Vegetable Red Lentil Stew, & 

Palak Paneer (Indian Spinach & Cheese)

I was busy doing summery things recently, including making dinner for special visitors ... Vegetable Red Lentil Stew, and Palak Paneer (Indian Spinach & Cheese). These are the leftovers. 

The Lentil Stew is based on Supper with Michelle's recipe. I say "based on," because 1) I used the Instant Pot (not sponsored ) and so needed to modify the instructions, and 2) I had no zucchini, the carrots weren't good, and after cleaning and tidying the house, I was just too tired to chop onions or cut up potatoes. (Apologies to Michelle. 😐) Instead, I used frozen chopped mirepoix mix (carrot, celery, onion), as well as frozen chopped broccoli. The lentils ended up very creamy. I hope that next time, I'll make it according to the recipe. My visitors and I enjoyed this version, so thanks, Michelle! 😃

The Palak Paneer is from Madhu Gadhia's New Indian Home Cooking, which has a lot of great, simple, healthy recipes. The Paneer (cheese) was also homemade, leftovers from the freezer. I don't actually press the Paneer very thoroughly, so I just broke it up and stirred it into the spinach. The key here seems to be slowly cooking the spinach for at least a half-hour, until it smells less like raw spinach. We also enjoyed this! 

Supper with Michelle Website, Vegetable Red Lentil Stew

Tofu "Paneer" Pakora 

(Tofu Fritters in a Chickpea-Flour Batter)

I made these using the Pakora batter from My Tasty Curry's Special Paneer Pakoda Recipe. A few days ago, I baked some firm tofu before adding half of it to a noodle stir-fry (not pictured). I decided to transform the rest into Indian Pakora (fritters in a chickpea-flour batter), but wanted a recipe to guide me. This batter seemed the best candidate of those I found, and indeed, it ended up cooking nice and crispy. (I shallow-fried rather than deep-fried, but that seemed to be enough.)

The first pic is the Tofu Pakora. There was still batter left, so I fried that, too! That's the second pic. The third pic features everything together. The leftovers reheated nicely in a toaster oven, on a toaster-oven-safe tray, the next day. I just had to watch that some of the thinner pieces didn't burn. This certainly is tasty!

My Tasty Curry Website, Special Paneer Pakoda Recipe

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora

(Onion Fritters in Buttermilk Sauce)

These were from the recipe of Veg Recipes of India. I made Kadhi (sauce) with Pakora (fritters) once, long, long ago, when I was first learning to cook Indian cuisine ... but not since! I was inspired to make it now, as a way to use up the liquid (whey) left over from making Paneer/Chenna (Indian cheese).

I've read that this liquid can be used in any recipe in place of buttermilk, and indeed I've used it with success in muffins and such. So, why not Kadhi, too? The base of several Punjabi Kadhi recipes I've seen, was either yogurt or buttermilk, so I hope this isn't too outlandish. And while I was experimenting, why not make the Pakoras in an ebelskiver pan, rather than deep-frying? (The recipe says you can also bake them.)

The results? I found the Kadhi with this liquid to be too acidic (which isn't so good for me), so next time, I'll use yogurt according to the recipe. Otherwise, I liked it! The Pakoras weren't crisp, but then, I can never get anything I fry (except sometimes bread) to become crispy. The recipe called for mixing sliced onions with the batter ingredients (except water), and setting aside for 30 minutes first. I think this contributed to the onions just melting into the fritters, with a sweet taste. Yummy.

Sometimes I find chickpea flour (used in the Pakoras) to be too heavy, so I added a bit of baking soda to the batter (not in the recipe). Oops, I realized that turmeric + baking soda = red, too late. 😉 The Pakoras looked so good, that I tried them anyway, and I'm still here ... though I think they were a bit too acidic. However, this was my own error. Next time, I hope I'll remember not to add the baking soda! The verdict? I'll make this Kadhi Pakora again, but according to the recipe this time! 

Veg Recipes of India Website, Punjabi Kadhi Recipe

Sandwich of 

Steamed Carrots 

& Paneer (Indian cheese)

The sandwich is seasoned with salt and dried Italian herb seasoning. This was a nice way to use leftovers, for a quick and nourishing meal.

Toasted Pita Sandwich, 

filled with Egg, Mashed Potato, 

& Paneer (Indian cheese)

Here, instant mashed potato was mixed with Paneer, salt, and seasoning, and spread in a half-pita. I placed a bit of scrambled egg on the mixture, and put the whole thing in the toaster oven until the bread was browned. (When it cools, the pita crisps up. You can even break up toasted pita, into "pita chips"!) Simple, yet filling. 

