Paneer Tikka: Tandoori Paneer

Ingredients:
For approx. 5 Servings

Paneer – 1 lb
Bell Pepper (red, green or yellow) – 2
Mushrooms small whole – 20
Pineapple chunks – 2 cups
Sweet onions – 1

For marinade:

Ginger minced – 1 tbsp
garlic minced – 1 tbsp
Green chili paste – 1 tbsp
Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
Thick yogurt – 2 cups
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
Honey – 1 tbsp
Tandoori masala – 1 tbsp
Tandoori food color – 1 pinch
Salt to taste

Method:

• Cut paneer into 1 inch by 1 inch cubes. Keep aside. Cut bell peppers and onions in big chunks.
• To prepare marinade, add all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.  Now add all the cut vegetables and paneer to the marinade. Gently mix well.
• Cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for couple of hours.
• Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 5 minutes. Take them out and wipe them. Keep aside. Or you can use metal skewers without soaking them in the water.
• Preheat oven on 375 degrees.
• Arrange paneer pieces on skewers alternately with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and pineapple.
• Place the skewers on a grill or wire rack brushed with some oil. Grill for 15 minutes turning once in between.
• Cook till paneer pieces get golden brown on all the sides.

Serve hot with mint cilantro green chutney or Maggie hot and ketchup.

Fruit and Ice-cream Trifle

Fruit & Ice-cream-Trifle
This colorful and beautiful dessert is a sure crowd stunner. Trifle can be created in a number of different ways; using different ingredients every single time. I personally like the combination of fresh fruits and ice-cream so I tried this recipe with my favorite fruits and vanilla ice-cream with whipped cream, of course.

Ingredients:
For Fruit & Ice-cream-Trifle [approx. 12 servings]

Frozen whipped cream, thawed – 1 (12 ounce) tub
Vanilla Ice-cream – 1/2 gallon
Fresh Kiwis – 5 ( peeled and sliced)
Fresh strawberries -1 pint
Fresh Cantaloupe –  1 cut in bite size chunks
Pineapple chunks – 1 large can
Mixed Fruit Cocktail – 1 large can
Whipped cream – 1 (for garnish)
Maraschino cherries – 1 jar

Method:

• Prepare all the ingredients as directed. Keep aside.
• In the trifle bowl, (you can also use any other large bowl too) layer the bottom of the bowl with cantaloupe chunks. Cover the layer with thawed whipped cream.
• Line the side of the trifle bowl with kiwi and strawberry slices. Inside keep layering fruit cocktail with ice-cream then pineapples with whipped cream and ice-cream till the bowl is almost full.
• On the top, garnish the layer with whipped cream. Decorate with cherries, kiwis and strawberries.
• Keep in the freezer till served.

Enjoy this fancy dessert with your friends and family after dinner.

Pineapple Kesari (Low fat, sugar free dessert)

Pineapple Kesari [Low fat, sugar free]

It is very hard to find healthy and tasty desserts. So I altered the original Pineapple kesari recipe to fit in healthy recipe column. But this one is not shy in taste. It is simple and easy as well. So enjoy your dessert guilt free :-).

Ingredients:

For Pineapple kesari [4 servings]

Rawa – 1 cup
Crushed pineapple – 1 cup
Splenda (Sugar substitute) – 1.5 cups
Ghee/Butter – ½ tbsp
Water – 2 cups
Kesar (Saffron) – ½ tsp (dissolve in water)
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Kismis (Golden raisins) – ¼ cup
Cashews – ¼ cup coarsely chopped

Method:

1. Dissolve saffron strands or Kesar in 2 cups of water.
2. In a pan, add ½ tbsp of Ghee/butter. Add rawa and dry roast it on medium low temperature, till it releases rich aroma. It will look light golden in color.
3. Add crushed pineapple and splenda to the pan and mix well. Immediately add the saffron water, while stirring continuously or it will be lumpy.
4. Add kismis, cashews and cardamom powder to it and mix well.
5. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and pineapple kesari is done.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve warm with your favorite ice-cream as a dessert after dinner.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple fried rice is one of my favorite entrée to order at Thai restaurants. This is my own version with few additions. Kids love it too.

Ingredients:

For Pineapple fried rice [6 servings]

Rice (Basmati) – 1.5 cups
Pineapple chunks – 1cup (fresh or canned)
Sweet Onion – 1/2 Medium size, Sliced
Capsicum (Green Bell pepper) – ½ cup, cut into thin stripes (julienne)
Carrot – ½ cup, cut into thin stripes (julienne)
Baby corn – ½ cup
Peas -1/4 cup
Paneer(Indian cottage cheese)- 1/2  cup small cubes [OPTIONAL]
Cashews – ½ cup (halved)
Spring onions – for garnish
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Ginger- 1 tbsp minced
Soy Sauce- 1.5 tbsp
Maggi Hot & Sweet Sauce – 1 tbsp
Garlic chili sauce -1 tbsp
Oil for frying -2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cook the rice with 2 cups of water and 1 cup coconut milk. Let the rice cool completely or let it sit in the refrigerator for couple of hours after cooking. This recipe is good for using leftover white rice too.

2. Rinse and prepare all the vegetables as directed.

3. Cut paneer into small cubes and shallow fry it. Keep fried paneer aside.

4. Heat the wok and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the minced ginger and stir-fry briefly until aromatic.

5. Add all the vegetables, pineapple chunks and cashews. Stir fry on high heat for 2 minutes.

6. Add cooked rice carefully and mix well. Add fried paneer cubes to it.

7. Stir in Soy sauce, Maggi Hot & Sweet sauce, Garlic chili sauce and salt. Cook for few more seconds.

Garnish:
Garnish pineapple fried rice with cut spring onions and serve hot. If possible it can be served in the hollow shell of the fresh pineapple.

Note: You can increase or decrease the amount of sauces according to your taste.