Spinach Pasta with Roasted Garlic & Sun-dried Tomato Sauce

There's nothing like a plate of spinach pasta served as dinner on a weeknight, especially when its smelling of garlic and looks as pretty as this one! Improvising on my previous recipe, I made these again last night, albeit with a few delicious changes. Cherry Tomatoes, of course were the star ingredients, but I went ahead and added a paste of roasted garlic, pine-nuts and some sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce, which gave it a wonderful flavor! This time, I also went for lightly roasted tomatoes instead of plain ones, which makes such a huge difference. So here's the edited and improved version of Spinach Fettuccine with Roasted Garlic and Tomato Sauce, that is simple and tasty to serve as weeknight dinner!

Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion - finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves - minced
1 tspn fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper - to taste
salt - to taste
2 tbsp white wine (optional)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - freshly grated
1/2 pound fresh spinach fettuccine

Ground Paste (optional)
3 cloves of roasted garlic
2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
1 tsp pine nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
Roast the garlic cloves and pine-nuts separately, then grind it all together with olive oil to make a fine paste.

Method
Cook the spinach fettucini in boiling water with 1 tbsp olive oil until tender. make the Ground paste and keep it aside.

Gently grease the tomatoes with olive oil and line them in a baking tray. Now roast at 250 deg F for about 7-8 mins, until lightly smoked and skin appears a little roasted.

Saute the onion in oil until tender and glossy. Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and wine. Let it simmer for 5 more minutes. Now add the roasted garlic and sun-dried tomato paste to this and mix well.

Add the roasted cherry tomatoes to this mixture. Lower the flame and cover with a lid. Let the tomatoes soak in the wine and garlic, but do not let them become mushy and overcooked. Season with thyme and sprinkle more roasted pine nuts on the top if you like.

Spread the cooked pasta on a plate. Top it with a generous helping of the sauce. Season with some more salt and pepper if needed; then top with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese!

This pasta recipe is my current favorite, as it has half the calories of a Fettucini Alfredo, and is very easy to make. Smelling of fresh roasted garlic, its hard to resist a plate of this Spinach Fettucini, don't you think!

Related Recipes:
Stuffed Ravioli in Saffron & Tomato Cream Sauce
Baked Rigatoni with Garlic & Basil Marinara Sauce
Fettucini in Almond Pesto Sauce

Gluten-Free Spinach-Onion Dosa (Pancake)

Spinach Dosas also famous as "Chana na Pudla" in Gujarat, is a healthy meal option. So this weekend, when I had an urge to make something gluten-free, more as a challenge and a change than anything else, I decided to make some savoury gluten-free pancakes with gram flour; we actually call them "dosa" or "puda" in local dialect. Its a great way to toss up your favourite veggies into the flour mixture and cook up something special without much effort or planning. I opted for spinach and sauteed onions as my main ingredients, while a blend of spices add to the flavor and fluff! These spinach dosas are a great way to eat something healthy yet tasty, and you can enjoy these with any dipping sauce of your choice!

I really wanted to send something to Srivalli for her Dosa Mela, but instead of using regular dosa-flour or all-purpose flour, I decided to go gluten-free by opting for the gram flour (besan). It not only adds a unique flavor, but also a nice color and texture to the pancakes. You can choose to add your favorite veggies like grated carrots, bell-peppers, peas or even shredded cheese!

Ingredients
Yields 3-4 pancake-sized dosas

2-1/2 cups gram flour (chickpea-flour or besan)
1 cup spinach leaves - washed and chopped
1 small onion - finely chopped
4 tbsp fresh coriander - chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp salt
1 pinch of asafoetida(optional)
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp fruit salt(baking soda)
1 tsp red chilli powder
2-3 cups water (or less, to make the batter)
oil - for saute

Note: It is believed that hing(asafoetida) is generaly ground with wheat-flour, so in that case it would be better for people to omit it from this recipe to make it a strictly gluten-free recipe.

Method
Saute the onions in 1 tbsp of oil till they are lightly brown in color. Don't burn them too much, just make them soft and glazed.