Corn Tortillas,

 with Mashed Potatoes 

& Paneer (Indian cheese)

The tortillas puffed up a little bit, and I noticed that the one I was about to eat, had a nice pocket, just right for stuffing. The tortillas were made from masa harina, Latin American nixtamalized corn flour. I wanted to make them for a #tacotuesday, but I guess we can call it TortillaTuesday, instead. (The tortillas were too small to fold around a filling.) This was my first time making corn tortillas! 

Pizza

The Pizza was topped with store-bought sauce & homemade Paneer (Indian cheese). This is the Paneer I referred to, in my last post. I used 3 cups of a p flour, 2 tsp active-dry yeast, 2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and about a cup of warm water, for the dough, which was enough for 2 small-medium-ish pizzas of the size you see here. I baked the crust, with the sauce, at 475 F, for about 13 minutes; took it from the oven, and topped it with the Paneer; and then returned it to the oven to bake for a few more minutes. Although I really like the smell of pizzas from out of the house -- too rich, with oil and cheese, for me to actually eat them -- I also really enjoy my own homemade pizzas.  I think that when I reheat the leftovers in the toaster oven, I may add some extra pizza sauce. 

Madzoune Telamadj Abour 

(Armenian Yogurt Soup with Pasta)

This recipe is from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. I kept thinking of this soup, but also needed to use up some older milk. I decided to make Paneer (Indian cheese) from the milk, and then to use the leftover liquid (whey) for the base of this soup. I'd heard you could use the liquid in soup, but never tried it before. (Whenever I make Paneer, I have to figure out, How am I going to use that liquid this time?) I thought it would be similar enough, and I wanted to make sure to use up the liquid.

The soup is supposed to be an onion-flavored base of stock and yogurt, with vermicelli, sprinkled with dried mint. Instead, after the Paneer was drained, I reheated the liquid and cooked the vermicelli in that. (This was very thin vermicelli from a Middle Eastern grocery store, which is similar to that found at Indian grocery stores.) On the side, I fried some frozen, chopped onions, in a little oil; when they were done, I added them to the soup. When I served myself some soup, I stirred in some whole-milk yogurt, and sprinkled on some dried mint. The soup was very warm and soothing, especially now that the weather has tuned cold.

I have included here below, links to a few recipes of Armenia yogurt soup, which are similar to the original recipe I used.

Diasporina Website, An Armenian Soup that I Don't Like: Spas Recipes

Tourism Armenia Website, Armenia yogurt & noodle soup (scroll down to find the recipe)

The Armenian Kitchen Website, 'Spas' - Madzoon (Yogurt) Soup with Grains

Heghineh Cooking Show YouTube & Website, Armenian Yogurt Soup video & recipe

Palak "Paneer," 

with Tofu

Throwback to: Palak "Paneer," from March 2015. This is an Indian dish featuring palak = spinach and paneer = Indian cheese. Tofu fills in for the paneer in this version. (Also included are a couple of whole dried chili peppers, which smelled sweet, when still dry). Now that I think of it, it's about time to try this again! 

Kolokithokeftedes (Greek Baked Squash Fritters)

These are from the recipe of Mia Kouppa. I'd been wondering what to do with the frozen squash, and then I saw this recipe, and knew. I figured it would be less squash than specified in the recipe, so I adjusted the amount of ingredients as best I could. I used some frozen homemade paneer (Indian cheese) instead of feta, which I didn't have. I got 18 fritters from what seemed a small amount of squash, which was nice. I didn't think of this as being healthy, just yummy and homey.

Mia Kouppa Facebook

Mia Kouppa Website, Baked Squash Fritters (Κολοκυθοκεφτέδες)

Not-Quite-Sour-Cream Cornbread 

(with some honey)

This is based on the Sour Cream Corn Muffin recipe in Lauren Chattman's Mom's Big Book of Baking. Instead of sour cream, I used an equal amount of whey (liquid) leftover from making paneer (Indian cheese).

As I'd used up all the stone-ground yellow cornmeal, I decided to try Masa Harina, instead. It's Latin American corn flour that's specially meant for tortillas, pupusas, and empanadas. It worked just fine here, combined with the all-purpose flour also specified in the recipe.

Lastly, instead of 12 muffins, I just poured the batter into an 8x8 pan, for a cornbread that I cut into 12 pieces. The result was a light, somewhat sweet, cornbread, that I've been enjoying the last few days. Finally, I managed to get a good photo with my camera before it was all gone! 

