4th Anniversary, 400th Post, Winner Announcement & Quick Farfalle-Basil Pasta to celebrate

Hi All!!

It seems ages that I posted something here, I have been too busy lately..travelling, guests, health issues and many more things but today no reason, no excuse could keep me away from my blog baby. Yes!! My blog turns 4today and it also happens to be my 400th post here. Yippee, Hurray!!!

I must thank my family, friends, readers and blogger friends for being so supportive, for being there to see me grow, to praise me for my creativity and critically analyze me to improve further. Nothing of this was possible without YOU so a big THANK YOU!!! I hope to see your continued support here. I love reading your feedback so please keep giving me that.

I wanted to post an elaborate and a more creative dish here but pardon me friends, I’m just not able to bear the heat  and I simply dread long hours in the kitchen. I’m more into one pot or quick meals and my one BIG savior these days is Pasta which can be cooked in few minutes and you have ample choice to work on the flavors and play around with the veggies. The only thing I ensure is that I use Durum Wheat or Wheat Pasta, so that’s it’s good for my health too.

The pasta I’m posting today has no big recipe and has simple basic flavors and can be cooked on any lazy day without thinking too much..It’s a complete stress free recipe and that’s how I cook these days, which is no tension cooking . Also, I’m hoping that my face book fan page reaches 2000likes today so please head there and join me where I post kitchen tips everyday.

Farfalle With Basil

Preparation Time:15mins

Cooking Time:5mins

Serves:2

Difficulty Level:Easy

Ingredients

2cups Farfalle pasta ( cooked al dente)

1medium onion, cubed

6-7garlic pods, chopped finely

1/4 of green and red bell pepper, cubed

1small tomato cubed

1tsp oregano

9-10basil leaves

1tsp crushed black pepper/ paprika/ cayenne pepper

salt to taste

olive oil + butter mix, about 3tbsp

Method

Boil about a cup of pasta in about 8-10cups of water with a teaspoon oil and a table spoon salt.

Simultaneously, chop the veggies while the pasta gets cooked.

In a pan take butter and olive oil and once hot add the garlic and let it brown lightly.

Add the onions and sauté. Add the seasonings.

Tip in the pasta and toss on high flame for a few seconds. Add the remaining veggies and cook for 1-2minutes on medium before serving.

Add the basil leaves just before the final tossing on flame.

Serve hot garnished with more basil leaves.

Tips:

Add sufficient salt to the boiling pasta and always add the pasta once the water starts boiling, never add pasta to cold water.

Try to boil the pasta while the veggies/ sauce gets cooked. Always add hot pasta to the sauce. If the pasta is already cooked before adding it to the sauce, dip it in boiling water for 5secs and then add to the sauce.

Now comes the winner of last month’s ‘Only’ Cooking With Legumes event which was hosted by Nalini. Out of the 24 entries sent in Indian category

The random picker has chosen 11, which is Anu’s Masoor Patli Dal. Congrats Anu, please mail me within 48hrs to cookingoodfood@gmail.com to claim your win.

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Barley-Hyacinth Bean Upma/ Javaa-Avarekaalu Uppittu

 

Hello again!

I have mentioned several times that my family is a huge fan of avarekaalu/hyacinth beans/field beans/mochai. Come season and I’m ready to peel the tender pods and extract the beautiful seeds, fresh and green. These days we are getting fresh beans and to my delight it has a good flavor too.

Recently on my visit to a gourmet store here, I picked some barley dalia or barley’s coarse meal. I wanted to use it in an innovative way, especially since I was cooking the barley dalia for the first time. I was super excited with the preparation I wanted to try and at the same time apprehensive too. I thought for the first time I was getting a bit ambitious since I did not know how much time it would take to cook but I had used pearl barley in my cooking earlier, so that helped me. .. I realized while cooking, that’s what the foodie in me wanted, some adrenalin rush and then a hopefully a decent foodie treat at the end…

Before I elaborate more about the preparation, I do want to emphasize on the importance and health benefits of this grain. For me, Barley is a powerhouse of nutrition. This centuries-old grain is packed with fiber, contains important vitamins and minerals, is slim on fat, and, like all plant products, cholesterol-free. It is also low on GI (glycemic index) making it useful for diabetics. Since it is an excellent source of dietary fiber, especially the  beta-glucan soluble fiber. Research shows that barley beta-glucan soluble fiber promotes healthy blood sugar by slowing glucose absorption and thus helping the diabetics. Barley is also a good diuretic and helps in cleansing the urinary system. With so many  health benefits it is a grain to be eaten frequently and that’s what I’m going to do now..eat healthy and stay fit!!

Coming back to the recipe.. I did not take a risk and soaked the barley meal  and kept checking the grain every 15mins and realized it soaks faster as compared to pearl barley, the grain had soaked well in an hour. I had the hyacinth beans peeled and stored in the fridge and also had freshly grated coconut. I walked on similar lines of  the Avarekaalu Uppittu that my family loves. Fortunately, the cooking procedure was not at all daunting and the daliya/upma was ready in 20mins. I guess, the soaking helped and it reduced the cooking time too.. I ate a small portion of the upma and realized that the grain is very filling and the upma tasted good with the addition of the beans which also adds nice flavor. I also felt that I should have added more green chilies since the grain by itself is nutty and sticky. A spicy upma would have tasted better for my palate, sadly I’m not able to get hold of spicy green chilies these days… Next time I make this, it will definitely have more chilies!!!

