Palak Paneer

Recently we held a cooking class for some very special people, and made palak paneer as one of the dishes. Palak paneer is a very popular dish at restaurants and as a preference for many people here in the U.S. The creamy texture and spinach with hints of the various spices of India attract people to like this dish so much! What people don't know is how simple palak paneer is to make. In no time, you can prepare your very own palak paneer dish - our recipe is quick and simple that anyone can make it! If you would like to learn how we make it in our house, click the image below to watch the video! Comment below and like comment and subscribe on your youtube channel to let us know what you think! Enjoy! 

VIDEO:Chicken Biryani

Hello Everyone! 

     Yes, I know it has been a looong time but I have a great recipe for you today! Its a dish that can be made for practically any occasion - a birthday, a holiday, or just a regular day! Made with rice, chicken and spices, this is my favorite go-to recipe. My family loves it, and so do I! No matter what my family is doing, it always manages to bring us together to have a great dinner. This magical dish is Chicken Biryani. To learn how to make it, click the image to watch!

CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH VIDEO

     Some say that biryani originated in South India, where pilaf was an army dish in medieval India. The armies, unable to make elaborate dishes, made instead one big dish with many ingredients thrown in - rice, spices vegetables,etc. Others say that it came from the Mughals. In general, biryani and pilaf are similar, however biryani has meat, while pilaf does not.  

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO!

Enjoy! 

Independence Cheesecake: The Perfect Dessert For America's Birthday!

    As my american followers will know, this Tuesday marks the 241st celebration of America's independence from the British. Every year families get together to grill, barbecue and picnic and celebrate their country's birthday with music, parades and (the best part) fireworks! 

    We made a delicious rich and creamy cheesecake and topped it off with red white and blue to help celebrate the birthday of my favorite country - Happy Birthday America! 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

½ cup butter (1 stick melted)

1 ½ cup graham crackers (crushed)

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 8oz. of cream cheese

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

PREP: 

1.     Preheat oven to 325° F.

2.     Crush graham crackers, add in butter and 1/8 tsp. salt. Mix well.

3.      In a round baking pan (spring-form pan), pat down the crust mixture on the bottom of the spring form pan. This should be raised to ½ in. – 1 in. on the sides. Set aside.

4.     In another bowl, add in the cream cheese, vanilla essence, and 1 cup f sugar. Mix well at medium speed until smooth. Throw in the eggs one by one. Be careful not to over mix.

5.     Pour this mixture into spring form pan with crust.

6.     Bake in oven for 45-60 minutes at 325° F until sides of the cheese cake are set and center is jiggly.

7.     Remove the cake and cool.

8.     In another bowl, mix heavy cream, 2 tbsp. of sugar and 1/8 tartar powder together. Mix at high speed until consistency is stiff.

9.     Take cream and cover the cake as in picture.

10. Add red, white, and blue sprinkles for a patriotic twist like we did!

11. Place in refrigerator overnight or for about 8 hours.

Enjoy! 

Chillied Chicken Wings

Total Time: 10-15 minutes

What You'll Need:

1 Skillet

1 large Onion (finely chopped)

4 pods of Garlic

3 sliced jalapeño peppers (Without the inside portion) 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs of rosemary (for decoration)

10 chicken wings (we used hot wings, but you can use whichever flavor you'd like)

1/4 tsp Salt (use at your discretion)

1 tsp (heaped) Paprika

Preparation: 

1. Use a skillet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil, fry onions

2. Once the onions are transparent, add in the sliced jalapeños

3. Fry for 1 minute

4. Add garlic

5. Fry for a minute

6. Add wings 

7. Add 1 tsp of paprika powder

8. Fry until sauce is thick (pictured above)

9. Add rosemary sprigs

10. Bon Appetit!

Best Served With:

White Bolillos

Can't find White Bolillos? Baguettes and Italian Bread work really well too. 

Enjoy! 

Chutney Series: Tomato Chutney

Here is another delicious addition to our chutney series. Enjoy! 

What You'll Need

4 large tomatoes

1 large onion

1 tsp. turmeric 

1 tsp. red chili powder (depending on spice level desired)

2 tbsp. olive oil 

1 tbsp. catalina dressing

1 tsp. salt to taste (as desired)

Preparation

1. heat pan, pour in olive oil.

2. put in onions and fry till golden brown. 

3. add in turmeric, salt and chili powder 

4. stir in tomatoes and let cook for 20 minutes.

