Spinach-Mushroom Pasta in White Sauce (Low Cal Version)

Ingredients : (Serves 2)

1. Pasta (any variant) - 200 gms
2. Spinach - Chopped - 2 cups
3. Mushrooms (any variant) - 6 to 8 - Chopped
4. Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves - chopped and crushed.
5. Onion - 1 medium size - finely chopped
6. Wheat flour - 2 spoons
7. Milk - room temperature- appx 300 ml
8. Olive oil - 2 spoons
9. Salt - as per taste
10. Thyme - fresh or preserved - 1 spoon
11. Black pepper -crushed - 1 spoon

Boil water in a big vessel. Add pasta, 1 tea spoon salt and 1 tea spoon oil (any) and cook well for 8-10 mins. Drain it in a colander when cooked.

Preparations:

1. In a wok, add 2 spoons olive oil. Add onions and garlic and saute them till the onions turn pink.
2. Add mushrooms and cook till the mushrooms leave their juice and start wilting.
3. Add thyme leaves and stir a little.
4. Add flour and mix it well.
5. Pour milk and keep stirring so that flour does not form lumps to your desired consistency of the white sauce.
6. Cook the sauce and it will start thickening.
7. Add spinach and cook for 1 minute or till the spinach leaves start wilting.
8. Add salt and black pepper to the sauce.
9. Add pasta to the sauce and mix well. Cook for 1 minute.

Serve hot ;)

Tips:

1. To make rich sauce, substitute half milk with cream in step 5.
2. Add 2 spoon full of cream cheese after step 5.
3. If you do not want to put mushrooms, you may use butter to saute onions and garlic rather than olive oil.

Aate ke Laddu

This one is straight from my Mum's kitchen :)

Ingredients : For making appx 3kg Laddoos

1. 200 gms Almonds
2. 200 gms Cashew Nuts
3. 100 gms Edible Gum 
4. 100 gms Muskmelon seeds (kharbooje ki giri)
5. 100 gms Foxnut (Makhaana - Lotus seed)
6. 200 gm Dry coconut 
7. 2 Tea spoons - White pepper or black pepper powder 
8. 2 Tea spoons - Sonth Powder (Dry ginger powder)
9. 800 gms to 1 kg Pure Desi Ghee
10. 1 kg Wheat Atta
11. 1 kg Sugar

Preparations before making the Laddoos

1. Chop all nuts (almonds, cashews) and keep aside.
2. Grate dry coconut and keep aside.
3. Grind sugar to fine powder in a mixie and keep aside.
4. Take a big heavy wok (kadhaai) and heat it on high flame.
5. Put 4 tablespoons gheee in the wok, heat it and fry 1 big spoon of the edible gum till it turns golden brown. Keep stirring. You will need to complete frying 100 gms of edible gum in appx 5/6 turns. Keep adding ghee to the kadhaai if it gets over.
6. Let the fried gum, cool and using a heavy bowl, hand crush it.
7. After you finish frying gum, dry roast foxnuts (makhaane) in the remaining ghee in the same wok. Keep stirring else it will burn.
8. Take out foxnuts from the wok and let it cool.
9. Roast grated coconut until light golden brown in the same wok. Keep aside when it is done and let it cool.
10. Coarse grind roasted foxnuts in a mixie. Do not grind to powder
11. Grind roasted dry coconut in the mixie.

Making Laddoos

1. In the same wok, put half kg ghee and let it melt.
2. Put wheat flour in the wok and keep stirring.
3. Add ghee to the wok until the wheat atta and ghee mixes in a thick consistency (consistency almost similar to a toothpaste)
4. Keep stirring and roast the atta on high flame till it becomes brown. Put off the flame.
5. Add chopped nuts and muskmelon seeds and mix it well (The nuts and muskemelon seeds will automatically roast in the hot mixture)
6. Let the mixture cool off slightly.
7. Take a huge vessel (so that you can mix all ingredients together properly in it)
8. Put the mixture in the vessel. 
9. Add roasted coconut powder, foxnuts, edible gum, pepper powder, dry ginger powder.
10. After the mixture is relatively cooler, add sugar powder and mix all ingredients well.
11. Roll the mixture in hands to make laddoos.
12. Store it in air tight box. The laddoos will not get spoiled for atleast 3/4 months if you store it in fridge.