Wash and chop the spinach and cilantro leaves. Add these to the gram flour. Add the ginger-garlic paste and all the spices except fruit salt, then slowly add water, half cup at a time and stir to form a loose batter. Make sure you do not have any lumps in the batter. Form a thick pancake-like batter; but it will be a little thick as gram flour has more consistency than all-purpose flour.

Now add the sauteed onions and fruit salt(soda) to the batter.

Take a non-stick pancake-pan, drop one ladleful of batter into the pan and swirl to form a circular dosa or pancake. This batter is a little thick, so it may not spread as readily as pancake; so just tilt the pan to let the batter spread around. You can even spread and shape it using your wooden spoon or spatula.

Now drizzle a teeny bit of oil on the sides, then cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on medium flame, for about 3-4 mins. Then flip it on the other side and cook again. it will not rise as much as a pancake, but you should see goledn brown spots on both sides. Flip it again till both sides are evenly cooked.

Repeat for the remaining batter and make dosas out of them.

Serve these gluten-free spinach and onion dosas with your favorite dipping sauce. We enjoyed it with corn-cilantro pesto along with a second round of Indian Chai! Serve them hot as they are best enjoyed crisp and fresh right off the stove! For more inspiration, check out these delicious Spinach Recipes

More Savoury Recipes:
Achari Paneer Tikka Wraps
Savoury Muffins with Sun-dried Tomato and Cheese
Fluffy Spanish Tortilla Omelettes

Palak (Spinach) and Corn Pulao

After baking lots of cookies, I have this strong urge to cook a little healthy and low-calorie diet. And when I think healthy, spinach is always at the top of my list. So, rather than the traditional Palak Paneer, I thought I'd use spinach puree in my Rice to make this delcious and pretty-looking Palak and Corn Pulao. It's basically similar to fried rice, but just with indian flavors instead of asian spices. Vegetable Pulao is traditionally cooked with long-grain basmati rice and you can add your choice of vegetables to it. And to get that balance of crunch with a bit of sweetness, I added the corn kernels. It was very wholesome, and you could add a whole lot of other veggies like brocolli or potatoes, carrots or beet to this pulao. The color is very inviting and fresh-looking, and decked up with tomatoes and fresh coriander, you'll actually feel like you are "eating green"!!

Ingredients
3 cups long grain Basmati rice
1 packet of spinach leaves
1/2 medium sized onion - chopped finely
2 green chillies - diced
1 cup kernel corns - frozen or fresh
3 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin seeds
salt - to taste
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp ghee
3 tsp garam masala or biryani masala
2 tsp turmeric powder
chopped coriander - for garnish
thin tomato wedges - for garnish

Method
Wash the basmati rice under running water for a couple of times to remove the starchy content. Take a rice cooker and cook the rice as you normally would. Just make sure you keep stirring them occasionally. If you are using a stove, take a large crockpot, add 1 tbsp ghee, then add the rice and water and cover it with a lid just partly open to allow the steam to escape; stir in between and cook on medium flame or heat.

While the rice cooks, take a large fryikng pan, add 3 tbsp ghee, cumin seeds and the bay leaves. When they start spluttering, add the green chillies and the chopped onions. Saute till they turn a light golden in color.

Meanwhile, wash the spinach leaves and blend them to make a fine puree. Thaw the kernel corns if you are using the frozen ones by microwaving for 10 seconds.

Now add the puree to the onions and mix well. Add the salt, garam masala powder, turmeric and lemon juice. Cover with a lid and cook for 7-10 mins until it starts bubbling a little. finally add the corn kernels and reduce to low-flame.

Once the rice is almost cooked, add it to the gravy mixture and mix well gently with a spatula. Taste for salt and spices and make necessary additions per your choice. Remove from flame and let the spices and spinach blend with the rice.

Transfer the Spinach and Corn Pulao to a serving dish. Take a firm tomato, cut it into thin wedges, removing the pulp. Chop some fresh cilantro and garnish the pulao with these . Serve hot with Gujarati Kaddhi or Gravies (Malai Kofta Curry )

Similar Recipes:
Lemon and Coconut Rice with Sambhar
Vegetable Fried Rice

Simple Chickpea and Mung Salad - A bowl full of Protein

There are days when you feel like eating the most simple and nutritious things in life, and naturally, the first thing that comes to your mind is a Salad. There are loads of salad dressings available in the market these days, but if you closely look at the labels on them, you'll find they are not always less in calories. It's best to stick to simple and traditional home-dressings when you are trying to fill yourself up with something nutritious. Here's my favorite salad, which I call a bowlful of protein, as it's made of lentils, spinach and peppers, no fancy dressing, no additional pizzazz, just plain old simple Indian salad!

