Penne in White Sauce.

The easiest way to get this dish done is to use the bottled white sauce. The trouble though, is the presence of eggs in the sauce and a general lack of flavour! Here's what I do to make a nice penne in white sauce.

Penne: 2 cups, Boiled al dente/ just a little under done.
Butter : 2 tablespoons
Flour: 2 tablespoons
Milk: 1.5 cups
Garlic: 2 pods, finely chopped.
Italian Mixed Herbs: 1 tsp
Pepper: 1 tsp

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees
Heat the butter in a pan, add the garlic and fry for a few seconds.
Now add the pepper, herbs mix well.
Add the flour and fry for 20 seconds.
Now pour the milk all at once and stir well, until smooth and without lumps.
Bring this to a nice thick consistency.
Put the pasta in this sauce, mix well and move to an ovenproof dish.

You can top this pasta with some sauteed carrots, beans, capsicum and peas.
Again, top with some nice cheese and parmesan.
Bake this for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden and delicious.

Spring Onions

We found some really fresh Spring Onions and couldn't wait to cook with it. However, I wanted to make something really quick and uncomplicated. Here's what I did.

Spring Onions : 3 bunches chopped
Onion: 1/2 sliced thin
Fenugreek Seeds/methi: 1 tsp
Red Chillies: 2 broken
Oil: to fry
Sambar powder: 2-3 tsp
Hing: a small pinch
Besan: 2 tablespoons.

Heat oil in a pan, add the methi and red chilli when the oil is hot.
Now add the sliced onions and fry for a few minutes.
Now add the spring onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add the Sambar powder and saute for a minute.
Add the Besan and stir well. fry for a few minutes.
Now, add some water until you get some gravy.
Allow it to boil for 2 minutes. Add salt to taste.
This is great with Rotis.

Aloo Methi

This is Sukriti's recipe. The way they make it at her home. I have been a fan of this mild, fragrant dish since day 1. Here's the recipe:

Potatoes: 2-3 medium: Chopped into small cubes
Methi Leaves: Cleaned and chopped roughly/Frozen methi - 2 cubes
Whole Corriander Seeds: 1-1.5 tablespoons
Red Chilli: 2 - Broken into small pieces.
Salt: To taste
Oil: 3-4 Tablespoons

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan.
Add the red chilli flakes and corriander seeds. Fry for a minute.
Now add the chopped potato and cook until they are almost done.
Finally, add the methi leaves, salt and mix well.
Dont cook the methi leaves too much.

This is a great accompaniment for Rotis. I know that there are many recipes out there that need soooooooo many ingredients. And I have tried most of them. This one is my favorite. :-)

Kadala Curry

This dish is the ultimate kerala/mallu food experience. I mean, Nothing can possibly be tastier than this curry with Puttu. I make this quite often for S and I am always thinking of Anna. He loves this dish and I cant wait to cook this for him. Anyway, I should be taking pictures of all the dishes. Unfortunately, S is not patient enough to wait for photography. Sigh! So, here goes the recipe.

P.S If you are living in the UK or the US where canned Garbanzo/chickpeas are available, go grab a few cans. Its dirt cheap and saves you a a lot of trouble.

Canned Chickpeas : 2 cans or 500 grams (cooked)
Red Onions: 2 medium - Chopped Fine/sliced fine.
Tomatoes: 2 medium - Chopped.
Jeera
Mustard
Curry Leaves
Turmeric
Red Chilli Powder/Paprika:

To Grind:
Small red onions/Pearl Onions/Shallots: 6-7 Peeled
Curry Leaves- 2 sprigs
Dried Red Chillies: 5-6
Corriander Seeds: 1-2 tablespoons
Coconut, grated- 1 cup (fresh/frozen. NO dessicated stuff!)

1) To make the paste:
Heat oil in a pan, add the chillies, curry leaves and small onions and fry for a minute.
Now, add the corriander seeds, fry for about 4-5 seconds.
Add the coconut and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Blend the mix in a blender with some water. This should be a fairly thick paste.

2) In a large pan, heat oil and crackle the mustard, jeera and curry leaves
Now add the onions and fry with a little salt.
Once cooked, add turmeric and paprika and the tomatoes.
Cook until the tomatoes are pulpy and oil leaves the sides.
Add the chickpeas- One can drained and another one drained halfway. This water is tasty
Once the mix boils, add the ground paste.
Cook for a minute or two.
Garnish with some corriander leaves.


