Pad Thai

Pad Thai.. literally translates to stir fried rice noodles. So the Thai have their own stir-fried noodles too..! The Thai curry is so famous that noodles haven't been given much importance. Its a very popular street food in Thailand, especially, Bangkok. 

Traditionally, Pad Thai mainly consists of peanuts, beansprouts, garlic, tamarind, chicken/shrimp/cooked eggs.  So I did a lot of browsing on this as well. I came up with my own version of these noodles. While doing so, I also came across noodles in peanut sauce. I am going to try that next! Very simple. Folks with peanut butter handy, just spice it with red chilli, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and toss it with the noodles! 

Coming back to Pad Thai, this is fairly simple and stir-fried.

I made this as one of the mains for my Thai evening. You can use rice flat noodles or the rice vermicelli.

Its not gravy laden but not dry either. When I visited Thailand, I saw street vendors selling pad thai in cane baskets and carts. They serve it with optional condiments like chilli flakes, burnt garlic and choice of dried shrimps, prawns and omelette. They customize each, pad thai for you and sell. I noticed the street vendors use the fine rice vermicelli, whereas in restaurants, the flat variety is used. I have used both and I prefer flat. I have made a basic pad thai. You can mix in other vegetables to make it more nutritious. 

Serves: 4 Preparation Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

200gms raw Rice Noodles, (Flat or Vermicelli or both; 2 cups boiled)
1 cup bean sprouts,
½ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
½ cup spring onion whites, finely chopped (scallions)
½ cup spring onion greens, chopped
1 cup tri-colored bell peppers, julienned
¼ cup tofu, diced & fried

3 tbsp coriander, washed & chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp sesame oil (if available or use peanut oil)

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp chilli flakes, crushed

3 tbsp spinach, ribboned or chopped (optional)

1 tbsp bird's eye chilli, thinly sliced (optional)

1 tsp white pepper powder

salt as per taste

For Garnish:
2 tbsp scallion greens,
2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
1 tbsp coriander, washed & chopped

Method:

1. Follow the instructions on the packet and keep the noodles ready. Usually, boil enough water with salt, then put it off heat and add the noodles and let it sit covered for 10 mins. Drain and add a tsp of oil so that they don't stick.

2. Meanwhile, in a wok, heat some sesame oil, add sesame seeds and let it crackle. 

3. Now, saute the scallion whites, bird's eye chilli and crushed garlic. 

4. Mix in the bell peppers and a tsp of salt and cook for about 30 seconds on high flame. 

5. Now add the spinach, scallion greens and bean sprouts and toss it well. Cook for another 20 seconds. 

6. Add in the soya sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper and sugar and toss it well and cook for another 20 seconds. 

7. Mix in the noodles, crushed peanuts, coriander and tofu. Toss it gently and get it off heat. 

8. Transfer it to the serving bowl. Garnish by sprinkling coriander, crushed peanuts and scallion greens. 

Its ready to eat! Have it hot or warm! Enjoy this tangy-sweet-spicy noodles!

Notes & Tips:

1. If it feels too dry, you can add more soya sauce. But remember soya sauce is salty and the noodles are cooked in salted water so add salt accordingly.

2. Alternatively, to make it more exotic you can add boiled broccoli, carrot julienne,  bok-choy (chinese cabbage), mushrooms, asparagus etc to it. Whatever you wish to add, do not skip the peanuts, tofu and bean sprouts.

3. For Jains:

Skip the onions and garlic. Saute 2 tbsp of ginger instead and follow the remaining as it is. You may add shredded green cabbage.

Do try this and let me know whether you liked it or not! 

Thai Chilli Cakes

Thai Starters.. They don't  have that! Its soup usually that they begin with! So I had to look for something that's Thai and could be made into starters. So began the internet surfing for this. Spring Rolls is overdone. I wanted something new. And then, I came across Thai Chilli Cakes by Sanjeev Kapoor. Something innovative, easy and healthy too! I knew I had to try this.

Its a mixture of bengal gram (chana dal), chickpeas (kabuli chana / choley) and to give it the thai touch, the Thai Red Curry Paste. Its really simple. Its such a change from using potatoes is most of the tikki type starters that this recipe is a must try. Plus its shallow fried!

This recipe is adapted from here. I have followed it almost entirely with just a few optional changes. Its a protein rich recipe and can be made even otherwise as a snack or a tikki to make kathi rolls, wraps, burgers, or sandwich!! Great for kids and a healthy option for dieters.

