Oven baked Pasta

Inspired by the restaurants and advertisements I made my very own version of 'Oven baked Pasta' with lesser cheese, lots of vegetables and rotini pasta . (Rotini is a type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta made with AP flour or whole wheat). This recipe calls for a slow baking process, through which the pasta gets well soaked in the pasta sauce, that makes it more juicy and delicious.
Here is the step by step procedure.

Before baking:


After baking:

Cooking the pasta:
Rotini Pasta (any big size pasta) - 2 cups (uncooked)
Water - 6 cups
First bring the water to boil and add the pasta and cook as per directions.
Drain water and run it under cold water.


Preparing the vegetables:
olive oil - 2 tbsp
Kale leaf - 1 cup (chopped)
Black olive fruits - 10 (cut in circles)
yellow bell pepper - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Green bell pepper - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1 (cut into 2 inch sticks)
Onion - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Red pepper flakes - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Heat oil in a wok. The add the crushed garlic followed by the onion and kale leaf.
Then add the chopped carrot and saute well.
Then add all above except olives and stir well.
Switch off flame .Now add the olives along with cooked pasta.

Preparation of Pasta sauce:
Tomato sauce - 5 tbsp
Dried mixed Italian herbs - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/6 cup
Sour cream (I used plain yogurt)- 2 tbsp
shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese - 1 tbsp
All purpose flour - 1 tsp (for thickening)
Mix the flour with milk. Then add everything above and mix well.
Low fat Pasta sauce is ready.

Baking the pasta:
Shredded mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup (1 cup if u want)
Low fat Ranch dressing - 2 tbsp (optional)

1.Preheat the oven to 400 deg F. Mix the prepared pasta sauce with the cooked pasta with vegetables.
2.Spray a 9 inch dia' baking dish with olive oil.
3.Transfer the mixed pasta to baking dish. Drizzle some ranch dressing and top it with the mozzarella cheese . Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese starts bubbling.

Oven baked pasta is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as main course lunch / dinner.
Garlic bread or Texas toast can be served as side along with a drink . I love it with coke:)
Serves 3.

Event:
Sending this oven baked pasta to Poornima's (Tasty treats) My Favorite things: cheese event which is a brain child of Bindiya .
Hope this suits the event.

Potato peas masal curry

Other Names: Aloo matar / Aloo mutter / Potato peas masala curry / urulai kilangu pattani curry (Tamil)
(Hindi: Aloo means Potato , Matar means green peas)

Aloo matar is a dry curry prepared with a lot of spices . It can be the most common curry prepared all over India.
The curry made with potato and peas can be a very back-up plan for every person, who tries to fix a side dish without much effort. Still the curry has its own commanding flavor that makes it a more suitable side dish for Sambar and rice.
Most of the Fridays my mom used to make this curry as a routine along with Sambar and rice. Hope many of you too have the same habit:)



Ingredients:
Potato - 4 (150 gms)
Fresh Green Peas - 1 Cup (I used canned peas)
Red Onions - 1 (small)
Tomato - 1
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Coriander - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder / crushed cumin - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
Coriander Leaves to garnish - as required

Method:
1.Bring 4 cups of water to boil.
Wash the potatoes and put them into the boiling water.
Cook them covered till the potatoes are completely cooked.
Peel and chop the potatoes into big chunks. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. As the fennel turns red , add the chopped onion, curry leaf and fry till it becomes golden.
Then add the ginger garlic paste and stir for 5 seconds.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and saute till oil starts showing up.

3. Add the peas , salt, chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, Turmeric powder, Garam masala powder with handful of water and cook well.

4. Then add the cubed potatoes and mix well till the masala gets absorbed by the potato and the curry becomes dry.

Potato peas masala curry is ready!
Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot

Serving Suggestions:
Serves 4 people.
Aloo mattar can be served as a best side dish for chapathi, Naan , Sambar rice , curd rice etc.,

Pepper Chicken

Just like all the girls who change their cooking style after marriage, I too did many things. No..no don't imagine me as a vegan who married a meat-o-holic, its 'topsy turvy' gals:)
I should say my culinary journey started even before marriage as my brothers are true lovers of NVs:) But after marriage I reduced cooking the non veg items because of hubby's lesser appetite for NV, though all of my inlaws excel each other in having them .
Before hand I used to make different varieties of chicken for my younger brother Venkatesh. Being a great chicken-holic person, he inspires me to learn more and more dishes.Almost every day he would love to have a different dish , preferably a NV in his tiffin box:) So I started trying many varieties and here is a pepper chicken .
Dedicating this recipe to all my brothers (two from my mom's and 3 from my Inlaws side)who love chicken in anything.





