Indulge in northern flavours

Get a taste of richness on a plate with the Northwest frontier cuisine.

Kashmiri Palak
Ingredients: Around 500 gm of spinach; 2 tbsps of oil; one tomato; 2 tbsps of coriander (chopped); 2 green chillies (chopped); 1 tsp of ginger (chopped); ½ tsp of cumin seeds; ½ tsp of red chilli powder; 1-2 pinches of asafoetida; 100 gm of dry fruits (chopped); 100 gm of mixed nuts (chopped) and salt to taste.
Method: Finely chop the spinach. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, asafoetida, green chillies and ginger. Add tomato and spinach leaves, salt and red chilli powder and cover the pan for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is cooked. Add coriander. Garnish with nuts and dry fruits.

Paneer Hasrte Husn
Ingredients: For roll and stuffing, 250 gm of paneer; 100 gm of crumbled paneer; few coriander leaves; salt to taste; 5 cashews; 10 pistachios; 10 almonds; 10 raisins; ¼ cup oil; 50 gm of mixed fruits (chopped); a tsp or two of saffron-infused water and 50 gm of condensed milk. For the gravy, one onion; 3 tomatoes; 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste; 1 cinnamon stick; 3 cloves; 1 tsp of cumin seeds; 5 cashews; ½ tsp of red chilli powder; ½ tsp of coriander powder; ½ tsp of garam masala, salt to taste and a tsp of kasoori methi.
Method: Grind the cashews, almonds and pistachios into a coarsely powdered mix. Soak and crumble the paneer. Add chopped coriander leaves, raisins and condensed milk to it. Now stuff and roll the mixture in a thin slice of paneer. Sprinkle saffron water on the rolls and bake them in the oven. To make the gravy, heat oil in a pan. Add the whole spices. Add finely chopped onions along with a pinch of salt and sauté until they are transparent. Then add chopped tomatoes along with the spice powders and salt, mix well. Once the tomatoes are cooked, turn off the heat and cool the mixture before grinding it into a paste. Heat a pan and add the masala paste. Let it cook for 5 minutes and finish with cream. Place the roll on a plate, pour the gravy on top and garnish with coriander.

Peshawari Murg
Ingredients: Around 4 tbsps of oil; 5 cardamom pods; 6 cloves; 4 large onions chopped; 1½ tbsp of ginger-garlic paste; 6 tbsps of ketchup; 5 tbsps of cashews-onion paste; 5 tsps of chilli powder; 2 tsps of turmeric powder; 1 tsp of cumin powder; 2-3 bay leaves; 1 tsp of coriander powder; ½ cup of yogurt; 2 tsps of besan; 2 tbsps of chopped coriander; 1 cinnamon stick; 6 black peppercorns and 3 pieces of half chicken.
Method: Heat oil in a pan. Add the whole spices and fry till fragrant. Make slits across the chicken thighs and add them to the pot. Cook on high heat till the chicken starts to brown a little. Add ginger-garlic paste and chopped onion. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Add the ketchup, spice powders and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Whisk yogurt, besan, chilli powder, onion-cashew paste in a bowl and add to the meat. Add ½ cup of water. Cover and cook for half an hour and finish with cream.

(Courtesy: Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield)