Lemon Upma Recipe

This Preparation is without roasting Sooji, for the days when you are in a real hurry ! 

Ingredients :

• 1 small bowl of sooji / rava /semolina 
• 3 small bowls of water ( use the same size bowl in which you measure rava / sooji)
• 6 seeds of methi dana /fenugreek seeds 
• one tea spoon of sarson dana ( mustard seeds)
• one tea spoon of jeera ( cumin seeds)
• 6 to 7 curry leaves
• one table spoon of chana daal
• one tea spoon of urad daal 
• 6 green chillies 
• Ginger grated one table spoon 
• Two table spoons lemon juice
• Peanuts/ cashews ( few hand full) as per your taste 
• Frozen peas, beans and carrots. ( you can add any veggies of your choice)
• Salt to taste
• 4 tea spoons of olive oil/ any refined oil
• 2 tea spoons of Ghee ( clarified butter) (optional: you can make it completely in olive oil as well)

Prep:

Chop very fine just grind green chillies as they look in picture along with ginger.

Method:

Heat a kadhai (a sauce pan will also do with a lid), preferably ( non stick ) on a medium low heat , add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and add peanuts or cashews  and rost them till they are golden brown, and keep them aside. 

In the same vessel on the medium low heat only add ghee and remaining olive oil, and allow it to heat up nicely. add the ingredients in the following order, as its important otherwise ur upma can taste bitter. 

1) Add Fenugreek seeds/ methi dana as it starts to sizzle the add

2) Chana daal as it starts to sizzle and takes very little color then add 

3) urad daal , as it takes little golden color then add 

4) sarson dana ( mustard seeds), let them splutter nicely, keep stirring as you add these ingredients, the add 

5) Jeera and let it crackle. 

6) add curry leaves

6) Now add grated chillies and ginger and saute for 2 min till us see that ginger is no more raw. We are not supposed to change the color of ginger, just cook enough to remove the raw flavour.

Now add three cups of water, peas, carrots and beans and salt to taste. Cover the vessel and let it come to a boil on medium heat only. As the water starts to boil, slowly start to add the sooji/rava with your left hand while you keep stirring the mixture constantly with your right hand ( ofcourse if you are right handed), vise versa if you are left handed :-)

You will notice the water is quickly getting absorbed as you are adding sooji, keep stirring the mixture to avoid any lumps. the mixture will thicken instantly( which is normal). If you feel little more water is needed ( which may be in the case of very coarse sooji), then just sprinkle some water and cover the vessel. Now turn off the heat completely and cover the vessel with a lid and keep it aside for good 5 to 7 min . 

This allows sooji to swell up nicely in its own steam. 

After 7 min open the lid and add lemon juice and toasted peanuts/cashews. 

Serve it hot with coconut or peanut or tomato chutney. 

Have upma with a glass of milk which makes your power-packed breakfast in a bowl.

Benefits of Sooji:

• It is digested slowly. This helps you feel full longer and prevents you from overeating.
• It improves kidney function, thanks to its potassium content.
• Its a good source of two vital vitamins: E and the B group. Both, as we know, are essential for good immunity from disease.

Please let me know your comments ! 

Donna Hay Mushroom and Bread Crumbs Pasta with a Twist. 

                                                             

Ingredients 

20g dried porcini mushrooms (I used button mushrooms however)
200g spaghetti
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
fresh/Dried thyme leaves

fresh/dried basil leaves

fresh breadcrumbs (large chunks of fresh bread to make croutons)
sea salt and cracked black pepper
finely grated parmesan (optional)

and olive oil to serve

In a large pan with salted water, boil paste till all dente, preferably use spaghetti with this recipe

How much spaghetti? I usually used to get confused with the numbers/measures of spaghetti's to boil earlier, but its easy if you measure it like this. As many spaghetti's that you an hold in your fist, is good enough for one person.  it suits me so I use it now.. you can try as well 

To check if the pasta is cooked or not , break a spaghetti and check, if you see a very very minute ( as per the size of the spaghetti, co as it is it is very thin ;-)) white center, that means it’s almost cooked , you can stop cooking at this point as well, or can cook precisely for two more minutes.

from one of the famous chef Vicky Ratnani I also learnt another trick on his TV show to check it is cooked or not, though it’s funny and clumsy but worth trying for fun   .

Take a spaghetti , when you think its done and throw it, Yes I mean it !! throw it on a wooden cupboard in ur kitchen. If it sticks to it, it’s done otherwise it needs more cooking … funny right.. ? but it works…but don’t try it with too many spaghetti's otherwise you will end up losing all of them :o)

Once its done, drain it nicely so that it doesn't contain no more water, as if it has water left, it will make the bread crumbs soggy later and will spoil the taste.. After it is drained well apply some olive oil on it and keep it aside .

For Bread crumbs : You can prepare them in two ways :

Healthy way of doing it : Put the regular bread slices with little olive oil on them in oven on the tray and keep them for 3 to 4 minutes on 180 degree C or till you see it turns little brown and is crisp.

OR

Just pop the bread slices in the pop up toaster and put the mark at 3 to make them crisp. Drizzle some olive oil once it is out

OR

You can just follow the Indian traditional way of doing it, put it on a tawa with medium heat and make sure it doesn't burn. But make it crisp with some olive oil.

Once its done break the slices into big chunks of the size that they are easily manageable with the pasta.

Other way of doing it: Take lots of olive oil in the pan and put the broken pieces of bread and fry them till they are crispy .

Keep the bread crumbs aside.

For Pasta :

Take a pan add olive oil and crushed garlic cloves, you don’t have to make them brown, before they go brown add chopped mushrooms of the type you like , cook till mushrooms have released all water and are shiny, now add thyme, basil very little salt for seasoning and fresh crushed black pepper.

Immediately add pasta and the prepared bread crumbs and mix well and serve it hot, before the bread goes soggy… :o)

Enjoy it on a day when you don’t want to work with too many ingredients and are lazy to go out to buy more…

Let me know how you like it .. 

White Sauce Creamy Pasta

White sauce Creamy Pasta

Ingredients 

White sauce : 

2 table spoon maida/fine flour

2 small cloves of garlic

1 table spoon butter

2 table spoons olive oil

11/2 cups milk full cream/toned

half cup water

salt to taste 

3 pinches of black pepper

Pasta :

Any paste of your choice

broccoli cut in big pieces and steamed

French Beans cut in big pieces and steamed 

Long sliced bell peppers( Green yellow and Red)

One Thick sliced Onion ( Big Pieces)

Mushrooms ( which ever type you prefer)

sweet corns steamed

peas steamed

5 to 6 garlic cloves

salt black pepper

chilly flakes a few 

basil leaves 

thyme leaves

sliced olive green and black

olive oil

White sauce Recipe : 

take a pan on very low heat add olive oil to it and on top of it add the butter.

Let the butter melt down and add flour/maida. 

roast the flour for 2 minutes on the same low heat, so that it does not change its color to brown at all.. make sure it doesn't go brown.

while the flour is getting roasted also add crushed/grated garlic to it so that it roasts with flour and the rawness is removed.

Now add black pepper.

Remove it from the flame /heat

While stirring continuously add milk which is at the room temperature, to avoid lumps. In order to completely avoid lumps its better to use Egg Beater instead of a regular spatula, while stirring while milk is added. 

Keep stirring , after adding all the milk put the pan back to heat/flame. 

keep stirring and keep the heat to medium now. 

 you will observe the the milk is getting thicker because of the flour, if required you can add half a cup of water to this mixture, so as to not to keep the consistency very thick and heavy. Let few boils come to cook the mixture keep stirring it till the end. 

you will notice that the oil has risen to the top once it is cooked properly

Add salt to taste for seasoning. 

Pasta Recipe: 

Boil Paste till all dente

Take a big heavy bottom pan and put in medium flame. 

Add olive oil , to it add crushed garlic.

Don't let the garlic go brown, and add sliced Mushrooms to it. Once the mushrooms are cooked and have released all water and start to shine, add the rest of the steamed veggies. stir for few seconds, we don't have to cook them for long as they are already cooked. Now add the bell peppers and Thick sliced Onions. 

Mix well add Salt and black pepper to taste.

Add both the herbs. 

Add boiled pasta and cook for 1 minute no more . 

Now add the white sauce and mix well. 

At this stage if you think white sauce is quick thick, add some more milk to pasta, and mix well. 

Serve Hot and garnish it with some chilly flakes, sliced olives and fresh basil / parsley!! 

enjoy...:-) 

do let me know how you like it !! 

Stuffed Peppers with Veggies and Grilled Cheese

This is an amazing recipe also a good presentable snack item for evening get-together s . 

A little variation is possible : 

• Instead of Halloumi : Use Paneer/Cottage Cheese in India . 
• In addtion to all the veggies that have been listed in the recipe to be added to the pepper, a single clove of garlic can also be added, it will really enhance the flavor!! 
• you also add pre steamed mushrooms to it and also some boiled potatoes

Enjoy 
New way to eat stuffed peppers..

Lemme know how you like it !!