Ingredients
2 cups of washed fresh spinach leaves
2 cans of boiled chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 cups of boiled green mung beans
1 green or yellow bell pepper
1 small onion - chopped finely
1 green cucumber - diced
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 firm tomato - chopped finely
salt and pepper - to taste
chaat masala - to sprinkle on the top
a handful of coriander leaves - chopped

Method
Mix all the ingredents except the spinach leaves in a large bowl and add the lemon juice to it. Let it refrigerate covered for at least half an hour, allowing the lentils to soak the lemon juice. Before serving, add the spinach leaves, salt, black pepper powder and chaat masala and toss well so it is evenly combined. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately!

This Chickpea and Mung salad is a healthy and highly nutritive salad, and can keep you full for quite some time, thanks to all the protein and fiber content that it has!

Spinach Onion and Cheese Souffle

Cooking is all about flavors, aroma, tastes, and a whole lot of imagination! It's great to experiment with different ingredients and imagine how they would pair with each other, whether they compliment one another, or result in a stark contrasting taste. Sometimes these culinary concoctions can go awry, but most of the times it's fun, and results into something that leaves a tasty impression. Luckily for us, there are some things that just "click together", like chocolate and cookies, pasta and bread, my husband and me:), or in this case, spinach and cheese!! You can hardly go wrong with Spinach and Cheese, so for my first souffle recipe, I decided to go for a safer bet. I added two of my favorite ingredients, garlic and onions, threw in a pinch of nutmeg, and we had a luscious, good-looking and healthy Spinach Onion and Cheese Souffle for our dinner. People do get intimidated sometimes at the thought of making a souffle or casserole recipe, including me, but it's not that tough, and actually tastes great!

Ingredients
1 bag (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
4 cloves of garlic - minced
4 tbsp onion - finely chopped
salt and black pepper - to taste
1/4 tspn ground nutmeg (optional)
3 eggs - white and yolk separated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Method
Thaw and cook spinach in boiling water for at least 8-10 mins. Remove from water and let it drip off the water spinach in a colander; squeeze well to remove water content. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a casserole dish (or individual ramekins)with cooking spray and keep ready. Also separate the egg whites and egg yolks.

Heat butter and garlic in a saucepan over medium low heat. When butter has melted, add flour and stir until smooth and bubbling, and it turns just a little brown. Add salt and black pepper according to your taste. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. When the mixture is thick and boiling, remove from heat.

Turn off heat and stir in egg yolks, onion, spinach, cheese and sprinkle the nutmeg.

Beat only the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form soft peaks. Stir a couple of spoonfuls into the spinach mixture. This is the crucial part; beat the egg whites more to allow them to fluff up the mixture when it goes into the oven. Very gently,preferably with rubber spatula, fold in remaining whites.

Now pour the batter into prepared dishes. The souffle is going to rise a lot, so make sure you leave enough room for it to expand, especially when you are using ramekins (just fill a little over half) Bake until souffle has risen and is browned on top, about 15 to 20 minutes for individual dishes (longer time for a larger casserole dish). Use a thin skewer or toothpick to check inside for moistness. It should be a little sticky and creamy at the center, but not uncooked.

The Spinach and Cheese Souffle is best enjoyed immediately after removing from the oven. Eat it just like that, or serve with your choice of a side sauce! (pic courtesy of ajc)

Tip: You can add your choice of other veggies like broccoli or potatoes with or instead of spinach. The basic recipe remains the same. This also tastes good with a Feta or Goat cheese variation instead of Parmesan if you have a taste for the formers.

Similar Recipes:
Spinach and Ricotta Cutlets
Vegetable Timbales

Spinach and Paneer Cutlets - Bring a Zing to your table!

