Cherry Tomato And Cilantro Spaghetti With Cumin Tadka

Cherry Tomato And Cilantro Spaghetti With Cumin Tadka served with clear tomato soup 

and Strawberry and Oreo Cups for dessert. 

While buying Strawberries is a must in Mahabaleshwar, spotting a basket full of cherry tomatoes was the most exciting moment for me. The bunches of them with the wine and leaves on can make any city bred go week in the knees. So I bought 4kgs of them to Mumbai. What followed was cherry tomato salads of every kind and them studding our food of every kind. There were pastas made, pizzas decorated and sometimes a boxful were packed to work for snacking on their own.

One evening when I had to rush for my music class I made this quick dinner which was wonderfully light and satisfying. So let me share here this fluke recipe which got a thumbs up from my family.

Ingredients

Spaghetti bundle enough for 4 about 100 gms

30 or more Cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 cup fine chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon red chili powder

First cook the Spaghetti al dente and keep it aside.

Heat the olive oil and turn to high add the cumin seeds when browned add the whole cherry tomatoes. They will burst on high heat to release wonderful juice and cook well. Now add the red chilli powder. Add the chopped cilantro and let it wilt a bit. Follow in with the cooked pasta and toss well to mix and coat the pasta well with the chunky sauce. These cherry tomatoes were quite sweet and gave a wonderful sauciness to the pasta.

Serve hot along with tomato clear soup and dessert to make it a special meal.

Macroni N Cheese

Uncle Dheer spent one Saturday with us. He is fond of simple fresh food. Both Uncle Dheer and my Dad are very meager eaters. One cannot make an elaborate meal for these two so the menu was Thatte idli, chutney and sambhar for lunch. Dinner was going to be Gazpacho with Cream crackers and Fresh pasta.

Macaroni and Cheese is what I made, simple fresh and hearty. Uncle Dheer enjoyed it.

Ingredients

2 cups macaroni

Bring water to boil. Add the Macaroni into it and cook till al dente. Drain the cooked pasta on a mesh. Sprinkle some olive oil to avoid sticking. 2 cups raw macaroni gives 4 cups of cooked pasta.

For the sauce

4  large tomatoes

5-6 pods of garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 onions

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

salt and sugar to taste

Cheese for garnish

Chop onions lengthwise. Fry in oil. Cook the onions on slow meanwhile in a mixer grind together tomatoes, oregano and garlic along with salt and sugar as per taste. Pour the puree onto the onions. Cook till color changes to dark red of the tomatoes. Add the red chili powder for a bit of spice. Then finally add the pasta and cook till it absorbs some flavors and comes together as a dish. Plate out servings for 4 and grate your favorite cheese over it, as much as you like.

Enjoy!

Veg Balls and Penne Pasta

I have been down with terrible hyperacidity. Credited to nights up trying to do experiments I do not get to do at work. I was on a diet of curd rice and that meant perfect timming for pampering Dad with single serves that need elaborate preps.

The Veg balls and Penne Pasta is not your quick pull out the packet of pasta and dinner is ready types. It calls for shredding, kneading, frying, sauce making and then cooking with the pasta. All worth the effort, when I ask Dad, "How is it?". He gives a quite nod. Nice and holds out the plate for me to poke the fork.

Ingredients

For the Veg Balls

1/2 cup cabbage
1/2 teaspoon green chili sauce
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Mix together, knead and shape balls. I have not added salt as the green chili sauce is ready made and really salty. Shape tiny balls. Deep fry to golden and drain on a paper napkin till you use them.

For the Pasta

1 cup Penne Pasta
4 cups water

Heat the water in a saucepan. When the boiling is on a roll add the pasta to it. Cook al dente. Drain on a sieve and pour cold water over it to stop the further cooking and also to prevent sticking of the pasta to each other.

For the Sauce

3-4 garlic cloves chopped fine
1 green chili chopped fine
1 bulb and sprig of spring onion chopped fine
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce.
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
2 teaspoon oil
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar 

Heat oil. Fry the chopped garlic, follow in with fine chopped spring onion. Add the soya sauce and sprinkle the salt. The sugar must go in to balance the taste. The tomato sauce brings the slight tang to the dish so put that in. Boil.

Once the sauce starts thickening add the cooked and drained pasta. Mix and check the pasta for salt and adjust it if required. Cover and let it simmer for 5 mins. Spoon it onto a serving plate and hand it out to the person you are pampering.

You will win some smiles I promise.

Penne In Arrabiata

Penne in Arrabiata and Knorr's Vegetable Hara Bhara soup

We are not a Pasta loving family. Pasta is made on days we want a change without much fanfare. Penne Arrabiata is the most dependable recipe. Nothing goes wrong with this one. Posting it for Hrushi who is caught in the harsh winter in England.

This is simple to make. A fool proof recipe just right for a bachelor.

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked Penne pasta
4 large tomatoes
4 onions
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon dried Basil or fresh as much as you like
salt to taste
3 teaspoons Olive oil
and
cheese (I used cheddar)

First cook the Pasta al dente (slightly undercooked) or phaphadit as we say in Marathi. You will need to cook the pasta in about four cups of water. Once the pasta is plump drain the extra water. Add cold water and drain it again. Leave just a little bit of water in it at the bottom so it does not stick to the vessel.

Now get to making the sauce. Start by cutting the onions. Fry them till translucent in the Olive oil. Cut up the tomatoes in chunks. Add them and fry them along with the onions. Cook them down until really mushy soft. Add the salt, basil and give it a stir. Now add the cooked pasta along with the saved liquid. Cook for 5 mins, tossing intermittently. If you find it difficult to toss use a fork to mix gently.

Serve in a deep plate, spoon the sauce over it. Grate the cheese on it in generous amounts. I used cheddar. Use whatever type you have. Even paneer crumbled over it is yummy. Eat it immediately.

Tip:
If you want to freeze pasta. Always and always freeze cooked pasta separately. Make sauce in large amount and store separately. Do this prep on the weekend. When you are back from work tired and hungry remove as much cooked pasta as you need in a sauce pan. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup water to give it more sauciness. Mix and heat. Enjoy it hot while you catch up with the day's news.

Lasagna With An Indian Twist

I was a kid in the time of black and white TV when on one sunday afternoon I saw this punjabi lady make this dish on TV. After that many a times it used to be an after school snack for us kids. Most evenings I would make small treats for my sisters and brothers, grilled sandwiches, soupy snacks etc. but I would get taunted from my Aunts, "Chapati khayla nako". As is in all homes, who likes to eat chapati at that age. So when I started using up chapatis for the evening snack my Aunts were happy. Then they started complaining about me using too much cheese.

In those days we never bought cheese locally, either it was too expensive or not as good as Kraft. So the supplies of cheese were provided by Uncle M and it always was in my custody. Most of the elders still had not acquired a palate for it. They would say, "God knows what these kids love about cheese. It has just a salty taste." Well not that we could decode the hidden flavors in the cheese at the age but I guess we loved it because it was something exotic for us in those days plus above all Uncle M got it from all his travels.

Those days the only cheese I knew was processed cheese and cheddar cheese. Uncle had once bought a red wax coated cheese that looked like an apple. I still don't know what type it was. Though now I have learnt to appreciate cheese a little more.

So what can be better than a truely cheese loving dish than a Lasagna. It was through that cookery show that I learnt early that Lasagna is a Italian layered pasta dish. This twist too is really an original creative one by that lady on TV. I don't recollect whether it was Neeta Mehta or someone else. Well what matters is I still remember it and I have been making it ever since. That is brilliance.

I know you can't wait to try out. Well then get noting.

Ingredients

3 chapatis
1 cup cooked vegetables/ left over bhaaji
4 tablespoons sauce of choice
and
any soft cheese of choice (cheddar+mozarella) or crumbled paneer

This dish is extremely versatile. You can have endless variations without having to repeat a creation. I love it that way instead of creating the same taste.

