250 gms
• Salt, 1 tspn
• Red chilli powder, 1.5 tspn
• Coriander powder, 1/2 tspn
• Garam masala powder, 1/4 tspn
• Turmeric, 2 pinches
• Oil, 2-3 tblspn
• Coriander leaves, to garnish

Recipe:

• Wash bhindis/lady fingers thoroughly.
• Wipe them with a kitchen towel.

• Cut it top and tip part. Slit them half way through. Keep aside.

• In a bowl, add salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and turmeric, mix them well with your fingers.

• Put this powdered mixture in the slit bhindi.

• Do the same with the remaining bhindi.

• In a pan, add 2-3 tblspn of oil.
• Add these bhindis to the pan.

• Fry them till they are soft and little on the browner side.

• Take them out.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve as side dish with any rice recipe or with rotis.

Hair Care Tips

Good texture and length of hair is an important consideration for making a person look beautiful and attractive. You can easily get enhancement over the physical appearance with attractive looking hair. But, due to climatic condition and adulteration in food habit hair fall has become a usual thing to people. Falling 2 to 3 hairs while combing hair will be alright but, if you can see extraction of your hair strands one after another, this can become a serious case altogether. You can also get bald hair if excessive hair fall takes place.

Here are a few tips you must stick to religiously if you want healthy looking hair. You will be able to see the benefits in the long-term, within a period of 5-6 months if you follow these rules!

1. Combing

• Start detangling your hair from ends and work your way above.
• Always comb your hair very gently and take time!
• Use a wide tooth comb as much as possible to detangle your hair.
• Do not comb your hair when its wet.
• After its completely dry, Part your hair into 2-4 sections to comb it.

2. Washing Hair

• Use a mild shampoo to wash your hair.
• Avoid hot water baths! Hot water is not good for hair.
• Do not wash your hair too frequently as it will remove the natural oils from scalp, making it look dull and lifeless.
• Use a sulfate free shampoo, sulfate in the lon run can damage your hair.
• Do not rubb your hair with towel in order to dry but use a old t-shirt to gently wipe out the excess water after washing the hair.
• Let your hair dry naturally, as dryer can damage the hair.

3. Oiling

• Try to oil your hair twice a week.
• Use hot oil massage to oil the hair as it increases the blood flow to the scalp.
• Leave the oil overnight or at least for 2-4 hours before washing.
• Concoction of different hair oil can give your hair a new life.
• Make your own DIY concotion hair oil by mixing  2 tblspn of almond oil, 3 tblspn of coconut oil, 1 tblspn of Castor oil and 1 tblspn of Olive oil. Heat it a little and massage into the scalp once a week to see your hair grow longer and thicker. *You can make your own concoction by mixing your choice of hair oils too!
• Fenugreek seeds, Gooseberies and olive oil are known for number of benefits for hair, you can make your DIY Methi & Amla Hair oil.

4. Hair Packs

• Just like how we need to pamper and take care of our skin, we need to take care of our hair too.
• Applying a hair pack once or twice a month is very beneficial for hair.
• Best DIY hair packs are of eggs, curd, henna etc, which can be easily made and is very helpful in maintaining beauty of our hair.
• You can simple beat an egg, add some lemon juice and apply all over your scalp, keep it for 30 mins then rinse it off with lukewarm water!

5. Diet

• Make sure to drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated.
• Eat food rich in proteins and vitamins.
• Eat fresh food, colorful veggies and fruits.
• Avoid junk, oily and sugary foods and drinks which not only has a bad effect on our hair but on our overall health too.
• If you notice extreme hair fall which persists for more than three months, visit a doctor.

How to make Paneer at home | Cottage Cheese

Paneer is a fresh cheese common in South Asia, especially in Indian, Pakistani , Afghan , and Bangladeshi cuisines. It is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese or curd cheese made by curdling heated
milk with lemon juice, vinegar, or any other food
acids . Its crumbly and moist form is called
chhena in eastern India and in Bangladesh .

Today whether it's old or young, everyone loves cheese or paneer to the core! Besides it's quite rich in protein which makes it a win-win situation!
But have you ever thought to make paneer at home? Well, its just too easy to make yet fresh and pure than the store bought paneer.

So let's make it!!!

Ingredients:

• Full Fat Milk, 1 litre
• Vinegar/lemon juice, 1 tblspn
• Cheese cloth or a thin cotton cloth

Method:

• In a vessel, add full fat milk.
• Bring the milk to boil.

• Once it starts boiling, add vinegar or lemon juice.
• Mix slowly.
• Milk will start to curdle, switch ff the flame.

• Let the curdled milk to cool down.
• Take a cheese cloth or a thin cotton cloth and strain the milk.
• The greenish water which you get beside the curdles is called whey.

• Pour little cold water and wash the curdles to remove vinegar or lemon juice smell.
• Tie the cloth somewhere so the excess water is squeezed out.
• When all the water is drained, shape the paneer into square shape and pat it with your hands so its even.

• Fold the cloth again over it, from right to left, left to right and down to up and up to down.
• Put some heavy obejct on it, like a heavy plate or a vessel.

• Leave it for 40 mins.
• Take it out.
• Cut into square shapes.
• And there we go!