Ingredients:
Chicken (with or without bones)- 1/4 kg
(I made it with bones)
Red onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
Sesame oil - 3 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
sesame oil - 4 tbsp
To powder :
Black pepper - 3 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves - 2
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Apply some turmeric all over and rinse again .
Cut it into medium size pieces and keep aside.
Chop the onion and tomato separately.
Grind 1 inch ginger and 3 garlic pods to a fine paste.

Heat the oil in a wok , add the fennel seeds and let it become red.
Then add the curry leaves, chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Now put the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add the chopped tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.

Now add the chicken pieces and fry for a while till it becomes a white.
Then add the salt, Turmeric powder, powdered masala and cook covered with a handful of water.
Stir frequently to avoid charing.
Cook for nearly 30 minutes in very low flame.
Then put off fire after the oil starts showing and the meat is done.
Pepper chicken is ready.

Serving suggestion:
Take the chicken fry out leaving behind the oil and place on a serving bowl.
Sprinkle a tablespoon of black pepper all over the chicken .
Fry some curry leaves in the left out oil in the pan and garnish the chicken with it for a homely touch.
Serve as side dish with sambar rice or rasam rice or even with curd rice.
The chicken pieces will loose moisture and shrink a lot. So it will be enough for just 2 people.

Unripe banana koottu

Usually we make fries or chips with raw / unripe green banana. But generally we reserve the fries for the cold winter . Also it is a custom to bring out a lesser oily version for each and every vegetable for the hot summer lunch in India.
My love for the koottu is endless and here is a koottu again with valai kai (Un ripe banana) which tastes fine with sambar and rasam rice.
I used the raw banana along with the skin and I hope that the skin adds a lovely flavor and fiber to our diet. That's how the banana has to be cooked , if following a traditional way. Guess , globally our ancestors were pretty sure to include all the possible fiber content to our diet by insisting so.

Unripe banana cubed with skin:


Unripe Banana (vaazhai kai) koottu:


Ingredients:
Unripe Indian banana (valai kai) - 2
Channa Dhal - a handful
Asafoetida powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Shredded coconut 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Tempering:
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
chopped onion - 2 tbsp
Urid Dhal- 1 tsp
Dry red chillies- 2
Curry leaf - 1 brig
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Soak the channa dhal for 15 minutes.

Scrub and Wash the bananas. Remove the stem and tip on both ends.
Retain the skin.
Chop banana in to small cubes along with its skin on.
Immediately put it in the cooking pot along with water. Keep the pieces immersed to prevent oxidation (blackening).

Add soaked channa dhal, Turmeric, sambar powder, and asafoetida.
Cook till the channa dhal and banana gets cooked. Then add salt.

For tempering heat a 1 tbsp of oil , add mustard seeds.
After it crackles add urid dhal ,chopped onion, dry chillies and curry leaves.
Add the tempering to the cooked vegetable .
Mix shredded coconut and cumin . Stir well in heat to get a thick consistency.
Valai kai koottu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
The above said quantity would be enough for 3 - 4 people depending on the size of the banana.
Serve as side dish with any Indian bread or sambar & rice or rasam & rice.

Event:
Sending this 'Unripe banana koottu' to EC's 'Side dish Event' a fabulous way to bring out the best side dishes from many bloggers. Hope this 'koottu' suits the event.

Semiya Javvarisi Paal Paayasam

Semiya is an Indian style noodles mostly made of wheat. Javvarisi / sabudana are pearl like balls made of tapioca flour like sago. Whereas Paal means Milk and Paayasam means a Kheer (Hindi) or a rich pudding .
Payasam could be the typical dessert served with any Indian style full meals. We can make the paal payasam with milk and nuts alone with or without semiya . But the addition of Javvarisi gives a pearl like texture all over the dessert and it gives a sumptuous feeling too.
Javvarisi takes more time to cook than the semiya. So we should cook the Javvarisi first and then add the semiya.
Here goes the reccipe for the Semiya Javvarisi Paal payasam.




