Curried Pasta - Indian Style

I love pasta and the moment I say it, I am drooling for it :)

I have had a few versions of curried pasta from different places and since then I have been wanting to make my own version which would suit my taste buds :) So on a fine day this idea popped up in my head and quickly made my version with our ever favorite Indian spices :)

You cant go wrong with this version and it will for sure be one of your family favorites too :)

Ingredients:

Pasta - 2 cups

Maida - 3 tblsp

Milk - 2 cups

Butter - 2 tblsp

Broccoli - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp

Kasoori Methi - 1/2 tsp

Salt - for taste

Method:

Cook pasta and broccoli in water separately and keep it aside. 

Take butter in a sauce pan and while it is melting, mix the maida and milk in a vessel. See to that it has no lumps. 

Once the butter melts down completely, pour in the milk maida mixture into the pan through a sieve. Keep mixing. Allow this to boil until it becomes slightly thick and creamy. 

Now add salt, garam masala, chilly powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, cumin powder and kasoori methi to it and mix well. Simmer the stove and allow it to get cooked for a while until it starts smelling of spices.

Finally add the cooked pasta and broccoli to it and toss once for the sauce to coat all the pasta. 

Serve hot and enjoy eating the Indian version of curried pasta :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Mango Kesari

MANGO Kesari!!! Yes you heard it right. Its mango kesari with real mango pulp :)

Mango being on the shelves of all vegetable stores now, it demands me to make something with it atleast once in a week. Ofcourse the other 6 days of the week I eat it just as it is!! Yummy mangoes, cant stop eating them!! :P

Kesari is one of my most favorite sweets and I just gave it a try with mango puree and it really worked!! Viola - Mango kesari! :)

Ingredients:

Mango puree - 1/2 cup

Sooji / Rava - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 1/2 cup

Water - 2 1/2 cups

Ghee - 1/2 cup

Cashews

Method:

Heat water in a thick bottomed pan or a non stick deep pan. 

Measure sugar and rava together in a bowl. 

Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flame completely and pour the rava sugar mixture stirring continuously. Make sure you keep stirring while pouring so that it doesn't form lumps anywhere. 

Keep stirring on medium flame until it thickens slightly. Now add the mango puree and mix well. Once it all thickens, add ghee and keep mixing until rolls into a ball without sticking to the sides of the pan. 

Fry few cashews in ghee and add it to the kesari. 

Mango kesari is ready :) 

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Cabbage Rice - Lunch Box Recipe

Life runs on a fast forward mode these days. Infact the 3X fast mode. Gone are the days when women just had to cook and take care of the house. Now we also have careers in various fields and are running behind our dreams. Time becomes very essential and we need to quickly cook healthy food, pack for the lunch and move on with our work. 

I have been making more of lunch box rice recipes these days to quickly get done with the kitchen chores and get going with work. Here is one such simple version of cabbage rice that will require just 10 mins and no pre-preparation time. 

Likewise I even plan things to reduce on my shopping time and do online shopping these days. Life is made simple with sites like https://www.cuponation.in/ where you find good deals on all products that we need for home :) 

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Cabbage (Chopped) - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1

Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Urad Dhall - 1/2 tsp

Channa Dhall - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Oil

Method:

Chop onion and cabbage finely. 

Wash and cook rice with 2 cups of water. Once cooked, add a tsp of oil and separate the grains and keep it aside. 

Take a tsp of oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds, urad dhall and channa dhall. Fry for a min and add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. Then add chopped onion and cabbage to it. Sprinkle just enough water to cook the cabbage and close with a lid and allow it to get cooked for 5 mins. 

Now add chilly powder, garam masala, turmeric powder and salt and saute for 2 mins until the flavors get infused into the vegetables.  

Finally add cooked rice and mix well. Test for salt and add more if required. 

Quick cabbage rice is ready for packing :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Sweet Lime Popsicles / Sweet Lime Ice Pops

Sweet lime or mosambi is a humble fruit that is available almost throughout the year and is less expensive when compared to lot other fruits. 

