Wengers Paneer Rolls

Back when I worked at my first in in an office in Connaught Place, Wenger's was a regular haunt. Then boyfriend and I would walk after lunch or in the evening to CP, and indulge in gourmet delights from Wenger's at least once a week. I discovered French hearts there, Diplomat Pudding, the most incredible eclairs filled with cream, and their paneer rolls - a little too filling but delicious, for all that.

Wenger's has gotten farther off with a move to the suburbs, so a trip there is now barely an annual treat. I read somewhere that they still import many of the flours they use for their bakes goods, so replicating them may be beyond my repertoire. But paneer rolls? I figured those would be a breeze. I tried them put for the first time today, and whaddaya know? The taste was a pretty good match! It would make for a great tiffin box stuffer. or starter at a party too.

Ingredients:
Grated paneer - 500 grams
1 medium onion, chopped very fine
2-3 green chillies, chopped fine
Handful coriander, chopped fine
1 inch ginger, minced
2 tsp jeera powder
Salt to taste
Breadcrumbs made of 3 slices of bread

Mix the paneer with all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs, gently. Shape into oblongs about 2 inches long - the moisture in the paneer will help hold it together. Roll each oblong in the breadcrumbs to coat it thoroughly.

Deep fry in hot oil until golden. Serve with green chutney or ketchup.

Time for prep - 15 minutes. Time for cooking - 15 minutes. Makes 15-16

Stuffed Mushrooms

Here's my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Anna this week.

I have a somewhat love-hate relationship with mushrooms. Perhaps because as per the classifications of taste, they are supposed to taste similar to meat, and as a vegetarian, I find their meatiness a bit hard to swallow, literally. However, there are some mushroom-based recipes that I quite like, as long as I don't have them too often. Mushroom curry, a somewhat dry vegetable made in a typical Indian style, with onions, tomatoes and green bell peppers in a cumin-coriander powder sauce is one of them. Another is my mother's famous mushroom soup, which uses liberal quantities of green chillies and very finely minced mushrooms in a broth reminiscent of white sauce, only more watery. Another that I've always enjoyed at restaurants is grilled and stuffed mushrooms. So when we wound up with a basket of large mushrooms at home, I decided to give that a whirl.

I sliced off the stems of the mushrooms and chopped them up very finely. I then mixed this with breadcrumbs, minced coriander leaves, finely chopped green chillies, some cheese ( mozzarella and cheddar mixed), some minced onion and garlic and grilled them, brushed with butter, in a hot oven for about 15 minutes, until they were browning, and served it hot with a dash of lime juice. And voila, a favourite appetizer was born!

Hyderabadi dahi vadas

I have always hated the traditional dahi vadas - made from urad dal, soaked in water and then dunked in yoghurt with tamarind and green chutney on top. I hate the bland taste of the actual vada itself and much prefer eating just the yoghurt with the two sauces.

But some years ago, I discovered an amazing recipe for dahi vadas - these are crisp and flavourful, and the yoghurt bursts with flavour too. They are really easy to make too, and have been a hit whenever I or any of my family or friends have served them. When I was studying in France, I was in the process of making these when the house agent came in with a couple to whom she was showing the apartment. The gentleman with her kept sniffing the aroma of these dahi vadas and finally couldn't resist asking me what I was cooking. I offered them to him and his wife, and they were absolutely bowled over - which I found really encouraging since I had just recently started cooking.

These taste great by themselves as a snack or party starter, or with any spiced rice dish. they go particularly well with Bisi bele Bhaath which i shall blog about some other day. One tip - always make more than you planned, because they always go faster than you anticipated!

As always, measurements are indicative, and you have to adjust it to your taste. This should make enough for 6 people. PS. I will put up pictures of the various stages and the finished dish when ever I next make it.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Besan ( Chick pea flour)

2 onions, chopped really fine, minced, rather

1 tsp cumin seeds

1-2 tsp chilli powder

salt to taste

Bunch of coriander leaves, chopped very fine

1 1/2 cups yoghurt, beaten

6-7 pods garlic

1 bunch coriander leaves and stem chopped fine

salt to taste

Handful of curry leaves

1-2 garlic pods, cut into long, thin pieces

1-2 Dried red chillies

1 cup oil

1. Mix the first six ingredients together with water to make a liquidy paste - about the consistency of chocolate syrup (thinner than pancake but thicker than juice).
2. Whip the next four together and refrigerate.
3. Put the oil on to heat in a frying pan. Use a tablespoon or rounded spoon to ladle the batter, spoon by spoon onto the frying pan. Make these mini-pancakes roughly 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches in size, and about 1/4 centimeter thick - they are like mini-blinis.
4. Cook thoroughly on both sides, turning over. They should be crisp at the edges and somewhat crisp in the center too when done.
5. Lay each pancake on absorbest tissue to cool.
6. When they are fully cooled, take out a large, flat pan and set the pancakes on it, side by side, so they form a layer. After each such layer, pour some of the yoghurt you had set to refrigerate onto the layer, making sure the pancakes are covered in the yoghurt.
7. Once you have layered all the pancakes with yoghurt, put the dish into the fridge for 2-3 hours.
8. Make sure you keep some of the yoghurt mix aside to top the dish before serving.
9. Make a tempering of 2 tsp oil, in which you add the thin garlic pieces, the dried red chillies and the curry leaves, in that order. Sometimes I add mustard seeds at the beginning of the tempering, but they are not necessary.
10. Before serving, add the reserved yoghurt mix and garnish with the tempering.