Paneer Curry

This is a south indian paneer curry dish that I really like.  Smelling my leftovers at lunch, some people at work asked for the recipe, so here it is...

When I make it, I like to add some vegetables to it as well, maybe some okra, peas, and/or green peppers.  Serve it over rice.  It takes a while to make, but you get a good amount of it.  You can use a variety of chiles for this recipe, depending on how spicy you want it.  I have used serranos for a really hot version.  I usually use a mix of chiles, some new mexican (mild and hot), and maybe a guajillo, or pasilla, or similar chiles, depending on what I have in the house.  Even chile de arbol will do.  I wouldn't use chipoltles on this one though.
This dish is really good when it has a kick, so its worth having a few hot chiles in it.

1/2 lemon size ball of tamarind
2x798 ml cans crushed tomatoes
2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
10-12 cloves crushed garlic  (I like to use the little jars of crushed garlic for this)
6-8 dried chiles, stemmed and broken in half
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
20 curry leaves
3 1-2 inch cinnamon sticks
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 can coconut milk
2 packages paneer, diced into cubes

boil some water in a kettle and put the tamarind in a bowl, adding 1 cup of water from the kettle and soak for 30 minutes or longer.  squeeze out the pulp and put the mixture through a strainer and set aside.

meanwhile, put 1/2 cup water, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and chiles into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes.  set aside to cool.

Once the tomato mixture is cool enough to handle, put it through a strainer and set aside in a bowl.  transfer the solids into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  push the blended mixture through the strainer into the same bowl.

add sesame oil to a large saucepan over medium heat.  when the oil is warm add the mustard seeds  and cumin seeds - saute until the mustard seeds begin to sputter.  add the curry leaves, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander and ground cumin and saute for 1 minute.  add the tomato mixture and salt and bring to a boil.
stir in the tamarind pulp and the salt.

if you are going to add any vegetables to this dish, add them now and simmer them in the sauce until they are cooked to your liking.  If I am using green peppers with this I usually dont throw them in for very long since I like them to still have a bit of crunch.  Sometimes I will add the coconut milk (next step) before the vegetables.

add the coconut milk

optionally, add a couple tablespoons of ground roasted chickpeas for thickening.  I usually don't bother with this - sometimes I add a little bit of
guar gum instead, but usually its good the way it is.

add the paneer and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

serve with rice!

Lemon-Mustard Pork Chops

Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs pork chops
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tblsp dijon mustard
2 tblsp lemon juice

This simple recipe doesn't sound like much but it is very tasty and quick to make.  The mustard and lemon combine to give a nice sunny flavour.

Heat a very large skillet over medium high heat.  While doing this, sprinkle salt and pepper on the pork chops to taste.  When the skillet is hot, add olive oil and then the pork chops.  Sear the chops on both sides to a golden brown.

Add the thyme and chicken broth to the skillet, cover and turn the heat to medium-low, simmering for 10 minutes.

Remove the pork chops to a serving plate.  Turn the heat back up to medium high and add the mustard and lemon juice.  Ensure you scrape up any of the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Stir until the sauce is the consistency of cream.  Pour over the pork chops and serve.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This cake recipe came out of a diet cookbook I have.  It is entirely flour free, and still has the texture of a real cake.  I was quite impressed.

3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
3 tblsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 cup splenda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tblsp powdered egg white
2 tsp guar gum
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 tblsp white vinegar
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine all the dry ingredients and sift into an 8 inch square pan that you have sprayed with some cooking spray.  (I dont have a sifter, so instead i just mixed
the ingredients in a bowl and stirred enthusiastically with a whisk to break up the lumps and combine).  Make 2 holes in the mix and put the vinegar in one and the oil in the other.  Pour the water over top of the whole thing and stir until there are no dry bits left.  Immediately put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

The cake is ok by itself, but also good with a little ice cream, or some melted chocolate on top.