Shrimp Spaghetti with Basil, Mushroom , Tomato

With no respite from continuous week long rain, the fridge was a medley of a bit of this and a bite of that....1/2 a packet of cleaned and deveined Shrimp in the freezer, 8-10 cherry tomatoes, a bowl of sauteed (in butter) mushrooms and a handful of basil leaves lying in the fridge. Bored of khichdi, phyana bhaat, thought of assembling all these bits and pieces and making my girl's favorite spaghetti.

Easy, quick and tasty.

Ingredients :
Spaghetti - 500gms
Shrimps (cleaned and de-veined)- about 400-500gms.
Mushrooms - about 200 gms halved and sauteed in butter & pepper
Cherry tomatoes - 8-10. halved some. Kept some whole
3 large tomatoes - chopped
1 medium sized onion - finely chopped
Garlic cloves - 5-6
Whole dried red chili - 2 -3 chopped into small pieces
Salt
Pepper
Chili flakes made of homemade dry roasted whole red chilies
roasted cumin powder - a pinch
Pinch of sugar
Grated cheese (used processed cheddar)
Olive oil

Procedure :
1. Cook the spaghetti for 5-7 minutes in a pot (by added oil and salt to the water). Retain the water after draining the spaghetti.

2. Heat oil in a wok. Add the chopped whole dry red chilies , chopped onion and minced garlic to the heated oil.

3. Once the onion is light pink & translucent, add the shrimps and fry till light pink. Add salt and pepper.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and some of the halved cherry tomatoes into the kadhai/wok.Let the tomatoes cook on medium heat after adding salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Once the tomatoes are mushy add some of the water of retained after boiling the spaghetti. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the mushrooms followed by half the basil leaves (torn/cut into small pieces). Add a pinch of roasted jeera / cumin powder, followed by chili flakes and pepper. Give a stir. Add some more water if needed.

6. Now add the boiled spaghetti and toss it around to coat it with the sauce. Now add the whole cherry tomatoes. Check the salt & spice level.

7. Garnish with basil leaves and grated cheese (Cheddar)

Spaghetti is ready to be served.

Cheesy Vegetable Fritters

Fritters / Chops/Cutlets made of Chhana (Fresh & fluffy Paneer), grated Cheddar Cheese and any finely chopped vegetables

Simple, fast and delicious....that's the other name of this dish.

Ingredients :
Chhana / Paneer from 2.5 litres full cream milk
Grated processed cheese  (used Amul) - 4-5 cubes or as many as you want
Any finely chopped vegetables : I used carrot, beans, capsicum, finely sliced babycorn, sweet corn kernels, mushrooms
Chopped garlic
Chopped Onions
butter / oil
Tej pata
Crushed peppercorns
Salt
Pepper powder
Oregano powder
Cornflour
Bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Procedure :

1. Curdle boiling milk with lemon/vinegar to make Chhana/Chhena/Paneer/Cottage cheese. Drain away the whey and press it lightly to retain the softness and fluffiness of the Chhana.


2. In a kadai, heat the butter. Add tej pata & crushed pepper corns into the heated butter, followed by chopped garlic and onions. Fry till golden brown.

3. Now add the chopped vegetables in descending order of hardness.....carrot, beans, baby corns ...capsicum etc...all in medium to high heat. If using mushrooms, better to saute them separately as mushroom will give out loads of water and make the other veggies soggy. We want the veggies to retain their crunchiness


4. Mix the crunchy fried veggies with the soft paneer and toss the mix in the kadai to mix well.

5. In the hot mix, gradually add the grated cheese and keep stirring. The cheese will melt and assimilate into the rest of the chhana-veggie mix.


6. After cooling, shape the doh-like chhana-cheese-veggie mix into friiters. Dip into a thin batter of cornflour+water and then roll in bread crumbs.