Soaking Time:1hour

Preparation Time:5mins

Cooking Time:20-25mins

Serves:4

 

 

Ingredients

3cups of soaked barley dalia/ coarse meal

1cup avarekaalu/ hyacinth/field beans/mochai

6-7 green chilies, finely chopped (use spicy ones)

3tbsp chopped coriander leaves and stem

2tbsp chopped curry leaves/ kadhi patta

1tsp mustard seeds

5-6tbsp refined oil

salt to taste

2tbsp urad-chana dal mix

3-4 cups,boiling water

Method

Wash and soak the barley dalia for an hour.

Boil the avarekaalu/hyacinth beans with some salt to taste in a pan.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom non stick pan. Add the mustard, let it splutter.

Add the urad chana dal mix and fry it light golden.

Add the green chilies, curry leaves and sauté.

Add the coriander too and mix. This adds a nice flavor to the upma.

Tip in the soaked barley meal/dalia. In my case the grains had absorbed all the water. Mix it properly in oil and add salt to taste. Roast it in the oil for 2-3mins.

Add the cooked avarekaalu and give a good stir.

Add the coconut and mix.

Finally, using a measuring cup add 2cups of boiling water (remember avarkaalu also has water).  I felt that 1cup boiling water to 1cup soaked barley was the ratio I followed. Once the mixture boils, put the lid and simmer the flame, cook till done. If required add more boiling water.

Serve hot.

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Dal Muradabadi… a lentil preparation for a healthy breakfast

Hi friends!

I hope all of you had good time with friends and family in the summer and relished cool drinks and ice-creams. As for me, I had a good time relaxing at home and at my Mom’s place too but the best time was when I and DH took a short break in Uttaranchal and spent quality time together without the kids. The break surely re-energised us.

 

We tried a lot of food during this period and I was always looking forward to learn the interesting preparations  served especially during breakfast. After coming back I have been trying those and now I’m ready to post them one by one.

One such interesting preparation which I had at Kanatal Resorts and Spa was the Dal Muradabadi. It’s a very simple preparation made with the yellow moong dal and needs very few ingredients to make. The end result surely is a tasty, wholesome and nutritious breakfast which is high on proteins. The lentil itself is easy to digest and cooks very fast making the preparation ideal for breakfast. It is a perfect dish for people who do not eat onion, ginger and garlic as this is a Jain preparation.

This can also be served as a side dish and will make a filling lunch box item.

Ingredients

about 2 cups of soaked split yellow lentils ( dhuli moong dal)

about 3tbsp oil

3-4 green chillies sliced

a generous pinch of asafoetida

salt to taste

a pinch of turmeric

1tsp cumin seeds

Method

Wash about 1-1/2 cups of lentils and soak in water for half an hour.

Strain the water and keep it, do not throw it will be used later in the preparation.

Heat oil in a non stick pan and add cumin seeds, let them splutter. Now add green chillies, asafoetida and turmeric.

Tip in the lentils and mix well. Add salt to taste and enough water for the lentil to get cooked. Cover with a lid and cook on low flame till done.

Evaporate the water completely on high flame if some is still left as it is a dry  preparation. While doing this mix the lentils gently else it can turn mushy and the preparation requires each grain to be separate.

Serve it with a dash of lime and  some chopped cilantro.

Sending it to Sobha’s event

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Restaurant Style Cheese Macaroni

Hi!

Today was special as I started my month long vacation and so thought of treating the kid with his favourite food. A few days back when S was travelling I and the kid went out to have some fun, we played and we ate out. He decided to have pasta from the live pasta corner and ordered a fusilli in cheese sauce with no veggies. One strong look from me and he requested the chef, please add some corn to mine. He loved the pasta which even I personally liked.

 

My kid can avoid veggies to any extent and is quite picky about it, so when I asked him today that whether he would like to have a similar kind of pasta he had the other day, he simply beamed. I assured him that I would make the pasta provided he lets me put veggies in that. With some reluctance he agreed and I did make him a similar kind rather a better kind of cheese pasta which he ate wholeheartedly and I was more than happy as I made him eat the veggies too.

Ingredients

1tsp finely chopped garlic

2 cups boiled macaroni

2tsp butter

3/4-1cup of milk

1/4-1/2 cup cream

1 large pinch oregano

1 large pinch basil

1/4 cup grated cheese

salt to taste

freshly crushed black pepper to taste

3tbsp of chopped coloured bell peppers

chilli flakes and cilantro for garnishing

Method

In a pan take the garlic and butter and heat it, once you start getting the aroma of garlic (do not let it change the colour) add the milk followed by the cream.

Tip in the herbs, fresh pepper and salt to taste.

Mix in the macaroni followed by the cheese. Keep the flame low and do not cook much as the sauce thickens fast.

