Penne in Bechamel Sauce

Who here is a fan of Italian cuisine ?

My favs are Italian and Thai... I know !! - very different from each other, but both of them are soul food or comfort food to me.

I love cooking Italian too... havent tried my hands at Thai yet - sounds so detail-oriented. Italian in comparison is super easy and less time consuming too.

So, let me present to you Pasta Bechamel  - what is commonly known in India as White Sauce Pasta... (Remember, this is my version of the basic bechamel sauce. So please any suggestions are welcome to improve it and make it more authentic)

INGREDIENTS

(serves 4)

For Bechamel Sauce:

All-purpose flour - 4 tbsp

Milk - 1 ltr

Oregano - 1 tsp

Chilli Flakes - 1 tbsp

Garlic (chopped) - 2 tbsp

Butter / Olive oil - 5 tbsp

Cheddar cheese (shredded) - 100 gms

Mozzarella cheese (shredded) - 100 gms

Salt as per taste

Other fresh / dried italian herbs (optional - as per your likes)

For Pasta:

For my pasta, I cooked some penne, but you can use any kind of pasta (fusilli, spaghetti, macaroni, farfalle). Just the cooking times of each of these pastas will be different. Just follow the instructions on the packet. In addition to those instructions, I add 2 tsp of olive oil into the water when boiling the pasta, that helps the pasta to not stick to each other. I also add some salt.

Method:

Cook the pasta al-dente, that is only until they are 80% cooked. When you break the cooked pasta, the innermost part should not yet be cooked. Drain the pasta and keep it aside. Don't waste the water. I generally use it in the sauce, if it gets too thick.

1. Take a large saucepan (which can hold both pasta and sauce). Add 1 tbsp olive oil / butter to it.
2. When the oil / butter is hot, add the chopped garlic. Let it roast for a while. Remove it and keep it aside.
3. To the same pan, add the rest of the oil / butter. And once its hot, add the flour and stir well.
4. Roast it until the raw smell goes away.
5. Add the milk - little by little and keep stirring. Dont add all the milk at once, 'coz that can cause lumps.
6. When all the milk has been added, allow it to boil. 
   
   
   
   
   
7. Add the roasted garlic, chilli flakes, the fresh / dried herbs and allow it to boil well to infuse the flavors into the sauce. Also add salt.
8. If you find the sauce too thick, add the pasta stock that you have kept aside.
9. When the sauce starts boiling, add the shredded cheese and boil for another 30 secs.
10. Add in the cooked and drained pasta, and give it a stir. Cover and switch off the flame.

Pasta Bechamel is ready !!!

Aloo Mazedar

Today I'll introduce you all to an awesome fried potatoes dish, which is my husband's favourite curry. 

He likes it so much that whenever we visit a restaurant, my husband asks for this dish there. Of course it's not available in restaurants, because this is a recipe I picked up from the late Tarla Dalal, the famous Indian food writer and chef. I used to love watching her cooking shows. Unfortunately she passed away in 2013 following a heart attack.

Anyways, Without further ado, heres the recipe for all of you.

Also heres how to reach her website - TarlaDalal.com

Homemade Garlic Butter

Has there ever been a person who hates garlic bread ? I cant think of anyone such.

Garlic Bread is my heavenly comfort food, next to .... nothing I guess ! I think you buy me a few slice of garlic bread and I would forgive your gravest mistake !! Aaah, now the secret is out :)

So since I really really love garlic bread, I wanted to try making it at home. Since store bought butter is highly processed and then if you have garlic butter, you can use it with anything else too. So I set about finding out how to make garlic butter. Turns out it is the simplest thing to make - EVER !!! 

You need just butter, garlic and salt !! Wow that's it ? Lets go learn how.

INGREDIENTS

(Makes 1 cup of garlic butter)

Homemade Butter - 1 cup (unsalted) OR Store-bought butter (salted or unsalted)

            P.S - Will soon put up a recipe on how to make butter at home.

Herbs (optional) - 2 tsps - you can add any herbs for the flavor that you like.

            (Mint, Oregano, Coriander, Thyme, Rosemary etc., etc.,)

Garlic - 10 pods / cloves (If you love the taste of garlic, then add more)

            P.S: Raw Garlic gives out a pungent flavor - so dont add too much.