8. Shallow fry and serve with sauce, chutney or as it is....

Chicken-Spinach Frittata in Microwave

A one pot meal containing meat , greens, eggs! Frittata is the answer to Mealtimes blues especially so because my kids LOVE eggs!

And more often than not, I skip the oven top followed by grill mode of making frittatas and go for the one shot microwave mode!!!!

Ingredients :

Eggs - 3-4

Chopped onions

Boneless chicken pieces cut into bit sized pieces or shredded. If marinated in lemon/vinegar + salt + pepper + ginger + garlic, makes things easier....

Spinach - 5-6 mini bunches, washed, drained and chopped

Baby corn - sliced into thin discs.....as many

Chopped coriander

Garlic 8-10 cloves, finely chopped

Salt

Pepper

Chilly-Oregano powder

Any other herbs (fresh/fried) of choice

Chilli flakes

cheddar cheese - 1 cup.

Any other veggies or ingredients like capsicum, spring onions, carrots, beans, Mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli etc etc can be used after sauteing / blanching in salt water

Procedure:

1.Heat some oil in a wok/kadai and throw in a tej pata, followed by crushed pepper corns and chopped/sliced garlic. Add the marinated chicken pieces. When the chicken is almost done, add the sliced babycorn and fry them along with the chicken. Fry on medium to high heat till browned and crispy. 

2.Simulaneously, in another wok/vessel, with/without oil, throw in the chopped spinach along with a pinch of salt and sugar and turn on the heat to high/medium and cook without any cover. Let the spinach give out the water and continue till the water dries up but the spinach is still moist.

3. Beat 3-4 eggs till fluffy. Add some fresh cream of milk or milk. (optional) Add salt & pepper and herbs of choice. I added chili - oregano mix. Mixed well

4. In a microwaveable flat bottomed container, make a bed of spinanch, top it up with fried chicken-babycorn. Pour the beaten egg on it.

5.Put it in microwave (HIGH) mode for 10-15 minutes (depending on the microwave). The bottom should have set and the top should still be slightly runny. 

6. Sprinkle the grated cheese. And put it in Micro+Grill mode for around 10 minutes or till the cheese melts and browning starts. In microwave, though, the browning is quite minimal despite cooking on grill mode.

7. Take it out, garnish with chopped coriander. 

I served it hot with potato wedges, sliced tomatoes.

But basically can be served with anything...bread, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, salads or just as it is....

Baked Fish (Bhetki) on a bed of grated Cabbage

 Bhetki Fillets, juicy & succulent. The first thought which comes to mind is Fish Fry (the Bong way). But the past few days have been an overdose of Fish Fries and hence decided against it.

As necessity is the mother of ALL inventions or discoveries and in this case recipes, decided to put to use the only vegetable available at home and 'create' something new. Well..... was definitely skeptical as to how fish and cabbage would taste....So with apprehensions mounting regarding the outcome of the dish and how it would be received by my in-house trio (father & daughters) of food tasters/critics/consumers etc etc, I went ahead.

Ingredients :

Bhetki fillet - around 1.5 kgs which yielded about 12-15 boneless pieces

Vinegar / Lemon juice-1/2 cup

Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp

Onion juice (optional)
Green chilli paste (optional)

Salt

Pepper - freshly ground

chilli flakes

coriander leaves - finely chopped

grated cheese- 1 cup

butter

finely chopped cabbage - 1

2 onions - diced

Procedure :
1. Marinate the bhetki fillet / steak in a mix of vinegar/lemon juice + ginger-garlic paste + onion juice (optional) + green chilli paste (Optional) + very finely chopped coriander leaves + salt/rock salt + freshly ground pepper

2. Finely chop / grate the cabbage. I chopped mine. You may blanch the chopped cabbage...I didnt as i wanted it to retain its crunchiness.

3. Preheat the OTG in bake mode at 250 deg C.

4. Spray / smear butter/oil on the baking tray. Make a bed of the grated / chopped cabbage. Squeeze juice of 2 (or more lemon depending on how tangy you like) lemon. Sprinkle salt (in moderation) & pepper . Mix well and make an uniform bed of cabbage.