Pour the pasta into the serving bowl and sprinkle cilantro and chilli flakes.

 

Eat immediately .

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Stuffed Oats-Wheat Pancake and a few awards..

 

As a health conscious mother I have to constantly concoct preparations which are healthy, nutritive and at the same time tasty too. My kids are not fond of oats and I always  had a difficult  time making them eat it.

We all know both Wheat and Oats are extremely Nutritive. We being largely the wheat eaters, it’s benefits we enjoy.  The challenge is always  adding and introducing  other grains. By making these extremely tasty and nutritive pancakes I passed one such challenge of adding Oats into our meals.

The pancakes made out of oats and wheat can be very bland if not spiced and flavored properly. I have added chilies, coriander, garlic and curds to my pancake to add in the flavor. These pancakes have to be handled very delicately as they can break off easily. To make them crisp, they need to be cooked on low flame on either side, that’s where semolina helps.

The stuffing of Cottage Cheese and capsicum provides the protein content, vitamins and minerals.

Health facts about Oats (Source eatmoreoats.com)

Oatmeal and oat bran are significant sources of dietary fiber. This fiber contains a mixture of about half soluble and half insoluble fibers. One component of the soluble fibre found in oats is beta-glucans, a soluble fiber which has proven effective in lowering blood cholesterol. Here's how it works. Soluble fiber breaks down as it passes through the digestive tract, forming a gel that traps some substances related to cholesterol, such as cholesterol-rich bile acids. This entrapment reduces the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream. The bad cholesterol, LDL, is trapped without lowering good cholesterol (HDL). Oats and grains are also one of the best sources of compounds called tocotrienols. These are antioxidants which together with tocopherols form vitamin E. The tocotrienols inhibit cholesterol synthesis and have been found to lower blood cholesterol. The accumulation of cholesterol is implicated in many types of cardiovascular disease. Oats, like all cholesterol-lowering agents, are most effective when consumed as part of a low-fat, high-fiber diet taken together with plenty of exercise.

The Recipe…
Ingredients for Pancake
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats  powdered
4-5 tbsp semolina
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
4-5 green chilies crushed
3-4 garlic pods crushed
3 tbsp curds
salt to taste
water to adjust consistency
1 onion finely chopped
2-3 tbsp cilantro chopped
For the Stuffing
100gms Cottage Cheese grated
1 large capsicum chopped finely
salt to taste
cumin pwd as per taste ( I added about 11/2 tsp)
Method
  Mix all the ingredients of the pan cake and add enough water to make a batter of pouring consistency.
  
Heat a Non stick pan and smear it with few drops of oil, spread the batter like you make Uttappam. Simmer the flame. Once the air escapes and the holes  are formed pour in a little oil around the edges and a few in the centre. When the lower side turns crisp flip the pancake and cook on the other side.



Turn the pancake again and fill in the stuffing. Fold the pancake and serve.

My friends Sushma Mallya, Padma, Raje and Babli  have passed on  a few  awards. I am a bit late to acknowledge here, sorry girls for that.Those of you who have not visited their blogs do visit, they are highly talented bloggers.

Babli and Raje  have passed a giant bear hug.
Babli has also passed

Raje has also passed Thanks a lot both of you.
Sushma and Padma have passed .This  Over the top award comes with a meme
1. Where is your cell phone: On my bed next to me
2. Your hair: dark Brown
3. Your mother: My best friend
4. Your father: My pride
5. Your favorite food: Indian and Thai
6. Your dream last night: I do not remember
7. Your favorite drink: Vergin Pina Colada
8. Your dream/goal: To write my cook book
9. What room are you in: Bed room
10. Your hobby: keeps changing
11. Your fear: Heights
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years: Where my destiny takes me

13. Where were you last night: Home
14. Something you aren’t:  Liar
15. Muffins: Not very fond of
16. Wish list item: holiday to Goa once again
17. Where did you grow up: in India
18. Last thing you did: Was making my son read Hindi literature
19. What are you wearing: Bandhani Salvar Kurta
20. Your TV:  Switched Off

21. Your pets: No
22. Your friends: Very choosy about them
23. Your life: Great
24. Your mood: Happy
25. Missing someone: My parents
26. Vehicle: Hyundai Verna and Santro
27. Something you’re not wearing: My Bindi
28. Your favorite store: Alpha, More Supermarket (Aditya Birla Retail)
29. Your favorite color: None in particular
30. When was the last time you laughed: in the morning
31. Last time you cried: well nobody would like to remember that
32. Your best friend: My husband S
33. One place that I go over and over: Kitchen
34. One person who emails me regularly: My friend Anubha
35. Favorite place to eat: Davangere benne dose in Bangalore
I am passing  the “Over the Top” award and the Meme to Prasu, Radha, Sadhana and Muskaan, Sangeeta Subhash, Sireesha , Preeti and Somoo. Girls  enjoy and pass on.
I am sending this as my entry to EFM -Oats series hosted by SrishKitchen    CFK-Wheat hosted by Sireesha at Kidz Delightand
WYF : Light Meal  hosted by EC at Simple Indian Food

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