Paneer Tikka Skewers - Homecooked Style

A colourful dish which induces everyone taste buds irrespective of age is Paneer Tikka Skewers. It serves as a very good appetizer. You can prepare this recipe using oven, grill and BBQ. I prepared this dish using oven and it turned out to be delicious.

Ingredients:



Paneer - 40 nos, 1 inch size cubes

Green capsicum - 1 no

Red capsicum - 1 no

Cherry tomato - 24 or according to the requirement(Optional)

Red Onion - 1, chopped into cubes

Thick Curd / yogurt - 3 tablespoon

Coriander leaves - 7 strings or 1/2 cup loosely packed.

Mint leaves - 4 strings

Ginger - 1 teaspoon minced

Garlic - 1 teaspoon minced

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Ajwain(Omam) - 1/4 teaspoon or less

Salt - to taste

Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon or to taste

Bamboo Skewers - 8 no, soaked in water overnight

Chatt masala - 1/4 teaspoon

Lemon - a small piece

Method:



1) Soak the bamboo skewer (thin pointed bamboo stick) overnight in water or at least for an hour.

2) Grind ginger, garlic, Cumin seeds, Coriander leaves, Mint leaves and a tablespoon of curd to a very fine paste. Don't add water.

3) Add this ground paste with curd.

4) Also add red chilli powder, salt and ajwain seeds. Mix well until you get the fine thick paste for marinating.

5) Dip the paneer in the Curd mixture and toss it well to coat the curd masala with the paneer.

6) Cover it using a lid and keep them marinated for a whole night. If not whole night then at least for half an hour in refrigerator as per your convenience.

7) Now, take the skewer, insert capsicum, onion, tomato and paneer one by one as shown in the picture till the skewer is filled.

8) Preheat the oven to 250 C and keep the paneer skewers inside the oven.

9) Bake them for 20 minutes or till the paneer turns slightly golden brown in colour.

10) Sprinkle chat masala and lemon juice on the top and serve it hot.

Note:

1) I prepared 8 skewer using the ingredients given. You can increase or decrease quantity for all the ingredients according to your taste/convenient.

Why General Contractors are Installing Spray Foam Insulation in New Construction

Spray Foam Insulation & "Green" Building Products in New Home Construction

With the changing face of new home construction in the United States, many General Contractors are looking for ways to differentiate their product from what competitors are offering.  One way many general contractors in South Carolina & North Carolina are differientiating their homes from other general contractors homes, is the use of "Green" Building Products; to offer potential homebuyers in North Carolina & South Carolina, long term energy savings and payback in utility bill savings over the life of the home.  The great thing about new construction, is that new homes being built, open all kinds of new options for energy saving "green" building products. In a tough housing market like today's economy, a builder needs every possible way to differientiate there home from others on the market.  Long term energy savings, payback on investment, Tax Credits for Home Owners, Energy Star Ratings, and other great qualities can help sell a home a lot more quicker, then a typical fiberglass insulated home that offer little energy savings to homeowners.  Some reports have reported as high as 80% of potential homebuyers in today's economy have insulation and energy efficiency on their list of things their dream home will have.  Spray Foam Insulation, Crawl Space Encapsulation with Spray Foam, Solar Powered Appliances, and Energy Efficient Roofing have all been proven to sell homes faster in today's real estate market.  Lets talk about a few ways "Green" Building can pay off for general contractors in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

In North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia real estate markets have been flooded with homes from bankrupt spec builders, foreclosures, and just areas flat out being overbuilt.  Though housing inventories are depleting, many general contractors are having trouble luring potential home buyers away from foreclosures and short sales, with the main reason being that they are trying to offer the same product at a higer price.  The most popular way our general contractor clients are finding to build and sell successfully in North Carolina, South Carolina, & Georgia Housing Markets, are "green" building products & other materials that offer long term energy savings.  Though cost of these products are slightly higher traditional building materials, it still cost a lot less to install "green" building products in new construction versus retrofit installation in existing homes.  Another reason why "green" building materials help sell homes in North Carolina, South Carolina, & Georgia has a lot to do with the hot climate the southeast experiences during the summer, giving many fiberglass insulated homes the "hot house" effect.  What we call the "hot house" effect, simply means that even with the A/C running all day, your home still fills warm or hot during the summer.  Spray Foam Insulation is the best solution to eliminate the "hot house" effect, and is even more energy efficient installed in new homes, then being retrofit into existing homes due to walls and other open spaces being exposed.  Here is a list of some of the most popular "green" building products and materials general contractors are using in new construction in North Carolina and South Carolina real estate markets.