5.remove pan from stovetop and add in catalina dressing. mix well. 

This is best when eaten with dosa (pictured above), chapati (roti), naan or tortillas. White bread is great too! 

Salted Beef (Hunter's Meat)

This has got to be one of my favs! I know, you must be thinking that it tastes worse than seawater. On the contrary, the salt preserves the meat. Some people use saltpeter (cooking curing salt) to preserve meat, as they do in corn beef, which also gives the meat its redness. This is just another unhealthy additive used in foods that overtime can cause side effects. We don't use preservatives in our cooking.

Once you take a bite, you will understand why this is one of our favorite things to eat! It makes great sandwiches and pairs well with potatoes and vegetables drizzled with some cranberry sauce...yum!  To watch the video, click the image below! 

Chutney Series: Eggplant Chutney or Dip

Eggplant Chutney paired with naan bread and yogurt.

 

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste

1 onion

½ cup tomato paste

1 tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. red chili powder (depending on spiciness)

1 tsp. paprika powder (optional)

Catalina sauce

Preparation:

1.   Cut the eggplant into small cubes and let soak in water.

2.   In a pan, take some olive oil and sauté the onions. Add some salt so that the onions can cook in its own juice.

3.   Add cumin, chili powder and ginger garlic paste and Fry.

4.   Add in eggplant. Then add ½ cup water and cook on low heat. Bring to boil.

5.   Add paprika powder and tomato paste and a splash of Catalina sauce. Cook until done.

6.   When done, while still warm, mash eggplant. Add salt (if necessary).

Madras Chicken Curry With A Western Flare

Click on the image to watch video!

 

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients: 

2 chicken breasts

1 cup of coconut milk

2 tablespoons coriander powder

½ - 1 tsp. turmeric powder

¼ - ½  tsp. cumin powder

1 cup chicken broth or (chicken bouillons)

1 large onion, cut finely

2-4 tbsp. tomato paste

2-3 tbsp. ginger garlic paste

A pinch of mace

4 tbsp. olive oil

Extra flavoring: 3 cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks and 3 cardamoms

Preparation:

1.     Take a heavy bottom pot, and add oil.

2.     Add in cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and mace. Fry until you get an aroma.

3.     Add onions. Fry until onions are glossy.  

4.     Add in al the powder ingredients and ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute.

5.     Add all the liquid stuff including the tomato paste. Bring to boil. Then add the chicken and cook for 10-15 minutes until done.

Enjoy! 

Challah Bread

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 

6 cups of white flour

1 cup of milk (115 °F)

1 tbsp. of dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp. of salt

1/2 cup of oil or butter

1/3 cup of sugar

3 eggs (beaten)

PREP:

1. Put the yeast into the warm milk. Add in a little sugar. Mix well then set aside for 10 minutes, or until the yeast rises. 

2. In a large bowl, mix flour, oil (or butter), salt and sugar together. 

3. Add in yeast and eggs. Mix well. 

4. Knead for 10 minutes, place in a bowl, cover and let rise for 30 minutes. 

5. Punch the dough and knead again for a couple of minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit for one hour, or until it doubles in size. 

6. Remove from bowl and divide dough into two parts. For the swirls, I took one part of the dough, made it into eight swirls and put it into a 9" round pan. For the long challah, I divided the other part into six balls and rolled into strands. Next, I braided the dough - watch the video below to see how.

9. Cover again with a damp cloth and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

10. Before placing in the oven, you can brush the top lightly with some egg yolk mixed with a tsp. of milk to give it that glossy finish. 

11. Place in oven at 325 °F for 30-35 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven. 

Click the links below to learn more!

Click on image for video!

Enjoy! 

Kohlrouladen (Stuffed Cabbage) and Sauce

    One of my favorite meals to have, you'll never feel unsatisfied after eating one of these juicy cabbage rolls! Paired with mashed potatoes and pilsner beer, it will keep your family in a good mood and will make your guests feel like never leaving. 