At the end of the process, I just love to lick both hands to my appetite. It is the best part of entire process ;)

My Notes/Secret Tip: 

If you think that there is too much of ghee in the mixture at the end, you can dry roast more wheat atta till golden brown in the same wok and add to the mixture at the end in step 9.

Egg Biryani

Serves - 1
Ingredients -
Base -
1/3rd cup Basmati/long grain rice - washed and soaked in water
1 egg thoroughly washed under running water

To add Veg Punch -
1 medium size onion chopped finely
1 small carrot - grated
1/4 cup green peas
3 or 4 french beans - chopped very finely
1 long green chilly
2 pods garlic
1 small piece ginger
1 medium size tomato
2 spoonful of chopped coriander
Mint leaves 5/6 if available

Other Ingredients -
1/3rd cup Curd
1 small cinnamon stick( daalchini)
1 small cardamom (Open the peel and separate the grains)
1 clove
4-5 black pepper (coarse grind)
cumin seeds (jeera)
2 bayleaves (tejpatta)
salt as per taste
1 spoonful of veg biryani masala ( use garam -masala / saunf -coriander powder/cinnamon powder mix otherwise)
Turmeric - 1 very small spoon ( Since I did not have saffron at home otherwise soak 2 strands of saffron in 1/4 cup milk)
1-2 spoons Oil - I prefer olive oil but you can use any brand or desi ghee too. You can be as generic with ghee/oil based on your diet concise :)

Does it sound like a lot? But trust me it felt easiest while cooking :)

Preparation:
1. I kept rice and the thoroughly washed egg together for boiling.
To make my job easy and clean, I used my electric kettle with 5 times water and completely forgot about it until I needed it. the auto shut off feature/ stainless steel make and the glass lid of kettle are really a boon.


2. Mix the dry masala in a small bowl inluding - cumin seeds, crushed peppers, bayleaves, hand crushed cardamom, clove and cinnamon stick.
3. Chop onions and slit half the green chilly from middle.
4. Using grinder, make tomato puree and put remaining half of green chilly too, while making puree.
4. Grate carrot and finely chop beans
5. make a paste of ginger garlic
6. wash and strain the water from coriander and mint leaves.

Cooking:

1. Heat oil in a kadhai
2. Put dry masala mix and let it splutter for 10-15 secs.
3. Put onion and half green chilly and cook until onions turn pink.
4. Put ginger garlic paste and cook for another 30 secs.
5. Put carrots, peas, beans. Cover the lid and cook for 3-4 mins on low flame.
6. When the peas are cooked, add salt, biryani masala and coriander/ mint leaves. Cook for 1 minute.
7. Take out half of the mixture from kadhai and keep it in a bowl separately.
8. Add tomato puree to the kadhai. Cover the lid and cook for another 2 mins on low flame.
9. Now is the time to unpeel the shell from the boiled egg. Make 3-4 vertical slits around the egg using a knife.
10. Drain the water out of rice and keep separately.
11. When the tomato puree is cooked, add turmeric and cook for 30 secs.
12. Add the curd in kadhai and cook for another 1 minute.
13. Put the egg in kadhai and cover it around with the masala especially around slits. Cover the kadhai and let it cook for another 3-4 mins.
14. Mix the masala well in kadhai around egg, and then add about 2/3rd  of white rice tothis masala. Stir very lightly once or twice.
15. Spread remaining white rice on top of it but do not stir.
16. Spread the other half of cooked veg mixture that we kept out separately in a bowl in step 7 above, evenly over the rice.
17. Cover the kadhai and let it cook over low flame without stirring for another 5 minutes.
18. Serve by taking the contents upside down from kadhai and stir only once, lightly to give the layered look of biryani.
19. Serve with Raitha/Pickles.
20. Relish the delicacy of this simple yet elaborate home made egg biryani!

My Notes and experiments :
1. Grated carrots add the extra orangish layer of color to this biryani.
2. Use turmeric powder instead of saffron if its not at home.
3. If you want to make a veg biryani, replace egg with boiled potato cut into 4 large cubes.
4. If you want to buy an electric kettle, invest once and for all in a reputed steel kettle with wide mouth so that you can clean it easily, use it for all types of cooking/ boiling/ sterilizing needs. While the plastic kettle smells badly. I bought Morphy Richards Electric Kettle - InstaCook and really happy about this one.
5. To make more serves, add proportions of ingredients as per your needs.
6. It took me about 40 mins to get this recipe ready.