So here it goes:

Serves: 6 Preparation Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

To be soaked overnight, boiled with salt and drained:
1 cup Chickpeas (kabuli chana / choley)
½ cup Bengal Gram (chana dal) 

Other Ingredients:
3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
8-10 coriander stalks, cleaned and roughly cut
1 cup onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt as per taste
Oil for shallow frying, as required

Dipping Sauce:
Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Ketchup

Method:

1. In a mixer/ food processor/ grinder, take the coriander stalks and crush them into a paste. If required, add some bengal gram to it so it gets crushed well.

2. Once the stalks are crushed, add the chickpeas and balance bengal gram and crush.

Do not use any water to while crushing.

3. It should now resemble a largely smooth & moist dough. Add in the onions, coriander leaves, salt, curry paste, lemon juice and salt. Mix well.

4. Roll them out into even sized flattened balls/tikkis.

5. In a pan, put 3-4 tbsp of oil or as required. Let it heat and then place all the tikkis and shallow fry them on each side.

And its ready! Serve hot with the thai chilli sauce or ketchup!

Its that simple! Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. Unlike the original recipe, I boiled and used the bengal gram, perhaps that gave a slightly loose texture to my mixture. I used about 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs. My mom felt it was loose but I felt it was alright! It cooked and tasted just the same without the bread crumbs. So you can go with your preference.

2. The quantity of curry paste will depend on the potency of it.

3. You can also crush some kaffir lime leaves with the coriander stalk to make it more thai.

4. If you are using it as a tikki, you can add some mint/phudina leaves instead of kaffir lime leaves. Serve it with coriander chutney. Alternatively, if using it in a wrap or a roll or for burgers, just get creative and use it!

5. For Jains:

Just omit the onions. And the rest is same.

A very simple protein rich jain option!

If you try it, do leave your experiences in the comment section! And ofcourse, for any queries too!

Enjoy!

Tom Kha Soup

Its been a few months having posted. I started working full time which has kept me too busy with no time for cooking or blogging!

So recently, I got the opportunity to cook for a family dinner. They wanted to try the Thai food I make.

I was dying to cook something and this was for a group of 15 people so I was all geared up for this and somehow managed to cook it all despite a busy work schedule.

The menu in Thai was Tom Kha soup, Thai chilli cakes, Corn Cheese Balls (not Thai), Pad Thai Noodles, Thai Red Curry, Fragrant Rice. I also tried to make a panna cotta using china grass which turned out to be a dud because it just refused to set! Though the spiced peach sauce I made along was a hit!

Too much of Tom-yum and honestly its just a thai version of clear soup. So this time, the experimental bug in me wanted to try cooking something new. I have been to Thailand and while I was in bangkok, a dear local friend took me to a Thai vegetarian restaurant and made me taste a vegetarian Tom -Kha, the taste of which still lingers at the name! So I thought let me try this. Its predominant flavour is lemon grass & ginger with mild flavour of coconut milk. The lemony tangy bit will be appreciated on Indian palate!

And with the monsoon setting in, this soup will warm you up and keep the colds and flues at bay!

I went through a lot of recipes, mostly non-veg and finally came up with my own version of this recipe.

Traditionally, its made with chicken, shrimps or other thai seafood. Tom-kha mean chicken galangal. I was skeptical about the pieces of galangal being appreciated in the soup so instead I crushed them in the red curry paste. I tried to make it more textural and flavoursome in the vegetarian version.

I had to make it keeping the diet restrictions of my guests in mind. But my recipe will give you the authentic version of making it. You can then move around with your diet restrictions.

This is low calorie and low fat soup!! So all you guys on a diet can try too!!

So here we go:

Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures as I was too busy cooking and then serving! I'll update it when I make it again!

Serves: 4 Preparation Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
1 cup of vegetables, diced (onions, green cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, babycorn)
2-3 tbsp of mushrooms, sliced (button, oyster, porcini, enoki)
½" galangal, sliced (optional)
½" ginger sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1 stalk lemon grass, diagonally sliced (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup coconut milk
¾ cup lemon grass extract*
2 cups vegetable stock or water
Salt as per taste
1 tbsp oil (optional)

 To be tied into a bouquet garni:
5-7 coriander stalks
4-5 basil leaves
2 lemon grass stalks
1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)

For Garnish:
3 tbsp of coriander, washed and chopped

Method (if using oil):

1. Heat oil, fry the Thai red curry paste till oil starts oozing from the sides. Then add all the veggies, mushroom, ginger, galangal and tomatoes. Sauté in the paste till all the vegetables are coated with it. This will take about 1 min of continuous sauteing.

