Paneer in Sundried Tomato Curry

I saved some of the pistachio paneers I had prepared for Vincey's film screening to put into this sundried tomato curry. I love sundried tomatoes and have been wanting to make a curry out of them for some time. Their tangy and salty flavor is very complimentary to Indian spices. I added in some ground cashews to thicken the sauce and also used some nice heirloom tomatoes I had gotten from my CSA. If you want to make this recipe healthier, you can substitute the paneer with tofu.

Lately, I've really been into using dried fenugreek leaves and put some of these into the curry as well. You can buy a bag of these leaves at the Indian store where they may be labeled in Hindi as methi leaves. They are good to throw into sauces and curries and carry a little bitter taste to them. I really don't like bitter tastes but for some reason these leaves are not too overpowering for me. The seeds of these leaves are sometimes used to make chutneys, pickles and spice powders and are much more bitter.

I served this curry with rice and some corn tortillas at a dinner party.

Ingredients

14 oz paneer or tofu, cubed

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons ghee or oil

10 sundried tomatoes (not in oil)

2 medium tomatoes, rough chop

2 small onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 inch piece ginger, grated

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste

2 pinches dried fenugreek (methi) leaves

3 tablespoons ground cashews

2 tablespoons cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt to taste

cilantro for garnish

Method

*To powder the cashews, I use a coffee been grinder.

Fry your paneer or tofu cubes in 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. Set aside.

Soak sundried tomatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes. Blend the sundried tomatoes and tomatoes into a puree - adding the soaking water as necessary. Set aside.

In a pan under medium heat, put ghee or oil and onions. Fry the onions for about 10-15 minutes, stirring so they do not burn. I like the onions to be a little carmelized. Then stir in the garlic and ginger and fry for a minute.

Add in the tomato puree and mix. Next add in the spices - garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, dried fenugreek leaves. Fry until the oil separates from the tomato.

Add in the cashew powder and 1/2 cup of water (you can use the soaking water from the sun dried tomatoes if you have left). Add more water if you want your curry to be more liquidy. Bring to a boil.

Add in the cream, sugar and salt. Stir well. Add in the fried paneers and make sure they are all covered with curry sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro.

Papri Chaat at Farm City Fair

Last Saturday, I sold papri chaat at the Farm City Fair alongside some fellow vendors from the Greenpoint Food Market. The fair, put on by French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), was a new take on old timey country fairs and featured arts, music and foods local to Brooklyn. It was held at the Invisible Dog Art Center, an old factory space that used to manufacture invisible dog collars and now houses artists studios and events. There was so much going on and over a 1,000 people there but one of the highlights of the day was when a marching band started playing Björk outside in the rain!

This is me serving my chaat with two light bulbs on my head:) Many people didn't know what chaat was so it was fun to introduce them to one of my favorite foods. And I think they liked it because I sold out 2 hours before the event was over!



Oh yeah and right across from me, Wylie Dufresne, the famous chef from wd-50 was serving up his own foods!

Thanks to Summer, Jennifer, Sheng, Louis, Busayo and Lili for helping out and FIAF for having me.

An Anniversary Cooking Class

Last Wednesday my friends, Marsa and Tony celebrated their 5 year wedding anniversary with a cooking class taught by me! I was so excited when Marsa called up and wanted to hire me for the occasion. For their wedding reception, Marsa and Tony had invited their guests to take part in a cooking class and then feast on what they had made together. Marsa wanted to recreate this experience on their anniversary as a surprise for Tony.

We first all shared an appetizer of papri chaat and toasted champagne to the cutest couple. Tony was so surprised:)



Then I divided the 10 of us into groups and we got to cooking!



It was really fun and also a nice way for everyone to get to know each other. I love this picture of Marsa cracking up:



The guys got acquainted with the magic of ghee and cilantro:



Everyone did a really a great job pulling the meal together and finally we all sat down to eat.

On the menu:

papri chaat

peanut rice with lemon, coconut and dill

shahi paneer

potato and spinach curry with tahini

moong dal

cucumber raita

Marsa made a special beef curry and ordered in a few naans to round out the meal.

After our feast.......

I also made recipe booklets for everyone so that they could remember the night and make some of the dishes at home.

Thanks so much Marsa and Tony for including me in your celebration. It was a blast! xoxo

Green Goddess Got Me!

Most people I know are aware that I've never eaten meat or fish in my life, but that changed last week when me and Sabra ordered the green goddess salad off the menu at Roman's. I had always been curious about the dressing and even had looked up the recipe, but totally forgot that there was anchovies in it. Only after we had dug into the salad did the waiter confirm that indeed our dressing had anchovies!!

I was first startled and then my stomach just kind of sank. It's strange because I know I've probably had some small form of meat or fish served to me before, but when I was told I had eaten it for sure, it definitely kind of shook me.

Ok enough dramatics but I really liked the taste of the dressing and wanted to figure out a way to make it vegetarian and with Indian flavors. I stayed true to the mayo and sour cream in the original recipe but added in some cilantro and dill instead of parsley, roasted fennel powder instead of tarragon and also some yogurt. And to replace the salty anchovies I put in capers.

It came out well, but you be the judge. Especially the anchovy eaters, please let me know how it compares!

My Green Goddess Salad

Ingredients:
2 romaine leaves, torn into pieces
1 slice of tomato

Dressing
makes 1 cup

1/3 cup greek yogurt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon dill
1 scallion including green parts
3 tablespoons capers with some juice
1/2 teaspoon ground saunf (roasted fennel seed)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
Put dressing ingredients in a blender and puree with a tablespoon of water. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Serve on romaine or any other kind of sturdy lettuce with a bright red tomato!