California Walnut, Corn & Potato Chowder

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 3/4 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 medium sized potato, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup California Walnut Cream
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Chopped chives for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Heat oil in a large sauce pot. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add celery and cook for 2 more minutes.
  2. Add vegetable broth, corn, vinegar, celery salt, smoked paprika, potato and bell pepper. Cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
  3. Stir in walnut cream and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives and reserved corn and red pepper.
  4. For Walnut Cream – Puree 2 cup walnuts and 1 cup water in a blender or food processor until very smooth and light and fluffy, cover and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

by admin

Vegetable & Walnut Paella

Ingredients:

  • 2 large pinches of saffron
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 250g paella rice
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 400g canned tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 100g California walnuts
  • 150g fine green beans, trimmed and cut into 3
  • 400g canned butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • 800ml vegetable stock
  • ½ x 25g pack flat leaf parsley

Preparation:

  1. Soak the saffron in 1 tablespoon boiling water and set aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan with a lid and fry the onion for 5 minutes, add the garlic and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the rice and paprika.
  3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, pepper, walnuts, saffron liquid, green beans and butter beans and add half the stock, cover and simmer gently for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, gradually adding the remaining stock until the rice is just tender, season and stir in the parsley.

by admin

California Walnut Paneer Koftas

Ingredients:

For kofta:

  • 200g paneer, grated
  • 2 medium sized potatoes, boiled and mashed
  • 1/4 cup gram flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 tablespoons corn flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons walnuts, ground to make walnut meal

For stuffing:

  • 1 tablespoon raisins, chopped
  • 5-6 walnuts, chopped

For gravy:

  • 2 tablespoons oil, divided
  • 1 cup onions, cubed
  • 3 medium tomatoes, cubed
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 2-3 green cardamoms
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2-inch cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon dhania/coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Preparation:

For Kofta:

  1. Mix all ingredients listed under “for kofta” together.
  2. Rub some oil on palms and shape medium sized balls from the mixture.
  3. Flatten one ball and stuff with the chopped walnuts and raisins. Shape into a ball. Repeat for all the koftas.
  4. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  5. When ready to fry koftas, heat oil in a kadhai. When oil is hot, test one prepared kofta by putting in oil. In case kofta is disintegrating, add more corn starch to mixture. Deep fry koftas on medium flame until golden brown and crisp. Remove from oil and place on paper towel.

For Gravy:

  1. Heat oil in a kadhai. Add cardamom, cinnamon stick, and clove and temper for a few seconds. Add onions and sauté till translucent. Add the tomatoes and walnuts. Cook for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.
  2. Pour 1/2 cup water and boil till tomatoes are soft. Let cool. Blend the mixture with the spices to a smooth puree.
  3. Heat oil in a pan. Add 1 bay leaf, 1 inch cinnamon stick and 2-3 whole green cardamom. Sauté for 1 minutes.
  4. Add 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste. Cook till the raw smell goes away. Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder.
  5. Add the onion tomato mixture and cook till oil separates. Add in the garam masala, sugar and salt. Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup water. Cook till gravy thickens a bit, and oil separates.
  6. Add more water if required and if gravy is too thick. Add kasuri methi.
  7. Both koftas and gravy can be prepared ahead. When ready to serve heat gravy. Koftas can be warmed in the oven. Avoid putting freshly fried or too hot koftas in the gravy as they will disintegrate. Garnish walnut kofta curry with walnut shavings, cream and fresh coriander leaves.

by admin

Walnut Paneer Makhani

Ingredients

For the paste:

  • 1 teaspoon jeera
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 10 – 12 California walnuts
  • 1 – 2 Kashmiri red chillies
  • 5 – 6 garlic cloves
  • 1/2-inch ginger
  • 1 onion
  • 4 to 5 tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup water

For Paneer Makhani:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon jeera
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (julienned)
  • 2 green chillies (slit)
  • 250g paneer
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red Chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon toasted kasuri methi leaves
  • 1 teaspoon tomato ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup fresh cream
  • Prepared Tomato paste
  • Butter and coriander leaves to garnish
  • Coal to give the smoky flavor (optional)

Prepping the paste:

  1. Add all the ingredients for the paste into a pan and cook it over medium heat. Stir it in intervals to prevent it from sticking. Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes till all the tomato and onion are cooked well.
  2. Let it cool completely and then grind it to a smooth paste. Keep it aside to use later.

