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How to cook Pasta in minutes

Pasta is the most convenient meal for me, I cook it at least once a week. I have 2 stereotype version which I make.Also my maid is missing in action(kiski nazar lag gayee hai). So I might be doing more cooking this week.

1. Pasta in cheesy white sauce(with lots of pepper).
2. Pasta in a tomato base which is ready available in any supermarket.

Here is my recipe, this doesn't take more than 10 mins, if you have the veggies all chopped, pasta boiled.
(I would appreciate some improvisation advise.)

Ingredients for Pasta in tomato sauce

Pasta(cooked in salt water) any make but i prefer the ones with more fiber.
assorted veggies chopped & cooked lightly.
Tomato base which is also called as a pasta sauce.(available off the shelf)
Olive oil preferably.
Red chilly powder.
Finely Chopped garlic
Soya Beans cooked. (you can replace it with shredded chicken)
( I have recently turned in to a social non-vegetarian, that means I will be eating non-veg food socially only :). )
Salt to taste.

Preparation.

Saute the finely chopped garlic(you can replace garlic with onion if you want), add the lightly cooked veggies and soya beans,saute for somewhile, add the pasta sauce and red chilly powderand little water if needed, cook it for 2 mins, add the cooked pasta, mix it well.

You are ready to serve! Enjoy!

Fish Cutlet (just moved to posterous)

Ingredients 

(download)

Chicken Stew Mallu Style

I have been eating outside food for last so many days, so cooking a Stew felt so good. A great meal in itself.

Ingredients:

2 tetrapacks of Dabur Hommade Thick coconut milk

2 table spoons Ginger garlic paste

2 large onions cut into medium sized squares

1 small carrot diced

4-5 french beans, slit into 1 inch vertical slivers

2 boiled potatoes, diced

1 small capsicum cut in squares

few pieces of cauliflower (reduce or increase qty of veggies depending on preference- I use lots of potatoes)

250 grams Chicken pieces/ chicken sausages/ salami

2 maggi chicken stock cubes

2 sprigs of curry leaves- kaddipatta

4 green chillies- sliced vertically.

Method

Boil potatoes and keep aside.

In a deep pan, pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil and fry curry leaves, chillies and ginger garlic paste.

Add onion, other veggies and chicken pieces(cut into 1/2 inch size). Add salt.

Fry on a medium flame for nearly 15 mins, turning it constantly to avoid sticking to pan.

Add coconut milk (it is quite thick, so fill the tetrapack with water to take out bits still sticking- so equal parts coconut milk & water)

Stir well and increase flame slightly. If you are going to have it like soup- let it be watery.

keep on slow flame a let it stew for 30-45 mins.

Spinach and Mint Juice

There is no disease only stress – Manoj Nayak

Anytime I have an ailment I check the internet for answers. I use the Iphone application of this website (http://www.webmd.com/) to check my symptoms, and each and every time, i come across , there is no cure for this disease but you should reduce stress.

Now how do I deal with stress. Its rather easy to say

• Exercise
• Meditate
• Meet interesting positive people.
• Read Books
• Listen to Music
• Watch great movies.
• Take a vacation

Well who got the time!! (or the money), when one has to meet Targets!!! Isn't the fulfilment of your goals the most important thing in your life???

So the answer is stress is as real as your shadow. Love it, embrace it, play with it, bully it. Tell it to take a chill pill.

Okay this is a great drink I make, Spinach and Mint Juice,have it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, don't eat anything for a couple of hours after it. Here is a recipe

Ingredients

• Spinach,
• Mint,
• coriander,
• lemon juice
• Jal jeera powder.

Blend it in a mixer or juicer.

Strain it, add lemon juice and jaljeera powder.

TOOR DAAL RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 cup Tuvar (Toor) Daal
1 Pinch Turmeric Powder
Salt To Taste
1 Lemons
1/2 tsp Jaggery
1 Pinch Asafoetida
1 tbsp Ghee
2 Dry Red Chillies
1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
3 Garlic Cloves

Preparation:

• Pressure cook tuvar dal with sufficient water and turmeric powder.
• Mash the dal, after it has been cooked.
• Chop the garlic cloves finely.
• Heat the ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds, dry red chillies and garlic cloves. Fry till they pop up.
• Add the dal with 2 cups of water and salt.
• Cook until the toor daal boils, then add jaggery. Cook for 4-5 minutes more.
• When the tuvar dal is cooled add lemon juice and serve.

Make coffee the painful way.

I learnt to make coffee the painful way courtsey my girlfriend .Ironically it's called a expresso. Some like to endure pain (physical or mental) , some like to be a pain . Here I started listening to the audio book 'tipping point' by malcom galdwel lovely book. It us a must read for any marketer of anyone in advertising. Since I'm on a 'off consumption experiment' and avoid getting CCD coffee which costs around 55 bucks . I decided to take some pain and make an espresso at home. Ok first you put double the amount of coffee( nescafe) and double the amount of sugar , add a little bit water and whip it with your spoon as long as you can, till it starts looking white and foaming, and for pain seekers , your arms will start paining as you whip and it's quite painful. Boil milk mixed with water and then pour over this and enjoy your experssso . Cheers .

Saturday Night Dinner and Date

I got to cooking today, i do it every day :), LOVE TO COOK :).

Batata Bhaji

Ingredients:

Potatoes                4-5
Onion                       3
Green chilly             2
Kadipatta               4-5
Mustard seeds    1 tsp
Cumin seeds       1 tsp
Turmeric powde  1/2 tsp
Hing                       1/4 tsp
Grated coconut    1/2 cup
Coriander leaves 1/2 cup
Oil                            1 tbsp
Salt
How to make Batata bhaji:

Boil potatoes in pressure cooker.
Remove skin and make pieces.
Chop onion,green chilly and coriander leaves finely.
In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
When they crackle add kadipatta,green chilly and onion.
Fry onions on low flame till transperent then add hing,turmeric powder and salt.
Now add potato pieces and mix well.
Cover the pan and allow to cook on low flame foe 2-3 min.
Lastly add grated coconut and coriander leaves.

Recipe Sourced from : http://www.ladvaibhavi.com/2007/01/26/batata-bhaji/

Raita

chop cucumber fine. add fine tomatoes & chopped onions.
take dahi and add these to it.
salt to taste just before eating.
raita is ready but if u want a more exotic one then -
take one tablespoon of oil. heat it. put saraso. kadi patta. finely chopped green chillies. fry them a bit.
add this to the dahi raita.

  Recipe By Vandana Natu

Screwdriver

Recipe :

4 part Orange Juice and 1 part Vodka (Fuel)

Pinch of Salt

Music

: Coldplay

Date

Rajma Chawal

Holi D

ay i thought since my maid is on chutti, i would try to make something myself, i have been planning to make Rajma, since a long time, and got a recipe from my true blue punju friend.Cooking is so therapeutic, smelling the aroma of onions cooking, the spices and finally the food, can really thrill you senses and your being.So Happy Holi.

I have used Rajma masala instead of Garam masala, i didn't have any amchur powder

or soda bi carb,so i missed it.I did one big goof up, because of the over emphasis to put more water i put so much that it was very watery, so my cooking time went to 1.5 hours, anyway i was in no rush today.I like to make my rice in a electric rice cooker, very convenient!

 

Conclusion: Well one of the yummiest meals, but was perspiringly HOT, i think i put too much Kashmiri Mirchi and green chilles.But Cucumber and puran poli came to rescue.

Recipe for Rajma :-

 

Ingredients :               Serves :2 - 3

250-300 gms Rajma ( kashmiri , soaked overnight and cleaned well )

1 cup chopped onions.

tomato puree ( frm 7-8 med sized tomato)( grind blanched tomatoes in a mixer for the puree)

     or

ready tomato puree available 1 packet

green chilies, red mirchi powder ( kashmiri preferably for colour)

soda bi carb / eno powder (pinch)

cinnamon

bay leaf

cloves ( 3-4)

crushed garlic , ginger

salt to taste

aamchur powder

garam masala

Ghee ( avoid oil )

 

Method :

 

  

In a cooker , put the required quantity of ghee ( be more generous than usual) . Fry onions till transparent , also add all the ingredients other than the tomato puree and

mix till onions become slightly brown. Now add the puree and mix till the mixture is homogeneous. Add the soaked Rajma , with the same water in which it was soaked . Add a pinch of soda bi carb to soften or eno powder . Now add extra water and salt to taste. The consistency could look watery but do not add less water as rajma has the tendency to absorb water.

Pressure cook(about 4/5 whisles) and then keep it for 45 mins on low . Once done , check if it is soft enough. Then remove a half cup of cooked rajma , mash it thoroughly and add it back to the rest of the rajma. This will thicken the consistency and give it one boil without the lid . Garnish with corriander ...And it eat steaming HOT with rice .

Making white sauce in a micro

Hey one of my friend Nandita who runs a very popular blog, told me how to make white sauce in a micro,here is how it goes

• just melt butter first, for 30 seconds
• then add 2 tbsp of maida, micro for 1 min, then one more.
• then add 1 cup milk, micro for 3 minutes.
• whip well with fork, add 1/2 cup more milk and micro again.
• whip , salt, pepper and done.

Thats it done!  add this to pasta veggie anything.....nice.

I haven't tried it to make in a micro though,but sounds fun and simple.Haven't been cooking lately:-(!!!

Mushroom in white sauce

I like simple food, what i mean is i like all the flavors and ingredients to balance itself, not a single taste should be overpowering, I want spinach to taste like spinach, i prefer the veggies slightly undercooked,and very less oil/butter.

Here a simple recipe, inspired by karen Anand somewhat.

Ingredients

Mushroom
Spinach
Shredded boiled or microwaved chicken
Milk
Cheese
Black Pepper powder
Chopped Garlic

Cut your mushroom, however you like, dont forget to wipe and clean the mushrooms.Take some butter in the pan,saute chopped garlic till brown,add mushrooms and saute,till all the water evaporates,add spinach and shredded chicken.Take some milk and add into the pan till it boils, sprinle some black pepper generously,add some cheese, saute till it becomes think, add some white flour(maida) if it very liquid.Season with salt.
Put in on a toast and enjoy. call it white sauce or cheesy sauce,mix and match the ingredients as you like it.