5. Place the diced  onions on the cabbage bed. and also scatter some tiny butter cubes on the bed.

6. Now place the marinated fish fillet / steak on the cabbage bed. With a pastry brush, liberally brush the top of fish pieces with melted butter or oil. I had used butter. Now garnish liberally with grated cheese. And finally sprinkle roasted red chilli flakes..


7. Set the OTG at aroun 180 deg C in bake mode for around 12-15 minutes or till the cheese turns golden brown. Prick the fish with a fork to ensure it's cooked. Do not over bake/cook the fish....it'll turn fibrous an chewy.

8. Serve with some crispy fried potato wedges or roasted baby potatoes (as in Sl.13 of this procedure).

And the unanimous verdict was 'YUMMILICIOUS'!!!!


And since this incidental &experimental dish is healthy indeed, it is off to Indrani's Blog Event SPOTLIGHT:HEALTHY BAKING which was originally announced here


And as this baked dish would make a great main course in a Christmas Lunch, it's off to Sudeshna's Blog (COOK LIKE A BONG) ' s CHRISTMAS EVENT

Pan(fried) Pseudo Pizza!!

It looks like a small sized pan pizza. Tastes quite like one....well, almost! But the difference doesnt make it any less tasty! Inspired by Indira Mukherjee, I have adapted to make it simpler and faster. This recipe suits me fine on the "Onno kichhu khaabo" (Something different from regular stuff!!) days.

Here goes the recipe :


Ingredients : yielded 4 nos. 1/2" thick 6" dia pseudo pizzas
All purpose Flour (Maida) & Milk in 1:1 ratio
Egg - 1 for 1 cup Maida:1cup milk (200ml cup)
Any Grated / finely chopped vegetables like carrot, bean, cabbage, capsicum, cauliflower/broccoli florets, babycorn etc
Garlic - 3-4 cloves - chopped
Salt
pepper
Chili flakes
Oregano & dried herbs-I used FabIndia's Chili-Oregano & Italian seasoning
Grated Mozzarella cheese - 1 bowl (200ml)
For topping -Boiled corn kernel /Chicken sausages/nuggets/mushroom/paneer cubes/soya chunks etc etc
Diced Onions - 1 medium

Procedure :

1. Mix Milk and Maida and add the egg, Salt & pepper Mix well with a hand blender. The batter is thick but of pouring consistency.

2. Add the chopped garlic and all the grated/chopped vegetables.

3. Keep the topping ready (the choice is yours...I used paneer cubes+diced onions on one occasion and chicken sausages+corn kernels+diced onions on another) stir fried or sauted.

4. A small pancake frying pan makes the base preparation a cake walk. Pour a ladle full of veggie mixed batter and spread it to cover the whole pan. Pour some more to increase the thickness of the base. Cook on minimum heat. While frying the base on gas stove top, keep the oven ready for next step by preheating oven (I used my OTG) at around 225-250 deg C.

5. Flip the pancake pizza or pseudo pizza base and let the other side cook.

6. Now on a flat ovenproof plate, place the (Pseudo) pizza base, arrange the toppings and sprinkle desired quantity of grated mozzarella. Sprinkle the italian seasoning and dried oregano and other herbs of choice.

 7.Place it in the preheated oven on Grill mode at 225-250 deg C for around 5-7 minutes or till the cheese melts and gets a golden colour!

Ready to serve!!

Soupy affair 2 - Spinach-Almond Soup

Though it's an ideal winter evening pre-dinner appetizer, if fresh spinach is available, a wet monsoon evening is also 'just right' for this soup. That is exactly what happened. Picked up bunches of fresh spinach. Spinach as it is, is not exactly my elder one's (AD) favourite....hence have to resort to 'soupy' tricks !!
So here goes the recipe....