                

• Our homemade fresh and pure paneer is ready!
• We can make number of dishes such as Palak Paneer with this multi talented ingredient!
• The whey you get after straining the curldes is very nutrious, do no throw it away, rather use it in making gravies or kneading the chapati dough!

Palak Paneer

Palak paneer is a vegetarian dish originating from the Punjab region of the Indian Subcontinent , consisting of spinach, tomato gravy sauce and paneer in a thick paste made from puréed spinach and seasoned with garlic, garam masala, and other spices.
The dish is tasty and healthy, I still remember how in our childhood our mom used to tell if you eat spinach you'll be strong and intelligent like Popeye!!

Let's look at the recipe with stepwise pictures!

Ingredients:

• Palak/spinach, 300 gms
• Paneer, 200 gms, cubes
• Onion, 2-3 sliced
• Tomatoes, 2, chopped
• Green chillies, 2-3
• Cumin seeds, 1 tspn
• Ginger pieces, 1 tblspn
• Garlic cloves, 5-6
• Red chilli powder, 1 tspn
• Coriander powder, 1 tspn
• Roasted cumin powder, 1/2 tspn
• Black pepper powder, 1/2 tspn
• Garam masala powder, 1 tspn
• Salt, 1 tspn
• Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves, 3 tblspn
• Bay leaf, 1
• Sugar, 1/2 tspn
• Fresh cream, 3 tblspn (optional)

Recipe:

Spinach Purée

• Wash spinach in running water.
• In a vessel, add 1 jug of water.
• Bring it to a boil.
• Add spinach to it and cook it for 2 mins. Not more than that.
• Take it out on a strainer.
• Pour cold water over it to retain its natural green color.
• Blend the leaves to a smooth puree.
• Keep aside.

Onion-tomato Paste

• In a pan, add oil.
• When its hot, add cumin seeds.
• Add onion, garlic, ginger pieces.
• Fry onion till they are soft, do not brown them.
• Add green chillies and tomatoes and fry till tomatoes are soft.
• Switch off the flame, let it cool down.
• Grind it to a smooth paste.

Palak Paneer

• In a wok or pan, add oil.
• Add paneer cubes and fry them till they are golden.
• Take them out and put in cold water so they are nice soft ad spongy. Take it out on a plate. Keep aside.
• In the same oil, add bay leaf.
• Add onion-tomato paste.
• Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, roasted cumin powder and salt and kasuri methi.
• Fry for 2 mins.
• Add spinach puree.
• Mix all well. Cook for 5-7 mins without covering it.
• Add paneer cubes, garam masala powder. Cook till you oil forming on top.

• I topped it with some grated paneer.
• Annnnd it's ready! I know its looking quite lon recipe but believe me it's not! You just need to prepare the puree and the paste and it takes only 15 mins!
• Dish out in a serving bowl.
• Add fresh cream.
• Grate or crumble some paneer for garnishing.
• Serve hot with naan, roti, paratha or rice!

Notes:

• Do not over cook spinach in the hot water and pour cold water after straining to stop the cooking process.

Mutton Rogan Josh: Restaurant Style

Mutton Rogan Josh is a traditional recipe of Kashmir, where they use specific ingredients to make the Rogan Josh, but in places where these ingredients are not available we can also make it just like the Kashmiri Rogan Josh.
In restaurants in India, they follow a simple recipe to make this, I am making the same simple restaurant style Rogan Josh which is easy yet tasty. You can also read the original recipe of Kashmiri Rogan Josh.


Ingredients:

• Mutton, 1/2 kg (with bones)
• Onion, 1/2 kg, finely sliced
• Green chillies, 2 slit
• Ginger-garlic paste, 1 tblspn
• Fennel seeds powder, 1/2 tspn
• Black pepper powder, 1/4 tspn
• Cloves, 2-3
• Cinnamon, 1 stick
• Cardamom, 2-3
• Caraway seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Bay leaf, 1
• Curd, 1 cup, 250 ml
• Kashmiri Red chilli powder, 1.5 tblpn
• Salt, to taste
• Garam masala powder, 1/2 tspn
• Oil, 3 tblspn
• Ghee, 1 tblspn
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Lemon juice, 2 tblspn 

Recipe:

• Wash mutton well.
• In a bowl, add cold water and salt.
• Put the mutton into this water and keep aside to brine the mutton for half and hour.
• In a vessel, add oil.
• When its hot, add cardamoms, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, caraway seeds, fry for few seconds.
• Add the onions.
• Fry the onions till golden, do not brown them.
• Add Ginger-garlic paste, mix it well for 2 mins.
• Add the mutton straining all its water.
• On a high flame, mix it very well for 3-4 mins.
• Add 1.5 glass of water.
• Put on the tight lid and cook till the mutton is tender.
• Remove the lid, add beaten curd, red chilli powder, salt, fennel seeds powder, black pepper powder.
• Mix well. Add green chillies, garam masala powder.
• Cook on low flame till it reaches the consistency of thick gravy, takes approximately 10 mins
• Switch off the flame.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot topped with some lemon juice with rice, or roti.

Notes:

• Use fresh mutton.
• Cook the mutton till its well tender, so when you press it between your fingers its tender  like butter.