Lasagna!!!!

I remember the first time we went to an Italian restaurant and I looked upon the menu and asked what's lasagna? My husband looked me with a teasing smile, not because I didn't know what lasagna is but because I pronounced it as lasag-na and not lasan-ya. But when I actually saw it, I wondered , How could I eat this without messing up..still couldn't find a way to eat it without a mess. Since it is loaded with cheese, I resist myself from having it often. Only once did we try this at home..It does take a lot of time and effort, but it definitely is worth the effort.
I have posted the recipe of chicken lasagna.You can substitute with a vegetable of your choice or use your favorite pasta sauce.

Things you'll need:
Lasagna noodles - 8 oz (1/2 pack)
ground chicken - 1/2 lb
Olive oil - 1tbsp
Spaghetti sauce or your favorite pasta sauce - 2 cups
Ricotta cheese - 8 oz
Parsley - 1 cup finely chopped  (you can also chop and add some spinach leaves)
Mozzarella cheese - 4 cups, shredded
salt - as required
Ground black pepper - as per taste

Yield - 4 Servings

Method:

Step1:
Boil water in a large pot enough to fit the lasagna noodles (if you don't have a big pot you can evenly break the noodles into two). Add some salt and the noodles. Cook the noodles according to package directions. They will take approx. 8 to 10 mins to cook.

Step2:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl mix the ricotta cheese and the parsley with a couple of pinches of salt.  In a heated pan pour the olive oil and when the is hot add the ground chicken with some salt and pepper. Cook the chicken while separating them with a spatula. When the chicken is almost done, add the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture is thick.


















Step3:
Take a baking pan, preferably of 13x9 dimension, spread half of the chicken-sauce mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan, then arrange half of the cooked noodles flat on the mixture. Spread half of the ricotta cheese on the noodles. Sprinkle half  of the mozzarella cheese on top. Repeat this by arranging chicken- sauce mixture, noodles, ricotta cheese and mozzarella.

Step4:
Cover the baking pan with aluminium foil, so that steam doesn't escape. Bake the lasagna for 30 mins, then uncover the pan and bake for another 10 or 15 mins. Viola!! Lasagna!!

Burrito bowl

Mexican cuisine is one of my favorites since it resembles Indian flavors and it is rich in protein and carbs. The burrito bowl is an excellent idea for lunch box or a quick meal for an unexpected guest. This can either be had as it is or can be filled into a tortilla to make a delicious burrito. I have searched different websites and have come up with this version.

Things you'll need:

For Guacamole:
Avocado - 1
Tomato - 1/2 minced
salt - as needed
lemon juice - 1tsp

For pico de Gallo:
Tomato - 1 big, finely chopped
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Jalapeno - 1 finely chopped
salt  - as needed
lemon juice - 1 tsp
cilantro - two or three sprigs, finely chopped

For rice:
cooked rice - 2 cups
cilantro - 2 or three sprigs finely chopped
oil - 1 tbsp
salt - as needed

For beans :
Kidney beans - 1 can or 1 cup of dried beans which can be soaked and cooked ( you can also use white kidney beans or dark red for variety of colors)
Cumin powder - 2 tsp
salt - as needed (canned kidney beans contains salt)

Sour cream - as per taste

Yield  - 2 Servings

Method:

Step1:
Wash and cook the rice. Mix the oil, cilantro, salt and few drops of lemon juice and keep aside. Finely chop the items for pico de Gallo (tomato,onion,cilantro & Jalapeno). Mix them with lemon juice and salt.













Step2:
Prepare guacamole by cutting and scooping out the avocado pulp, and making a puree of the pulp in a food processor, with tomato and salt. Mix few drops of lemon juice to the guacamole to prevent oxidation (changing of color)

Step3:
Wash and cook the kidney beans (just wash thoroughly if using canned beans). Saute the beans in little oil with minced garlic, cumin powder and salt. You could add some stock to make a thick gravy.