Ingredients :

Spinach - 6-7 bunches washed and roughly chopped
Almonds - 10-12 - blanched to remove the skin
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 2-3 cloves - chopped (Optional)
Pepper corns - freshly ground - to taste
Milk - 600  ml
Cream - optional - 1 tbsp
Grated cheese - depends....cheese always tastes great
salt - to taste & sugar - a pinch
red chili flakes - 1 tsp - optional
Ghee/Butter/Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Procedure :

1. In a wok, heat butter/ghee/oil and add the chopped onions, garlic, almond and a pinch of sugar. And fry till the almonds & onions are golden brown.
2. Add the washed & chopped spinach. Stir it around a bit and continue cooking till the water evaporates.
3. After cooling, grind the fried/sauted almond-onion-garlic-spinach into a smooth paste
4. Transfer back to the wok and slowly add warm milk and keep stirring to ensure no lump forms. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Now add the salt. Let it simmer for a minute more
5. Take it off the flame and serve after garnishing with freshly ground pepper & grated cheese.

This post is off to Weekend Herb Blogging #291 started by HAALO and  hosted for the week by PAULCHEN'S FOODBLOG

Penne Pasta with Roasted tomato sauce and vegetables, chicken nuggets

As the kids grow up , fussiness and tantrums are often on the rise. Variety is not an option anymore but a compulsion. Same similar food on consecutive days is a big no no...the whine is almost instantaneous. Family meals , especially dinners are often dictated by their likes and dislikes, at least to ensure the given meal is finished without much ado. I am sure most Moms would agree.  

In my home, the current rage being pasta, I take the opportunity to pack in as much of veggies  into a bowl full of pasta as I can.....

 

Ingredients :

1.Penne Pasta cooked 'al dente' as per pkt instructions - 250 gm
2.Blanched vegetables for stir fry - carrot, beans, baby corn, brocolli etc

3.Tomatoes cut into quarters - 8-10 medium sized

4.Chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces - 250 gm, marinated in ginger-garlic paste-lemon juice-White 5.Sesame seeds-3 tbsp

6.Pepper corns - crushed

7.fennel seed paste

8.Rock Salt

9. Pepper

10.Chilli flakes 

11.Basil - a handful

12.Garlic - finely chopped - 8-10 cloves

13. Dried Oregano

14. Italian seasoning

15. Grated cheddar cheese - 1 cup

16.Salt to taste

17. Butter/Olive Oil

Procedure :

Roast Tomato Sauce (inspired by Kalyn's recipe of slow roast tomato)
 
1. In a mortar pestle roughly grind 2 tbsp of fennel seeds with a few drops of water
2. Brush the baking tray with oil and preheat the oven (OTG) to 250 deg C
3. Smear the quartered tomatoes with the fennel paste, pepper powder, rock salt, dried oregano and drizzle EVOO.
4.Place on the baking tray cut side down.
5.Set the OTG in grill mode for about 25 minutes at 250 deg C. Keep and eye to ensure the tomatoes dont get charred.Continue till the skin of the tomatoes are wrinkled.
While the tomatoes were being grilled, I continued with the stir fried vegetables & chicken
6.In a pan/wok, take a tsp of EVOO. Add chopped garlic and basil leaves. lightly fry.
7. Add the roasted tomatoes and mash them.
8. Add water drained after boiling pasta mixed with a spoon of cornflour. Add 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Mix well

Stir fried Vegetables : 
1. Blanch the vegetables after cutting them into small equal sized pieces.
2. Dry roast white sesame seeds in the wok. Remove
3. Heat EVOO/Butter. Add crushed pepper corns, a dash of sugar.
4. Add the blanched vegetables and toss them around in high heat.
5. Add required salt, dried oregano and chili flakes
6. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds



Chicken nuggets

1. I used some previously marinated (ginger-garlic paste, salt, pepper, lemon juice) chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat oil in a wok. And throw a bay leaf or two.
3. Pour the chicken pieces. Brown them on medium-high heat.

