How to preserve Dhaniya and Pudina in the freezer

Many a times I have fresh dhaniya and pudina in my fridge but I don’t have the time to clean -wash- chop and use it. Or sometimes, when these herbs do not get used in time, they just rot or dry making it un-usable and I hate throwing veggies.

Therefore I started this procedure 😀

Now I can add these in my cooking in seconds (I do not generally use dhaniya or pudina for garnishing, but instead use it during my cooking, in dals, sabjis, or gravies) or I make instant dhaniya pudina chutneys now.

Let’s get started:

You will need-
Fresh dhaniya/ coriander leaves
Or
Fresh Pudina/mint leaves
Ice trays
Ziplock bags

Procedure:

Clean the dhaniya or pudina leaves properly.

Submerge in water in a deep pan ( generally there’s a lot of dirt in these leaves)

Wash at least 3 times until the water comes out clear.

Put in a colander or “chhalnee” Or a cotton cloth to remove most of the water.

Chop finely. I use my food processor.

Now fill the ice trays with these chopped up leaves, stuff it properly. Add some water over the leaves and freeze.

After a few hours, take out the ice trays, keep out for 5-7 minutes and try to take the cubes out ( it becomes very easy to remove the cubes after 5-7 minutes)

Place in a labelled ziplock bag and put back in freezer. Use as and when required.

These come very very handy and for making quick chutneys, just toss 4-5 cubes of dhaniya, 2-3 cubes of Pudina, green chilies, garlic cloves, jeera, and salt, and pulse (give the icy cubes 3-4 minutes to soften so that the blades of your jar doesn’t go bad). You got your green chutney in minutes……some people add ice cubes while grinding to retain the green color, here you already have these ice cold.

Check out a lip smacking Dahi Pudina chutney recipe here.

Warnings: Chopping and freezing of Pudina/mint releases a lot of color and the ice trays may get discolored so better to use extra not-in-use ice trays, of course, these can be washed but it will take a lot of time and effort to clean the trays.

Share with me How you preserve these amazing herbs. Tag me on Instagram as #shaheenreviews @shine2308 if you like and use this method👍

Storing herbs

storing herbs in freezer

Storing herbs in Ziploc bags

How to store excess herbs

Garlic Bread and Garlic Knots from scratch |How to make Domino’s style garlic bread at Home

We love Domino’s garlic bread more than the pizza they offer and I tried replicating it at home.

This is an easy recipe, the only special thing this garlic bread needs is TIME !!! 90 minutes, to proof that is and then yum yum yum, comes out heavenly.

Garlic breadsticks is an all time favorite at our place and here’s how anyone can make it at home with ease and that too from scratch.

This recipe yields 2 portions of garlic breadsticks or around 14 garlic knots.

Garlic knots served after basting with garlic butter and sprinkled with cheese

Attention:  Calorie conscious people, make it at your own risk 😉

The more butter you add in the end while serving, the more delicious it’s going to be.

Control the amount of yeast though because sometimes it smells a lot yeasty and that’s not what we want. These Garlic breadsticks go beautifully with soups as well, or pair it with a super creamy pink pasta, else have it on it’s own and you will love life…mmm…I love it to the core.

For an easy and delicious lunch, you can make these garlic breadsticks/ garlic knots, some chicken pasta and these delicious Peanut Butter Blossom cookies ( Recipe by the very talented Kathryn of braisedinakitchen) for satisfying that sweet craving 😋

Peanut Butter Blossom cookies by Kathryn

So let’s start,

Cajun Arbi- A twist to barbeque nation’s cajun potatoes

My favorite nutritionist suggests eating Arbi / arvi at least once a week, so If you are bored of the usual sabji, you can try this version !! ahem ahem wink wink nudge nudge😉😉😉 ( I know there’s a lot of mayonnaise involved but we will replace the deep frying with roasting and that too with ghee, I promise 😜😜)

So, like the original recipe, let’s not deep fry, we will par boil the arvi, smash it flat and then we will roast these in some ghee on a thick bottomed pan.

Now make a quick sauce by adding mayonnaise, ketchup and cajun seasoning.

Cajun seasoning can be made at home, just mix paprika, salt, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, chili flakes and black pepper powder (onion powder is also added but I didn’t add)

I got this amazing recipe of the sauce and cajun seasoning from Bhavana’s blog by the name Indian veggie delight

Ingredients:

Arvi/ colocassia/ taro root: 250gms

Ghee for roasting: 1tbsp

Mayonnaise: 4 tbsp

Milk: 1tbsp (optional: to thin out the sauce slightly)

Ketchup: 2tsp

Cajun seasoning: 1tbsp ( 1tsp garlic powder, 1tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp black pepper powder, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, onion powder– I didn’t add and salt to taste)

Corn flour: 1tbsp (for coating arbi before roasting)

Salt: to sprinkle over the boiled arbi

Spring onion/ onion: 1 tbsp Finely chopped (optional: for garnishing)

I always boil arbi, potatoes or yams with a slice of lemon

Directions:

Par boil the arbi in a glass of water, make sure it is not fully boiled and soft.

Use the whole arbi if small, or cut into two pieces if long or big.

Peel and gently flatten with the bottom of a bowl. Be careful, it slips a lots because peeled arbi tends to be very slimy. If required, dip the boiled and peeled arvi in dry corn flour and then press and flatten it. Sprinkle some salt.

