Corn & Pomegranate Salad

The sweet taste of pomegranate & sweet corn blends so well to give you a yummy salad that too without much work :)

Ingredients
1 cup Pomegranate seeds
1 cup sweet corn steamed
1 green apple chopped
1 pear chopped
1/2 cup paneer cubes
1/2 cup cucumber chopped
1/2 cup tomato chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp pudina powder
1/2 tsp chat masala powder
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Method
Mix everything and toss well.
Refrigerate before serving.

Tips
Pear & apple may turn black so don't make this salad wait for too long.

Zucchini Rolls

These bite-sized rolls are an excellent starter to any meal, Italian or not. The idea is simple and very fast to prepare.

Ingredients makes 8
1 medium green zucchini
100 gm cottage cheese, cubed
8 cherry tomatoes, cut into half
Salt & pepper to taste

For Pesto
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp pine nuts or walnuts
1 medium sized garlic cloves, minced (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
For Pesto
Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil).

Add the garlic, if using, pulse a few times more.
Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on.
Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.
Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended.
Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

How to proceed
Mix cottage cheese cubes with pesto & marinate for at least an hour.
Cut the zucchini into lengthwise. Grill them lightly on hot tava in minimal oil. Keep aside.
Now place a marinated cheese cube on zucchini slice along with cherry tomato halves and roll it, & put it on a plate. You can use a tooth pick to hold them together.
Sprinkle with little salt, mixed herbs & black pepper.
Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. (I like them freshly made).

Tips
If you have extra pesto, you can freeze it for later use. It can be served with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or as spread on breads.
If you don't want to make the rolls, you can also serve in layers with zucchini piece as the lower one followed by tomato & cheese.

Sandesh (Bengali Sweet)

 

A light creamy delicacy from west bengal made with curdled milk.

Ingredients makes about 10 -12
1 1/4 cups chenna
1/4 cup sugar

Method
Add the sugar to the chenna and mix gently.
Cook on a very low flame in a kadhai stirring continuously with a flat wooden spoon.
Remove the kadhai from the flame at regular intervals so as not to overheat the sandesh.
The sandesh is ready when it leaves the sides of the kadhai and is neither too dry not too moist. It should have the consistency of a very soft dough.
The sandesh should be used immediately for making various shapes, flavours and garnishes.

Tips
You can skip the cooking all together if your paneer is not too wet, but if cooking then be careful not to burn the mixture.
Cooking gives the mixture little grainy texture.

 Kesar Sandesh

 

 

Saffron flavoured sandesh stuffed with chopped nuts.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup fresh paneer
1/4 cup sugar
10 to 12 saffron (kesar) strands, dissolved in 2 tbsp milk
a few drops saffron food colour

To be mixed into a stuffing
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
2 tbsp chopped almonds (badam)
1 tsp sugar
a few saffron (kesar) strands
a pinch cinnamon (dalchini) powder

For Garnish
saffron (kesar) strands

Method
Divide the stuffing into 10 equal parts. Keep aside.
Mix together paneer, sugar, saffron liquid and saffron food colour make a soft dough
Divide into 10 equal parts.
Roll out each portion into a small circle and place one portion of the stuffing in the centre.
Seal the stuffing in the dough by bringing the sides together in the centre and roll gently to ensure there are no cracks on the surface.
Garnish with saffron & refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Tips
You can avoid colour & make them white only.
You can add 2 drops of kesar essence too if you want.



 

Rose Sandesh

This delicately flavoured and fragrant sandesh is a healthy way to end your meal without adding any unnecessary calories and fat.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup fresh paneer
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp rose water
3 to 4 drops of rose essence

For the garnish
a few rose petals

Method
Squeeze out excess water from the paneer.
Mash the paneer with your palm.
Add sugar & rub in well.
Add the rose essence & rose water.
Knead well to bind and get rid of any lumps.
Make 10 small round portions of the paneer, big enough to fit in the sandesh/ moulds.
Press the rounds on the sandesh moulds and shape accordingly.
Garnish with rose petals, unmould and store refrigerated.
Serve chilled.

Tips
If sandesh moulds are not available you can use plastic or rubber chocolate moulds or simply shape the sandesh into small rounds.




Orange Sandesh

   

                                                                                                                                                                   

This is again a Tarla aunty's recipe but with little changes by me. Really loved the tangy flavour of orange filling in it.

Ingredients makes 6
For Sandesh
1 cup paneer
3 to 4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 drop orange essence (optional)
1 drop orange colour (optional)

For the Orange Filling
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp orange juice
segments of 1/2 orange

For decoration
4 blanched and sliced pistachios

Method
For the Orange Filling
Heat the sugar in non-stick pan till it melts, add the orange segments & juice and gently toss them in it, making sure that the segments do not break. Keep aside.

For Sandesh
Knead the paneer thoroughly with the sugar. Add the orange essence and orange colour and mix well.
Divide this into 24 equal portions and keep aside.

How to proceed
Take 1 portion of the sandesh, place 1 orange segment on it and cover with another portion of sandesh.
Seal the edges of the 2 sandesh properly so that the orange is sandwiched between them.
Repeat this process with the remaining 22 pieces to make 11 more orange sandesh.
Garnish with pistachio.
Refrigerate for atleast one hour and serve chilled.

Tips
You can avoid colour & essence if you want.
You can add 3 tbsp of crumbled khoya in Sandesh if you want.






Gur Sandesh

The process of making nolen gur or date palm jaggery begins at night, when workers climb the date palm or khejur tree to make an incision and tie a terracotta pot to collect the sap. At dawn, he is back up the tree to bring down the pot. The sap is then boiled until it thickens.

Ingredients
500 gms Soft Paneer
7 1/2 tbsp sugar
7 1/2 tbsp jaggery (nolen gur)

Method
Prepare the soft cottage cheese.
Hang it in a muslin cloth to drain the excess water.
Mix sugar and jaggery into paneer and rub well.
It will become little watery but its normal.
Cook mixture till it becomes dry and powdery.
Keep aside to cool.
Make small round balls & put the balls in small fudge moulds and press so that the balls takes the shape of the moulds.
Serve cold.
Can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Tips
You will get that authentic Gur Sandesh taste with nolen gur only.
You can ask for this gur at your local Bengali sweet shop where they get it around winter season.