Spaghetti with Mushroom and olive sauce!

This recipe has been adapted from the cook book called "The Italian Vegetarian" by Gabriella Rossi. It is a simple recipe and tastes sumptuous.

What do we need?

1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 cup stoned black olives
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped
Boiled spaghetti
cherry tomatoes for topping
parmesan cheese slivers (optional for serving)

How did I put together?

Heat oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Tip the mushroom mixture into a blender and add the olives, parsley and red chilli. Blend till it is a smooth paste. In a separate pan add the boiled spaghetti and toss the olive mixture till the pasta is well coated. Cover and keep warm. Heat an ungreased frying pan and shake the cherry tomatoes around for 2-3 minutes or until they are roasted. Serve the pasta topped with the tomatoes. Garnish with parmesan and enjoy!

Finally some aloo parantha (Rotis stuffed with potato filling)

There is always one dish which is done by everyone belonging to a particular region/country. I consider Aloo parantha (rotis stuffed with potato filling) as one of the popular dishes in Northern India. I was intending on making this dish and blogging about it some months ago- never had the opportunity with so much going on in my head :)- I had a friend coming home for lunch and the request from the friend was simple- Aloo parantha. Finally, I had a go at my favorite dish, which turned out pretty sumptuous. It is really simple to make and can be prepared at a short notice with minimal ingredients!

Ingredients for the stuffing-

One big onion- chopped finely
2 boiled and mashed potatoes (medium sized)
Coriander leaves- chopped finely (about a handful)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp corriander powder
chilli flakes or paprika powder (1/4 tsp)
Salt (according to taste)
Oil to mix all the ingredients mentioned above.

Ingredients for the Base-

Wheat flour (2 cups)
salt
water to mix

Preparation-

The base is pretty simple- You have to knead the flour with salt to a fine and smooth dough. There are two ways to actually go about your filling- you can sauté the potatoes and onions with the spices mentioned above in a wok and then use it to stuff the roti's. The other way (which I follow) is to just mix all the ingredients in a bowl without cooking and use it for stuffing. Once you have the base and the filling ready all you need to do is take a ball of wheat and flatten it to a small round. Fill around 1 to 2 spoons of the filling in the middle. Fold the roti with the filling in middle so that it appears as a small pouch. Flatten this pouch with a rolling pin to a medium sized round shape.

Fry the parantha in a hot pan till both sides are golden brown. Serve with chutney/pickle and enjoy!

Five minutes easy Mozarella-pesto sandwich!

Ok, this dish might take more than five minutes to make but I guarantee it is really a tasty quick fix! When you are in no mood for cooking and can eat anything off your fridge then read on...

I always make it a point to eat some thing before stepping out for shopping- No point in going empty stomach! You land up buying all the stuff that your stomach doesn't need (your body can't take those calories). So here I am, hungry and rattling off things in my fridge for a perfect quickie and what do I land up doing? Tomato-Mozzarella sandwich with pesto for an extra zing!

What do we need?

Bread slices
Tomato pieces
Mozzarella pieces (go easy on it if you don't want extra calories)
Basil pesto for spreading over your bread slices
dash of crushed pepper
salt (optional)

How do you put it together?

Coat your bread slices with pesto and stack up tomato pieces and mozzarella pieces (coated/dabbed in crushed pepper/salt) in between two bread slices.Simple! grill it a bit till Mozzarella is oozy and enjoy-
ain't that a perfect quickie?

Veggie fried rice, anyone?

You take your brain that calculates the calories and just throw it out of the window on friday nights. Then you go make sumptuous food in the kitchen and eat it to your heart's content. After all, you slog the entire week in your office and you deserve a break? That is exactly what I did. The recipe is simple with no tedious work involved (except chopping the veggies, which I don't mind). Sit back and enjoy!

Ingredients-

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups rice

olive oil for cooking

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1 carrot chopped

1/2 cup green peas

2-3 garlic cloves (crushed and chopped)

red chilli flakes (1/4 tsp)

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Salt

Preparation- 

First step will be to cook your rice. Cooking your rice without getting it sticky is an art. You have to rinse your rice thoroughly and allow it to soak in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Boil 3 cups of water in a deep bottomed pan. As the water starts boiling, add the rice and cover the pan. Cook it in a low flame for about 20 minutes. In a separate pan, heat some oil and saute all the vegetables with garlic. Add chilli flakes, ground pepper and soy sauce. Cook on a medium flame till all the vegetables are crisp and not mushy. Add the cooked rice to this mixture. Adjust the salt according to your taste and cook the rice for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!