1. Spray Foam Insulation - our number one seller to general contractors and homeowners, as it offers lifetime insulation solutions to the potential and existing homeowners both, with 33% more energy savings then fiberglass, and payback on investment over the life of the home.  Closed Cell Spray foam insulation  adds structural integrity & pest control capabilities as well. 
2. Crawl Space Encapsulations - create a dry, clean crawl space that offers additional energy savings to homeowners, and also offers pest control qualities as well.
3. Solar Energy Powered Appliances - with cost of taking a home completely solar still being very high, the development of Solar Panel technology has allowed affordable installation of solar panels to power high energy using appliances like hot water heaters and pool heaters, reducing utility cost for homeowners on average of $300/year or more.
4. Standing Seam Metal Roofing - popular in style, and also an "Energy Star" rated product, offering addittional home energy efficiency for potential homebuyers.  The reflectivity quality of metal roofing has been proven to lower utility cost for homeowners.
5. Home Energy Monitoring Systems - Contractors this would make an excellent housewarming gift for new homeowners that can lower enegy cost even more.  Old TV's, computers, and such can be increasing utility cost for the family.  Low Cost Installtion & Monitoring make it the perfect housewarming gift for new homeowners, and an addittional weapon for existing homeowners to fight high utility cost.

If you are a general contractor or a potential new home builder in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia looking to install new "green" building technology into new construction homes, or existing homes during remodel or addittions, then call Dan at Retro-Solutions Construction Company at 706-951-0158 for a free estimate, or for general information on "green" building products offered in the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia areas.  We can help homeowners and general contractors both, with energy saving home improvement solutions that really do lower utility bills & improve overall saleability of your home in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.  Read our other blog post for more information on our products and services.  Increase the value of your home:

http://www.scroofingcontractors.com

Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 706-951-0158 http://www.scroofingcontractors.com Energy Efficient Roofing Systems | Spray Foam Insulation | Wall Foam Insulation | Crawl Space Encapsulations | Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters | Solar Energy | Energy Monitoring | Standing Seam Metal Roofs | Tile Roofs | Slate Roofs | Historic Home Retrofits |

Q & A On Fluorescent Uplighting

Q.

Dear Ms Deras:
I have a question about one of the issues you discussed on your web page "http://www.kitchenartworks.com/lighting.htm" about Kitchen Lighting Guidelines.

I came across your web page while doing some research about the use of fluorescent fixtures on top of cabinets. I had planned to place some fluorescent fixtures on top of some cabinets in a combination Kitchen/Dining Area, aiming for an indirect lighting effect.

However, on the instructions that came with these GE light fixtures, is this warning:

"Warning: Risk of Fire: Not intended for "Up-Light" applications where fixture is mounted horizontal with the lens facing up."

That led me to try to find out
(a) why this would be a fire risk, and how serious a risk is it, and
(b) if there is some kind of light I could buy that doesn't carry this warning and "is" safe for this type of installation.

Can you shed any ... um... "light" on these issues? Your website is, so far, the only place I've found that discusses putting lights on top of the cabinets---which seemed to me like a great idea.

Regards,

Phill

A.

Interesting Phill. That's a new one on me. I have been specifying just standard T8 and T5 fluorescent fixtures on top of cabinets for decades. Maybe GE has seen some problems with this, but I certainly haven't. I don't actually buy or specify the fixtures though. The electrician on the job does that. I rely on them to buy the best for the application in a generic product like this.

I would contact GE and ask them what fixtures they recommend for uplighting on top of your cabinets. They may point you to fixtures that are designed to be mounted facing up.

Here's an example from Pegasus Lighting. It can be mounted any which way:

Peggy