Step4:

Take a bowl, arrange the rice, beans, guacamole, pico de Gallo and sour cream in whichever order you like, scoop it from top to bottom to get the taste of all the ingredients in every bite.

Note:

If you couldn't find or dosen't like sour cream just substitute with plain yoghurt. The taste does not change.

Bombay halwa or Karachi halwa

This is a very simple sweet I saw in vahrevah.com 's video. It has few ingredients and can be made in minutes. This is made with corn flour, but also can be substituted with wheat flour.

Things you'll need:
corn flour - 1/4 cup
water - for mixing corn flour, less than 1/4 cup
sugar - 1/2 cup
cashew nuts - few, broken
Ghee - 3tbsp

Yield : 12 to 15 pieces


Method:
Step1:
Make sugar syrup by mixing the sugar in 1/4 cup water. The consistency of the syrup should be watery. You can switch off the stove couple of minutes after the sugar starts boiling and you see vigorous bubbles.

Step2:
Mix the corn flour and water. Add 1tbsp of ghee to a pan without switching on the stove and add the corn flour mixture. Mix well. Now switch on the stove and stir the corn flour and ghee mixture until it starts to thicken. Switch of the stove.

Step 3:
 Add the hot syrup one tablespoon at a time to the corn flour mixture and stir well. The mixture should be like batter. You can taste it and stop adding the syrup if u find it too sweet for you.

Step4:
Switch on the stove. Stir the mixture continuously until it turns glassy and leaves the sides of the pan. It should look like a jelly. Add the remaining ghee and mix it well. Switch off the stove, add the broken cashew nuts and spread it in a plate. Cut it to pieces once slightly cooled.

Enjoy!!

Ennai kathirikkai (spicy sauteed brinjal curry)

This is one of the most favorite south indian side dishes. This is a spicy and tangy gravy that goes well with either plain rice or mixed rice. This is a bit on the higher side of the calorie count since it has peanuts, sesame seeds, and coconut all in one dish. Since the nuts and coconut only give extra richness to the dish you can also reduce their amount and increase spice level.

Things you'll need:
Brinjals - 4 if medium sized and 6 if small
tamarind  - lemon sized
curry leaves - few
salt - as needed
oil - 1/4 cup
mustard seeds - 1tsp

things to roast and grind:
red chillies - 4
urad dal - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
black pepper - 1/2 tsp
cloves - 2
coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
peanuts - 1 tbsp
sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
coconut - 1/4 cup grated

Yield : 3 or 4 servings


Method:
Step 1:
Dry roast peanuts and sesame seeds and keep aside. Add 1 tsp oil and roast the rest of the 'to roast and grind' ingredients one by one. Make a coarse powder of the roasted ingredients with the grated coconut.

Step 2:
Wash and cut the stalk from the brinjals. Make two slits in each brinjal to divide it into four sections. Take care not to cut them fully. Fill the brinjals with the half of the masala powder and keep them aside. Reserve the left over masala powder.

Step 3:
Pour the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to crackle, add the curry leaves and the brinjals and fry them in low heat. When the brinjals are almost cooked, add the tamarind extract and the masala powder. Add salt and allow it to cook for 10 mins in medium heat.

The spicy and tangy Ennai Kathirikai is ready to be served with your choice of pulao or plain rice.

'Baked vada' curry

Vada curry combined with idli or dosa makes many of us drool.  It is generally prepared by crumbling deep fried 'vada's into the spicy curry. But feeling very lazy to deep fry those vadas and then making the curry I thought of a shortcut, can also be called 'the fat cut'. I decided to try baking the vadas so I can save time and reduce the addition of fat in the form of oil. The baked vada curry is no different from the original version in taste and texture. If you have an oven you can make this baked vada curry in no time.