This is a really tasty accompaniment for - Dosa, Idli, Puttu, Appam, Idiappam.

Parippu Podi - Dal Powder

My mother in law makes the best Parippu Podi in the world. Seriously. And we brought some with us to London. It was over in a month. What do I do? I was given the recipe, and I made this stuff here. Took me 10 minutes!!!

Toor Dal : 1 Cup
Urad Dal: 1/4 cup
Red Chillies: 4-5
Jeera: 1 tablespoon
Pepper: 1 tablespoon.
Hing: A generous Pinch
Salt : To taste.

Dry roast the dals separately, add to the blender.
Dry roast the red chillies and add to the blender.
Now blend them until mixed. This should be a rough blend.
Dry roast the jeera and pepper.
Blend the Jeera and Pepper and mix in the dal blend.
Blend them together for 2-3 seconds.
Season with salt and hing.

Mix this powder with hot rice and ghee. :-)

Things I have to have in the kitchen.

1) Asafoetida/hing/perungayam : This stuff is magical. From Keerai Masiyal to Paneer, this goes into it all. A lot of people I know tend to believe that this is used exclusively for South Indian dishes. BIG myth! I have lived with a lot of North Indian people- Marwadis, Pahadis, Punjabi etc. Every single one of them use this spice. So. Start using it in your curries. This rocks.

2) Kasuri Methi: This is nothing but dried fenugreek leaves that have a flavour to die for. I will post a paneer recipe soon. This fragrant leaf transforms curries to a really super dish. Try this in Dal, Curries and Roti. Yum!

3) Nallennai/Gingelly Oil/Sesame Oil: Dosa can not be made with anything else. I use this oil for most of my south Indian cooking. This is what I use to make Sambar, Puliyodharai, Dosa, Ingi Curry and what not. Love the flavour!

4) Coconut: Come on. This is integral to every lunch dish I love. And for puttu. And for Kadala Curry. [Recipe is coming up next]

5) Garlic: I have tonnes of this in stock. I use it for Rasam, Poondu Kozhambu, Curries and Chinese. Love this good stuff. And beats cholestrol too.

6) Soy Sauce: Chinese. Yes. I have a few recipes that my friend passed on to me. Really good Indian stuff. And soy sauce is used to flavour it. Try it. It is awesome!

7) Ghee: I make my ghee at home from a good white butter that is unsalted. Its dead easy and tastes awesome. This goes into Rasams, Pulisherri, payasams, pongals and into S's lunch. They say 2-3 drops of Ghee on a daily basis does good to you.

8) Dals: Atleast 3 to 4 types. This is for variety in  tadka dal, and to make adai. Essential stuff!

Dal Makhni

Ok. So I dreaded making this one! Simply because I was not sure if I could handle all that cream and butter and what not. "Someone" has been nagging me for over a week for this dish. I took the plunge today and It was actually quite nice. Just needs a bit of prep work. And sorry about the haphazard recipe. :D

Urad Dal: 1/2 cup [The whole ones with skin]
Red Kidney Beans/Rajma: 1/2 cup

Soak the two overnight.
Pressure Cook with salt, 2 crushed garlic pods, half a sliced onion, 1 teaspoon of grated ginger, a tiny pinch of turmeric and a teaspoon of red chilli powder.
This takes about 20-30 minutes to cook.
The dals must be soft and mashed.

Now, Heat a pan with some oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, throw in some cumin seeds.
Add 4 pods of garlic and 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped. Fry for a minute.
Now add one medium onion- chopped.
Cook until onions are browned.
Add a teaspoon of ground garam masala and red chilli powder.
Add 2 chopped tomatoes.
Cook until the oil leaves the side.
Add this to the dal mix and stir well.
Add 2 tablespoons of cream and mix.
Leave this on a low flame for about 20 minutes.
Let it simmer away and you have some yummy dal!

When you serve, add a teaspoon of butter and a drop of cream.