2. Now add the coconut milk. Mix well.

3. Then, add the lemon grass extract and the vegetable stock. Add lemon grass stalks and salt as per taste.

4. Once this mixture is hot enough drop in the bouquet garni.

5. Let all the vegetables cook in this flavoured stock till tender and boil for 5 mins. Cover and cook.

6. Squeeze in some lemon juice and put it off heat.

7. Garnish with coriander. Serve hot.

Method ( without oil):

1. Heat the vegetable stock or water. bring it to a boil.

2. Add in the curry paste, coconut milk, lemon grass extract.Mix well.

3. Add in all the vegetables, ginger, galangal, mushrooms, tomatoes and lemon grass stalks. Season with salt and let it cook. Drop in the bouquet garni as well. Cover and cook.

4. It should be done in 10 mins, squeeze in the lemon juice and bring to a boil and its ready to serve!

Notes & Tips:

1. The curry paste is spicy so no other spices required. If you want it more spicy, add in another teaspoon of the paste and mix well.

2. My guests included kids, who were fussy about vegetables in soup. So after the soup was ready, I scooped out a handful of vegetables and blitzed the rest. I was very worried it will change the taste. But hey! it did not!! And it made it thicker... obviously!

But I would not recommend blitzing it as that's not how the soup is served!

3. You may add 2tsp of cornflour slurry while boiling if you want it thick.

4. The choice of vegetables & mushrooms is entirely upto your preference.I'd suggest cooking the veggies until almost done as residual heat will cook it further. Also, because overcooking is very common while making soups destroying the nutritional value!

5. If you can't decide, go with this mix:

Veggies: Babycorn, onions, tomatoes, lemongrass, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, ginger

Mushrooms: Oyster, Button (either or both)

6. For Jains:

Its really simple, just omit the onions. No difference to taste. Proceed as it is. It tastes delicious without mushrooms also!

Let me know how it turned out! Please leave your experiences in the comments section. If you have any suggestions, ideas or made any changes to this recipe, I'd love to know!

Let it rain while you enjoy this delightful soup with your loved ones!

Vietnamese Curry & Basil Rice

I think I have a soft corner for South-East Asian (especially Chinese) and Italian food. My first experience with Vietnamese food was when my Vietnamese classmates made vegetarian Nems (Rice-paper Spring Rolls) amongst a few other things.Then, fried Nems at one of the house parties hosted by mom. And then, recently when my cousin who also likes cooking was talking about Vietnamese curry.. which really caught me and I started searching for it.

Obviously, most of the recipes I found were with meat or seafood. And tofu. I am not a great fan of tofu except for silken tofu in Japanese Miso Soup!

After several days of browsing, I finally made my version of this curry earlier this week.

Vietnamese Cuisine in many ways is similar to Thai. Though I feel Thai Cuisine is robust in terms of flavours and foods, whereas Vietnamese Cuisine is an emulation & adaptation of its neighbouring regions. Like Thailand, they use a lot of sea-food too. They are known for the dog meat delicacy that is served in festivals! And, of course their coffee. Decent I'd say!

Honestly, this curry is quite similar to the Yellow Thai Curry because it uses coconut milk as one of the main flavours. But, the vegetables and preparation I'd say is a lot less fussier than Thai Curry unless you stock curry paste. Besides this is a very good option for low fat meal because it is entirely optional to use oil!

Yes.. It tastes the same without oil!!

I served it with simple basil rice. Basil was subtle yet fragrant. I had it handy so I used it. It can be served plain.

You can use whatever vegetables suit your palate..! After all, what's the point in cooking up something if it doesn't have foods you like to eat!

So here it is:

Serves: 2 - 3. Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 15 - 20 mins.

Ingredients

For Vietnamese Curry:
½ cup red onion, diced (1 medium sized)
¼ cup tomato, diced (1 small)
½ cup carrots, sliced (1 small)
1 cup button mushrooms, quartered (6-7 mushrooms)
1 cup potatoes, diced (2 medium sized)
1 cup coloured belled peppers, diced (red, green, yellow)
1 heaping tbsp chopped ginger
1 heaping tbsp chopped garlic
1 cup coconut milk
2 - 3 cups water
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 tsp turmeric/haldi powder
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tsp sugar (optional)
½ cup lemon grass extract*
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
salt as per taste

For Basil Rice:
1 cup rice (I used regular basmati, it goes well with other starchy rice, brown rice, thai rice)
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
3-4 basil leaves

Method:

For Curry:

1. Heat oil in a deep pot. Add bay leaf, onions, ginger & garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds.

2. Add mushrooms, capsicums and sauté for a minute.

3. Then add, tomatoes, potatoes & carrots. Add salt, 2 cups water, ¾ of coconut milk and lemon grass extract. (I also used lemon grass paste as a bouquet garni)

If not using oil, just add everything under steps 1, 2, & 3 and simmer.

4. Add curry powder, sugar, turmeric, red chilli powder.

5. Let this all simmer on low flame until all the vegetables are cooked. It will take about 10-15 mins.

6. Check for taste. The curry will be slightly watery so mix the cornflour in balance ¼ cup coconut milk, and add to the curry. It will thicken.

7. Put it off heat. Serve.  Yes its that simple!

Garnish with spring onion greens, mint or whatever is handy..!

* Take 3-5 stalks of lemon grass and ½ cup water and blend them into as smooth a purée as possible.

Strain it using a fine sieve. All that remains in the sieve, tie it into a bouquet-garni and drop in the curry till cooked. Squeeze and remove it once the curry is ready.

For Basil Rice:

1. Thoroughly wash the rice.

2.  Boil 2 cups water with salt.

3. Now add basil and the rice and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.

Notes & Tips:

1. If you do not have store bought curry powder handy, just mix in 1 tbsp of coriander-cumin seed/dhania-jeera powder with 2 tbsp sambhar masala. I did the same.

2. You can add broccoli and tofu. They lend a different flavour to the mix. Whatever vegetables you choose, do not omit tomatoes & potatoes.

3. For Jains:

• If using oil, sauté bay leaf & ginger.
• Add vegetables (bottle gourd, tomatoes, carrots (if using), peas, beans, bellpeppers, babaycorn, cabbage, etc), water, cocnut milk, lemongrass extract and spices.
• Follow step 4 onwards.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I made my first vanilla cupcakes.. Finally! And they turned out to be awesome! Really!

I adapted the recipe from here. I had attended Pooja Dhingra's workshop this year at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and she shared some really useful techniques. I combined both and made this.

Since I was trying, I kept the quantity to the minimum.

This is a versatile recipe and can be used to make other flavours as well. I am certain this will be loved by kids as well as adults!

Makes: 8 - 10 Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 15 mins.

Ingredients:

¾ cup (100 gms) all purpose flour/maida

¼ cup (60 gms) butter (at room temperature)

¼ cup (60 ml) milk (room temperature or lukewarm)

1/3 cup (80 ml) unflavoured curd/yoghurt

½ cup (70 gms) powdered sugar

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

1 vanilla bean or ½ tsp vanilla essence.

For Chocolate Ganache:

60 gms dark chocolate

2-3 tbsp milk or fresh cream

Method:

1. Sift the flour along with baking powder and baking soda twice. Also sift the powdered sugar. Preheat the oven at 180ºC for 10-15 mins.

2. Mix the milk and curd in a separate bowl with a spoon or a fork ensuring there are no lumps. (Do not blend)

3. In a separate bowl, take the butter and sugar and whisk until creamy and fluffy. Do this for about 2-3 mins or until you feel its light.

4. Now you can slit the vanilla bean and scrape the extract and mix it into this mixture. Alternately, you may add the vanilla essence. Incorporate the flavour into this mixture by whisking for another 30 seconds. 

5. Now, add just 1/3 of the flour mixture to this butter-sugar mix. Whisk to ensure its mixed well. Then add 1/3 of the milk and curd mix. Whisk until the lumps disappear. Now add the flour, whisk, milk-curd, whisk, Repeat. 

6. The batter should be smooth and thick consistency. 

7. Now fill about ¾ of the cupcake mould with the batter prepared. 

 

8. Let it bake at 180ºC for 15 mins approx. 

9. Meanwhile for the chocolate ganache, cut the chocolate into small pieces or grate them in a small bowl. Heat the milk or cream to simmer and pour it on the chocolate. Let it sit for 2 mins and stir. This is our chocolate ganache. You can use a piping bag to make swirls etc or simply spread it. 

10. The cakes should be ready by now! :) Enjoy the yummy cupcakes!

Notes & Tips:

1. To check if the cake is done, you may insert a toothpick or knife in the centre and if it comes out clean its ready. If not, bake a little longer.

2. Baking time differs from oven to oven. My oven took exactly 15 mins! 

3. Alternately, you can make this as a cake too in a bigger mould.

4. Also, if you do not have an oven, you can make it in the pressure cooker without the whistle. Just put it on low heat for 40-45 mins. Open after the cooker has cooled.

5. You may add different flavours to this like nuts, chocolate chips, non-citrusy fruits, dried fruits etc. 

6. You can make a different icing of butter and sugar by whisking them. Add in the colour of your choice and pipe it onto your cake.

Spinach & Mushroom Cannelloni

I have never made a cannelloni. Its been on my to-do list for a while now.

So I made it this week and it was really delicious! I never knew it would turn out so good!!

The best part is it is healthy and colourful! A meal in itself.. If you like lasagne you will undoubtedly like this.

Cannelloni is simply a thick tubular pasta with a filling inside and sauces outside. Alternatively, lasagne rolled like thick cigars/rolls with filling inside is the same as the ready made tubular ones! This is baked just like lasagne! Lasagne follows layering, these are rolls, rest remains the same!

So lets start with it!

Serves: 2 Preparation Time: 20 mins Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

For the Creamy Cheese Sauce (1 cup):

1 heaped tbsp of butter

1 tbsp of maida/all purpose flour or sifted wheat flour

¾ cup milk

2-3 tbsp of fresh cream (store bought), I used Amul's

3 tbsp grated cheese, cheddar (preferably parmesan)

½ tsp ground nutmeg/jaiphal

salt & pepper as per taste

For the Rustic Tomato Sauce (1 cup):

2 tomatoes, blanched and puréed 

2 tbsp celery, finely chopped

3 tbsp carrots, finely chopped

2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

3 tbsp onion, finely chopped

4-5 basil leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper as per taste

For the Spinach & Mushroom Filling:

1 cup spinach leaves (¾ bunch or 150 gms), washed, blanched & shredded

1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper as per taste  

For the Cannelloni:

4 Lasagne sheets, home-made or store bought
4 cups water

2 tbsp oil

salt as per taste

For Garnish:

2 tbsp Mozzarella cheese, grated

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Method:

For the Cannelloni:

1. Take the water in a sufficiently deep and wide vessel and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 tbsp oil and enough salt. Then add in 4 lasagne sheets.

2. Follow the cooking instructions on the packet, usually 8-10 mins. Once cooked, immediately drain it and apply the balance 1 tbsp oil and leave aside.

For the Creamy Cheese Sauce:

1. Heat the butter in a pan. Once melted, add the sifted flour and cook for 30 -45 secs.

2. Now add the milk to this mixture IN 3 PARTS to avoid lumps while stirring continuously.

3. Once the milk has uniformly integrated with the flour and butter and thick, you can now add the cream, cheese,  salt, pepper and nutmeg.

4. Let this cook for about a minute and leave it aside.

You may preheat the oven at 200°C for 15 mins now.


For the Spinach & Mushroom Filling:

1. Chop the veggies and keep aside.

 

2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the garlic and sauté for 45 secs. Mix in the blanched spinach and mushrooms. Stir well.

3. Add salt and pepper and let it cook. Mushrooms will start giving out water. Cook it until almost all the water is gone.

4. Now add about 3 tbsp of our creamy cheese sauce to this mixture and mix well.

5. Get it off heat and keep aside.

For the Rustic Tomato Sauce:

1. Chop the veggies and keep them ready.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Once hot, add the garlic and onions. Sauté for 45 secs.

3. Now add in the carrots and celery. Let it cook for about 2 mins until soft.

4. Now add in the basil and tomato purée.Let it cook for 3 mins. Then proceed to adding oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for more 2 mins.

5. The colour of the sauce would have changed by now. Get it off heat and keep aside.

Assembling the Cannelloni:

Remember to preheat the oven at 200°C for 15 mins before you assemble.

1. Now in a baking dish, place a few basil leaves randomly (optional). Then spread a generous layer of the rustic tomato sauce.

2. Divide the filling into 4 equal portions. In a separate plate or a flat surface, place one lasagne sheet and place one portion of the filling at either end of the sheet. Carefully roll and place it on the sauce in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining 3 lasagne sheets.