In a large bowl assemble the cooked (al-dente) penne pasta, stir fried-white sesame garnished vegetables and chicken nuggets along with the roast tomato sauce. Toss them around to mix well. Garnish with grated cheese.

Soupy Affair - Mixed Veg Soup

A bowl full of bright red on a dull grey rainy evening....Tomato-Beet-Carrot Soup

A depressingly wet grey weekday evening. When the whole week stretches and weekend is still a distant dream.....well to brighten up such an evening, go for this steaming bowl of bright red soup! And the best part is....kids love it!! 

Ingredients :

1. 4-5 big juicy ripe tomatoes
2. 1 beet root
3. 3-4 carrots
4. Butter - 1 tsp
5. Onions - finely chopped - 1 medium
6. Freshly ground black pepper
7. Bay leaf - 1
8. Salt & sugar
9. Grated cheese
10. Dalia - 1 cup (optional)

Procedure :

1. Pressure cook all the vegetables together.
2. With a hand blender puree the tomato, beetroot and carrots and strain them through a metal sieve to filter only the tomato seeds and the larger fragments of tomato skin. I like more fibre in my soup.
3. In a wok, heat the butter. Add a bay leaf and a pinch of sugar and chopped onions
4. Add the pureed vegetables and salt - sugar to taste**
5. Let it come to a boil. Check to adjust the salt & sugar.
6. Garnish with crushed peppercorns and grated cheese.

**To make it a complete meal (especially for kids), add a cup of pressure cooked and pureed dalia (broken wheat) after step 4. Switch off the gas, partly cover the wok with a lid and blend with a had blender. Continue with step 5 & 6.

Whole Chicken Roast...

My first try at making whole roast chicken and it was a super success! But the credit goes completely to the awesome Barbecue sauce used to marinate the chicken and of course to me for following the recipe to the 'T', which is so very uncharacteristic of me....The few variations are due to non-availability of the ingredients and not an intentional attempt at deviation! ;)

The recipe and procedure which I followed so sincerely, are here. However noting the variations/improvisations in the ingredients as follows:

Dry Bay Leaf instead of fresh bay leaf
Regular Vinegar instead of Balsamic Vinegar
Sunflower Oil instead of Canola Oil
Kashmiri Chili powder instead of Smoked Paprika

Some personal notings for future reference :

• I used an OTG at a temperature of 200 deg C.
• The Chicken was approx 1.3 kg. 
• Time of roasting was aroung 1 hr 20 min. But could be around 10 minutes less as the top of the chicken was slightly charred, but that definitely added to the taste.
• I marinated the chicken overnight instead of the suggested 5-6 hours.

I served the roast chicken with a side dish of mashed potatoes (with dill-garlic-cheese) and some steamed and (butter) sauted vegetables.

The mashed potato: (Boiled 1 potato per head)

1. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a wok and season with crushed pepper corns, chopped garlic.
2. Add chopped dill and the smoothly mashed potato.
3. Add a large cup of milk and stir it well to mix with the mashed potato.
4. Add grated cheese, salt to taste, chilli flakes and pepper and mix well.

Serve...

This recipe is off to Sobha Shyam's Event COOK IT HEALTHY PROTEINicious @ Good Food

Fried Jumbo Prawns in roasted tomato-cheese-garlic sauce, with Cinnamon Rice

My 'fishwallah' got me Jumbo Prawns (around 11 prawns weighing 2 kgs) one weekday morning. I was ecstatic but the joy and anticipation had to be shelved till weekend arrived.
Bored of the usual 'Malaikaris' (Prawns in Coconut milk) and 'Bhaape chingris' (Prawns steamed in mustard sauce), wanted to try out something new. And hence this experimentation.....

But a warning....it was a high on calories dish. Used Oodles of butter and also cream and cheese.

Ingredients : what I used ...