Fusilli pasta on the go...

Of late, I have been busy cooking and eating all unhealthy stuff that I realized it's time to wake up. So I am browsing for healthy options these days. This recipe has been adapted from a book called "Eat, shrink and be merry". I tweaked the recipe a bit and modified it to my taste. According to the book, this dish has only 331 calories per serving (the original recipe contains bacon  and chopped chicken breast which I omitted). I guess, the calories per serving should be lesser than 331 (if you omit cheese, it should be significantly less). Using wheat pasta would he a healthier option!

For the sauce-

2 tbsp basil pesto
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.

Other ingredients-

2 cups fusilli pasta
1/2 cup blanched and chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup bell peppers (red)

Preparation- Just combine all the ingredients for sauce in a bowl and keep it aside. Cook the fusilli pasta till they are soft (but not mushy). In a wok, add olive oil and stir fry bell peppers and onions.  After 5 minutes add the chopped tomatoes. Add cooked fusilli, sauce and mix all the ingredients well.  Remove the wok from heat and serve immediately with ground pepper and parmesan cheese (optional).

Potatoes cooked with peas in a gravy (aloo matar)

Come sunday and my house smells of good authentic Indian food. I love taking my time to whip up something special. The demand of the house was aloo matar and boy, we had a sumptuous lunch with basmati rice, aloo matar, lemon pickle and raita. Here is my take on the famous north Indian dish- Potatoes cooked with peas in a gravy (aloo matar). Enjoy!

Ingredients-

4 big potatoes (boiled, peeled and chopped in cubes)
1 big cup thawed and ready to use frozen green peas
onion (1 big sliced)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
cumin seeds (1 tsp)
garlic (2 cloves)
red paprika powder (1 tsp)
coriander powder (1 tsp)
garam masala powder (1 tsp)
salt (according to taste)
dash of cardamom powder
coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation-

In a pan, fry the cubed potatoes and set it aside. Grind the onions, garlic to a fine smooth paste. In a wok heat some oil. Add the cumin seeds. As the seeds start to sputter add the onion-garlic paste. Fry the paste till the onion loses its raw taste and the gravy starts to become golden brown. Mash the chopped tomatoes to a pulp and add them to the onion-garlic gravy. Cook it for 5 minutes and then add the spices- paprika powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, cardamom powder and salt. Keep cooking on a medium flame for 10 minutes till oil separates from the paste. Add the thawed peas and some water for the peas to cook. When the peas are cooked add the fried potatoes and stir it for a while. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with roti or rice!

House smells of cinnamon- Cinnamon rolls

One ingredient that is versatile is cinnamon. I love cinnamon flavor in almost everything- You can add in gravies, rice recipes and of course my favorite cinnamon rolls- ah, I could kill for a cup of steaming coffee and cinnamon roll. Here's my batch of home made cinnamon rolls- Enjoy!

Ingredients-

1 pkt active dry yeast (7 gm)
3/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

For the filling-

1/4 cup softened butter
1 big tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preparation-

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, milk, sugar, salt, egg and one cup of flour. Stir the ingredients well. Add the remaining flour and knead it to a smooth dough. Store it in a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. Allow the dough to raise and double in size (should take an hour).

For the filling, combine butter, cinnamon and brown sugar to a good paste. Once the dough has risen, roll it on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Smear some butter on the flattened dough. Spread the filling on the dough. Roll it up along the long edge till it forms a one big roll. Slice the roll into equal sized pieces and place it on a baking tray. Cover it with a damp cloth and allow it to raise for 10-15 minutes. Give it a quick egg wash (egg combined with milk). Pre heat the oven to 200 degree Celsius and bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes till golden brown. Give enough space for the rolls to rise when baking it in the oven. Once baked, serve it hot with steaming cup of coffee!

Chaat time!

