Week 3 recipe - Paneer, Summer squash and Red bell peppers

Use whatever summer squash is available: yellow or green zucchini or bottle gourd. Contrast colours for visual impact: yellow zucchini with red bell peppers, or green squash with yellow bell peppers. 

Amma was not too keen on making this because of the long list of ingredients! But she finally agreed and it was actually very simple to make and delicious. 

• 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp ground fennel
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 cup fresh or dried coconut
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tbsps ghee or mixture of oil and butter
• paneer, about 170 gms, cut into cubes
• 1 whole dried red chilli
• 1/2 inch ginger, sliced into paper thin rounds
• zucchini or 10-inch bottle gourd
• 2 small red, yellow or green bell peppers, cut lengthwise into thin strips
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tomato, diced
• 3 tbsps fresh coriander

1. Combine the ground coriander, cumin, fennel, turmeric, garam masala, coconut and water in a small bowl.

2. Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan till over moderate heat. When hot, gently add the paneer cubes and fry for about 5 minutes, constantly turning the cubes till they are evenly brown.

3. Raise the heat a little, add the red chilli and ginger and fry until they darken a few shades. Stir in the squash and bell peppers and saute for about 10 minutes till the squash is cooked. Add the salt, spice paste and tomato, reduce the heat and stir-fry until the tomatoes are soft and the dish is dry. Add the fresh herbs, stir and serve. 

 Week 2 recipe - Curried cabbage with tender whole mung beans

This Bengali-style cabbage dish can be cooked in ghee, mustard oil or veg oil. You can also substitute 1 1/2 cups of sprouted mung for the whole mung beans.

• 2/3 cup whole green mung beans, sorted and cleaned
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 hot green chillies, seeded and sliced lengthwise into slivers
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into thin julienne
• 5 tbsps ghee, or oil
• 1/4 tsp hing
• 10 curry leaves or 1 bay leaf
• 1 small green cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsps lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey

1. To quick-cook the mung beans, wash well, then drop them into boiling water. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for 1 hour. Bring the water to a boil again and simmer for upto 1 hour or until just tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Combine the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, green chillies, and ginger in a small dish. Heat ghee or oil in a wok over moderately high heat. When hot, drop in the spice-seed mixture and fry until the mustard seeds begin to sputter and pop. Immediately drop in the hing, curry leaves, cabbage, turmeric and coriander powder and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-20 mts. 

3. In the last few minutes, add the beans, salt, lemon juice and honey. 

Very healthy dish especially if you sprout the beans. Different way to have cabbage. 

 Doing a lot of cooking during this COVID time. Just to keep ourselves busy and stay connected, we decided to cook one recipe, chosen by one of us, every week.  We then share pictures and discuss how the dish turned out with family online. Third week completed and it's been fun. 

Week 1 recipe - Summer squash and green peas

• 3 Tbsps ghee or 1 1/2 tbsps each veg oil and butter,  
• 2 green chillies, stemmed, seeded and cut lengthwise into slivers
• 1 tsp cumin seeds   
• 8-10 small zucchini (about 685gms), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (can also use bottle gourd)       
• 1/2 tsp turmeric         
• 1 tbsp ground coriander       
• 1 1/2 cups fresh peas in pods or 285 gms frozen peas
• 3 tbsps chopped fresh coriander

1. Heat ghee or oil in a heavy 2-3 quart/liter nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the chillies and cumin seeds and fry until they begin to darken. Stir in the zucchini, turmeric, coriander powder, peas, half of the fresh herb, and the butter (if you used veg oil). Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.

2. Uncover and saute until the zucchini softens. If using frozen peas, add them now. Add the salt and the remaining coriander leaves. Gently mix and serve.