Panini

Panini is a form of sandwich made with ciabata bread. Panini made with mushroom stuffing is my favourite. In UK, I used to buy mushroom paninis from Starbucks. I cannot find those ones here. So i tried my own filling in whole wheat bread from walmart...




Small INTRO abt Panini......

A panino (Italian pronunciation: [paˈniːno]) is a sandwich made from a small roll or loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta or a rosetta. The loaf is cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, cheese, mortadella or other food, and sometimes served hot after having pressed in a grill.
A toasted panino, colloquially called "toast" by Italians, is made out of two vertical slices of pane in cassetta almost invariably filled with prosciutto and a few of slices of processed cheese, grilled in a sandwich press.
It is traditionally served without any kind of sauce or topping, although in some parts of the world it may be customary to do so in order to accommodate local taste.
The word "panino" [pa'ni:no] is Italian (literally meaning small bread roll), with the plural panini. "Panini" is often used in a singular sense by speakers of English and French, as for "salami" (Italian plural for salame), and pluralised solecismically into "paninis". (SOURCE)





Ingredients:

1 ciabata bread or whole wheat bread
Tomato
cheese
onion

Filling:
2 tbsp Ricotta cheese
1/4 cup frozen spinach
2 tbsp corn
few piece of shredded chicken
salt & pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven 350F. Cut the bread into two slices. I used round whole wheat bread, so i made a cavity by removing the crust at the centre of the bread. Mix all the ingredients mentioned in the filling. Place the filling in the cavity or ciabata bread. Arrange tomatoes, onions and cheese as u like. Place the two pieces in the oven for 2 -3 mts. Once the cheese starts melting, combine both the siles and leave for 2 more mts.. If u are using bread, place the filling in the centre and arrange onion. close it and grill it or heat for 2-3 mts. Cut it horizontally..Serve hot!!!

Ras malai with Ricotta cheese

I love sweets of any kind. I would eat them all day long. Ras malai is one of my fav. Traditional ras malai recipe involves difficult step of making Malai. I had ricotta cheese at home didn't know what to with it. I was browsing for recipes and found out interesting one... Ras malai made with ricotta cheese. I had all the ingredients, tried it immediately...

If u are wondering what is ricotta cheese..Here is brief introduction....

Ricotta (pronounced /riˈkɔtːa/ in Italian) is an Italian sheep milk or cow milk whey cheese.[1] Ricotta lit. 'recooked' uses the whey, a limpid, low-fat, nutritious liquid that is a by-product of cheese production.

Ricotta is produced from whey, the liquid separated out from the curds when cheese is made. Most of the milk protein (especially casein) is removed when cheese is made, but some protein remains in the whey, mostly albumin. This remaining protein can be harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional fermentation (by letting it sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature). Then the acidified whey is heated to near boiling. The combination of low pH and high temperature causes additional protein to precipitate out, forming a fine curd. Once cooled, the curd is separated by passing though a fine cloth.

After realizing that whey cannot be safely dumped in large concentrations as it creates an environmental nuisance,[1] Romano makers discovered that when the protein-rich substance is heated, whey protein particles fuse and create a curd. This curd, after drainage, is ricotta. Because ricotta is made from whey, rather than milk, it is a whey cheese, not technically a "cheese".[2]

While Italian Ricotta is typically made from the whey of sheep, cow, goat, or water buffalo milk, the American product is almost always made of cow's milk whey. While both types are low in fat and sodium, the Italian version is nutty, slightly sweet and has dry texture, while the American is blander, sweeter, moister, and therefore more neutral in cooking.[1]Ricotta is known in Portuguese cuisine as Requeijao. Indian Khoa is often confused with ricotta but the two are very different. It is lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey.

Priya, Ur recipe is Tried, Tasted and Certified: Excellent!!!

I found this recipe from Priya's Kitchen. I followed the recipe step by step. Check out the recipe here!!!!!
(Ricotta cheese Malai)


I made basundi for Ras whereas priya used half and half to make ras. Checkout basundi recipe here!!!!



Verdict:

Ras malai tasted very good. My hubby loved it. It was 90% close to the taste of original ras malai.....it was easy to prepare and u can make it 30-45 mts. So go ahead and try it!!!!

Spicy Nacho Cheese

Nacho cheese is one of my favourite appetizer in Mexican cuisine. I love to have a small nacho cheese in the theatre and munching it throughout the movie.. But the taste is totally different when u get it right from the oven..I love Guacamole with nacho cheese combo. I get the taste of Masala dosa when i eat this combo.. May be weird..but its so true..Next time when u got to Mexican restaurant try this combo..U will know what I meant... OK... This is been one of my favourite for quite few years.. I just learnt the recipe by myself..I mean its so obvious.. It makes a very good evening snack for kids..Kids love the cheesy nachos...





Ingredients:

1 packet corn chips
1 cup medium hot Salsa
Pickled jalapenos
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese (My FAV)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven at 350 F.
Take a oven safe pan, Arrange corn chips and drizzle salsa all over it. Sprinkle Jalapenos. Mix up the two cheese and sprinkle all over the chips. Keep it in oven and leave for 10-15 mts or till the cheese melts. Remove from heat and serve hot with Guacamole and Some chilled juice yumo!!!!


Nacho cheese is on its way to 15 Minutes Cooking hosted by Mahima and My favourite things: Cheese hosted by Poornima brain child of Bindiya of "In love with Food".

Malai Kofta (vegetable dumpling in spicy gravy)

Malai kofta is a rich spicy gravy made with fresh cream, paneer...not so good for health conscious people...Once in a while its good to let go yourself and plunge into great Indian delicacy...I learnt this recipe from Vah chef..Absolutely love it. Consumes lots of time if ur making for a group. I made this for new year's eve potluck... Man I was so tired after doing this for 15 people. U need to make koftas at least two for a person..It came out very well though!!!!

Ingredients:
Kofta:

1 cup boil grated vegetables(Carrot, peas, beans)
1 cup grated paneer
1 cup boiled grated potato
3 chopped greenchillies
1 tsp coriander powder
1tsp cumin powder
1 tsp redchilli powder
chopped nuts
chopped coriander
salt to taste
2 tbsp all purpose flour (APF)
oil to deep fry

Malai sauce:

1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
4 tbsp cashew nut powder ( dry grind the cashewnut to caorse powder)
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp redchilli powder
1 tsp shahi jeera
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
Chopped corriander leaves
salt to taste
oil
2 tsbp grated paneer


Preparation:

Kofta:

steam cook the veggies and potato. Remove any extra moisture from them by squeezing them in a thin white cloth. There should be no moisture, otherwise the kofta will break.

Mix all the ingredients except all purpose flour in bowl. don't add water. Moisture in the veggies would be enough to bind them. Make small balls or any shape u like. Finally roll them in APF and deep fry till golden brown.

Malai Sauce:

Heat oil in pan. Add onion and a pinch of salt and fry till translucent.Add ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder. Fry for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes and fry till mushy. Add redchilli, cumin and coriander powder.Add water if it gets too dry. cover and cook till oil separates. Remove from heat. Let it cool down. Grind to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan, add shahi jeera. Add blended paste when the cumin crackles.Bring to boil. Add cream. Bring to boil. Add cashew nut powder. Finally add koftas to the gravy and switch of the heat. Sprinkle garam masala over it and garnish with coriander leavesand paneer.

Serve hot with naan.