Kaju Sweets

Ok friends, on popular demand, here is my lil, simple and quick recipe for Kaju sweets( kaju katli/ kaju rolls/ kaju burfi/ kaju peda etc etc...) that I made today. I will be doing some experiments at my end too and will keep updating this post.
Believe me, this just tastes like the kaju katli's you buy at any sweets shop or even better as there is no adulteration in this.

Ingredients
measuring unit like a cup or a bowl

Kaju - 1 unit
Sugar - 1/2 unit
Water - 1/4 unit
Desi ghee -1 spoon for greasing surfaces if making burfi or katli

Preparation time: Hardly half hour

Preparation

1. Grind Kaju in mixie to a fine paste/powder. (Since kaju has a lot of oil internally it turns like a paste)
2. Heat water in a pan and add sugar.
3. Keep it on flame until it becomes a single thread consistency sugar syrup ( ek taar ki chaashni)
4. Remove from flame and add kaju paste stirring continuosly to make sure no lumps are formed. [This is the only laborious task in this recipe that needs some effort and quick hands :) ]
5. If making rolls then let it cool slightly till you can handle the mixture with bare hands. Make rolls or any artistic shape. 
6. If making burfis or kaju katli, then put the hot mixture in a greased plate or tray immediately, use a spatula to spread the mixture to 1/4 inch height while it is hot and smooth the surface using a flat bottom steel katori (bowl), let it cool, and cut into pieces using a knife. (Make square pieces for burfi or diamond pieces for kaju katli)
7. Decorate it with silver sheet or nuts if you want.
8. Let your rolls/burfis cool and store them in a container.
9. Eat or refridgerate 

Additional tips:

• You can take broken kajus for the purpose as they come cheaper but beware that sometimes they are bitter if not of good quality.
• You can put saffron strands(kesar) for yellow color and kesar smell in sugar syrup while preparation
• You can put cardamom powder in the mixture while putting kaju for taste enhancer.
• If making burfis you can have finely grated nuts like almonds and pistachios and sprinkle them on the greased tray before putting kaju mixture so that it forms a nice nutty texture on kaju burfis.
• You can add little milk if your mixture becomes too hard accidentally (overheating of sugar syrup) to make desired shapes. But this may reduce the life of the sweets.
• You can heat the mixture again in microwave or a pan if it cools completely and you find it difficult to give your artistic shapes.
• You can put lil edible color like red/orange/yellow/green etc to make diff colored rolls/multi colored rolls or burfis etc.

     One simple way would be -

1. Divide the sugar syrup in two parts, mix some color to one part.
2. Add half kaju mixture to each sugar syrup
3. Make a big fat roll of the colored mixture
4. Make a sheet of the non-colored mixture
5. Cover the colored roll with the sheet and then cut in circles with knife. 
6. You will get circular burfis in two colors 

Note: 

• You do not need any extra ghee in the preparation since kaju has a lot of oil in it for the preparation.
• Kaju has a long shell life and no roasting etc is required. This can stay for a long time in fridge.
• You can experiment by adding some milk powder or mawa/khoya too alongwith kaju paste. But this will again reduce the life.
• Keep the greased tray ready before mixing kaju paste in sugar syrup if making burfis.
• If you like your sweets a little too sweet, then add some more sugar to 3/4 quantity rather than 1/2. I personally found 1/2 quantity of sugar sufficiently sweet and will reduce a bit in my next preparation. 

Enjoy the un-adulterated, home made version of kaju sweets. Have a happy and safe Diwali :)

Achaari Amla

Achaari Amla Recipe

Ingredients
Amla - 20
Methi seeds
Jeera
Kalaungi powder (Optional else Dhaniya powder)
Green chillies 5-6
Salt
Turmeric
Mustard oil (I prefer mustard oil but refined vegetable oil will also do)

Preparation
Wash and cut amla in small pieces. Throw away the seeds. 
Wash and deseed green chillies. Cut in 1 inch long pieces.

Heat 1-2 spoons oil in a kadhai. When hot, put methi seeds and jeera in the kadai. When the seeds begin to splutter, put amla, green chilly in it. Add kalaunji powder, salt and turmeric. Reduce the flame and cover the kadhai with a lid. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes.

Yummy achari amla ready!!! It can be kept in fridge for over a week!