Cutlets, also known as "Croquettes" or "Aloo Tikkis" are a top choice for delicious snacks, coctail parties or finger-food appetizers. They are easy to make, and if you add some paneer to these to make Paneer Cutlets, you can expect some serious compliments for your cooking! Potatoes, by default are a preferred ingredient in most vegetable cutlets, but this time I chose to add something else that could give my cutlets a unique taste and texture. So I chose the next best thing in the Indian cooking glossary - Paneer, and added a bunch of peas, spinach and spices to make these delicious Vegetable Cutlets. You can serve them with any dipping sauce or enjoy these by themselves at tea-time!

Ingredients
1 cup paneer (cottage cheese) - shredded
2 cups spinach - blanched and chopped
1 big potato - boiled and mashed
1/2 cup peas - boiled and mashed
1/2 cup coriander - chopped
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 cup onions - chopped finely
1/2 cup corn flour or maida
3 slices of bread - crumbled
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric powder
salt, lemon juice, sugar - to taste
2 tbsp green chilli-ginger paste
1 cup rava (semolina) - to roll the cutlets in before frying
Oil for frying

Method
Boil and mash the potatoes and mix the paneer, spinach, peas and all the dry masala together. Then add the crumbled bread slices, followed by corn flour, garlic, green chilli paste and mix everything together with your hand. Do not add any water; also remove the water from the blanched spinach. The dough should be hard and non-sticky so that it can be easily rolled into desired shape.

Frying - Now grease your palms with some oil, take small portion of the dough and roll into egg-shaped cutlets, or any shape you like. Heat the oil on medium flame, and when it gets hot enough to start giving out vapors, roll the tikkis into the semolina and gently dip them into the oil. Shallow fry 4-5 at a time by turning on both sides to get a golden color.

Baking - Alternately, you can also preheat oven to 350 degrees, then bake the cutlets by placing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 mins, then flip the cutlets on the other side and bake for another 10-15 mins. Make sure to check they are cooked from inside; once done you can set the oven to broil for 5 mins to get the nice goledn hue on the top of the croquettes.

You can store these overnight or for a few hours. Do not leave the dough for a long time after making it as it the boiled veggies would give out water which could break the cutlets while frying. Do reheat them in the oven before serving. Serve piping hot with Chutneys or your favourite dipping sauces!

Related Recipes:
Vegetable Potato Cutlets
Achari Paneer-Tikka Wraps

Spinach-Strawberry-Almond Salad

Salads have been considered as a healthy food since a long time now. And there was a time when they were healthy, yet dull and boring. But here's a strawberry salad that is colorful, tasty and nutritious. Additions of fruits, nuts and dressings can make a huge difference! Try this Spinach Strawberry and Almond salad which is tasty, with a tinge of sweetness. I had first had it in a salad buffet place called "Sweet Tomatoes", and here is my adapted recipe. I think the sweetness of strawberries goes well with the lemon-orange juice and oil dressing. The nuts and cheese take it to another level altogether!

Ingredients
1 bunch spinach leaves - rinsed
10 medium strawberries- sliced into halves
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp slivered almonds or walnuts
1/2 onion - chopped in thin rings (optional)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tspn salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup olive oil (if not available, use veg oil)

Method
Take a small bowl and mix the vegetable and olive oil, salt, lemon juice, orange juice and pepper. Whisk well to form an even dressing.

Cut the strawberries into bite-sized pieces and add the powdered sugar to them. Set aside so they induce the sweetness.

Take a large salad bowl, add the spinach leaves and strawberries. Then add in the dressing and toss it around so the salad gets coated evenly. Add the chopped or slivered almonds/walnuts and mix again a little. Garnish with the shredded cheese. Serve as a side dish or even as a main course!!

It is not only colorful and tasty, but full of essential vitamins, iron, anti-oxidants, protein and good lipids - everything needed for a healthy heart and mind! This Spinach & Strawberry Salad is a perfect summer salad for barbecue parties or cocktail evenings!