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 

FOR THE KOHLROULADEN:

1 lb. of ground beef

1 head of cabbage

1 green chili pepper (chopped) 

1 medium onion (chopped) 

salt and black pepper to taste

1/8 tsp. of Gersamé Spice™(combination of mace, cloves, garlic powder, and ginger powder)

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 tbsp. of oil

1/2 of a medium onion (chopped)

3 bay leaves

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1 tsp. of corn starch

1 can of beef broth (or vegetable broth)

PREP: 

KOHLROULADEN:

1. In a bowl, mix the ground beef. 

2. Add in the green chili, chopped onions, Gersamé Spice™, salt and pepper to the ground beef.

3. Depending on how large the cabbage leaves are, make 4-6 balls of ground beef. These should be medium size relative to the cabbage leaves.

4. In a large pot, boil water with a table spoon of salt. 

5. Once boiling. lower the heat and place cabbage inside. Turn the cabbage continuously. At the same time, remove each layer, one by one. You should have 3-4 leaves for each meatball. 

6. To make the roll, take one cabbage layer and place a meatball inside. Begin to wrap it as you would a spring roll or burrito. Add another layer and wrap again. Repeat this process another 1-2 times. 

7. Use toothpicks wherever needed to hold the shape together. If you don't have toothpicks, an alternative is butter.

8. Take a pan and fry them until brown. Keep aside. 

 

THE SAUCE:

1. In another pan, put in 2 tbsp. of oil. 

2. Fry the onion, garlic and bay leaves. 

3. Put in the corn starch and fry until onions are golden brown. 

4. Add the beef broth (or vegetable).

5. Then, place the cabbage rolls in and let cook for 20-30 minutes on low heat. 

Enjoy! 

Beef Turmeric (Manja) Fry

What you'll need: 

1 lb. of beef

2 large onions (finely cut)

3 large potatoes

1 tomato

2 jalapeño peppers (cut in strips)

1 dry red chili

1 tbs. turmeric

1 pinch of mace

3 cloves 

1 tbsp. of ginger garlic paste (heaped)

Preparation:

1. Cook beef in pressure cooker for 20 min along with the mace and cloves.

2. Add 1/4 cup water. dont use too much water, as the beef will release water too. When done, let cool.

4. In another pan, fry onions in oil together with chilies and peppers until brown. 

5. Put in the ginger garlic paste.

6. Fry for a minute.

7. Add in tomatoes and potatoes (cut in cubes)

8. Take the liquid from pressure cooker and add to this pan - this will allow the potatoes to cook.

9. Cook until potatoes are done.

Enjoy!

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German Frikadellen (Meatballs)

 This is definitely one of my favorite things to make! This German tradition makes for a perfect dinner on a summer's night. We paired the meatballs with sauerkraut, potato salad and cold beers, topping it off with some Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake) for dessert! Yum! 

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! 

What you'll need:

2 lbs. of ground beef or pork (I used beef)

1 medium-large onion (chopped finely)

1 green pepper (choppd finely)

1/8 tsp. of ginger powder

1/8 tsp. of basil

1/8 tsp. of black pepper powder

1/8 tsp. of oregano

1/8 tsp. of clove powder

salt to taste

3 tbsp. of bread crumbs (store bought)

oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients and knead for 5 minutes.

2. Make into round balls 2-2./5 inches in diameter.keep aside

3. No heat oil in a pan and fry the meatballs 3 minutes on each side.

4. Place on paper towel until finished. 

Frikadellen go well with warm german potato salad, sauerkraut and a glass of pinot noir or pilsner beer. 

Guten Appetit!

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German Potato Salad

Dinner Rolls

What you'll need: 

3/4 cup of warm milk ( 110° F)

1 packet of dry yeast

2 tbsp. of sugar, and 1 extra tsp. of sugar for the yeast

1 tbsp. of butter 

1/8 tsp. of salt

2 eggs (1 for the wash at the end)

1/2 cup of flour for kneading

1 tsp. of black cumin (optional)

Preparation:

1. Put yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar in the warm milk and set aside until bubbly.

2. Mix butter, flour with all the dry ingredients. 

3. The dough will be sticky at first. Take out of bowl and knead for 5-10 minutes. 

4. Place mixture back in bowl and let rise for 30 minutes.

5. Take the dough out and punch it to remove the air.

6. Knead for a few minutes and place in a warm pace until dough rises and doubles in size. 

7. Next, take the dough and punch again to remove the air. divide into 10-12 balls.

8. Role out the dough and make knots. 

9. Beat 1 egg and use to brush each dough knot:

10. Bake at 375 °F for 12 minutes or until brown. 

Enjoy! (especially with butter!)

Rice Wine

What you'll need:

1 cup of uncooked, long grain basmati rice 

1/3 cup of raisins

4 cups of granulated cane sugar

1 tsp of active dry yeast (better with wine yeast - there is a slight difference in flavor) 

6-8 cups of pure drinking water

juice of one lime (strained)

How To Make: 

1. Take a clean glass jar and put in all ingredients - except the yeast. Mix Well. The temperature should be around 70-75 °F, or 20-25 °C. 

2. Put the yeast mixture (yeast must be dissolved in a quarter cup of warm water) into the solution. Mix well.

3. Cover jar with a cheesecloth or an airlock lid. Place in a warm corner.

4. Mix the solution everyday for 5-10 minutes for ten days. Then rake, or drain, into a pitcher or another jar. Through away the lees (remnants).

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5. After raking the wine into the pitcher, let it sit in a warm place until it clears. This takes about 10-21 days.

When the process has completed, the rice wine will clear out and have a fantastic taste! 

Prost!

**UPDATE 2016! 

We have now expanded our wine making journey to include delicious ginger and grape wines as well as our Cana Wine® which has a nice sweet and smooth texture! Stay tuned for more updates! 

It's All About That Fruit Base!

What you'll need:

For the base:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 sticks of butter, melted

1 tsp. baking powder

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients and make a dough.

Place in a 9x9 inch pan, distribute nice and evenly.

Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Thereafter bake at 350 °F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

In another bowl, mix blackberries and raspberries (or fruits of your choice) with 1/4 cup sugar and place in refrigerator until ready to eat. 

Take the base and cut into squares.When ready to serve, place fruit on each square and top it off with some powdered sugar (above picture) or with a dollop of whipped cream. 

Voila!

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We ate this sweet treat on a cool, crispy afternoon in the garden with friends and family. An easy recipe on a perfect day ! 

Banana Bread

Picture this. You wake up to a beautiful bright and sunny day only to remember that you have guests coming over and yet you have nothing to offer them! What's the first thing you do? Visit thegersametable.com of course! And then you select this banana bread recipe. Its perfect with some tea or coffee as a midday snack to enjoy with (and impress) company, or can even be a tasty side at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy! 

What you'll need:

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup milk or cream ( I used heavy cream)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. salt

3 overripe bananas

Preparation:

1. Beat in eggs, butter and sugar. Next, add in flour. Beat well.

2. Add in the milk (or cream), all the spices, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.

3. Mash up the bananas and add those in as well. 

4. Pour mixture into a well greased 5x9" pan.

5. Bake in the oven for  1 hour at 350 °F.

Enjoy! 

Crabs and Coconut Milk

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR VIDEO

   Summer is the best time to make delicious seafood recipes and I think everyone should seize this opportunity and make a dish or two that will create lasting memories and give life to new traditions, so here's my tasty crab recipe. Once you have the ingredients, this recipe is fairly simple: just add in the ingredients, mix a little, let it cook! Now you have yourself a dish that won a blue ribbon for grandma at a cooking contest!

                                            These are the best crabs ever...seriously. Enjoy! 

Click image for video!

Beef Mustard Fry

On a bright sunny Saturday morning in Madras, India,  I was awakened to the smells of mamaa's fry. Quickly I  ran to the kitchen passing the flying curtains, the smell still perpetuating into my nostrils, and finally seeing the sizzling pan full of beef fry. "Oh let me try it mamaa!" And then to my astonishment she told me to lick the ladle and said, "It's not done yet."

    This is the memory I have of this delicious dish so I decided to try it out for you - my fans.  Oh and by the way, this dish is great with some pinot noir wine.

Enjoy!

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Crème Brûlée

Vive la France for giving us this amazing dessert! Translated as "burned creme", there's nothing but creamy, sweet goodness that overloads your taste buds with pure goodness with. This is one of our favorite recipes and we just had to show you how we do it at our table with our ingriedients! Not only is it perfect for a fancy dinner with guests, it can also be a little treat for the family! Bon Appétit! 

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Homemade Bread

I was shocked to learn that something as simple as bread contained so many chemicals and preservatives. And while these preservatives extend the shelf life of the food, they shorten ours. Research has shown preservatives increase the risk of cancers as well as diabetes, allergic reactions, infections, heart disease and more. After lots of research I decided it was time to make a change and began making my own bread. 

    So here is my simple and easy bread-making recipe that is sure to send you running away from the bread isle and back into your kitchen. Enjoy!

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