Something that is unique to India is Chaat- You might recreate all the masala food at home but nothing can beat the road side vendor's chaat items- Don't confuse chaat for chat...Chaat is nothing but savory snacks usually sold by street stalls in northern India. Delhi is so famous for chaat and once you are hooked then come 4 pm all you can think is chaat with chai (tea). Chaat varieties are different and if you are really interested in knowing the various types- here is a good read- Chaat (thanks to wikipedia!)

My all time favorite is Bhel puri- It's easy and simple to make-

What do we need?

1 cup puffed rice
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped corriander leaves
chopped green chilli pieces (2-3 green chillies)
lemon juice (1 tbsp)
tamarind chutney 2 tsp
1/2 cup boiled mashed potatoes
mint chutney 2 tsp
1/2 cup sev (fried lentils based noodles- readily available in the stores)
chopped ginger (1 tsp)
dash of garam masala

Tamarind chutney can be home made- Take about a small cup of tamarind (without seeds) and allow it to soak in warm water for half an hour. Extract the pulp. In a pan, add the tamarind pulp and around 1 cup of grated jaggery. Cook on a low flame. Add salt, roasted cumin powder (1 tsp), red chilli powder (1tsp). Cook till the jaggery disolves and the mixture becomes semi thick. Remove from fire and store in a tight container. Can be used as a dip for samosa and other savory snacks!

Mint chutney- Grind half cup of mint leaves with handful of coriander leaves with green chillies. Blend it to a smooth paste with salt and lemon juice.

Preparation-

Now for the Bhel puri- (You don't have to stick to the above list as a rule- You can use your own creativity and improvise the chaat)

Mix puffed rice, tomatoes and onions in a bowl
Add the mashed potatoes
Mix the mint chutney and tamarind chutney along with a dash of garam masala
Add the sev, ginger, chilli pieces and lemon juice- blend all the ingredients well.
Garnish with coriander leaves!

The best part is they will roll the bhel puri in a newspaper cone and give it to you- Really worth a try!

Craving for simple home food...

Yipeeeeeeeeee....I have completed 50 blog posts! Going down the memory lane, I realized my odd ramblings in the initial posts, my struggle to explain flavors, my triumph with certain dishes, my pictures (and the list goes on). To be honest, I have hardly done anything spectacular compared to the other food blogs I frequent. On the other hand, I am happy to have my own corner where I can put my thoughts on food...it's just a great feeling! I have always enjoyed good food and for me cooking is pure joy and creativity. 


Today, I am in no mood for anything remotely fancy. Just want to eat simple food- the usual vegetables and my roti with dal. After all, nothing beats a simple home cooked food and this is what we come home to...don't we??


Spinach potato curry- (Aloo palak)


Ingredients-
Fresh spinach leaves - chopped/shredded finely(2-3 cups) 
5 large potatoes (boiled, peeled and cubed)
1 large onion (chopped finely)
4-5 cloves of garlic (chopped finely) - need I say anything on my love for garlic??
1 red dry chilli - broken into pieces
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt (according to taste)


Preparation- Once you have assembled the ingredients, it's an easy ride from there. Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin and dry chilli pieces. Allow them to sputter. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of seconds till the oil absorbs the garlic flavor. Add the onions and cook for few minutes till they start turning golden brown. Add the chopped spinach leaves and cook them till they become soft. Spinach tends to reduce in size as they cook. Now add the potatoes, salt, turmeric, paprika powder and coriander powder. Cook them on a low flame (stirring occasionally) for 5-8 minutes till the potatoes blend well with the spinach. Enjoy with roti and dal!

Dal- (lentils) 


I love cooking lentils with minimal flavors. The only flavors I like in my dal are garlic, cumin, crushed pepper, coriander leaves and fiery green chillies. I also like using three types of lentils- mung dal- 1 cup, chana dal- 1/4 cup and toor dal- 1/2 cup. Pressure cook them till they melt into your mouth. In a frying pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add cumin, green chilli pieces (slit them with knife - do not deseed them). As the cumin seeds start to sputter add chopped garlic (4-5 big cloves). Cook them for a couple of seconds before adding the cooked lentils. Add crushed pepper and salt according to taste. Serve them with sprinkled coriander leaves. Some like the dal a bit soupy (like me) and some love it rich and thick. Vary the quantity of water accordingly when cooking your dal! 
    