Salt as per taste (dont add if you are using store bought salted butter)

METHOD:

1. Add the garlic pods into a mixer jar and crush them coarsely.
2. If you are using fresh herbs, add along with the garlic and crush them along. If you are using dried powdered herbs, then skip this step.
3. Melt the butter slightly. Just make it soft and add it to the ground garlic paste. Grind it a bit more.
4. Remove into a bowl. Your garlic butter is now ready to use.
5. Spread on bread and toast it for wonderful tasting garlic bread.
6. Slightly soften it and use it as a dip for your veggie sticks or anything else that you want to dip in it.
7. Use it on your naans or even on your chapathis. It goes with anything and everything.

CHOLE !!!

Who doesn't know Chole ? Is there anybody who doesnt like it ? I love chole - provided its made out of chickpeas (the white ones).

Chole is a typical North Indian dish usually paired with Bhature - a form of deep fried puffed bread. Chole is a mouth watering dish which needs a lot of spices. It takes very less time to prep and cook. You still want more reasons to cook this dish ? The white chickpeas are very healthy and contain loads of iron. So for those with iron deficiencies, this is a blessing in disguise. Try this and you surely wont be disappointed.

INGREDIENTS

For the dish:

White chickpeas - 1 cup soaked (close to 2 cups after soaking)

Potatoes - 2 (cut into cubes)

Onion - 1 small (sliced)

Tomato - 1 small (sliced)

1 tea bag (optional) - gives a slight flavor and darker color to the gravy

Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder (if you want your gravy spicier) - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Chole masala powder - 2 tbsps

Kasoori Methi - 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Salt as per taste.

For the gravy masala:

Oil - 2 tbsps

Tomatoes - 2 large (diced)

Onions - 2 large (diced)

Garlic - 10 cloves of garlic

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Cloves - 2 or 3

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 2 to 3

For tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 piece

Bay Leaf - 1 or 2

Cloves - 1 or 2

Method:

1. Boil or pressure cook the chickpeas with the tea bag in 2 glasses of water. The chickpeas should be 3/4 cooked but should still be firm. Drain the water. Keep the water aside and keep the chickpeas aside in a bowl to cool.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Take a pressure cooker pan. Add 2 tbsps of oil. This is for roasting the ingredients for preparing the gravy masala. When its hot, add cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add onions, ginger and garlic. Fry until onions are soft and tender. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft. Add coriander leaves and mix. Don't cook the coriander long, just a couple of seconds. Switch off and keep aside to cool.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Take a mixie jar and grind the above roasted ingredients to a coarse paste with very little water (use the water from the pressure cooked chickpeas). Add 1 - 2 tbsp of chickpeas (depending on how much gravy you need) along with the masala and grind it all to a fine paste.
4. Take the pan used earlier. Now to start preparing the dish itself. Add 1 tbsp of oil and add the tempering ingredients. Add the sliced onions and cook well until tender. Add the tomatoes and cook well until tomatoes are soft. Add the potatoes and cook for 2 - 3 mins. Then add the boiled chickpeas and fry for a couple of mins. Add the spice powders - chilli, tumeric, salt etc., and mix well. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. After 2 - 3 mins, add the prepared gravy paste and add some chickpea water. Cover the gravy and allow to boil.
6. If the gravy is too thick, add some more water as needed. Add garam masala powder and chole masala powder and mix well. If you want the chickpeas more softer, pressure cook this gravy once more, else keep boiling for another 5 mins. The gravy is done. 
   
   
   
   
   
7. Crush some kasoori methi in your hands and add it to the gravy. Add coriander leaves for garnish and mix well. Chole is ready. Serve it with bhature or rice or simple chapathis, parantha - anything... some people even eat it with toasted bread slices. Its yummy in any way.

Fusilli in Roast Pepper and Garlic Sauce

Truly a bowl of delicious health !!

I am not really a big fan of bell peppers but I just could not resist trying out roast pepper sauce in my pasta this time. I loved the result. Without more blabbering I'll just get on to the recipe.

I need to warn you that this is not the authentic roast pepper sauce. Its just my take on the recipe.


