Shahi

Another from Manjula.

Shahi Paneer is a very festive main dish that is creamy and rich in flavor. It is usually a special occasion dish. Shahi paneer can be served with any Indian bread, such as naan or with rice.

Recipe will serve 4.*

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb paneer (approx. 1-1/2 cups cubed)**
• 12 cashew nuts
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1/4 inch of ginger
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing) [I couldn't find this and left it out]
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder, adjust to taste
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (hara Dhania)

Method

1. Slice paneer into 3/4 inch cubes. Keep aside.
2. Grind cashews into powder-like consistency. Keep aside.
3. Puree tomatoes, green chili and ginger. Keep aside.
4. Add oil in a pan, over medium heat. Shallow fry paneer cubes till they turn slightly brown. Remove from pan and place over paper towels to absorb excess oil.
5. Increase heat to medium-high and test the oil by adding one cumin seed. If it cracks immediately, the oil is ready.
6. Add cumin seeds to the oil and as they crack, add asafetida and bay leaves. Stir for a few seconds.
7. Add tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder, and paprika. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. It will reduce to half its volume and start separating from the oil.
8. Add sugar, cashew powder and yogurt. Cook for another minute then add 1 cup of water*** and salt and bring to boil.
9. Add paneer and cover the pan. Simmer for a few minutes over medium-low heat, till gravy is slightly thick in consistency.
10. Remove from heat, add garam masala and chopped cilantro. Mix gently, cover the pan and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
11. Shahi paneer tastes best if it is served hot.

*It fed me, Sam, and Anna, not quite 4 adults.
** We used chicken instead of paneer.
***I'd suggest substituting chicken or veggie broth for the water. We liked the final dish, but it tasted watered down.

Naan

I got this recipe from Manjula's Kitchen. It's the easiest and tastiest I've tried for naan. I like using my hand to mix the ingredients like she does in the video (which I found helpful to watch). And I speak from experience when I say: make sure you don't have your oven rack too close to your gas broiler or else your bread could catch on fire as it puffs. Leftovers make excellent individual pizza crusts.

Makes 6 Naan.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
  
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups of All Purpose flour (Plain flour or maida)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of baking soda
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons yogurt (curd or dahi)

Also needed:

• 1 teaspoon of clear butter or ghee to butter the Naan
• 1/4 cup All Purpose flour for rolling

Method:

1. Dissolve active dry yeast in lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy.
2. Add sugar, salt and baking soda to the flour and mix well.
3. Add the oil and yogurt mix, this will become crumbly dough.
4. Add the water/yeast mixture and make into soft dough.Note: after dough rise will become little softer.
5. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The dough should almost be double in volume.
6. Heat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone for at least thirty minutes so stone is hot. Using a pizza stone will help to give naan close to same kind of heat as clay tandoor.
7. Next turn the oven to high broil.
8. Knead the dough for about two to three minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts.
9. Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling.
10. Before putting the Naan in oven, lightly wet your hands and take the rolled Naan, and flipp them between your palms and place onto your baking/pizza stone into the oven.
11. You can place about 2 Naan on the baking/pizza stone at a time. The Naan will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, depending upon your oven. After the Naan is baked(Naan should be golden brown color on top).
12. Take naan out of the oven and brush lightly with clear butter or ghee.
13. wait 2 to 3 minutes before baking the next batch of naan. It gives oven the chance to get heated again to max.

Lemon Yogurt Chicken

Lemon Yogurt Chicken-- from Lesli who got it from Genevieve

about 1 lb chicken--chop in pieces

coat with flour (in bowl)

butter in pan

brown chicken on both sides on high heat (about a minute or less)

reduce heat to low

add garlic (optional)

add plain yogurt (1 cup)

add outer part of lemon peel (grate it into the chicken)

(optional) add juice from lemon

optional --add herbs

add salt to taste (not optional)

you cook the chicken on low heat so it's tender, but make sure it's all the way or most of the way cooked before you add the yogurt because you don't want to cook it very long with the yogurt in or the yogurt will separate. It still tastes good but the texture is much worse.