Vegetable stir fry Thai noodles

This is a simple recipe which can be cooked with no fuss- Ah, the hard part is chopping the vegetables...Especially, when someone like me becomes over ambitious and tries to add all known vegetables to mankind :P


Jokes apart, stir fry noodles can be made without much fuss and you can be super creative with it- 

Ingredients-

• 1 packet of noodles
• 1/2 red bell pepper (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper (chopped into thin strips)
• 1 medium sized onion (sliced)
• 1/2 zucchini (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/2 carrot (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/4 cup sweet corn (that comes in a tin)
• 5-6 pieces of mangetout or snap peas
• 1/4 cup sprouts
• 1/4 cup mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 spring onion (sliced)
• 1 small piece ginger (chopped into thin strips)
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)- Needless to say, I am a huge fan of garlic!
• 2 tbsp mild soya sauce
• crushed black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• salt (according to taste)

Phew! now that's one long list of vegetables...In all the hassle, I forgot to include tofu pieces-

Preparation-

• Add the pack of noodles to a pan of boiling water. Allow it to simmer for five minutes. Don't over cook your noodles and keep loosening them with a fork to stop them from sticking together.
• Drain and refresh in a bowl of cold water. Keep it aside.
• Stir fry the vegetables in a wok. Add the ginger and garlic first. Allow the oil to take the flavor. 
• Saute the sliced onions.
• Add mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, sprouts, spring onions and sweet corn. Keep stirring the vegetables.
• Add the zucchini, snap peas and continue stirring.
• As the vegetables start to get tender add the soya sauce, crushed black pepper and chilli flakes.
• Add salt according to your taste.
• Keep stirring till all the ingredients are well combined.
• Add the noodles to the wok and stir fry for five minutes. 
• Sprinkle some chopped coriander (optional) and serve immediately!

Flavorful quinoa!

It is small, red and very intimidating to look at! It will look at you from the package and dare you to come up with something innovative...Once you get to know it, you will be humbled by its sheer goodness- that's quinoa in a nutshell for me :) I spiked it up with some Indian flavors- Check out!

Ingredients-

Red quinoa- 2 cups

Bell peppers- 1/2 cup (preferably yellow one- color combination works great with red quinoa)

Broccoli (1/2 cup)

Onion - 1 medium sized (sliced)

Corriander leaves - chopped

Cumin seeds

Dry red chilli piece- broken in half (alternatively, you can use chopped green chillies)

2-3 tbsp grated coconut

Salt according to taste

Sambar powder (1/2 tsp)- completely optional (alternatively, you can use garam masala, curry masala powders)

** sambar powder is a spicy powder consisting of lentils, corriander seeds, mustard, black pepper, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds** (you will get it ready made from any Asian grocery shop)

Preparation-

Bring some water to boil and put the quinoa in. Allow the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. Keep it aside. In a seperate wok heat some oil. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sputter. Add the red chilli pieces and sliced onions. Fry them till they are translucent. Toss in the bell peppers, broccoli. Cook for few minutes before adding sambar powder and salt. Add the cooked quinoa and cook all the ingredients for a few minutes. For the finishing touch add the grated coconut and corriander leaves. 

Penne Arrabiata

Everyone has a comfort food that they love whipping up in a short span of time...My comfort food is penne arabiata- With the main star as tomato, you could practically get this on the table within 10 minutes. There are countless variations of making this one- with white wine, red wine, balsamic vinegar....I like to keep it simple with just tomatoes and a strong flavor of garlic (I am nuts about garlic)

If you need something tangy and spicy which doesn't take too much time, then this dish is ideal-

Ingredients-

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can Italian tomatoes with their juice, chopped 
• 1 or 2 dried hot red chilies, broken into pieces, or 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes to taste
• Salt to taste
• Penne pasta
• Crushed black pepper
• Grated parmesan to serve

Preparation-

In a pan, saute the onion and garlic with olive oil. Once the onion has softened, add the chopped tomatoes and chilli flakes. Cook the mixture for a few minutes before seasoning it with salt and pepper. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes till it thickens to a good sauce consistency. Meanwhile, cook the penne pasta in plenty of salted water until it is softened. Remove from fire and drain the excess water. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. Serve with grated parmesan!

