Tag: north indian cuisine
Roasted Eggplant with Peas: Baingan Bhurta
- 2 small eggplants
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Spread the olive oil all over the eggplants and place under a high broiler. Roast until the eggplants are soft and skin is charred and dark brown. Take out and peel the skin off. Take the pulp out, break it apart with a fork and keep aside.
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup green onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup dill, chopped
In a medium saucepan heat the olive oil. Add the white and green onions. Saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, eggplant pulp, peas and mix well. Cook on medium heat for 10- 15 minutes. Add the garam masala, salt, cayenne pepper. Taste for seasonings. Garnish with cilantro and dill.
Paneer Makhani (Indian Cheese Cooked in a Tomato Butter Sauce)
This is a very popular dish served in Indian restaurants. Some friends were coming over with their kids and I thought of making Indian food that day. Since I was cooking a vegetarian meal, paneer was definitely on the menu- I just didn’t know what kind to make.
As I thought about all my choices, paneer makhani came to mind. I looked in my blog and realized I have never made it before- how can that be?? It is one of the more popular Indian dishes out there.
This version is the easy and quick one- it is done in about half an hour. There are other versions out there with more complex flavors but I don’t see any reason for that- this one is delicious and simple and best of all a big hit with everyone.
All you need is a can of crushed tomatoes, onions, ginger and garlic. One key ingredient is roasted cumin seeds- they impart a lovely, sweet, nutty flavor- not as smokey as the regular cumin seeds. I usually roast some cumin and always have it on hand. Another important ingredient is dried mint- I garnished the dish with some. It provides a delicious flavor as well. In case you don’t have the dried variety, add some fresh mint into the processor with the onions, ginger and garlic.
Try this dish next time you want to have a healthy, quick and easy Indian dish…
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