It can be baked in a tin in the oven or made on stove top in a deep dish frying pan. I love both versions and there is a difference in taste too.

To layer begin with the first chapati then the bhaaji, spread evenly. Then cover with second chapati. Now spread the sauce with a spatula. Then the third chapati takes its place. Grate the cheese over it. I don't give any proportion for cheese as it depends on how much you like. I am quite generous and don't want my readers eyes popping out while reading, so you do your own thing.

This is the basic layering. You can repeat this pattern for another 3 layers on the top. Always ending with a nice cheese layer. Bake it for 15 mins in a preheated oven @ 190 deg celsius. This baked lasagna is soft.

If done on stove top, the bottom layer gets crisp and that is how I enjoy most.

It has all the ingredients that are already processed or cooked so this dish is ready in a jiffy. Once the cheese melts remove from heat. Cut out portions with a pizza wheel cutter and serve warm. It is quite juicy with all the cheese and sauce so does not require any dressing but a glass of juice to go with it or a masala chai is great.

Enjoy recycling your food!

Wheat Noodles with Raw Mango N Pearl Onion Dal

Talk of pasta and you think Italian. India has many of its own too. There is one called Dal Dhokli of Gujarathi, Rajasthani origin where diamonds are cut out from rolled out chapati dough and cooked in thick dal. Many would put it into one of those to die for comfort foods list.

In the beginning of this summer we had some raw mangoes on hand. So Dad did "and Baba present the Wheat Noodles with Raw Mango N Pearl Onion Dal"!

Ingredients

For the Wheat Noodles:

1 cup Chapati dough

Keep a large vessel of water to boil. In it press the chapati dough using a shev press to get wheat noodles. Use a medium sized die. Simmer for 10 mins and drain on to a mesh.

For Raw Mango N Pearl Onion Dal

1 cup cooked tur dal/ yellow lentils

1/4 cup raw mango pieces bit sized

1/4 pearl onions peeled

1 table spoon fine chopped tomatoes

1 table spoon crushed jaggery

2 teaspoon oil

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 cup water

salt to taste.

chopped cilantro for garnish

Heat oil in a vessel. Fry the pearl onions till pink. Add the tomatoes and cook till they are paste like. Add the cooked dal and boil for 5 mins with jaggery, salt and raw mango.

To serve put the wheat noodles in a bowl and drown them in the yummy Raw Mango N Pearl Onion Dal and enhance the steamy bowl with chopped cilantro. Rarely will anyone say they didn't like it. Suggested this recipe to my friend who is entertaining some Germans right now.

Pasta Salad

This salad is much loved in my family due to the color, crispiness and yet warm bite it provides. I just loved taking the pictures and knew my blog would look festive with them so forgive me for the similar looking shots. I devepoed a real taste for the salad when I was working in nightshifts for a while. I din't want to eat heavy food yet wanted to keep full through the night without the side effects of doing night shifts. This recipe is just great for students who stay up all night to study during exam times.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Conchiglie(shell) Pasta
some cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini chopped large

2 onions chopped big

1/ cup green sprouts

1 1/2 cup milk

salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper as much as you like

Step I

Lets start by putting the saucepan on the heat. Pour in the milk and add pasta, sprouts, chopped zucchini. Cook till done with salt. The rawness of the sprouts and zucchini should have vanished. I just added torn cabbage on the top before taking the picture below.

Step II

Then prepare the veggies. In a shallow pan roast the veggies with minimum oil and salt as per taste. They should look like this. If you notice I had roasted zucchini too but it did not cook well and had to weed it out while eating. Therefore in this recipe I have suggested it be cooked along with the pasta.

Step III

Now in a salad bowl mix together the cooked stuff from step I and step II. Add the fresh ground pepper. I like a lot of pepper in this salad.

Serve while still warm with toasted bread. At home we like to dip the bread in the sauce. It tastes too good.