Egg Masala Curry/Boiled eggs in a savory tomato gravy

I made this exclusively for my husband's friend who was visiting us. He is a non-vegetarian and since we don't cook any sort of meat at home, I made this instead. He said he was happy that we made eggs for him... This dish can be a sort of a bridge between both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines. If you are making a lot of NV dishes and would like to have something of a bridge which will appeal to many at a party, you can choose to make this. This is a very good side for pulao/pilaf and Biriyani. Goes well with Jeera rice and plain rice and roti [Indian flat bread]. I used the recipe from my friend's blog. She is an amazing cook... I am posting the same link below. Make and enjoy.

http://sruthiskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/10/egg-curry.html

Paneer Butter Masala [PBM]/ Indian cottage cheese in spicy tomato gravy

Here is the queen of all dishes according to me. I have always loved it with naan in dhabas and restaurants. I bet nothing can beat a road side dhaba in it's taste. As the name suggests, it is a high fat side... however, in my kitchen, most of the high fat recipes shape up to medium to low fat.  Excellent for parties and to take to lunch. Goes well with roti, chapati and naan. My guess is it will also go well as a dip for pita bread and usual bread... try it, who knows, you may discover a new way to eat this dish. Here goes the recipe.

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1. Indian cottage cheeses/Paneer - 80oz/250 grams (chopped into small cubes and fried)
2. Onion - 1 medium sized, roughly chopped
3. Garlic - 2 pods or 1 tsp paste
4. Ginger - 1 inch roughly chopped piece or 1 tsp paste
5. Cashew - 4 to 5 pods
6. Tomato paste - 2  tbsp (6 oz can), 1/2 to 1 cup puree or 3 to 4 whole tomatoes
7. Garam masala powder- 1 to 2 tsp (depending on the spiciness you desire)
8. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
9. Cuminn powder - 1 tsp
10. Chilli powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp (according to taste)
11. Dry fenugreek leaves / Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
    
12. Salt - to taste
13. Milk - 3 to 4 tbsp
14. Butter - 2 tsp
15. Oil - 2 tbsp
16. Water - enough to make a runny paste of masala and to thin out the gravy to desired consistency
    
17. Fresh coriander leaves - 1 tbsp for garnish

Method:

• In a blender jar, make a paste of onions, gineger, garlic and cashew by adding very little water.
• Heat oil in a nonstick pot on medium heat and add the onion paste plus a pinch of salt and let it get slightly brown.
• in a bowl, take tomato paste and thin it out to consistency slightly watery than puree. If you use puree skip this process. If you use whole tomatoes, blend them in the blender without using water or as little water as possible and set aside.
• When the onion paste seems to get slightly brown, add the tomato puree and let it cook for a minute. 
• While the tomato puree is cooking, in a bowl, add garam masala, coriander, chilli, cumin powders, dry fenugreek leaves and add water to make a runny paste. Add this paste to the tomato cooking tomato puree and let it cook for 2 minutes or till it starts smelling aromatic.  If you think the mixture is getting too thick, add water to thin it down as much as you desire. Keep in mind, the gravy should not go thinner than tomato puree consistency.
• Add desired amount of salt at this point, stir in to mix all the ingredients. 
• Add fried paneer cubes to the gravy and cook for 5 minutes or till the paneer pieces absorb the gravy.
• Add milk and stir in to mix it. Adding milk gives a creamy texture without adding too much butter. 
• Now add butter and stir it in. You can save a small piece of butter and let it afloat when you serve.
• Transfer it into a serving container, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot bread.
  

Serving Suggestions:

Along with any kind of bread, serve a few lime wedges and sliced onion...Let your guests squeeze the lime to their PBM and after they put the roti and PBM in their mouth let them take a bite of an onion slice... you will see how much they will love it. Some serve very mild green chillies too... yummm.

Tips:

You can make this ahead of time for parties and heat it up the next day. If you refrigerate, it will absorb more Flavour.

To fry paneer cubes, Heat 2 tbsp oil in a big skillet, add these paneer pieces and saute them till they become golden brown on two sides atleast. You can also rub 1 tbsp oil on them and arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake the at 350F for 15 minutes on each side or till they become brown on both sides. 

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes and gravy are a heavenly combination. I became a fan at the first taste. Very easy to make and tastes amazing. You can make it fat rich or low fat and still you won't compromise on the taste. Mine is the low fat version. There are numerous ways in which the mashed potatoes and gravy are made. I generally make them like this. I Also make a cranberry sauce, will post the recipe when I make it next time. Make and enjoy. Makes a good combination with steamed green beans and chile. I will post the recipe of Bean Chile soon.

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Servings: 3 to four

Ingredients:

For mashed potatoes:

1. 5- 7 medium sized golden or red potatoes

2. Scallions - 2 finely chopped [optional]

3. Chives - 2 tbsp dry or finely chopped fresh [optional]

4. Oil - 1 tsp

5. Garlic - 1 tsp minced, grated 

6. Salt - to taste

7. Ground Pepper - to taste

8. Milk - upto 1/2 a cup

9. Butter/oilve oil - 1 tbsp

For gravy:

1. Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

2. Garlic - 1/2 tsp minced, grated

3. Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp

4. Corn Starch - 1/2 tsp mixed in 2 tsp cold water 

5. Brown sugar - 1 to 2 tsp [optional]

6. Cayanne/chilly/peprika powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp

7. Salt - to taste (soya sauce also has a lot of salt, so be careful)

8. Parsley - 1/2 tsp dry or finely chopped

9. Water - 1 to 1/2 cups

Method:

For mashed potatoes:

1. wash and boil potatoes untill well done. Turn the stove off, drain all the water and put the potatoes back on the stove for a few more seconds till the water evaporates. Keep in mind that, potatoes need to be hot to work further.

2. You may remove the skin or keep them, it is upto you.  I keep the skin. Mash them into a smooth paste.

3. In an other vessel which can hold all the mashed potatoes, heat oil and saute garlic in it. Simmer the flame and add mashed potatoes, oilve oil, salt and pepper and mix in. Add half of the milk and mix in well, if it can take more add little more and mix. keep adding little and mixing till potatoes can absorb the milk. Remember, it should not look like pan cake batter or become too runny.  Add scallions and chives or just any one of them and mix in well till they are evenly distributed. Turn the stove off and serve with a simple gravy.

Method to make gravy:

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute onions till they turn slightly golden brown. 

2. Add the garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add dry parsley and saute for a few seconds.

3. Add water soy sauce and let it boil for 3 minutes. 

4. Add salt, cayenne and brown sugar and let it boil for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the dissolved corn starch and boil till it thickens a little bit. Dissolve some more corn starch and add to get the right consistency. It must be like soup, slightly thick, but not too much. Add fresh parsley now if you are using it instead of dry. Cook for a minute more and pour on the potatoes and enjoy.

Tips:

1. I make the low fat version by using just olive oil or using "I can't believe it is not butter" and 1% fat milk. Amount of fat you put into these potatoes is totally upto you.

2. To make Mashed potatoes vegan, use soy/rice/almond milk instead of usual milk.