Vanilla Butter Cookies

I like cookies. But I like them when they are freshly baked and not from packets. And I like them when they dont have any eggs in them. I usually make these cookies when I have the time, and they are almost always perfect. Here's my recipe:

Flour: 225 grams/ 1 & a 3/4 of a cup
Butter: 125 Grams/ 1 cup
Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon
Sugar; 100 Grams ( You can add more if you like it really sweet) / Under a cup. lets say about 3/4 of a cup
Milk: 2 tablespoons ( If needed)

Pre-Heat the oven to 180 C. No, I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit!  Google it.
In a deep bowl, sift the flour.
Cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the flour with your fingertips
It will become breadcrumb like. Or like Puttu Maavu - For those who know what it is.
Now, add the sugar and vanilla essence and mix well.
Ideally you should get a smooth dough like mix. If its crumbly, add the milk and mix.
Now Roll it out on a dusted surface and cut it with a cookie cutter.
Lay it on a dusted tray and bake for 10-15 minutes.
When done, pull it out, allow to cool and store.

Oats Dosa

S's mom is diabetic and the doctor has warned her to quit eating rice, or else. So I started hunting for recipes with absolutely no rice. She prefers Dosa/Idli. So I focused on those dishes. I came accross 2 recipes that seemed interesting. One was an Oats Dosa and another was Oats Idli. I tried the Oats dosa and it was actually yummy. So, here's the recipe.

Oats: 1 cup
Wheat Flour: 1cup
Semolina/Rava: 3/4 cup
Salt: To Taste
Red Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek Powder: 1 tsp (optional)
Hing/Perungayam/Kayam: a generous dose.

1) Put the oats into your mixer and grind it to a powder. Do not add any water.
2) Take this oats powder into a mixing bowl, add the wheat flour and every other ingredient and mix well.
3) Make sure it is not lumpy.
4) Make Dosas as you normally would. It is really tasty.

Note: I avoided adding mustard, green chilli etc because it has oil. You can add them if you don't mind the oil.
The Original Source is Veg Inspirations- A blog which I follow regularly and is on the right side of this page. :-)

Chutney!

Today's brunch was adai dosai with carrot chutney. I was looking to make a chutney with no cocnut and the best bet was this carrot chutney. It is faintly sweet, mostly spicy and Nice! This is great with adai and works with regular dosa and idli. Here's the recipe:

Grated Carrots: 1-11/2 cups. I usually grate 2 medium carrots.

Roasted Groundnuts - 1/4 cup. Or 3 tablespoons

Red Chilli: 4-5 nos. I add about 7. S likes it spicy.

Garlic Pod: 1.

Tamarind: a small bit

Oil: 1/4 tsp

Corriander powder: 1 tablespoon

Salt : to taste

Dry roast the garlic and chillies. Dump into the mixer.

Add the roasted groundnuts.

Now pour 1/4 tsp of oil and sautee the carrots for a few minutes.

Add the corriander powder to the carrots and take it off the heat.

Add the tamarind, salt and carrots into the mixer and blend well.

Carrot chutney is ready!

Note:

You can add a quarter cup of roasted coconut if desired.

Palpayasam/Kheer

Sometime last year, my cousin sent me this blog that was written in a language that I could so relate to, about dishes that I grew up eating. Since then, I have always read that blog before I made anything. Just to be sure. And her recipes are spot on! I made palpayasam today and I followed her shortcut method. Simply brilliant! I will post my measurements and also the link for the original blog.

Milk - 3 cups. I used 2%, Full cream is better though!
Sugar: 1/4 Cup. You can add more if you like it more sweet.
Rice: 1 tablespoon. I used sona masuri. It will be great to use kerala payasam rice.
A table spoon. Yes, just the spoon.

You need a pressure cooker. And one that is big enough to hold the milk and rice.

Now you have to clean the cooker in boiling water. Straight off the kettle. Clean the whistle and the tablespoon also.

Now, pour the milk into the clean cooker. Add the sugar. Boil them.
Once the milk has boiled, stir in the washed rice.
Now cover the cooker, with the whistle.
Cook this in a low/medium flame for about 30 minutes.
Bingo! Great payasam with minimal effort ;)

Ammupatti's link: http://bhagavathy.blogspot.com/2007/07/recipe-palpayasam.html

Rasam.

