Homemade Spinach Flatbread Paneer Fajitas

Feb21

It may sound like a strange fusion but it was sooo good and I ate so much it hurts to breathe. Evie ate as much as I did!

I took two different recipes and put them together for this meal and it worked. I used a bottled cilantro chutney to drizzle, which would have been even better if I had the time to make my own version.

For the paneer there really wasn’t a measured recipe so I just make a guess at amounts.

For the spinach flatbreads I pretty much used Jhuls recipe, but I used about 5-6 tbsp of water to get the dough to come together.

For the paneer I followed SJ’s instructions, used a mixure of about 1tsp of each, chilli powder, coriander, salt, cumin and a garam masala that I had in the cupboard. Basically combined spices them tossed the slices of paneer with the spices and a drizzle of canola oil then grilled.

Make onion and pepper mixture with some tomato to top.

Place all on flatbread and drizzle with cilantro chutney and tamarind sauce.

Cilantro Mint Chutney

Aug2

I have a favourite Indian restaurant close by that I usually crave just for their mint chutney, it is sooo incredibly good. We order it with paneer pakoras which Evie also loves so we will have to start doubling and tripling the orders because we are like crazy seagulls fighting over them! Of course since she is the child we let her get her fill. Since we have that mint field in the back garden we decided to search online and try our own which was reminiscent of my favourite but not really like it in consistency (probably because I used the NutriBullet) I am sure they hand chop everything. This sauce was so good Evie even gobbled it up with her pakoras. I did not make the pakoras, we ordered those from the Indian restaurant and picked them up just before we were ready to eat. We will definitely be making this again! I just saw that Natascha posted zucchini fritters and Elaine posted cauliflower cakes so I think I will be trying out those recipes to accompany the sauce.

This was very quick and easy to make. I googled and checked pinterest and basically looked at a few recipes and combined different parts and came up with this.

Into the large jar of the Nutribullet blender I added 1 cup fresh mint leaves along with 1/2- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (along wit h some team pieces), a thumb sized pieces of ginger chopped and 1 green chile, chopped and about 1TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1tsp cumin powder and a good pinch of salt. I blended a little and it was dry so I added enough water just a TBSP or two and blitzed again. This loosened the sauce a blended it nicely.

Do not take a huge sniff when you take the lid off, it will knock your socks off, pretty potent stuff. I did and it was like smelling salts.

I placed it in a jar in the fridge until ready to use. Give a stir before pouring out in bowl as some separation may occur.

This sauce was so fresh and spicy, delicious!

Fresh Homemade Salsa

Jun22

This is a nice fresh salsa, that can be mild to hot depending on how much jalapeño you put in. My version is mild to be more child friendly, but you can make to to suit your own taste. This is also really economical, you get a lot from a few very affordable ingredients. It is perfect for summer gatherings when you need a lot. It is also very quick to put together, it may look like a lot of steps but it isn’t, I was showing everything for this post.

1 – 28oz can of diced tomatoes

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup chopped red onion

2-3 Tbsp finely chopped jalapeno (or more if you want spicy)

1 tsp garlic powder (or garlic salt)

2 tsp fresh minced garlic

1 small can tomato paste

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

I blitz the canned tomatoes in the food processor to break them up a little more.

You can omit the food processor steps if you want it chunkier (I tailored my version of the recipe to suit Evie not wanting onion or jalapeño chunks)

Chop jalapeño and red onion

I blitz the jalapeño and onion together too

Give this a whirl to get it all finely chopped. I do this so the onion and jalapeño gets really incorporated into the tomatoes. Evie will not want to get a chunk of onion or jalapeño in her mouth, this takes care of that.

Add to the tomatoes along with minced garlic.

Add the salt and garlic powder ( I use granulated garlic,I like the flavour in recipes more than powder)

Finely chop fresh tomatoes (a great way to use up ripening tomatoes from your garden)

Give all of this a stir and add in tomato paste and stir

Add in chopped cilantro (this is optional if you dislike cilantro, some people really hate it)

Stir again

Taste test to make sure the flavours are good (yup, it is good)

Just to show you how frugal this recipe is, I got a little over 6 cups of salsa from those few ingredients!

It keeps well for a few days refrigerated.

Easy Peasy “Butter Chicken”

Feb28

This picture is not exactly as it should look. This was one of those time when, at the end, I forgot to take pictures. This was Evie’s plate so there was less sauce and very little spinach. The adult plates had lots of sauce and spinach pieces, which looked more reminiscent of butter chicken.

This recipe is not quite authentic, but it is a good weeknight meal. And a bonus, one pot easy clean up! You can make it spicier by the addition of more chilies or less spicy if you have children who do not like too much spice. I forgot to buy fresh chilies and was desperate so I used a few pinches of dried chilli flakes until I got the heat that I wanted. I would not really recommend this, but if you are stuck it will do. It turned out great. This recipe is also a good way to sneak spinach into a meal.

Ingredients:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces.

1/4 cup butter

1tbsp ground cumin

2-3 hot chilli peppers, finely chopped (should equal 2-3 tbsp)

1tbsp grated fresh ginger

3/4 cup chopped coriander/cilantro

1 cup whipping cream

14oz can tomato sauce 1/2 tsp salt

5 cups baby spinach (regular is good too, just chop into smaller pieces).

Cook chicken in 2 batches,

cook half of the chicken in 2 tbsp of the butter, sprinkle with half of the cumin and cook until no longer pink, then repeat with remaining pieces and 2 more tbsp of butter and rest of the cumin. If your pan is large enough so the chicken isn’t crowded you can combine this into one step.