Similar Recipes:
Mixed Green Salad with Apricots
Roasted Asparagus Salad with Garlic
Spring Salad with Cranberries and Pecans

Vegetable Timbales (Tri-color Vegetable Cupcakes)

Timbales are actually shallow single-headed drums, much smaller than the regular drums, and resembling inverted cups. Yes, they are musical instruments, and if you are wondering why I am rambling about music on a food blog, it is because the recipe that I share with you today is "Vegetable Timbales" or "Tri-color Inverted Vegetable Cupcakes", as I like to call them. They are so named because of their distinct resemblance in shape to the Timbales instrument. In fact, it is an excellent Appetizer with a Soup, or goes perfectly well as a side dish too! This recipe is an inspiration from a similar one I saw on one of the Food Network shows. It is basically a boiled or baked dish, cooked with layered vegetables, and the colors and flavors found in this dish make it a worthy addition to your party platters!

The focus of this dish is more to its color and presentation, so choose colored vegetables to form the layers. The egg-yolks and cream give it a nice texture, firm yet soft and pliable. It can be steamed or baked, but I prefer the previous method as it's more close to the original recipe and also makes the timbales more fluffy.
Ingredients
1 cup carrots- shredded
1 cup peas - boiled and mashed
1 cup red capsicum - chopped finely
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 egg yolks
pinch of nutmeg
salt and black pepper - to taste

Method
Steam the carrots or boil them so they are fully cooked. Wash and boil the peas too and mash them. Chop the capsicums and keep aside. Now take a sauce pan and put 1 tsp olive oil and saute all the 3 vegetables separately. Saute them one after the other until fully cooked and stop when they start giving out a grilled-like aroma.

Now Puree each vegetable separately in a blender. For carrots, add 1/3 of the cream to make a smooth paste. Divide the remaining cream into 2 parts and add each portion to the capsicums and peas separately while blending.
Keep in 3 separate bowls.

Beat the egg yolks and add individually to each paste. Season each batch with salt, pepper and nutmeg powder.

Grease 2 muffin moulds; layer each mould with the 3 purees starting with the carrot, then peas and finally capsicum at the top. Cook these moulds in a double boiler with water coming half way up the sides of the moulds. Cook for a little more than an hour. You can also use a steam coooker without the whistle, but be careful not to overcook the timbales.

To serve, put a plate over each mould; turn it upside down and gently tap the mould to release the timbales. This works as a great appetizer for your parties or you could even Serve it with a salad or Tomato Soup !

Tip: I've used only 3 veggies here,but you can pick as many and whatever vegetables as you like to create more layers. Some suggestions would be spinach, watercress, potatoes and even cheese! You can even combine Cooked Rice as one of the layers!

Spinach and Dal Curry

Out of all the green leafy vegetables, spinach is my favourite!! Besides the fact that it is rich in vitamins and nutrients, great for your eyes and rich in flavour, I just love it for its fabulous green color!! And the sight of running water over a bowl of spinach is really soothing to me(No, I'm not cracked up!!) When we bring spinach at home, most of the times it goes into being Palak Paneer, but whenever in need of a change, I combine Spinach with Moong Dal (split-pea yellow dal) to make this delicious curry which goes well with Parathas and Rice!

Ingredients
3 cups spinach leaves - washed and pressure cooked
2 cups mung dal - soaked in water for an hour
1/2 cup onions - finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhana-jeeru powder, garam masala powder
1 tsp mustard and cumin seeds
3 cups water (you can use the water in which spinach was boiled)
1/2 cup chopped coriander
2-3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
2 tbsp shredded cheese(optional)

Method
Cook the spinach leaves and keep aside. Now take a sauce pan, add oil, cumin and mustard seeds and bay leaves and when they start spluttering, add the onions and saute them till golden brown. Add all the dry masala powders and mix well. Then add the tomato puree and the soaked mung dal. Add salt and sugar to your taste and let it cook covered till the dal becomes soft. Alternately, you can pressure cook the dal and keep if that is more convenient.
When the dal is soft and well-cooked, add the boiled spinach and the water. Add lemon juice if needed and cook covered for another 8-10 mins. Remove from pan and garnish with chopped coriander or (shredded cheese). Serve hot with parathas or rice!

Tip: You can substitute chana dal or tuvar dal for the moong, but trust me, it turns out great with the mung dal!!

Muthiya (Steamed dumplings)

Muthiya is a very famous Gujarati recipe, but slowly this fame has transcended the borders of western India and there is absolutely no one who'd say that they do not enjoy this dish. With Spinach(Palak) and Bottlegourd(Lauki) and Rice as its main ingredients, its as nutritious as delicious. The rice gives the desired softness, the veggies make it healthy, and the flours form the glue that holds everything together. This is my all-time favourite recipe, and my mom cooks them the best!! We generally consume a lot of chapatis and wheat products, while rice is treated as a secondary produce in Gujarat. But I used to wait for my mom to make Muthiyas out of the rice leftover from last night, and when she packed them in my "tiffin box" (lunch box) they were as famous with my friends at school, as they were with ME!!!! I dedicate this recipe to my loving mom....all my culinary skills - I owe to her!

Ingredients
4 tbsp whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
2 tbsp Bengal gram flour (besan)
2 tbsp semolina (rawa) (optional)
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup spinach leaves-chopped
1/2 cup grated bottle-gourd (lauki)
1/4 cup fenugreek leaves (methi)- chopped
1 tsp green chilli-ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera ) and mustard seeds
1/2 tsp baking powder or soda
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped coriander
salt and sugar- to taste
2 tbsp grated coconut-for garnishing

Method
In a bowl, combine the cooked rice,fenugreek and spinach leaves. Sprinkle salt to taste, mix it well and add the bottle-gourd after squeezing out all the liquid. Add all the flours and semolina, ginger-garlic-chilli paste, sugar and baking powder and knead into a soft dough, using water. Apply a little oil on your hands and divide the mixture into 2-3 parts. Then roll them into cylindrical shapes and place in a steamer. You can use a pressure cooker without the whistle. Insert a knife after 20 mins and see that it comes out clean, meaning its cooked. Let it cool a little and slice each roll into thin oval-shaped pieces.

Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin and mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add the cooked muthiya pieces and saute for 5 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander and grated coconut. Serve the hot Muthiyas with Indian Chai or Green chutney.

Hariyali Koftas - Paneer Koftas in Spinach Gravy

As we kick into the summer, its nice to use more green leafy vegetables as part of your diet. I tried eating salads for a few days, but then my heart craved for something nutritious yet appealing to my palette, and that's when I started preparing a concoction called the Hariyali Koftas. They are not only tasty, they have a high fibre content, high protein, vitamin A and calcium, and the dish blends perfectly well with bread or rice. Hariyali koftas are basically vegetable and paneer koftas cooked in thick and creamy spinach gravy. It's easy to make, and sometimes provides a welcome change from the traditional Malai Kofta Curry.

Ingredients:
Spinach (2-3 cups for the gravy)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp each turmeric, red pepper, garam masala, ginger-garlic paste
1/2 onions(finely chopped)
1/2 cup tomato puree
4-6 tbsp heavy whipping cream
salt and lemon juice - to taste
chopped coriander - for garnish

For the koftas
4-5 potatoes - boiled and mashed
5 tbsp grated paneer(cottage cheese)
2 tbsp grated cheese
salt, garam masala powder, lemon juice - to taste
half-cup assorted dry fruits-cashews,almonds and raisins, chopped finely
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Method:
Mash the potatoes for the koftas and add all the spices and lemon juice in it. Mix the grated paneer and cheese together. Now make a small ball with some of the potato mixture. Flatten it a bit to make a small hole in the centre and fill it with the paneer/cheese mix, and put some dry fruit mix in it too. Then roll the ball again so as to make a smooth even oblong-shaped kofta ball. Make as many koftas as you need and store them in the referigerator for some time. Now fill the saucepan with some oil and fry the koftas 2 at a time, after rolling them in the all-purpose flour so that they stay firm and do not disintegrate in the oil.

For the gravy, take some oil, add cumin seeds, ginger-garlic paste and onions and saute for a minute. Then add the dry spices-garam masala, red chilli powder, and turmeric and let them mix with the onions. Now add the tomato puree, salt and let it cook for some time. Boil the spinach and blend it, then add it to the pan. Lower the heat and let it cook with the spices for 5-7 mins. Slowly add the whipped cream and keep stirring continuously till the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Now cook this covered for another 5-10 mins.

When you are ready to serve, arrange the koftas in a serving dish, then pour the gravy on the top, and garnish with shredded cheese or paneer and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapati, bread or jeera rice!!!

Similar Recipes:
Methi-Malai Mutter
Stuffed Capsicum with Tomato Gravy