Preparation:

  1. Heat butter and oil together in a heavy bottom pan. Add jeera to this and let it splatter.
  2. Add the tomato paste to this along with a cup of water. Add green chillies, salt and julienned ginger to this. Let it come to a boil.
  3. Add Kasturi methi, red chilli powder and tomato ketchup and boil further.
  4. Once the gravy reaches a creamy consistency, add honey, and cream and give it a good mix. Add fresh paneer to this and let it boil just for a minute.
  5. Garnish it with butter and coriander powder.
  6. Place the coal on the flame directly and let it turn red hot. Place this coal in a plate and place it on the curry.
  7. Add a spoon of ghee on top and cover the pan immediately. Let the smoke flavor the curry for 5 mins. Remove the lid and give the curry a good mix.

Tip: *Do not boil for a long time after adding the paneer. It makes it rubbery and chewy. Make the gravy in advance and add paneer just before serving.

by admin

Walnut Methi Malai Matar

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fresh Fenugreek leaves
  • 1/2 cup green peas
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, garlic and green chilli paste
  • 1 cup boiled onion paste
  • 1 tablespoon roasted besan
  • 1 cup boiled California walnut paste
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup fresh cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • Salt to taste

Preparation:

  1. Boil water in a vessel. Add fenugreek leaves to it and give it a stir. Drain the water and add the leaves into ice cold water to retain the colour. Set it aside.
  2. Boil peas in water for a minute, drain the water and set aside.
  3. Heat oil and butter in a heavy bottom pan.
  4. Add jeera and let it crackle. Add bay leaf, ginger garlic chili paste and sauté till they turn brown.
  5. Add boiled onion paste, gram flour and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, till the oil separates.
  6. Add boiled walnut paste and cook on medium flame till the oil separates.
  7. Add water and mix it well using a whisk.
  8. Add garam masala, salt to taste, boiled green peas and fenugreek leaves and bring it to a boil.
  9. Finish it by adding sugar and cream and give it a good mix. Do not boil.

For tempering: Heat butter in a small tempering pan. Add jeera and let it crackle. Add a teaspoon of kasuri methi and a pinch of red chili powder. Give it a quick swirl and pour it over methi malai matar.

by admin

Walnut Keema Stuffed Pav

Ingredients

  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
  • 400g minced mutton or chicken keema
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 green chilies, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1/2 cup California walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • Salt to taste

For the pav buns:

  • 8 pav buns
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-2 teaspoons milk
  • A pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation:

  1. In a pan, heat ghee. Cook the meat with coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, and 2-3 teaspoons of water until water evaporates and keema is cooked. Set aside.
  2. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil, and sauté the onions till translucent. Add the green chilies, garlic, and ginger paste and fry till fragrant.
  3. Add the minced meat, garam masala, coriander, and walnuts. Adjust seasoning. Stir till the masala is dry. Remove from flame.
  4. Using a knife, make a round or square cut on the bottom side of the pavs. Keep the cut piece.
  5. Remove some crumbs from the inner section without breaking the bun. Repeat with the remaining buns.
  6. Stuff each bun with 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons of keema masala (depending on the size of the pav, adjust the filling).
  7. Place an egg half on top of the filling. Top with 1-2 tablespoons of the keema masala. Cover with the reserved cut-out. Press gently.
  8. Repeat for the other buns. Make sure the buns are properly filled but take care that you do not break the buns while filling.
    (Note: In case a part of the bun breaks, use the crumbs that were removed to patch up the open part. Once you coat it with egg and cook, the crumb will also cook and the breaks will be fixed.)
  9. Beat the eggs with 2 teaspoons of milk and a tiny pinch of salt and pepper.
  10. Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee/butter over medium heat. Dip the bun in the beaten egg covering all sides with the egg batter. Place the bun’s bottom side first in the pan. This will help seal the bottom part. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes per side. Serve warm.

by admin

Walnut Paneer Pasanda

Ingredients

For the Stuffing:

  • 250g paneer (cottage cheese)
  • 3 tablespoon paneer, grated
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves
  • 1 green chili
  • 2 teaspoons mint leaves
  • 1 tablespoon raisins
  • 1 tablespoon California walnuts, chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon mixed pickle

Slurry:

  • 1/2 cup corn flour (corn starch)
  • 4 tablespoons water

For gravy:

  • 2 tablespoons ghee/oil
  • 1/2 inch ginger
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 3 green chilies
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 cardamoms
  • 3 cloves
  • 1-inch cinnamon
  • 2 small tomatoes, pureed
  • 2 onions, sliced (for fried onion paste)
  • 1/2 cup California walnuts
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon kasuri methi
  • Cream to decorate

Preparation

For onion paste:

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add 1 cup of sliced onions. Add a pinch of salt. Stir and sauté the onions on a low flame. Cook till they turn light golden. Let onions cool. Grind onions to a paste with 3-4 tablespoons of water.