Khatta Karela Ring

We all look forward to weekends...Some people want to sleep for long hours, some want to roam around malls for shopping, some want to watch that movie for which they are eagerly waiting, some want to finish their household chores. I have a slightly different reason.

I wait for the weekends to have a simple, lazy and cozy breakfast at home without worrying over getting late for my office. A cup of hot tea, TV remote and morning newspaper make my breakfast more delicious, meaningful and nutritious. I am talking about nourishment of my soul here :)

I have some amazing breakfast menus.
Namak ajwain parantha with Achari Amla/Khatta Karela Ring and a cup of hot tea.

Imli wala Khatta Karela Ring Recipe

Ingredients
2 big potatoes
2-3 big onions
Karela - 250 gms
Green chillies - 3
Mustard oil- 1/2 spoons
Salt (as per taste)
Dhaniya powder - 1 spoon
Haldi - 1/2 spoon
Tamarind paste - 1 spoonful

Preparation -
Wash karelas and cut them in circular pieces (1/2 cm thick rings). Add some salt and leave it aside for an hour. Wash Karelas onec again and drain excess water.
Cut potatoes in 1 inch cube sizes.
Cut each onion into 4-6 big pieces.
Deseed green chillies and cut them in 1 inch long pieces.

Heat oil in a kadhai. When hot put jeera seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter, add potatoes, onions, green chillies and karela rings- all together. Add haldi and salt to taste. Cover the kadai with a lid, reduce the flame and keep it for 8 minutes.

Remove the lid, increase the flame and keep it for 5-8 minutes to get the crispy and burnt taste of karelas/potatoes. Add little water(2 spoons) if necessary. 
When potatoes and karelas are cooked, add tamarind paste and mix well. Keep the kadai on increased flame for 2 more minutes. Tamarind will also add to the burnt flavour of karelas.

Yummy Imli wala Karela rings ready. I like this karela as much as I like the burnt/khatta aloo and onions in it.

ItalChi Macaroni

Here is a simple, healthy and very pizzzaishh recipe that I came up with, Interestingly it tastes a little bit chinese too. Hence the name ItalChi Macaroni :)
I love Italian herbs and I don't have the heart to throw the small left out packets of Oregano seasoning whenever I order a pizza for home delivery!

And believe me its really very healthy and yummy and takes very little time to cook!

Preparation time - 30 mins.

Ingredients (For 2 People) -
1. One big carrot
2. One-Two medium size onions
3. 10-12 beans
4. One medium size capsicum
5. One green chilly
6. A small portion of cabbage
7. One-two spoons oil
8. Salt to taste
9. 3 packets of Oregano seasoning
10. One packet chilly flakes
11. One spoon vinegar
12. Two spoon tomato ketchup
13. One cup macaroni


Remove the peel from onion and carrot, and wash the vegetables in running water. De-seed green chilly and capsicum. Now cut cabbage, onion, green chilly and capsicum into thin long slices. Mix them together.

Cut the carrot and beans in 1.5" long slices keeping the thickness of carrots same as that of beans and mix them together in a bowl.


Keep around 4 cups of water for boiling. Put some salt in the water as it boils. As the water starts boiling, pour around one cup of water in the bowl that contains carrots and beans. keep the bowl covered with a lid.

Add macaroni and half spoon (little) oil in rest of the water and keep it covered over low flame for about 5 mins. Once the macaroni becomes tender, you can drain the hot water out. Pour some cold water over it and drain the water out after some time. Keep the boiled macaroni aside.

Take a broad pan (Kadhai). Put 1 spoon oil into it, enough to grease the sides of the vessel properly. Heat the oil. Add sliced vegetables(Cabbage, green chilly, capsicum and onions) into it. Stir it well over high flame for about a minute such that the vegetables get a little roasted. Turn the flame low. Add some salt and cover the pan with a lid for about a minute. Remove the lid and cook until the onions turn slightly pink in color.

Drain hot water from carrots and beans. Add the drained carrots and beans to the pan. Mix them well. Cook for another five minutes. Stir the pan occassionally.

Add one spoon vinegar and salt to taste. Cook for another minute. Add boiled macroni in the pan, add chilly flakes and oregano seasoning. Add a spoon of ketchup. Cook for about two minutes.

Serve it hot. You can garnish it with some fresh lettuce and bell peppers.

Doesn't it look colorful and tempting? Try it and let me know how you find it?