The recipe serves 2 people

INGREDIENTS

Fusilli pasta - 4 cups
Bell Peppers - 2 (any color) (diced)
Onion - 2 large (half diced and half julienned)
Tomato - 2 large (half diced and half finely chopped)
Garlic - 10 - 15 cloves (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves - few sprigs (finely chopped)
Potato - 1 large (optional - You can add any veggies of your choice or skip) (chopped)
Chilli Flakes - 1 tbsp (use as per taste)
Oregano - 1 tbsp
Mozzarella or parmesan cheese (grated)
Salt to taste
Olive oil to cook (You can use any oil of your choice though)
Water to boil

METHOD

Boil pasta as per instructions on the packet. Strain the pasta and keep aside.
Tip: I add a tbsp of salt and a tbsp of oil whenever I boil pasta.
Tip: You can run the strained pasta under cold water to stop further cooking. This will also stop the pasta from sticking to each other.

For the sauce.

1. Take a pan. Add a tbsp of olive oil. Add the finely chopped garlic and the diced peppers. Roast them for a few minutes.
2. Add the onions and roast until color changes.
3. Finally add the tomatoes and roast until all veggies are well roasted. Keep aside to cool. Grind into a slightly coarse paste. Add a little water to the pan and scrape all the caramelised stuff from the pan and use that for grinding. You can grind into a fine paste also.

Tip: You can make the sauce in larger quantities and store in the fridge or freezer. Lasts longer in the freezer.

Tip: I have read on the internet that sauce can be stored in the ice cube tray so that its easier to thaw and use later. Measurement would be easier.

For the pasta.

1. Use the same pan. Add a tbsp of olive oil. Add the julienned onions and fry until they lose color.
2. Add the veggies and cook until they soften a bit. Let them stay a bit crisp.
   Tip: Add the slow cooking veggies first and add the quick cooking veggies last.
3. Add the tomatoes at the end and add salt for taste.
   Tip: Always try to add salt with the tomatoes. It aids tomatoes to cook faster and softens them quicker.
4. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the sauce and cook for 8 - 10 mins. Add some more salt as required. Add a little water if you feel that the sauce is too thick.
5. Add the strained pasta and mix well.
6. Sprinkle the oregano and chilli flakes and the finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix lightly.

No cheese topping on this bowl

Serve with grated cheese on top. ENJOY !!

GoLi Baje (Mangalore Bajji)

See these yummy looking fritters ? Ever had these ? These are called GoLi Baje. GoLi means round like a marble and Baje means fritters. These fritters are a speciality of Mangalore. Hence they are also called Mangalore Bajji.

My mom makes a very good version of these. Although I like my version better. I add a little more refined wheat flour than her and this makes them softer and fluffier. Lets move on to the recipe now.


INGREDIENTS

Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) - 2 tbsp
Gram Flour (Chickpea flour / Besan) - 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Curd - to mix
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Ginger (grated / paste) - 1 tsp

Green chillies (finely chopped) - 2 to 3
Salt to taste
Little water to mix

Oil to cook

METHOD

Mix sugar and curd and keep aside. Let the sugar melt and mix well. Mix the other dry ingredients together along with ginger and green chillies. Add the curd and sugar mixture and mix well with a whisk / fork. I prefer to mix with a fork as it breaks any lumps that get formed. Add some water if needed. The dough should reach the consistency of milk cream.

  

Heat oil in a deep fryer pan. To test the heat in the oil, add a drop of the batter to it. If the batter rises immediately, then the oil is just right. Drop a spoonful of batter into the oil. It should fluff into a ball shaped fritter. Add several spoonfuls at various places in the oil. They will all fluff a bit. So keep enough distance between them. When they are golden brown all over, remove them from the oil and keep them in a slotted vessel to drain out excess oil.

  

Enjoy with a cup of hot hot tea on a rainy rainy day !! YUM !!!

Homemade corn, paneer and two cheese lasagna

 INGREDIENTS

For the sauce:

8 - 10 large tomatoes - diced
8 - 10 garlic cloves
1 large onion - diced
Salt to taste
8 - 10 Green olives (optional)
Pepper as per taste (can add green chillies also)
Butter - 3 tbsp

To make sauce:

Add the butter to a pan. When the butter melts, add the diced onion and crushed garlic. Fry until brown. Add chopped tomatoes, and salt. Add pepper and green chillies too. Cook until tomatoes are well cooked. Add the olives and switch off the stove. No need to cook the olives too much if you are adding them. After this mixture has cooled down, grind into a fine paste - you can coarse grind it if you like to feel the texture on the veggies added.

