Batatyacha Kees

This is an Indian version of shredded hash browns. It makes for a good breakfast item or snack and is very popular during "upaas" (fasts).

Here's how I make it:

1 large russet or baking potato - peeled and shredded
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asafotida
Green and/or red chillies per desired heat level
Roasted peanuts - coarsely ground
Salt and sugar to taste
Lemon juice
Chopped cilantro & fresh shredded coconut to garnish

I use the food processor to shred the potato.
Heat oil in a large wok. Saute cumin seeds until fragrant. Add the asafotida and chillies. Fry 2 mins. Add the shredded potatoes, stir well, cook uncovered on medium till done, about 7 - 10 mins., stirring in between. Do not let the potato shreds turn mushy. Then add the ground peanuts, salt, sugar. Mix well. Serve hot garnished with lemon juice or lemon wedges, chopped cilantro and coconut.

Spicy Baked Penne

This recipe is adapted from one of Giada De Laurentiis' cookbooks.

Here's how I make it:

1 cup uncooked penne - cook per package instructions

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 cloves of garlic - minced

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped spinach

Seasonings to taste - salt, pepper, red chilli pwd/flakes, pinch of sugar, pinch of nutmeg, any Italian seasoning blend, basil, oregano, parsley

2 tbsp bread crumbs

2 tbsp shredded mozarella cheese

2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

a little butter

To prepare the sauce, heat the oil and saute the onions until softened. Add the garlic and stir 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and cook another few minutes until they soften slightly. Add the chopped spinach and the desired seasonings. Stir well and cook till spinach wilts.

Add the cooked pasta to this sauce while it is hot.

If you are in a hurry, like on a busy weeknight, this can be served as is, topped with some shredded cheese.

If you have more time on hand or want to make it extra special, tip the pasta with the sauce into a lightly buttered casserole. Top with a mix of the bread crumbs and cheeses. Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 15 to 20 mins. until cheeses start bubbling and bread crumbs brown lightly.

Serve warm. Leftovers can be easily re-heated in the microwave and enjoyed. 

This Spicy Baked Penne goes to Ruth's Presto Pasta Night # 192.

Any kind of pasta dish usually goes down well with my daughter. For this reason, I keep the heat level fairly low in this dish. This makes it an ideal entry for the Kids Delight Holiday Special event at Spicing Your Life.

Palak Paratha

This is another of our favorite parathas. The basic idea is from Manjula's Kitchen.

For the stuffing, I fry cumin seeds in a tsp of oil till fragrant. Then I add ginger paste, chopped spinach (usually I use fresh) and other seasonings like salt, pinch of sugar, cumin pwd, coriander pwd, red chilli pwd and amchoor pwd (all per taste). I cook this mixture on medium low heat for a good 20 mins or until completely dry. Sometimes if I am in a hurry, I sprinkle a little gram flour which absorbs the excess moisture. Cool this mixture before use. To make the paratha, pinch off a ball of dough and shape it into a bowl-shape in your palm. Fill 2 tbsp spinach stuffing and close the ends of the dough by bringing them together. Gently flatten the ball. Let it rest for 5 mins before rolling out into a paratha, use a little flour to dust while rolling. Cook the paratha on a non-stick pan with a drop of oil until brown spots appear on both sides.

This Palak Paratha also goes to the Complete My Thali - Roti event at Torview. This event was started by Jagruti of Joy of Cooking.

Spring Onion & Peas Paratha

I make this kind of paratha atleast once a month. The idea for the delicious spring onions and peas stuffing is from Musical's Kitchen.

For the stuffing, I fry cumin seeds in a tsp of oil till fragrant. Then I add ginger paste and chopped spring onions (white and green parts) and saute 5 mins, then go in some frozen peas and other seasonings like salt, pinch of sugar, cumin pwd, coriander pwd, red chilli pwd and amchoor pwd (all per taste). Cook another 5 mins, mashing the peas a little along the way. Cool this mixture and use it to stuff the parathas.

When my dad visits, I always make extra spring onion - peas mixture as he loves to eat it just by itself.

For making the paratha, I roll out 2 equal circles of the regular roti dough, spread the above mix out on one circle, line the edges lightly with water, place the other circle on top and seal the edges together. Lightly press the paratha with my palm, then using a little flour, roll it out a little more. I cook the paratha on a non-stick pan with a little oil on each side until brown spots develop.

