Linguine / Pasta with roasted peppers

There are so many different types of pasta available in the Indian market over the last couple of years now. When I was little, I think the first ever pasta I had was this alphabet shaped macaroni like pasta. It was such a hit with us kids and Ma would always put that in our soup. Macaroni is another very popular pasta with kids. Then I slowly got introduced to penne (cylinder shaped), fusilli (corkscrew shaped), spaghetti (long thin pasta), tagiatelle (long thin ribbon like pasta), farfalle (bow-tie shaped), canneloni (tubes, usually stuffed with filling) and more recently orzo (shaped like rice grains) and linguine. Linguine is almost like spaghetti but slightly more flat.



My son is a great fan of the movie Ratatouille and inspired by that, he has decided to open a restaurant when he's older, where I will cook, TH will settle bills and he will go on roller skates serving people !
When I told him what he was eating was Linguine, he looked a little shocked because the boy in the movie was called Linguine. For him pasta until now was either macaroni or noodle pasta(spaghetti). All other shapes are just called pasta.

There are many brands selling pasta in India right now and I keep trying different ones, but this linguine from Waitrose is really really good. The pasta cooks up beautifully and almost melts in your mouth as you eat, not because its overcooked, but because it is just so soft and perfect.

The roasted peppers give this a lovely flavour. For the basic sauce, I used this recipe here.

Linguine with roasted peppers
Adapted from Italina khana - Pasta by Ritu Dalmia

What you need -

200g linguine (flat and long pasta)
2 yellow bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup tomato basil sauce
2 fresh tomatoes
2 cloves garlic (chopped lengthwise)
a few basil leaves (I ran out of this)
garlic greens (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

What you do with it -

Apply a little olive oil over the peppers and roast them in the oven at about 150 C for 15 mins
Allow it to cool, then peel off the skin and cut into pieces
Deseed and chop the tomatoes
Heat a little olive oil and add the chopped garlic
Add tomatoes and the peppers and allow it to cook for 3-4 mins
Add the pasta sauce and cook for another 5 mins
Adjust the salt and pepper. The pasta sauce already has salt, so see that you don't add too much
Meanwhile cook the pasta in hot boiling water (as per the packet instructions)
Drain the pasta and keep 1-2 tbsps of the water (from the pasta) aside
Add the pasta water to the sauce and allow to cook for 2 mins
Serve pasta and the the sauce over it
Garnish with some chopped garlic greens
Serve hot

Paneer, Babycorn Stir fry with Kasuri Methi

I've always liked cooking, though before I was married, it was just an occasional fancy sounding dish, once in a while and I'd never bothered with the basics like roti, dal, sabji...
After I got married, with both of us working really long hours and fairly far from home, we lived off Maggi(instant noodles), omelettes, bread, butter and jam and invariably landed up at Ma's place for dinner and ate out on weekends !



The regular LPG cylinder used for cooking, which lasts about 28-30 days now, lasted for about 11 months, so you get the idea !! I think we had a party when it finally got over, and we got the cylinder replacement :)

Over the years, I got more interested in trying out various cuisines and only after starting my blog, did I really attempt baking and trying out dishes that I hadn't even heard of before
I tend to rely on blogs more than cookbooks, when I am trying out something for the first time. There is so much information on how to go about the dish, the potential mistakes, substituting local ingredients and of course, the fact that these recipes are tried, tested and tasted !

This is one really simple, quick dish that also looks pretty because of the colours of the vegetables used. The main ingredient that contributes to the flavour here is kasuri methi / qasuri methi, which is dried fenugreek leaves. They have a bitter taste and a characteristic smell. Used in small quantity, these leaves enhance the flavour of any dish...
Here it is used with cottage cheese / paneer and baby corn, which on their own, really do not have any distinct taste or smell

I hope to put up more recipes which are simple to make and something that new cooks can easily make...

