Saag Paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens

Saag paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens is a classic favorite dish for most of the  Indians across India. This is a very popular dish in North India. Traditionally this dish is made of mustard leaves, spinach, and fenugreek leaves. The recipe is a combination of different varieties of greens with the perfectly browned paneer cubes which are infused with Indian spices and are stewed together in the rich cream or coconut milk till done.

Recently, while I was talking to my friend, who is Polish, but is a big fan of Indian food, she mentioned how she loves Saag Paneer. So I tried making this dish when I invited her home, she liked it a lot and this was a big hit at my house too. So from then on, this dish is prepared once in a week, which we eat along with chapatis or rice. It is so easy to make and not time-consuming.

This recipe requires an incredible amount of spinach, feel free to use any amount of spinach. Here in the US, I tried making this along with kale, spinach, fenugreek leaves, broccoli. Whatever greens, they are, all tastes perfectly good. Paneer is available abundantly nowadays. Some people will use homemade paneer, which tastes amazing. I fried the paneer lightly as I love the soft crumble texture of paneer. Some love it crunchy and can be done golden brown. The spices will add a nice flavor to the dish and last but not the least, the cream is added to make the dish more rich, creamy, tasty and flavorful. Instead of cream, we can also use coconut milk. A delicious, amazing dish will be ready to enjoy, by adding all the above ingredients and with a little bit of love. Hope you will try to prepare this and will like it. Please let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/ Cottage Cheese- 2 Cups (cubed)
2. Oil- 3 tbsp
3. Spinach- 3 Cups
4. Fenugreek Leaves- 1/2 Cup
5. Onions (chopped)- 1 no
6. Tomatoes(chopped)- 1 no
7. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
10. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
12. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
13. Salt- as required
14. Cream- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop the spinach and fenugreek leaves using a hand blender. Keep this aside.
2. Fry the cubed paneer pieces on a slow flame in 1/2 tbsp of oil. When they turn a light golden color, keep them aside.
3. In the same pan, add oil, saute the onions till translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Fry for a min on medium flame.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and when they turn mushy, add all the spice powders along with required amount of salt.
5. Add the chopped greens, stir for about 2 minutes. In this add the lightly fried golden colored paneer, mix and pour the cream on top. Stir lightly and enjoy naan/roti dipped in hot saag paneer.

German Chocolate Cake

The German Chocolate cake is a classic. For so long, I was thinking of baking this German Chocolate Cake and I made this for my Husband's birthday and it was a super hit. My husband is not a big fan of coconut. Surprisingly, he liked it because the coconut flavor was not too overpowering and the pecans added the crunch.

It is said that the name, "German" for the cake is not because of the country "Germany", it's because of the use of German chocolate, and the chocolate is named for the man "Samuel German" who specifically blended dark chocolate.

No German chocolate cake would be complete without the coconut- pecan filling!! Evaporated milk, egg yolks, butter, and sugar are cooked and the addition of coconut and chopped nutty pecans, in the end, gives a nice filling for the cake which tastes heavenly.

You don't need to frost the cake with chocolate. We can just fill the cakes with the coconut- pecan filling and leave it without frosting. That gives a naked look. As I made this cake for a special occasion, I made a light chocolate frosting.

Here for making this cake, I have separated the eggs and added the egg whites in the last, by folding the peaks little by little into the cake batter.

This is the best homemade German chocolate cake which is very addictive and will be liked by all. Hope you will try this cake and let me know.

Ingredients for the Cake:

1. All Purpose Flour- 1 1/2 Cups
2. Sugar- 2 Cups
3. Cocoa Powder- 3/4 Cup
4. Eggs- 2 no
5. Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp
6. Oil- 1/2 Cup
7. Boiling Water- 1 Cup
8. Buttermilk- 1 Cup
9. Baking Powder- 2 Tsp
10. Baking Soda- 2 Tsp
11. Salt- a pinch

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat the eggs along with vanilla essence, buttermilk using a blender. Add the sugar, beat well till all the sugar gets dissolved.
3. In a mixing bowl, sieve the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder. At this, fold the above egg mixture till everything gets mixed well. Pour this in a greased cake pan and bake in an oven for 30- 40 minutes or a skewer inserted comes out clean. 
4. Cool the cake on a cake rack.

Ingredients for Coconut and Pecan Filling and topping:

1. Shredded Coconut- 1 Cup
2. Pecans (chopped)- 1 Cup
3. Evaporated Milk- 3/4 Cup
4. Egg Yolks- 3 nos
5. Butter- 1/2 Cup
6. Sugar- 1 Cup
7. Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

• Pour all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat on a low flame till all the ingredients, mixes and reduces to become a slightly thick batter.
• Take it off the flame and let it cool.

Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting:

1. Butter- 1/4 Cup
2. Cocoa Powder-1/4 Cup
3. Sugar- 1 Cup
4. Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp
5. Milk- 2 tsp

Method:

• Beat the butter along with other ingredients till they become soft and smooth. If you feel the frosting is thick, add little milk and beat well.

Assembling the cake:

• Cut the cooled cake in two layers, using a serrated knife. Spread half of the coconut- pecan frosting on one cake layer, top it with the other cake layer and cover the cake with the chocolate frosting and spread the remaining coconut- pecan frosting on top and enjoy.

Very Berry Smoothie

Smoothies are a great choice for breakfast, midday snack or after a workout. This very berry smoothie is delicious, healthy, and nutritious smoothie which is filled with all your favorite berries. It takes hardly about 5 min to prepare this smoothie.

I make different varieties of smoothies and I like to have it after a nice workout. Sometimes if I am lazy to make breakfast, this will be my savior. My 4 yr old is crazy about the smoothie. Any smoothie you give him,  he will drink it without any fuss.
A  refreshing, delicious smoothie is a tasty way to drink your fruits. This is a basic smoothie recipe and a very healthy and nutritious one. You can add spinach, Greek yogurt, bananas or anything of your choice. Whatever you add, this smoothie will turn out amazingly delicious and healthy. I would always experiment with the ingredients. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, whatever it is, the outcome would be a healthy smoothie.

Ingredients:

1. Strawberries, Blueberries, raspberries- 1 Cup
2. Red Currants- a handful
3. Almond / Soy Milk- 1 Cup
4. Flax Seeds- 1 tbsp
5. Chia Seeds- 1/2 tbsp
6. Dates- 4-5 nos
7. Hemp seeds- 1 tsp

Method:

• Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth desired consistency. Enjoy.

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