Semiya Javvarisi paal payasam / vermicelli kheer / milk payesh

Ingredients
Vermicelli / semiya - 150 gms
Javvarisi / sago /sabudana - 3/4 cup
2 % Milk - 2 cup
condensed milk - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Cashew nuts - 10
Raisins / dry grapes / kismis - 15
almond - 10
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamom - 4
ghee - 1 + 1 Tbsp
Water - 3 cup

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the vermicelli till light brown.
(If we are using double roasted semiya, then proceed without roasting).
Boil 2 cups of water and add the Javvarisi (sago / sabudana) ,reduce flame, stir occasionally and cook covered till it becomes transparent.
Then add the semiya and cook it to tender.
Now add the sugar and continue to stir.
Put the saffron in the milk and dissolve it, add this milk to the semiya.
Powder the cardamom and add it to the mixture. (Store the skin of cardamom for tea).
Add the condensed milk and mix well.
Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and add them to the boiling semiya.
Put off fire immediately.
The consistency should be between thin and thick (easy to sip and drink).
Semiya Javvarisi paal payasam is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Pour the paal payasam into serving bowls and serve with spoon.
Chop the almonds into thin slices and sprinkle them over the hot payasam.
Serve as hot / cold dessert.
Makes nearly 6 cups (1 cup = 200 ml)of payasam.
Cooking time : 30 minutes.

Mysore Rasam

Happy Earth day!
Earth day has nothing to do with the Rasam but the greeting is to keep us more focused on our environment:)

Rasam (Tamil) can be called a comfort food for many. Rasam is a South Indian soup eaten taken with rice or alone.
I love to prepare / have rasam along with 'thalli' meal (full spread of Indian dinner). Moreover a generous serving of fresh Rasam on hot mushy cooked rice with 'paruppu thovaiyal' means a heavenly food for me.
Generally the rasam served with an elaborate dinner / lunch helps in digestion. Also the quality of the rasam can testify the nativity and passion of the cook as there are many ways to make a rasam.
Mysore Rasam occupies a top rank among all the rasams. It is always termed as the 'rich rasam' because of its ingredients. It differs from the other varieties by the addition of coconut and a lot of lentils. Mostly Mysore Rasam would be served during festive times or feasts .
The special tag 'Mysore' adds a kick to the foods like, Mysore Bonda, Mysore masal dosai, Mysore Bah , Mysore Rasam etc:) .
Whenever I hear the word Mysore, the things flash in my mind are my mom's favorite green color Mysore silk saree, the Brindavanam, her Mysore sandol soap and her tall tales on her passion / collection of the Mysore silk sarees:)
Here goes the authentic way to make the rich 'Mysore Rasam'.

Other names: Tamil - Rasam/ Kannada - Saaru / Telugu - Chaaru /Malayalam - Rasam / Tulu - Resa .



Ingredients:
Thoor dhal - 4 Tbsp
Tomato - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
Tamarind - a small lemon size
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
oil / ghee - 2 tsp.
asafoetida - a pinch
Rasam Powder:
Thoor dhal - 1 tbsp
methi seed /fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2
Coriander seed - 4 tsp
Black pepper - 2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
To dry roast and grind:
Shredded coconut -1/4 cup

Method:

Cook the thoor dhal with Turmeric powder.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok and roast 1 tbsp Thoor dhal, dry red chilly ,methi seed (venthayam), coriander seeds, Pepper and cumin till the dhal becomes red.
Let it cool and powder it.

Dry roast the shredded coconut to mild red color and powder it . Take one tsp of powder and keep it separate to garnish the rasam.

Extract juice from tamarind. Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil along with cooked dhal.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add the mustard and little cumin seeds. After the mustard gets crackle add the curry leaf and chopped tomato (chopped lengthwise) and fry a little (not completely mushy).

Then add the boiling tamarind extract , prepared rasam powder, powdered coconut to it the fried tomato and mix well.
Add more water to make it thin like soup.

Start heating it. As soon as the rasam forms froth in the top switch off the stove. Do not allow it to boil , as it will give a bitter taste to the rasam.

After switching off , add the salt and sprinkle a tsp of powdered coconut that was kept reserved.
Mysore Rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Makes 1 liter of rasam.
Serve on plain cooked rice after the guest finishes with the sambar /More kulambu / vatral kulambu or serve in a tumbler for drinking.