Paneer, baby corn with kasuri methi

What you need -

10-12 baby corns
150 gms cottage cheese / paneer (10-12 long slices)
2 onions
2 medium size tomatoes
1 green bell pepper / capsicum
1 yellow bell pepper (feel free to use any coloured pepper instead)
1 tbsp kasuri methi
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp sliced garlic
coriander leaves to garnish

What you do with it -

Cut the baby corn into half and then slice into 4 lengthwise
Blanch in salted water for 7-8 mins or put them in the microwave for about 3-4 mins
This is important because baby corn doesn't cook as fast as the other vegetables used here
If the paneer is frozen, allow to thaw and then cut into long slices. Heat water and then put the paneer pieces in it and simmer for 3-4 mins and keep covered
If the paneer is fresh, just dip in hot water for 2-3 mins
Cut the peppers, tomatoes and onions lengthwise
In a pan, heat oil and then add cumin seeds and kasuri methi
Add the sliced garlic and fry for 2 mins, then add the onions and peppers and saute till the onions become translucent
Add the baby corn, cumin powder, chilli powder, amchur powder and salt
Add the tomatoes and paneer and saute on high heat for 2 mins
Lower the flame and cover for 2 mins and take it off the heat
Garnish with coriander leaves and sprinkle some lemon juice over it
Serve hot with rotis

Thai Green Curry with Pineapple Basil Rice

Thai is one of my favourite cuisines, mainly because of the beautiful balance of flavours, spice, sweet, sour and coconut milk...
Back in Bangalore, we had quite a few restaurants serving really awesome Thai food, but here, I have had it at two places where they had added besan / chickpea flour for thickening the dish - it was a disaster. I prefer my home cooked Thai food now !
This may not be considered authentic enough, because it doesn't have galangal or kaffir lime leaves, but if you crave Thai curry and you don't have access to these ingredients, this is as good as the real deal...



A nice, flavourful Thai green curry can easily be made with these ingredients which are quite common in any Indian kitchen.

Thai Green Curry with Pineapple basil rice

Recipe Source
For the curry - Adapted from Neeta Mehta's Thai Vegetarian Cooking
For the rice - A good friend in Bangalore

What you need -

3-4 small eggplants
1 large red pepper / capsicum
(You can also use mushrooms, green peppers and yellow peppers)
1.5 cups thick coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
3-4 stalks of lemon grass

For the curry paste:
1/2 onion chopped
5-6 green chillies
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 piece ginger / galangal (if you find it)
1 tbsp lemon juice
rind of 1 lemon
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup fresh basil leaves / 1/2 cup coriander leaves
(I used 1/2 cup coriander leaves and 1/2 cup basil leaves)

Pineapple Basil Rice -

1.5 cups basmati rice
2-3 slices of pineapple (canned or fresh)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 leaves fresh basil

What you do with it -

For the curry paste :
Roast the cumin and coriander seeds till fragrant
Add all the ingredients listed under 'curry paste' and grind to a fine paste using a little water

For the rice :
Clean the rice and soak in water for 10 mins
Cut the pineapple slices into bite size pieces
Tear the basil leaves
Chop the garlic into thin slices
In a large pot, add 3 cups of water and bring to boil, add the rice, garlic, basil, pineapple and salt and cook till done
Add a drop or two of sesame oil, so the rice doesn't get too sticky
You could also put all the ingredients with the water into a rice cooker and cook till done

For the curry :
Clean and chop the eggplants and the peppers and the mushrooms, if using
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large deep bottomed pan and add the curry paste and fry for 2-3 mins. Keep it on a low flame, or the paste might splatter
Add the vegetables and fry for another 3-4 mins
Break the lemon grass stalks into 2-3 pieces and add to the pan
Add the salt, sugar and soy sauce
Dilute the thick coconut milk with water and add to the pan
Allow to simmer till the vegetables are just cooked. Don't let the vegetables get too soft or mushy
Take out the lemon grass stalks from the curry before you serve

Serve hot with pineapple basil rice

Want some other Thai dishes ? Check here, here and here

Stuffed Capsicum / Tomato...Ma's style

Am back from a really long break.
From the scorching heat in Ahmedabad, I left for my good old Bangalore, where the April showers, May flowers, friends and family brought the much-longed-for happiness...
Left that for the sweltering heat in Chennai, for a wedding in the family..
There was a lot of cooking that eating that happened over the last two months and its really showing up now :(

I did not have my camera cord and so there was no blogging for all this while, though I kept visiting my favourite blogs...

I have a lot of Ma's cooking to show off over the next few posts...One of my all time favourites, which is Ma's speciality, comes up first - Stuffed Capsicum and Tomato
We basically ran out of red capsicum, so used a tomato instead, which also tasted really good !