For paneer sandwiches:

  1. In a bowl, add grated paneer, coriander leaves, green chili, mint leaves, raisins, chopped walnuts, salt, and mixed pickle. Mix well. Keep aside.
  2. Slice the paneer into triangles. Now slice each triangle into two halves gently. Repeat to make more paneer triangles.
  3. Place filling on one of the paneer triangles, and cover with the other slice. Press gently to seal, be careful to not press too hard. Similarly, make all paneer sandwiches. Keep aside.
  4. In a bowl make the corn flour slurry with water.
  5. In a wide pan, heat oil. Dip paneer sandwich in batter and fry for 2 min, till light brown on each side. Remove and keep aside.

For gravy:

  1. In a saucepan add tomatoes, walnuts, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and garlic with 1/2 cup water and cook on low to med flame. Simmer till tomatoes soften. Switch the flame off and grind.
  2. In the pan, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add the cumin seeds and let splutter. Add the green chili and mix. Add in tomato paste and cook on low for 5-6 minutes till oil separates. Add in the fried onion paste. Stir well, sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and red chili powder.
  3. Add 1 cup water and salt and cook on low flame for another 10 minutes or till the oil has separated. Sprinkle over garam masala. Add little sugar and the kasuri methi.
  4. Add paneer and cover with the gravy carefully. Garnish with cream and fresh coriander leaves.

by admin

Walnut Bharwan Mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 200g mushrooms, stalks removed

Filling

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 green chilies
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 3 tablespoons walnut powder
  • 2 tablespoons milk powder
  • 1/2 inch ginger
  • 1 tablespoon California walnut pieces crushed
  • 3 tablespoons pomegranate
  • 4 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Preparation:

  1. Remove the stalk of the mushrooms and finely chop it. Keep the mushroom caps aside.
  2. Heat oil in a kadhai on medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add the walnut powder and milk powder. Mix well.
  3. Add in grated ginger, crushed walnuts, mushroom stalks, pomegranate, green chilies, coriander leaves, and the ground spices. Season with salt and mix well. Remove from heat and stuff each mushroom cap with the mixture.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  5. Place filled mushroom caps on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or till mushrooms seems roasted.
  6. Serve warm.

by admin

Mutton Rogan Josh

Ingredients

  • 1 cup California walnuts
  • ½ cup mustard oil
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1-2 green cardamom
  • 500g mutton
  • 1 cup curd
  • 1 tablespoon dried ginger powder
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 pinch asafoetida
  • 1.5 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Salt to taste
  • 3-4 ratanjot
  • 2 tablespoon ghee

Preparation:

  1. In a blender, add curd, walnuts, dried ginger powder, fennel powder, asafoetida, and Kashmiri red chili powder and blend it into a fine paste.
  2. Heat a pan, add mustard oil, cloves, green cardamom, and mutton and fry it well in high heat for about 12 minutes.
  3. Add the walnut paste to the mutton and cook for 8-10 mins.
  4. Add 1 cup of water and mix well and cover it with the lid and cook till the flesh starts leaving the bone, for approx. 35 mins
  5. In a pan, add ghee, and ratanjot once it leaves the colour, strain the mixture and transfer it into the pan with mutton and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes.

by admin

Sweet Walnut Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 cups California walnuts
  • 1/4 cup rice flour
  • 125g brown cane sugar

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  2. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the walnuts and boil uncovered for 1 minute. Drain well and spread walnuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in the oven until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
  3. Place cooled walnuts and 1/2 cup of cold water in a food processor or blender and process until almost a smooth paste; add another 1/2 cup of water and process until smooth.
  4. In a saucepan, whisk rice flour and 1 cup of water. Add walnut purée and 2-1/2 cups of cold water. Heat over medium-high heat while whisking frequently until it comes to a boil (about 10 minutes). Add the brown cane sugar and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Serve piping hot.

Tips: The consistency should be of a light cream soup; if it is too thick; whisk in 1/2 cup more water. Cinnamon may be added for a sweet, earthy aroma. Top with walnut halves.

by admin