Carrot-paneer stuffed roti (parantha)

Carrot works great with paneer and onions. I accidentally stumbled on this combination and boy am I glad to have found it! The stuffing requires grated carrots, crumbled paneer with finely chopped onions and spices. You can be creative with the stuffing and it tastes great with raita/pickle.

What goes in?

For the stuffing-

Grated carrots- 1 cup
Finely chopped onions- 1/2 cup
Crumbled paneer- 1/2 cup
Dry roasted cumin seeds (1 tsp)- gently crushed
Black pepper- crushed 1/2 tsp
Oil
Salt according to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

For the base-


1 1/2 cup wheat flour
water for kneading
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation- 

• Knead the flour with salt and water to a smooth dough (add oil towards the end). Set it aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix grated carrot, paneer, onion, and the rest of the spices mentioned above. 
• Toss the filling well with oil and ensure it is a dry mixture and not soggy.  Some people tend to saute carrots and onion before mixing with spices for filling. But I tend to use it raw (the carrot flavor comes out really well, if used raw).
• Once the filling is done, rest is easy!
• Take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin.
• Add around 1 tbsp of filling in middle and fold it to a pouch (with filling in middle).
• Flatten this pouch on a lightly floured surface to a medium sized round shape.
• Cook the roti (both sides) on a frying pan with sufficient oil.
• Serve hot with mango chutney/pickle.

Born out of necessity, devoured for its taste- Corn Pulav!

The title says it all, doesn't it? It's a simple rice dish enhanced by spices and corn. Works well with raita or a simple dal. There comes a time when you don't have veggies in your fridge and running out for groceries is a tiring task. To the rescue, out came tumbling from my freezer a small pack of frozen sweet corn and frozen peas and with basmati rice I pulled out a good concoction for dinner. I would say this is one of the easiest quick fix for dinner and you don't have to sweat for this recipe. Why not give it a shot?

What goes in?

1 cup uncooked Basmati rice
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn kernel
chopped green chilli - 1
minced garlic 1/2 tbsp

Spices?

1/4 tsp crushed black pepper
Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
1 bay leaf
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
dash of garam masala powder
cardamom - 2
salt according to taste

Bring on the magic-

Wash the rice thoroughly and cook it on a medium flame in a non stick pan with one cup of water. Once the rice is cooked, keep it separate. In another pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cardamom. As the oil absorbs the flavor and cumin starts sputtering, add green chilli pieces and minced garlic. Cook for a couple of seconds before adding peas and corn. Add garam masala, salt, crushed pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add cooked rice to this mixture and combine everything till the rice gets incorporated with the spices. Enjoy with dal!