Veggie Lasagna

Throwback to: my recent Veggie Lasagna. (See quote below from my previous post, for all the details!) This pic was taken with my camera, the next day. The other one, was taken by my phone, right after the lasagna finished baking. Yummy, either way, just presented differently. 

"Ingredients: no-boil noodles; paneer (Indian cheese) seasoned with salt and dried Italian herbs and basil; frozen "spring blend" veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and yellow squash), defrosted and par-cooked in the microwave; mozzarella cheese; and jarred pasta sauce from the store. After I bought the jar of sauce, I found myself thinking about making lasagna. Once I had made the paneer, it was a done deal!  

I made this similar to the style of my mom's lasagna, but vegetarian, and with the kind of no-boil noodles I discovered several years ago, as well as paneer in place of cottage cheese. It's very simple: oil the pan, place a layer of sauce so nothing sticks/burns, place noodles to cover the pan, then a layer of paneer and some veggies, more noodles and sauce, and continue layering until it's as you like. Finish off with a layer of noodles, more sauce, and then some cheese. Cover with foil -- I like to put the dish on a baking sheet -- and bake in a preheated 350 F oven for about an hour or until bubbly. Remove from oven, and let sit for 15 minutes. Then enjoy!

You can use cottage cheese or ricotta or paneer (or maybe even tofu?), any kind of veggies and sauce, and more mozzarella cheese than I did."

Veggie Lasagna 

(with no-boil noodles)

Ingredients for this veggie lasagna were: no-boil noodles; paneer (Indian cheese) seasoned with salt and dried Italian herbs and basil; frozen "spring blend" veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and yellow squash), defrosted and par-cooked in the microwave; mozzarella cheese; and jarred pasta sauce from the store. After I bought the jar of sauce, I found myself thinking about making lasagna. Once I had made the paneer, it was a done deal! 

I made this similar to the style of my mom's lasagna, but vegetarian, and with the kind of no-boil noodles I discovered several years ago, as well as paneer in place of cottage cheese. It's very simple: oil the pan, place a layer of sauce so nothing sticks/burns, place noodles to cover the pan, then a layer of paneer and some veggies, more noodles and sauce, and continue layering until it's as you like. Finish off with a layer of noodles, more sauce, and then some cheese. Cover with foil -- I like to put the dish on a baking sheet -- and bake in a preheated 350 F oven for about an hour or until bubbly. Remove from oven, and let sit for 15 minutes. Then enjoy!

You can use cottage cheese or ricotta or paneer (or maybe even tofu?), any kind of veggies and sauce, and more mozzarella cheese than I did.

Shell Pasta

 with (Store-bought) Veggie Marinara Sauce 

& Homemade Paneer (Indian cheese)

I made paneer with the last of the milk (before it spoiled). I decided on pasta for supper, as I hadn't had any in a while, and added a little whey (liquid from the paneer) to the cooking water. Once the pasta was cooked, I added sauce (which has extra veggies = why I bought it), continued to cook it, and then mixed in fresh paneer. The next day, I added a little extra paneer. It was a mild and creamy pasta, that felt nourishing.

Healthy Greek Spinach & Kale Dip 

This is from a recipe by Kouzouna's Kitchen. I started out by slowly cooking 2 chopped onions in some olive oil. Next, in stages, I added to it, the 16 oz of fresh spinach and kale leaves from the box at the store. It took a while to get them all in, as I first had to wait for one batch to wilt before adding another. After it had cooled a little, I processed it in my mini-Cuisinart. I took half, and stashed it away in small containers for another time. The rest of the mixture became the dip. 

As I have to be careful what I eat (which is why I process leafy greens like spinach), I did have to make some substitutions. I left out the Parmesan cheese, used creamy whole-milk yogurt instead of Greek yogurt, and used some leftover paneer (Indian cheese) instead of cream cheese. I put it away, and heated it in the oven the next day. Spectacular! It was so warm and comforting, whether with homemade pita chips or with the breadsticks from earlier.

Kouzouna's Kitchen Website, Healthy Greek Spinach & Kale Dip

Kouzouna's Kitchen Facebook

Buttermilk Biscuits (with Honey)

This recipe is from Lauren Chattman's Mom's Big Book of Baking. The "buttermilk" is the liquid (whey) left over from making paneer (Indian cheese) out of milk I wanted to use up. I'd read that this liquid could be used instead of buttermilk (which I never seem to have around), so I thought I'd try it.