3. Once all have been placed, spread the remaining creamy cheese sauce covering the cannelloni. Sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese and bake for 10 -12 mins at 180°C.

4. Once ready just sprinkle some chopped parsley and serve.

Enjoy!!

Notes & Tips:

1. For Jains:

• The creamy cheese sauce remains as it is.
• In the rustic tomato sauce, you may omit the onions and garlic. Celery and carrots too. Instead just add 1-2 bay leaf, tomato purée  basil (7-8) and 1 tbsp mix herbs (oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary etc.) Let it boil for 3-5 mins and keep aside.
• For the Spinach filling, instead of garlic add ½ tsp finely chopped ginger. You may substitute mushrooms for ¾ cup boiled corn kernels.
• Proceed as it is!

2. Alternatively, spinach can be combined with cottage cheese or corn.

3. I boiled the lasagne in the same water that I used for blanching the spinach! 

4. The creamy cheese sauce is similar to our regular white sauce. We just add in the cheese and fresh cream to make it richer!

Leave your experiences in the comments section! I'd love to know how did you like it!

Aloo Phudina Paratha

I really like the flavour of mint leaves! Be it soups, mocktails, subzis, breads.. or whatever! It just lends a beautiful flavour to the final dish.

I can talk about food for hours especially if the one I am talking to is a foodie like me! So one of such conversations led to my friend sharing this recipe with me as her office packed lunches!

Potatoes (Aloo) are a versatile base to experiment with different flavours. Although I had tried Aloo Phudina Paratha in a dhaaba in Amritsar a few years back I never made it at home! Theirs was mainly potatoes, mint, onions. Whereas mine was sans onions and with little methi leaves (fenugreek) instead.

I don't like potatoes much but with mint I had to try!

And hey! a quick fact: Mint aids digestion and has relaxing properties. So this is another reason why you should try this!

So here it is:

Serves: 3-4 Makes: 15 Parathas. Preparation Time: 15 mins. Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

For Filling:
350 gms Potatoes (6 medium sized), boiled
2 tbsp fenugreek/methi leaves, washed and chopped (optional)
1½ tbsp garlic (5 cloves), crushed (optional)
1 tbsp ginger, grated
¾ cup mint leaves, washed and chopped
1 tbsp green chilli paste
1 tsp Garam masala (optional)
1 tsp Kitchen magic masala (optional)
1 tsp Amchur (dry mango) powder
Salt as per taste
1 tsp oil
1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)

For Dough:

2 cups sifted wheat flour
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp salt
Water as required

Some dry flour for dusting
Oil or Ghee (Clarified Butter) for roasting

Method:

1. Prepare the dough by mixing all the ingredients under 'For Dough' and knead into a soft dough. Cover it and let it sit.

2. Heat oil in a small and shallow pan, add jeera. Once it crackles, add the methi leaves. Stir and let it cook for about 1 min and put it off heat.

3. In another mixing bowl, mash the potatoes and add all the remaining ingredients along with the methi leaves and mix well. (I added the amchur after taking the picture! oops!)

4. Divide this mixture into equal sized balls.

5. Now, divide the dough into equal sized balls. Roll each ball into a flat bread/roti and place the stuffing. Close it like a dumpling and roll it  using some flour kept for dusting.

6. Dry roast it on a griddle, once light pink/brown spots appear change sides and roast using ghee or oil as preferred.

7. Serve hot with raita or flavoured curd! Enjoy!!

Notes & Tips:

1. For Jains:

Substitute the potatoes for raw bananas/plantain (2 -3 medium sized). Skip the garlic. Proceed as it is.

2. Alternatively, the fenugreek can be skipped completely. If doing so slightly increase the quantity of mint.

3. You may also sauté some onions with jeera (and or methi) and add to the filling.

Homemade Pesto with Fusilli

This time Mumbai felt like winter which made me crave for some pesto pasta! I made this quick and yummy pesto sauce at home.

I tried it at a few restaurants but it always lacked a certain taste. Although I did not use Parmesan cheese, it is definitely tasty and worth trying at home. Besides, it has olive oil, cheese and nuts which makes it quite a filling meal in itself. I paired with some colourful bell peppers to break the green monotony and make it more appealing. It went well with some black sliced olives too!