Things you'll need:
channa dal - 1/2 cup
onion - 1 1/2, finely chopped
tomato - 1, finely chopped
green chillies - 2 medium sized, finely chopped
curry leaves - 5
coriander leaves - to garnish
salt - to taste
ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
chilli powder - 1 tsp
oil or cooking spray - as needed
fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Yield - serves 2 or 3 persons

Method :
Step 1:
Soak the channa dal for atleast 5 hours. Grind the dal coarsely with 1/2 onion, green chillies, curry leaves, salt. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Shape the vadas and place them in a baking tray greased with oil or cooking spray. Bake the vadas till browned on both sides (you have to flip the vadas in between)

Step 2:
Mean time, heat oil in a pan, add the fennel seeds. When the seeds splutter add remaining onions and fry them until translucent. Add ginger garlic paste, tomato, curry leaves, chilli powder and salt. Add little water and close the lid and allow it to cook in slow flame.

Step 3:
When the vadas are done, crumble them (of course, you have to wait until it's slightly cooled or else you will end up eating idly and vada curry with a spoon) and add into the curry. This will thicken the curry, so add some more water till it is not too thick.

Step4:
Allow it to cook for a few minutes, switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with hot idlis or dosas.

tip: If you are not going to have it immediately. Its better to add the vadas minutes before you serve, because if kept for sometime the dal absorbs the water and leaves the curry dry.

note: I haven't tried this in microwave oven. I'll be happy to hear if somebody had tried it.

Sending it out to Vardhini's  Dish it out event

 

Beetroot Halwa

We all have heard about carrot halwa or gajjar ka halwa. Ever heard about beetroot halwa? never heard of it until my mom made it when I was in college. I never worried about how she got the recipe or its origin..It tasted good, tats all I wanted. After marriage, once when we had some guests I tried beetroot halwa for dessert. It came out so well (there's nothing to go wrong in a dessert until it's sweet to eat..my husband's theory), and the guests were all praising about it "wow! never heard of beetroot halwa", "It's so delicious".  Nowadays I am not worried about beetroot getting wilted in the refrigerator..there's always a recipe in which no one would hate having beetroot.

Things you'll need:
Beetroot - 2 (medium sized)
condensed milk - 1/2 cup
sugar - 1 cup (can be increased or decreased according to preference)
ghee - 3 tbsp
cashews - 2 tbsp chopped

yield - 4 servings

Step 1:
Peel the beetroots, wash them and grate them to fine pieces. You can alternatively chop them and coarsely grind them in a food processor.

Step 2:
Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a non-stick pan and fry the beetroot for about five mins until the beetroot starts to soften.

Step 3:
Add the condensed milk and let it cook until all the milk is absorbed. Now add the sugar. This will leave the halwa watery. But it will thicken once the sugar is absorbed into the halwa.

Step 4:
When the halwa thickens and leaves the sides of the pan, add the remaining ghee and stir for a couple of mins.

Step 5:
Switch off the stove, garnish it with cashews and allow it to cool.

Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Yummo!!) or just as it is..Its delicious either way..

Raw banana cutlet

This is a recipe I tried from the website spiceindiaonline.com. I got bored of the usual raw banana fry and podimas. So I wanted to try a different recipe. The raw banana cutlet was very simple and tempting. At the very first time it came flawless and appreciated by my husband.

The ingredients are simple and takes less time to prepare

Things you'll need :

Raw banana - 1

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Ginger - 1 " piece minced

garlic - 1 or 2 pods minced

curry leaves - 3 or 4

coriander leaves - 2 sprigs
spinach leaves - handful
green chillis - 2 finely chopped
salt - to taste

turmeric powder - 1 tsp

chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Oil - for deep frying or shallow frying

Yield - 15 cutlets

Method:

Step 1 :

Peel and chop the raw banana and cook them in little water with turmeric powder and little salt. Let it cool and mash it without lumps.

Step 2 :

Add the rest of the ingredients with the mashed banana and mix well. Check for salt.

Step 3 :

Shape them into cutlets  and either shallow or deep fry the cutlets according to preference.

Serve them with ketchup or chutney of your choice.