These Spring Onion & Peas Parathas go to the Complete My Thali - Roti event at Torview. This event was started by Jagruti of Joy of Cooking.

Broccoli Soup with Potato-Sesame Triangles

After the heavy Thanksgiving meal, we decided to go light the next day...with this quick Broccoli Soup and Potato-Sesame Triangles. Besides, the snow had finally melted and we were eager to get some shopping done for our Mumbai trip.

Here's how I made the Broccoli Soup:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup broccoli heads

2 cloves of garlic - minced

1 tsp plain flour

1 cup water/vegetable broth

1/2 cup milk

Few springs of cilantro and/or few spinach leaves

Seasonings - salt, pepper, Italian seasoning (optional), pinch of sugar, lemon juice

Heat the oil and saute the onions until softened, abt 5 mins. Add the garlic and broccoli and saute 5 mins on medium low until broccoli turns bright green. Add the flour and cook 2 mins. Add the water/broth. Cover and cook for abt 15 mins. Take off heat and add the cilantro/spinach. Cool and blend. Then pour it back into the pot, add the milk and the seasonings. Simmer gently until hot.

We enjoyed this soup with Potato-Sesame Triangles that I think I had noted down from a cookbook by Nita Mehta.

4 slices of bread (I used multi-grain) - crusts removed and cut into triangles

1 cup boiled, peeled and mashed potato

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozarella and cheddar)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tsp sesame seeds

Mix the potatoes, cheese and seasonings. Spread desired amount on one side of each bread triangle. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Cook this side on a non-stick pan with a drop of oil. Press gently with back of spatula to ensure the potato mix sticks to the bread. While this side is cooking, cover the other side with the potato mix and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Flip over to cook the reverse side.

Enjoy warm, makes a good accompaniment to soups.

This Broccoli Soup goes to the Healing Foods - Broccoli event at Spice Mantra. This event was started by Siri.

 

Also sending this Broccoli Soup with Potato-Sesame Triangles to the Souper Event at Kahakai Kitchen.

Tiramisu

This was the dessert for our Thanksgiving dinner. The original recipe is from Kraft Foods. I would call it Faux Tiramisu, especially the kid-friendly way I made it. Nevertheless, it was so heavenly that I licked off the bowl later, something I never do.

So here's my take on it:

1 tbsp instant coffee pwd

2 tbsp hot water

1 8oz. packet of cream cheese - softened to room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 8oz tub of Cool Whip

32 - 35 Nilla wafers

For garnish - grated milk chocolate

Dissolve the coffee pwd in the hot water in a big bowl. Add the cream chese and whisk till well blended. Add the sugar and mix well. Gently fold in the Cool Whip.

Arrange half of the Nilla wafers to cover the bottom of an 8x8 square dish. Top with half of the above mix. Spread it evenly. Repeat these layers.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, I sprinkled the grated chocolate. 

Paneer Pasanda with Whole Wheat Naan

I first saw Paneer Pasanda on Wah Re Wah where the chef made pockets in large paneer triangles and stuffed them. That method did not work for me as the paneer triangles kept breaking up as I tried to stuff them. Then I saw this recipe on Sangeeta's Banaras Ka Khana - she sandwiched the stuffing between paneer triangles and also gave good step-by-step instructions. So this time I tried it her way. The sandwiched paneer stuck together beautifully and stayed stuck well.

For the stuffing, I used ground cashews, finely chopped cilantro, salt and pepper. I used a thin mixture of flour and water to bind the sandwiches.

For the gravy, I had some frozen extra dum aloo gravy, so I used that.

I served the Paneer Pasanda with Whole Wheat Naans that I learnt from Monsoon Spice. I pretty much follow her method, except for the cooking part. Since I have electric coils I am very scared to flip the pan with the naan stuck to it - what if it falls on the coil and creates a mess? So I just cook it on the pan like regular rotis. But one of these days I will muster up the courange to try cooking it her way. I also saw an interesting way of using the pressure cooker as a tandoor on Charan's Creative with Clay. I am determined to try that too.

Paneer Pasanda and Whole Wheat Naans were part of my Thanksgiving Indian menu.