Pizza for a rainy saturday afternoon?

Rain, rain come again coz I wanna eat pizza again...Lol! Yeah, that is my theme song for this afternoon after having eaten a sumptuous home-made pizza :) Pizza is my all time favorite. I have eaten almost every brand available in the market. Love all versions- thin, thick, stuffed. So, when a lovely saturday is ruined by rain gods, all you can do is wander around your kitchen thinking of all possible food items you can eat. Why not pizza? Why not make it from a scratch- dough, topping? Why not settle down on your couch with a good pizza and watch a slick flick? That is how the rest of my story unfolds....

Sound- pitter, patter...(Rain)
Characters-  (Base/ Main characters) All purpose flour, yeast, italian herbs, salt, water, sugar
Characters- (side role/toppings) - Tomato sauce, garlic, jalapenos, onion, baby corn, olive oil

** Warning- This is my first shot at pizza making (turned out pretty good)- Will improvise to a thin crust in my next attempt!

Action- mix, knead, roll, spread...

Pizza is all about the base! The base has to be perfect- Any one can spread the topping if you get the base ready made. How do you make a good base? I did a lot of research on net to learn about the base (courtesy- Youtube videos). This is what I did to get it correct-

Take about 300 ml of warm water and mix about 2 tsp of yeast. Allow the yeast to grow and ferment in the warm water for a few minutes. Add 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp Italian herb mix, 1 tsp salt and mix it with the yeast water. Dump about 2 cups of flour on a flat surface. With the help of yeast water knead the flour till it is soft and fluffy. Put the dough in a container and seal it with a cloth. Allow the dough to raise for an hour.

Once the dough has risen, with the help of your hands flatten the dough. You will really get a good pizza with a pizza stone- Unfortunately, I don't have a stone and had to use a deep pan to make it.  Put your flattened pizza in a pan-

For the tomato sauce- Saute chopped tomatoes in olive oil with some oregano, garlic, chilli flakes and salt. Simmer it on a low flame till it thickens to a sauce consistency!

Spread some olive oil on the base before spreading the tomato sauce. Spread some chopped onions, chopped red bell peppers, shredded pizza cheese, jalapenos and baby corn. Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400°F. 

Not bad for a first attempt- I will be back next time with a thin crust...Watch out !

Guacamole dip with veggie tortilla

Gosh, guacamole is one recipe that has so many variations and you never get tired of trying different combinations of it! This one is slightly different and I gave it a twist with some ground cumin and pepper-

What do we need?


4 Avacados
about 2 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves (4 for a stronger garlic flavor- I am a huge garlic fan)
1 tomato chopped (the fleshier it is the better it comes out)
cilantro/corriander leaves
1 medium sized onion chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin (dry roast cumin seeds on a pan till light brown and then grind it)
green chillies (4) (serrano chillies are preferable, if not use the normal ones like I used in this recipe)
salt and dash of ground pepper (according to taste)

How did I put together?

Peel and mash your avacados in a bowl. In a mixer/food processor, blend the rest of the ingredients for about five seconds. Add your mashed avacados and again blend them for few seconds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving- Popularly used as a dip, I used it for the tortilla wrap- You can store it in a tightly closed jar and keep in fridge for two to three days...

Simple veggie filling- for the tortilla

You can use any vegetables for the filling- (I used 4 medium sized potatoes and 2 carrots for the filling). Chop the carrots and potatoes into cubes and boil them for around 10 minutes (till they have softened a bit and not lost their shape). In a separate wok add oil and once it is hot, toss in some fennel seeds. Add the potatoes and carrots and fry for few minutes. Add 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and salt. Cook the vegetables on a low flame till they are golden brown. Add chopped coriander leaves for the extra flavor.

Final presentation- 

Take a wheat tortilla and spread your guacamole on it. Fill in the veggies and roll them to enjoy your evening!

You can be really creative with the filling- Instead of guacamole, you can use salsa or garlic sauce with the vegetables- Makes a great lunch box recipe!