Makes: 1 cup Serves: 2 Preparation Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

For Pesto:
1 ½ cup basil leaves, washed, separated from stem
½ cup pine nuts or walnuts or both, slightly roasted
6-7 garlic cloves
2-3 tbsp fresh cream/malai
1 cheddar cheese cube (2")
4-5 generous tbsp olive oil.
Salt & pepper as per taste

Others:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp colourful bellpeppers/capsicum, julienned
2 tbsp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp black olives, sliced

For Pasta
1 cup fusilli
Salt, Oil & Water as required


Method:

1. In a deep pan, bring about 3-4 cups water to boil. Add salt, oil and pasta and let it cook as per packet instructions stirring ocassionally.

2. In a mixer grinder/food processor, Mix in all the ingredients under 'For Pesto' except the olive oil. The olive oil should be poured in intervals and not all at once. Grind it into a coarse paste. If it feels dry, add more oil. Avoid using water as this has to be creamy. You may add milk if you feel its too dry.

Once blended, keep aside.

3. Chop the bell peppers & olives.

4. In another flat pan, heat the olive oil. Now add the bellpeppers and stir fry for about 2 mins. Now mix in the the pesto and let it all mix well with the bell peppers and infuse its flavour amongst each other. This should take about 2 mins. At this stage if you feel its too thick, you may add some fresh cream or milk.

4. By now, the pasta should be ready. So toss in the pasta and gently fold in the pesto sauce.

5. Serve hot with some grated cheese and slice olives. Also drizzle some olive oil!

Voilà! Its ready! Enjoy!!

Notes & Tips:

1. For Jains: Simply skip the garlic. You may add 1 tbsp ginger. Rest all remains the same!

2. Ideally the cheese to be used is Parmesan Reggiano aka Parmesan. If you get your hands on it, use that. about 2 -3 tbsp chopped parmesan. Use it for garnishing too!

3. Also, extra virgin olive oil is the best choice here, with more the better! I used normal Figaro Olive oil.

4. I used pine nuts and walnuts both in equal quantities.

Dry Masala Roti

Recently, one sunday evening I was alone for dinner and usually I am too lazy to experiment when its just me! So I tried something thats healthy, fast and easy to make. So I surfed online and bumped into this recipe here!

A mix of dry spices and urad dal ground together and stuffed inside a roti. I made a few changes and adjusted the proportions as per my taste. It is very simple and pairs well with curd.

Serves: 2 Preparation Time: 5-10 mins. Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1½ cup sifted wheat flour + some for dusting
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil
Water as required

For the dry masala:

½ cup skinless split black gram/ urad dal
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds/dhania ke beej or powder
1 tbsp whole fennel seeds/saunf or powder
½ tbsp black peppercorns/ kali mirch or powder
¼ tsp garam masala
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp dried mango powder/amchur
1½ tbsp bengal gram flour/besan
¼ tsp turmeric powder/ haldi
Salt as per taste

For roasting:
Ghee/clarified butter as required

Method:

1. Firstly, if you are taking whole spices, dry roast them - coriander seeds, fennel seeds, black pepper. This will take barely 30 - 45 seconds on a small hot pan. They will turn a slight brown and that is when we immediately transfer to a mixing bowl.

2. Now, take the bengal gram flour/besan and dry roast for about 30 - 45 seconds. Once done, immediately transfer to a mixing bowl.

3. Now in a mixture grinder, dry grind the whole spices and all other ingredients under dry masala into a fine yet slightly coarse powder.

4. Check for salt and tang and mix well.

5. Now make a soft roti/chapati dough using the items under 'for the dough'.

6. Just like we make stuff paratha, divide the dough in equal sized balls. Now, flatten each ball and roll it till its 1cm thick and put in about 1 tbsp of  the dry masala as a stuffing. Seal all the sides. Dusting as required, roll them into thin rotis.

7. Dry roast both sides until light brown spots start to appear, use a little ghee and finish the roasting.

8. The simple dry masala rotis are ready to eat! Serve them just like that, or with curd, or as you like it!

Notes & Tips:

1. Dry roasting the whole spices lets them release their aromas and flavours. You can do the same with the powders too. Just ensure they do not burn. A very light brown and a light smell is enough. Immediately transfer it as it may continue to roast due to residual heat.

Alternatively, if you are in a super hurry, you can simply grind them without roasting.

2. This can be used for stuffed puris as well.

3. This can be stored in a cool and dry place for 8 to 10 days.