The weather changes towards the last week of May. It starts in the latter half of the day; the evening breeze becomes cooler and blows stronger, a welcome relief from the oppressing heat as the cool air rushes into the house pushing out the hot air trapped inside.

In a few days, the breeze gives way to strong gusts of wind. The wind makes a loud howling sound as it makes it’s way through the open windows and through the building’s corridors. It is soon followed by rain. The rains don’t follow a linear path from the sky to the earth; because of the wind, the rains are slanted and the water splashes into the house through the open windows. The first time you are caught unawares; the next time, as soon as you hear the howling wind, you rush to close all the windows.

The rain lasts for a while and when it stops you can open the windows again to let in the evening chill. In the still cool air, the aroma of cooking wafts in esp. if you are living in an apartment complex. “Somebody is making butter chicken” says the kid; sometimes it is the aroma of coconut frying or fish fry. And you want eat something tasty too… “Make chilli paneer ” says the kid. An easy dish to make though you need a few exclusive ingredients in the fridge.

🌧🌧🌧

The clouds that have gathered during the night continue to remain in place the next morning also. You wake up to a chilly cloudy and grey morning☁☁…perfect after months of hot sun. There are chances of a light drizzle before the clouds disperse for the day and the sun takes over, until evening🌧.

As a mentioned in a prior post, I subscribed to rosebazaar.in Rose Bazaar: For the Gods need fresh flowers everyday🌹 to try the stemless marigolds. They arrive every Tuesday morning and are perfect for puja. I don’t do puja, but they definitely bring sunshine indoors. But I really prefer the flowers with the stems, so will stop the subscription after this month.

And now for the chilli paneer…

Ingredients:

• Paneer – 200g cubed
• Corn starch – 2 tbsp
• Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Oil for frying (veg oil)
• Dry red chillies – 3 nos, halved
• Ginger garlic pastes – 1 tbsp
• White part of the spring onion – 1 tbsp (green stalk is kept for garnishing)
• Green chilli – 1 no, chopped
• Onions cubed – 1/2 cup
• Capsicum cubed – 1/2 cup
• Soy sauce – 1 tbsp
• Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp
• Chilli sauce – 1 tbsp
• Corn starch – 1 tbsp and hot water – 1/2 cup
• Sugar – a sprinkle to balance the taste

Method: 

• Toss the paneer in the dry mix of corn starch, chilli powder and salt till it is well coated.
• Fry the paneer in oil and keep aside
• Heat two table spoons of the same oil in another pan. Add the red chillies, ginger garlic paste, white part of the spring onions and the green chilli; sauté well
• Add the onions and capsicum and sauté
• Add the sauces and mix well; check seasoning and add salt if needed
• Mix 1 tbsp corn starch with hot water, stir while pouring the mix into the dish
• Add the sugar
• Add the fried paneer; garnish with the  chopped green stalks of spring onions and enjoy !!

… June begins ⛈⛈⛈.

Till next post, take care !!