Coat the smashed arbi in corn flour and roast in 1 tbsp of ghee until golden brown from one side. Flip and roast the other side.

Take a bowl and add 4tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp milk, 2 tsp ketchup, 1tbsp cajun seasoning. Mix properly, taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Place the roasted arbi in a plate and put a dollop full of the mayo dressing over the arbi. Add some chopped onions and spring onion greens.

Savour while still hot, put the sauce over the arbi just before serving or it might become soggy.

Enjoy !!

If you try this recipe and like it, kindly tag me on instagram as @shine2308 and on Facebook as @shaheenreviews

Suggested serving: These would be awesome as party appetizers or starters.

Stuff I used to make this delicious Cajun Arbi

Arbi sabji, arvi, taro root, arbi recipe, arbi ki sabji, arbi fry,

Onion Masala Kulcha

I tried these delicious Onion Masala Kulchas from Nisha’s blog Masala MoJo and they came out amazing. Made the no-yeast version and still came out soft and perfect.

Very happy with the results, if you like kulchas with chhole or paneer curry, you must try this easy peasy no-fail recipe😍😍😍😍😍

Thank you so much Nisha for sharing this beautiful recipe❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Kulche are an amazing Indian bread. It’s soft, stretchy, and incredibly tasty. I love how India has a big diversity of flatbreads with the universal rotis or chappatis, the Khoba roti from Rajasthan, Kulche, Naan, and Lachha parathas from Punjab, Rumali rotis from Lucknow, Parotta from Kerala, and so on. I made these Onion Kulche […]

Onion Kulcha

HOW TO MAKE METHI ALOO PARATHA RECIPE | STUFFED ALOO METHI PARATHA

Methi Aloo paratha

aloo methi paratha recipe | Punjabi aloo methi paratha| stuffed aloo methi paratha | aloo ka paratha

This stuffed methi aloo paratha is a very good breakfast dish. Pair it with mango launji, yogurt or any pickle and it is a very filling Indian breakfast.

This recipe is a Methi Aloo Paratha recipe in Punjabi style. I have added some paneer as well, but paneer is optional.

How to make Methi paratha soft? Add some potatoes and paneer. Yumm

KAARI MASALA FOR CHICKEN/ MUTTON

Ingredients:

Chana daliya / roasted chana dal : ¾ cup
Cashew nuts : ¾ cup
Almonds : ½ cup
Peanuts: ¾ cup
Sesame seeds : ¼ cup
Pumpkin seeds: ¼ cup (optional)
Coriander seeds: 1.5 tsp
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp
Fennel seeds : 1 tsp
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Cloves: 4-5
Star anise: 1-2

Tomato Puree |How to make Tomato puree

I bought 2 kgs of beautiful red tomatoes but could not use it all, what did i do then?? Made a delicious puree and stored in my fridge for quick cooking.

Make jaaman from scratch |Setting curd/Dahi without “jaaman”(starter culture) |What to do when you don’t have curd and want to set some.

Many times i want to set curd but don’t have the available jaaman or starter culture. If i use packaged curd for starter, the resulting curd is slimy. After I googled what might be the reason, i got to know that the sliminess may be due to the packaged curd, so now in the current lockdown situation when you do not have access to dairy shop curd, this method will help in the desired setting of delicious curd.

Lockdown Special – one pot pasta pulao

We are all under lockdown nowadays and What do you do when you should not go out and you are low on resources. Can’t make an elaborate meal right!! I had some tricolour fussilli lying around and some limited veggies, so i made a one pot fussilli pulao🤓🤓

Interested?? Here it goes:

Stuffed Aubergine| Bharwan baigan/brinjal

Bharwan baingan

This is a quick side dish, can be served with dal rice or parathas. The stuffing is mainly coriander and tomato based.

Baigan or aubergine is a total love-it or hate-it vegetable. Either you are a fan or you completely avoid it. I love it and hubby hates it so i make this dish just for myself.

Aubergines are an excellent source of dietary fibre. They are also a good source of vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. In addition it is high in the minerals copper, magnesium and manganese. Aubergines are rich in antioxidants, specifically nasunin found in aubergine skin – which gives it its purple colour.

Ingredients:

Baingan/Aubergine: 4-5 small ones

Coriander leaves/hara dhania: 1 cup chopped

Tomato: 1 big red or 2-3 small ones, chopped finely

Spices: 1tsp red chili powder, 2tsp dhaniya powder, 1/4th tsp turmeric powder

Garlic cloves: 7-8 chopped finely

Oil: 1tsp to add in the stuffing, 2tbsp to cook the stuffed baingan.

Directions:

Add chopped tomatoes, Garlic and coriander leaves together with salt, red chili powder, dhania powder and a tsp oil and make a stuffing.

Clean the aubergine and remove the thorns and end part of stem if present.

Make 2 cross slits. Stuff the aubergines.

Take a wok, heat some oil, put cumin seeds and let crackle, put some hing.

Add the aubergines, first place vertically, and cover with a lid on sim ie minimum flame. Let it cook for 5 minutes, add a tbsp of water so that masala does not burn. Put the remaining stuffing masala on the aubergines. Mix the masala and aubergines and let it cook horizontally now. Cover with a lid, keep checking for doneness after 10 minutes. Mix, flip the aubergines. Let cook properly.

Serve and enjoy.