The juice of this fruit is so light and refreshing that I always prefer drinking it when I go out in the scorching sun. When Chennai never gets its winter and is hot all the time, this popsicle is for sure a delicacy by itself for treating yourself in the mid afternoon. 

I picked up this fun popsicle mould one fine day last year at Currimbhoys and also made a mango yoghurt popsicle which was so very yummy that it dint even last long for me to blog it. This year made it a point to make something and post. The most interesting thing about this popsicle mould is that the melted juice of the pops doesn't drip out, instead is collected in base itself which can be suck through the straw on the side!!! Interesting isn't it??!!!

Ingredients:

Sweet lime (mosambi) - 3
Water - 1 cup
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Honey - 2 tblsp
Mint - optional
Sweet lime slices 

Method:

Squeeze the juice of sweet lime and collect it in bowl. 

Grind ginger and some water in a mixer and strain it to get the juice of ginger. 

Mix sweet lime juice along with ginger juice and honey. Try tasting and add more honey if required. 

Slice the sweet lime into thin wedges and place them into the mould on one side of the wall and then pour the juice into it. Close and freeze it for at least 4 hours. 

Serve and slurp :)

Tips:

Adding a wedge of the fruit to the popsicle makes it look attractive and gives it a body and also the zest of the fruit would make the popsicle delicious. 

Remove the mould from freezer just few mins before serving and dip the mould in warm water which will help loosen the popsicle and easy to remove. 

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Mango Cheesecake

Mango mango everywhere and at my kitchen too :) 

My heart goes for anything made with mangoes! Love the color and the flavor of mango more than any other fruit :) Vibrant bright yellow juicy mangoes are unbeatable :)

This season I was determined to churn up the mango cheese cake that I had bookmarked ages back from one of my favorite bloggers - Anushruthi of divine taste. He mango cheese cake was in my dreams so many days and here it is :) 

I have some slight changes in the measurements from hers and we all at home loved it :) 

Ingredients:

For Crust:

Digestive biscuits - 2 packs (1 1/2 cups when crushed)
Butter (melted) - 1/3 cup 

For Filling:

Powdered sugar - 1 cup (Add more if your mango is not sweet)
Thick full cream yogurt - 3 cups
Paneer / cottage cheese cubes- 2 cups
Water - 1 3/4 cups
Chinagrass or Agar Agar  - 10 gms

Mangoes - 2 pureed

For the Mango Glaze:

Mango puree - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 tblsp
Sugar - 2 tblsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp

Method:

Step 1: Powder the biscuits in a mixie into a coarse powder.  

Step 2: Pour the melted butter on the powdered biscuits and mix with your hands or run it again the mixie for few seconds. 

Step 3: You need to Fill the pan's base with the biscuit crumbs. 

Step 4: Press it firmly to the base using a glass and chill this in the freezer for 15 mins. 

Step 5: Hang the curd in a thin cloth to remove all the water content from it. Leave it for a couple of hours to get thick hung curd. 

Step 6: Chop the paneer into small cubes. Grind the hung curd and paneer together to make a smooth puree. 

Step 7: Peel, chop and puree two mangoes. 

Step 8: Take the mango puree in a pan and heat it over low flame. Dont boil it.

Step 5: Meanwhile chop the china grass sheet into small pieces. 

Step 6: Soak it in 1 3/4th cup of water for 10 minutes and the heat it until they melt completely. 

Step 7: Now gently combine the heated mango puree, china grass solution and sugar to the hung curd paneer mixture and beat to get a even creamy textured filling. 

Step 8: Remove the mould from the freezer and pour in the filling and allow it to set in the fridge for 3 hours. 

Step 9: Place the mango puree, water, sugar and lime juice in a sauce pan and heat it on medium flame until it becomes slightly thick. 

Step 10: Once the glaze comes to room temperature, apply it on the cheese cake layer and set it again in the fridge for an hour. Decorate as per your choice and enjoy eating. 

I used a peeler to get some strips of mango, rolled it and placed it on the cake for decoration. 

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.