quick & easy saag paneer/tofu

I’ve recently started menu planning to bring down my weekly cost of organic foods.  Organic can get quite expensive when you just go up and down the aisles of Whole Foods or even Trader Joe’s with no agenda.  This dish is super cheap if you use frozen organic spinach, sprouted organic tofu from TJ’s and have spices on hand.  WFs seems to have the best prices for organic spices that I have found so far.  The Indian store has super cheap spices not usually organic.

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ingredients:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 block of sprouted TJ’s tofu

1 (16-ounce package) frozen TJ’s chopped spinach

1 medium onion, finely chopped  or food processed

1 teaspoon garlic/ginger paste (or just chop up some ginger and garlic)

1 pepper (I had jalapeno on hand and removed seeds for kids)

2 tomatoes

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred until smooth

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method:

First, slightly  brown one block of bite size sprouted tofu in a bit of olive oil or oil of choice.  You can always use paneer or potatoes but I like the sprouted tofu.  Set the crispy tofu aside.

Then make the gravy or curry base.  In a large skillet, add a wee bit of coconut oil & add cumin seeds.  Let the seeds sizzle for 30 seconds or so.  Then add onions and cook until the onions are soft and brown (if the onions start sticking — add water).  Then add garlic/ginger paste  and stir for a minute followed by the finely chopped pepper.  Next add the tomatoes until they cook.  Finally, dump the rest of the spices until everything gets fragrant.

Dump frozen spinach into the skillet.  Once the spinach has cooked slowly add plain yogurt for creaminess.   Add quite a bit of salt to lift & brighten the flavor.  Once the “saag” tastes right, puree  it up in blender!! I got lazy and skipped this test but it tastes better and kids will eat it up!!!!  Finally, add the tofu.

Serve with whole grains or quinoa.  I personally think basmati rice works best with this dish.  This dish is loaded with veggies.  All 4 kids love saag.

Quick & Easy Veggie Biryani

Vegetable biryani used to scare me to death.  I can’t seem to understand how to cook rice partially on the stove top and finish off in the oven (my rice is either hard or disgustingly mushy) and my mom just happens to be the reigning chicken biryani queen.  I finally conquered this dish by using parts of this recipe and my brother’s recipe.

ingredients:

(for rice)

• olive oil
• spices:  1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 cardamon in pod
• 1 cup basmati rice (uncooked)

(remaining ingredients)

• spices:  1.5 teaspoons biryani masala, 1/4 teaspoon Lahore fish masala, 1 cinammon stick, 1 bay leaf, 2 teaspoons ginger/garlic paste
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1/2 bell pepper sliced
• 2-3 cups frozen or cooked veggies
• salt & pepper to taste

method:

First, make the rice on the stove top:

In a large pot heat up coconut oil (can sub with olive oil, grape seed oil, etc.).  Then add 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and 2 cardamon to the oil.  Once all of the whole spices get fragrant, add 1 cup of basmati rice (I used brown rice) and fry until the rice gets golden.  Then add tons of water and boil the rice until perfectly cooked.  There is no need to measure the water because you simply strain the rice in a colander.  EASY.

Second, cook veggies and make a veggie masala:

Heat oil in a big ass skillet.  Saute 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a bell pepper until onion turns transparent.  Then add spices to the onion bell pepper mix:  1.5 teaspoons biryani masala (ready made from the Indian store), 1/4 teaspoon Lahore fish masala ( ready made from the Indian masala), 1 cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and 2 teaspoons ginger/garlic paste (I was lazy and used the pre-made stuff from the Indian store).  Make sure this spice paste does not burn!!!  Saute for a minute or two until the spices smell fragrant.  I had steamed cauliflower on hand and added that to the skillet plus 1 cup of frozen veggies and golden raisins.  Saute everything until the veggies are cooked.

Third, mix it all up:

I dumped the rice into my skillet which contained the veggie masala mix.  I added salt to taste and lemon juice.  I roasted some cashews and added that to the mix.  Lastly, I fried up onions and sprinkled on top of the biryani for a crunchy and flavorful garnish.

Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

I am not the biggest fan of chicken tikka masala because I prefer spicy curries rather than creamy ones.  But folks love their chicken tikka masala — it’s always perfect for guests.  My mom shared her tried and true chicken tikka masala recipe.  This was my first time making the dish and it came out fabulous!! My brother, a very harsh food critic, gave the dish rave reviews but stated, “this is a fabulous creamy chicken curry, but it’s not what I consider chicken tikka masala.”  Mom and little bro can duke it out.

This dish can be made in 2 parts:  1) prepare chicken tikka  (make tandoori chicken) and 2) make curry portion which takes less than 30 minutes.  This is definitely a good fast weeknight dinner recipe.

ingredients

Part 1:  Chicken Tikka

• 3 pounds of skinless boneless organic chicken (I used thighs and legs)
• 1 cup whole yogurt (homemade preferred)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (1/2 lemon juiced)
• 1.5 teaspoons garam masala (available at Indian grocery store or you can make your own)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander powder
• 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoon garlic & ginger paste (you can easily make this by food processing or blending ginger and garlic in ratio of 2/3:1/3; add a bit of turmeric to act as a preservative and save in your fridge for 2-4 weeks)

Part 2:  Curry

• 2 tablespoons of grass fed butter or ghee
• 1 onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic & ginger paste
• 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin powder
• sugar, salt & pepper to taste

method

Part 1:  make chicken tikka

In a large zip lock bag combine all of the ingredients and marinate for 4-5 hours in the fridge.  Then place the chicken and marinade on a foil lined baking sheet and broil on high for 8 minutes, then flip over the chicken and broil for an additional 5 minutes.  Allow the chicken to rest.

Part 2:  make curry

While the chicken broils in the over, saute 1 diced onion in a large skillet with butter.  Once the onion has softened and is translucent, add the minced garlic.   Brown onion and garlic and then add turmeric and ginger & garlic paste.  Keep stirring ingredients and brown until fragrant.  Then add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.  Cook until the tomato sauce pulls away from the side of the pan (10-15 minutes).  Once the tomatoes have cooked down and the raw taste is gone, add heavy cream.  Reduce curry sauce until nice and thick.  Use hand blender to puree the curry sauce until smooth.  Cut the broiled chicken in large cubes and place the chicken with the leftover marinade into the skillet containing curry (get every last bit of that marinade because it has spices we need for our curry!!!) .  Simmer chicken in curry sauce for 10 minutes.  Add sugar (1-2 teaspoons) to cut the tartness of the tomatoes.  Finally season with salt, pepper and cumin powder.

Serve with basmati rice, roti or naan bread.