MATAR PANEER I LOVE YOU

So like I always start any and all blog posts, I am writing after a long time, that too on a wordpress account, and maybe I shouldnt. Ok this is getting awkward, im going to write anyway. So ive moved countries, and now have a tight budget, and friends who a)love food, b)have a tight budget. I cant stop cooking, so I am going to try and cook on a budget. 

So the other day I got a recipe request from my awesome classmate Alison, so I went over to her lovely house (except the mould, Brighton City Council, if youre reading this, I want to tell you that you are creating terrible karma) and cooked some. 

I cant really calculate how much this cost, but whatever it did, it is worth it. Whether it is a special saturday, or youre feeling like making Indian restaurant type food at home without eating out where it most likely will be shit, or you want to try and challenge foodgawkerites, this is the way to go. This is cheezy but whatever. 

So here goes. . . 

MATAR PANEER 

(Peas and cottage cheese in a rich tomato gravy) 

What you need: 

A great aunt who gives you confidence and a good recipe 

A recipe request 

Helpers such as the great Suki 

Good company, music, wine (Peary from Morrisons costs 2.75, get some!)

300 grams of Paneer, chopped into cubes (get the block of paneer which can be cut up) 
100 grams of frozen peas (sainsburys) 
One medium sized jar of tomato puree
Double cream, to taste 
Salt, according to taste 

It really is worth buying these Indian spices, they are useful for everything 

Turmeric, one teaspoon
Garam masala, one teaspoon 
Red chilli powder (if you want it really spicy, put in one and a half teaspoons, otherwise 1 is fine) 
Cumin seeds, two teaspoons 
2-3 tablespoons of oil 
One medium onion, chopped finely 
Three cloves of garlic and a knob of ginger, chopped finely 

 

What to do: 

1. Add the oil to a pot, with a lid. Once it is hot, add the cumin seeds. 

2. Once they crackle, add the garlic, ginger, and onion. 

3. Once the onion is brown, add the salt, turmeric, garam masala, and red chilli powder. My spice measurements may be off track, so you could add some more red chilli powder and garam masala if you think it isnt flavorful. 

I love cooking. And paneer. Paneer is good.

4. Move it around for 5 minutes, and if its starting to burn, add the tomato puree. 

5. Add all the tomato puree from the jar, and the peas. Let it simmer. 

6. Once its boiling, add the paneer cubes. 

7. Once its all done, add the cream. 

8. Serve with plain rice. 

This is what it looks like: 

This is what the table finally looks like:

The plan this year is to make more student friendly meals, and I will count out the pounds next time.

Now I will write my essay, on a similar theme, how food brings people together.

Love you all and Happy New Year!

xx (Shay taught me this, I lovee it)

Day 60/90

I really cant believe it. I have made it to Day 60! That is two months! Tana tana tana tana tan tan tan tan, tana, tana tana tana tana tan tan tan tan! 😀 


I would like to thank Zoulou, my lovely black and tan daschie, without whom this wouldnt have been possible. Ooh zoulou, how much I love you! ❤ 


So, for today, I made a lovely warm salad, yes there are such things. It is from my much loved BBC good food guide. Here is the source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1145658/warm-potato-radish-and-halloumi-salad

PLOOMEY’S HALLOUMI SURPRISE AND ALSO I LOVE ADUTU 
(Warm winter salad with red radish, garden fresh lettuce, halloumi, and chives) 


What you need: 


Here is a picture….of some of the stuff 😀 

180 gram packet of Halloumi, chopped into 8 slices

Four to five lettuce leaves
Three tablespoons of chopped spring onions/chives 
100 grams of red radish or white radish (mooli) 
Juice and rind of half a lemon 
One red chilli, chopped 
Four tablespoons of olive oil 
Four to five potatoes, boiled and halved 


What to do: 


1. Arrange the lettuce leaves in your salad bowl. 

2. Prepare two bowls. In one bowl, add the lemon juice and two tablespoons of olive oil, in another bowl, add the lemon rind and the chopped red chilli. 

3. Add the boiled potatoes to the bowl with the lemon juice and olive oil, and add that to the salad bowl. 

4. Add the radish and the chopped spring onions. 


5. Now, add all the chopped halloumi to a non stick pan, and drizzle with the olive oil, chopped red chilli and lemon rind which was lying in the other bowl. I forgot to take a picture of the halloumi with the drizzle, because I was talking to a lovely and very dear to the heart kind of friend of mine, Aditi Dey Sarkar. 🙂 O I love her so much. 

6. Once its nice and brown, add it on top of the salad and mix around. 


7. Life will be beautiful now. 


Here it is finally…. 

And with some more mixing… 

You have now earned the right to eat this. It is amazing how simple and yet wonderful some recipes can be. I did feel the halloumi to be a rip off, I mean, tofu or paneer could have worked too, but im happy I took the risk, now atleast I know what halloumi is. I next want to try some mascarpone, then some gouda, then some yak…ok the list is endless. Maybe I should just make my own cheese or something. Yes, lots of maybes, but now its time to go. I will end with some wiki-ing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloumi If you click here, you will learn about wonderful halloumi.