What really makes this stand out is that she doesn't stuff with the potato, which is the most common stuffing...This has a spicy chutney-chickpea flour filling, which makes all the difference...



Stuffed Capsicum / Tomato

What you need -

2-3 medium sized capsicums (different colours make it look really nice)
1/2 cup chick pea flour / besan
1.5 cups chopped onions
1 cup coriander leaves chopped
2-3 green chillies
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 cloves peeled garlic
1/2 tsp salt
small piece of ginger
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup breadcrumbs / sooji
oil

What you do with it -

Cut the caps of the capsicums and then de-seed as carefully as possible without breaking the capsicum. Wash and keep aside
Fill water upto about 6 inches height in a large vessel. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat. Place the capsicum in the water for about 5 mins, so that it gets a nice steam bath, but doesn't shrivel up
Grind the coconut, coriander, tamarind paste, ginger, salt, garlic and green chillies to a fine paste, adding only as much water as required
In a pan, heat the oil and add the onions, frying them, till they turn brown. Add the turmeric powder and then the chickpea flour. Fry on a low flame till the chickpea flour turns brown. Turn off the heat and add the ground paste. Allow it to cool
Stuff the capsicums with this masala and top it with breadcrumbs or sooji
In a shallow pan, heat some oil and place the capsicums with the crumbed portion on the pan. Once it turns slightly brown, turn it up and keep for a minute or two
You could use tomatoes also for a variation

Baked Stuffed Peppers / Capsicums

Stuffed capsicums was one of the dishes that my dad always insisted on for the big dinners at home, when he had people over...My mom makes some wonderful stuffed capsicums, which for some reason, hasn't been made in the longest time now...

I had this packet of sunflower seeds lying around and wasn't sure what to use it in. Googled for a recipe using sunflower seeds and found these stuffed baked peppers, that included brown rice - another one of the ingredients in my kitchen, that was waiting to be used...



The sunflower seeds added a nice crunch and I quite liked the idea of the rice and cheese, which made this a complete meal in itself !



The stuffed peppers brought back a lot of memories of the ones that my mom made, though the ingredients here are very different. I hope to make her version soon and post that too..

What you need -

1/2 cup long-grain brown rice
6 large capsicums / peppers (2 red, 2 green, 2 yellow)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tsps chopped cilantro
10-12 olives, chopped in half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese

What you do with it -

Cook brown rice in 1-1/2 cups boiling salted water until tender. Drain if necessary
Set it aside in a large mixing bowl
Preheat oven to 220 deg C. Line a baking pan with nonstick foil
Cut the bell peppers in half and deseed
Parboil bell peppers in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly and arrange cut-side up in the prepared pan
Saute onions and sunflower seeds in the butter over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Add to the rice in the bowl, along with olives, cilantro, cheese, oregano, basil, salt and pepper
Mound rice mixture in the bell peppers. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the stuffed peppers
Bake in the pre-heated oven at 220 deg C, for 15-20 mins

Chow Chow

My husband always tries to prove that I (Konkanis, in general) have some Chinese connection !! Konkani is spoken with a very nasal twang and lots of words sound very Chinese to a lay person.
Out of curiousity, I googled on this word "ChowChow" before I started writing this post. I googled more to find out if this was the way its spelt, because this recipe doesnt feature in any recipe books, not even Rasachandrika (The bible for Saraswat cooking) and guess what the first result was for a breed of dogs found in Mongolia and China !!


15/8/12 This pic is an updated one. I seem to have all photos that I uploaded directly into blogger :(

Chow chow is also the name of a vegetable in Kannada - I am not sure of the English equivalent, but its known as Bangalore Kathrikai in Tamil. This recipe has nothing to do with the dogs or this vegetable.

Its a medley of potaoes, beans, carrots and bell peppers in a spicy-tangy dry masala. This is a favourite at Ma's place.

What you need -

3 carrots
2 potatoes
2 green bell peppers
10 french beans (I didnt have these at home, so eliminated it)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 heaped teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
juice of 1 lemon

What you do with it -

Cut the vegetables into bite size pieces
Roast the cut bell peppers.
Parboil the potatoes, carrots and beans
Roast the pepper corns, mustard and fenugreek seeds and powder it
In a kadai, heat 2 tsps of oil and add chilli powder, turmeric powder and the dry masala
Add the vegetables and mix well
Add salt and lemon juice