For the lasagna:

Pasta sauce (recipe above)
Sweet corn - 3 cups
Paneer - 3 cups
Cheddar cheese - 200 gm (can add more if needed) - grated
Mozarella cheese - 200 gm (can add more if needed) - grated
Oven Ready Lasagna strips (can use the normal strips also, just cook them prior to making the lasagna as per instructions on the box) - 8 - 10 strips (bigger dishes might need more strips)

Take a large baking dish. Apply some butter to the bottom and sides - to avoid the lasagna from sticking and also helps the lower layers to cook well.

Pre-heat the oven to the lowest setting - mine is 200°C. Since all the ingredients are cooked, there is no need to cook much on high heat.

Pour a thin layer of sauce. Place 2 lasagna strips next to each other. My dish holds 2 strips - you can place more if your dish is bigger.
Make layers of the given ingredients as below:
- Spread corn and paneer
- Pour and spread sauce
- Spread some cheese
- Place lasagna strips on top
Repear this until the dish is 3/4 covered.

On the topmost layer, after placing the lasagna strips, spread the rest of the corn, paneer and sauce until empty. Spread the rest of the cheese generously. This forms a cheesy layer on top when baked.

Place the dish in the oven. PLEASE USE OVEN MITTS for safety. Oven will be super hot even at the lowest setting. Bake for 15 mins or until the cheese on top melts and forms a yummylicious looking layer as in pic.

Switch off the oven and leave the dish in there for another 2 - 3 mins for the layer to set. DO NOT remove immediately after switching off, because if the cheese is bubbling, it might spring out on your hands and burn you.

Tukdi (Shankarpule - Namakpare) from leftover maida dough

Ever had tukdi or namakpare... awesome melt-in-the-mouth experience !! I love this snack and I buy and eat it every time I go to Mangalore. BTW, ever had some leftover maida dough when you finished making obbattu / holige / puran polis ? Wondering whats the link... There is but only one connection :) I just prepared some tukdi from the leftover poli maida dough and they turned out amazing !! I just loved them and the kids just couldn't have enough.

Palak Paneer

A simple, but beautiful dish in terms of flavor. Quite rich in taste and creamy in texture... almost melts in your mouth :)


Wonderful side dish to have with either rotis or chapatis... goes well with rice too :)


Enough with the riddled sentences ?? Yes, the dish is palak paneer, made with pureed cooked spinach and cubed indian cottage cheese.

Jeera-Pepper Tambuli (jeer-meerya tambuli)

Keep cool in this hot weather with this amazing dish.

I am suffering from cold and cough lately and the cold is the kind that you get from excessively hot and humid weather. Also, I was alone this weekend and in need of some serious pampering - so I thought I will cook myself some good food and get rid of my cold :P

The best internal cooling for the body is either by a glass of buttermilk or this "sorta" cold soup. Its a famous Konkani dish. Its eaten raw (uncooked) and the ingredients are mostly healthy spices which help to keep your body cool and also aid in digestion. So theres your two reasons to try this dish out :)

Beans Upkari

Beans Upkari is a very simple dish, which gets ready in like 15 mins or so and is a very delicious dish (for people who love beans that is). It is prepared by tempering the green beans and cooking them just tender enough to leave them crunchy and then topping them off with grated coconut.

We konkani people are always accused of using a lot of coconut, but what can we do... our tongues have gotten used to that flavor and we just cannot get enff of it :) We LOVE coconut !! and use it in almost every dish that we make, either grind it for the masala gravy or top it off like garnish !! Beans upkari is my sister's favorite dish and she likes it with potatoes added.

Beans SagLe

SagLe in konkani means "whole" as in we add larger pieces of veggies to this dish than we do in other dishes. I guess we are supposed to add the veggies as a whole, but I guess over time it has evolved into using larger pieces - keeping in mind the amount of time it would actually take to cook the whole veggies.

Whenever I make this dish, my friends in the US relish it a lot. This dish can be prepared with a variety of vegetables: eggplant, beans, okra are some of the commonly used ones. This dish has a strong coconutty flavor, but it is not that of raw coconuts and is also masked a bit by the spices used in the dish. So, if you are the kind who does not like coconut-based dishes, you should still try it once.. you might just end up liking it.

Badnekayi Palya

Just love this karnataka style dish, for its simplicity and mouth-watering flavors. I hate capsicum (green peppers) in almost everything else, except for this dish. I just love the twist it gives to this dish and how it enhances the flavors.

Whenever I prepare this dish, I feel like eating Akki rotti along with it - the kind they make by pre-cooking the rice flour and rolling it out into chapathis. I absolutely love the combination - you should try it sometime :D