This is the most simple south indian dish and every person I know cooks this differently. S loves rasam and will only be too happy if I made this everyday. I just don't make it everyday. I get bored! The best rasam that I have ever had has been made by my grandma. And then my aunt in Trivandrum. They follow a different recipe from each other! I have some lovely rasam podi made by my mother in law and I set about making it my way- minimal or no effort!

Tomatoes: 2
Tamarind: Size of an amla
Rasam powder: 3 heaped teaspoons
Water: 4 -5 cups
Hing: a pinch
Turmeric: a pinch
Mustard, Jeera: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 teaspoons
Curry Leaves: 4-5
Corriander Leaves: to taste.
Jaggery: 1/4 tsp.

Take a bowl, put in the tamarind and pour the water.
Squeeze the tamarind well.
Throw in a tomato, squeeze it into the water.
In a saucepan, heat the ghee and fry the mustard, jeera and curry leaves.
Pour the tamarind water.
While waiting to boil, add the rasam powder, chopped tomato. salt, turmeric and hing.
Let it boil for 10-15 minutes until the raw smell of tamarind vanishes.
Now taste the rasam, add Jaggery to adjust the taste.
Finish with corriander leaves!

Trust me, you need to use Ghee. The entire flavour depends on the jeera roasting in ghee.

Aloo Baingan

S loves brinjials/aubergines. And he never stops asking me to make something with them. Now, he hates Garam masala. There you go. I have to make some good stuff minus THE good stuff. Sigh! Here's the recipe for a non-authentic, customized aloo baingan.

Potatoes: 2 - cubed

Small baingan - 5-6 whole, stalks removed and slit into half, but not all the way.

Onions: 2 finely chopped

Ginger, garlic, green chilli: finely chopped.

Tomatoes: 2-3

mustard, jeera: 1 tsp each

Corriander powder : 2 teaspoons

Jeera Powder: 1 tsp

Red Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Salt: to taste

Oil: 2 tablespoons

Boil the potatoes with salt and turmeric and keep it aside.

Heat oil, add the jeera and mustard and then add the ginger, garlic, green chilli.

Now add the onions and fry well.

Add all the masalas and 2 teaspoons of water. Mix well, and add the chopped tomatoes.

Cook for 4-5 minutes, add the baingan and cover and cook well until the baingans are almost cooked.

Now add the potatoes and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes.

Garnish with corriander and serve with rotis.

Monday Lunch- Coconut Rice

Monday Mornings are horrible! There are a zillion things to do around the house and I am always short of time. One of my favourite mixed rice dishes is Coconut Rice. I made this for lunch today and S loved it! Here's the recipe.

Rice: 2 cups: Cooked. Use Sona Masuri if you can.
Oil: 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal, Chana Dal, Red Chillies, Curry leaves : Generous Quantities
Hing/Asafoetida/Perumkayam: A big pinch
Coconut: Grated: 1-1.5 cups

Cook the rice and keep it aside.
Now do a tadka with all ingredients except the coconut, add it to the cooked rice.
Now dry roast the coconut until you get a nice aroma and is lightly brown.
Add this also to the rice.
Mix well, adjust the salt and serve hot.

I made a simple dal to go with this today. It was a good combo.

Simple Aloo Curry

I crave for potatoes sometimes. And I can't be bothered to spend hours in the kitchen over anything, except of course, Baking! Here's the recipe to a quick aloo dish that someone cooked for me when I was living in Delhi and which I Love with some rotis.

Potatoes: 3 Chopped into big pieces and cooked. Or, use some baby potatoes.
Corriander Powder: 2 tea spoons
Cumin Powder: 2 tea spoons
Garlic Cloves: 3-4 chopped/paste
Tomato : 1 or 2 Chopped fine or pureed
Tamarind Pulp: 1 tbsp
Oil: 2 tablespoons
Salt
Corriander leaves

Cook the potatoes and let them drain.

Heat a pan, pour the oil in, add the corriander powder,cumin powder, garlic cloves,tomatoes, tamarind pulp and salt. Yes. Everything in at the same time.

Cook the lot on a low flame for about 10 minutes or until you can see the oil on the surface.

If you think the curry is too sour, add a tsp of sugar.

Now add the potatoes, coat them with the gravy and cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Keep stirring so you dont burn the gravy.

Garnish with corriander leaves.