Mochai Kottai Kulambu

Mochai kottai is a tasty bean prevalently used in villages of TamilNadu. It is a variety of bean just like Toor dhal or snow peas with an enormous growth rate.
We can see the fresh pods in and around bazaars of Madurai, Tuticorin and Kovilpatti (TN, India) during the summer season . commercially the val dhal is removed from the pods and dried for the storage purpose so that there would be an year round supply. It is supposed to be sold at a lesser price because of its ample supply but an excellent source of protein like all dals.
People of TamilNadu make a tangy curry called Mochai kottai kulambu along with tamarind paste.
Festival associated with the Kulambu:
Though the Mochai kottai kulambu is famous all over South India, I have tasted it with dry fish and great taste in the villages near Madras and Madurai.
I am narrating about the curry made in a village in India and the the festival associated with it .
It is a custom to make this curry with brinjal , drumstick vegetable, tomato and dried fish during the Tamil month of Aadi (mid July - mid August).
During that month we can see a lot of functions in the Temple.
On Sundays of the Aadi month , they prepare the 'Mochai kottai kulambu' with dry fish as 'karuvattu kulambu' along with a porridge called 'koozh' (read as kooll) and offer it for the Goddess Amman in various forms. Then they distribute it to all those who visit them and will have great meals together.
In Madras , my neighbors used to make the dishes in huge volume with fervent love for the Goddess Amman and any one who go to their house would be encouraged to have the meal . Myself being the pet of the area, won't even think of cooking on those days as i would get a Lion's share always:) I love that festival very much as there would be a lot of activities in my neighborhood like 'poo kuzhi , walking on hot charcoal' and many events. Moreover I love that koozh and dry fish curry combination very much.

Otherwise in ordinary days people make a vegetarian version also.
I wished to bring back a closer cousin of that kulambu called Mochai kottai kulambu, the vegetarian version.
It turned out so good and here goes the recipe for it.

Translations for Mochai kottai:
Hindi - Val dal / English - Hyacinth bean or field bean / Tamil - Mochai payeru or mochai kai or mochai kottai / Telugu - Anapa kayalu or Ginjalu
Kindly comment me if you know the translation for val dal in your language.


Mochai kottai puli kulambu / Mochai kai kara kulambu:

Ingredients:
Mochai kottai / val dhal - 1 cup
Baby Brinjal - 4
Drumstick (vegetable) - 1
Tomato - 2
Tamarind - small lime size
Red onion - 1 (chopped)
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
oil - 1 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 pinch
sambar powder - 1/2 tsp
water - 2 cups
salt - 2 tsp

Preparation:
(If you are using the fresh beans then just start from the method.
otherwise go for pre soaking.)
Dry roast the mochai kottai, till u see dark spots on the outer layer and a nice aroma.
Then rinse it with water twice. Add water till it gets well immersed. Soak overnight or an hour.
Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
(we can cook it in stove top also, but it will take an hour).

Method:
Cut drumstick into 2 inch pieces and make a small slit in each piece.
Cut the eggplant / brinjal into small pieces.
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract juice using 2 cups of water.
Heat oil in a pan.
Crackle mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida.
Add the cut chopped onion and fry till it becomes mild red.
Then add the chopped tomato and fry till becomes mushy.
Then add the tamarind juice ,salt, the chilly powder, Turmeric , coriander powder and Sambar powder.
Let it boil till the raw smell of tamarind vanishes.
Now add the cut vegetables with 2 cups water (use drained water from the cooked dal) and cook till the vegetables become tender.
Then add the cooked val dhal (mochai kottai) and bring it to a boil.
Some people love to add some ground coconut paste in this stage. But even without coconut this kulambu will be great.
switch off and serve hot.
Mochai kottai kulambu is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 500 ml of Puli kulambu.
It can be served for 5 people.
Serve hot with steamed rice and and any vegetable side dish or with egg omlete.

Awards:
I am very much excited when two of my friends Pryia of Priya's Sourashtrian kitchen and Shama of Easy2cook recipes passed me this beautiful award.

Thank you friends. I feel honored.
I think it is appropriate to pass on this award to all who visit me. Feel free to pick it up , buddies.
Enjoy!

Event:
Sending this 'Mochai kottai kulambu' to Shama's 'Village special' (Giramathu kaimanam), an innovative way to bring out the best from our native places. Hope this suits the event. My hearty wishes to Shama to conduct the event successfully.