A.For the fried Prawns                                         1. Jumbo Prawns - 2 kgs (11-12 prawns)

2. Lemon juice of 2 small lemons
3. Salt
4. Pepper
5. Chilli flakes
6. Butter for frying

B. For the sauce
1. Tomatoes - 3 large sized
2. Onion -1 large
3. Grated Cheese - I used 2 cubes of processed cheddar
4.Garlic cloves - 5-6
5. Cream or full cream milk - 1 cup
6. Salt
7. Pepper
8. Basil leaves
9. Chilli flakes
10. Butter

C. For the cinnamon rice

1. Normal Sonamasuri rice we eat....basmati will add to the taste - 2 cups
2. Butter - 50 gms
3. Bay Leaf - 1 or 2
4. Cinnamon sticks - 5-6 long ones broken into smaller pieces
5. Nutmeg powder - a pinch
6. Sugar - a pinch
7. Salt to taste

Procedure : in the sequence i made.

Prawn Marination

1. The prawns were washed, cleaned and deveined the previous night
2. Marinate the prawns in lemon juice, salt, pepper and chilli flakes for 1/2 hour.

Making the Sauce :

3. I roasted the tomatoes over gas flame after slitting them at the top . Roasting/Grilling over charcoal will obviously add to the flavours.

4. In a wok, took a teaspoonful of butter, added chopped onions and the roasted tomatoes chopped and a pinch of sugar for caramelising. When the onion & tomatoes were nicely browned, took them off the wok, cooled and made a paste.
5. Then in a wok, again took a teaspoon of butter, added the onion-tomato paste, chopped garlic and mixed well

6. On low flame, added milk while stirring, followed by chopped basil leaves, followed by grated cheese.

7. To increase the tartness of the sauce, the lemon juice the prawns were marinated in , may also be added at this point

8. Finish off by adjusted the salt and sugar and a generous sprinkling of freshly crushed black pepper and chili flakes.
The sauce is ready.

Cinnamon Rice (I made it in Rice Cooker but can be made in the microwave too)
9. In a wok, take 2 tbsp of butter and when hot, add the bay leaf, broken cinnamon stick and a pinch of sugar

10. Add the previously washed and drained rice. Fry on high heat.

11. Add a pinch of nutmeg powder, followed by salt


12. Transfer to rice cooker. Add 4 cups of water (for 2 cups of rice). Add a tsp of lemon juice and set in on for cooking. For microwave, the ratio of rice:water should be slightly less than 1:2 i.e for 2 cups of water 3 1/2 cups of water.

The Star of the show : PRAWNS

13. Fry the lemon-salt-pepper-chilli flakes marinated prawns in butter.

Sit down for a divinely tasting, immensely high calories lunch!!

Baked fish .....

Served with greens, steamed vegetables and crispy fried baby potatoes


Easy to cook, healthy and great to taste.....

Ingredient: 

I . For the baked fish :
1. Thick fillet of Bhetki Fish  - about 8 - 10
2. Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tbsp
3. Juice of lemon - 1/4 cup
4. Grated onion / onion juice of 1 big onion
4. Spinach - 5-6 bunches
5. Firm tomatoes - 4
6. Cheddar Cheese grated - 1 cup
7. Butter or EVOO

8. Crushed pepper
9. Chilli flakes
10. Dried oregano

II. Vegetables I used :
1. Tender Baby corns - 8-10
2. Tender small sized carrots - 8-10
3. French Beans -10-12
4. Green peas - 1 cup
Any other vegetables/greens like cauliflower/broccoli florets / cabbage leaves / crunchy ice lettuce etc may be used
5. baby potatoes  - 1/2 kg

III. Others 
1. Rice flour - 1/2 cup
2. Turmeric - a pinch
3. Oil for deep frying
4. Salt
5. Chilli powder

Procedure : in the sequence I do to save time

1. Marinate the fish fillets in Ginger-garlic paste + onion juice + lemon juice + salt + pepper for a couple of hours or overnight (as i do).
2. Steam all vegetables at II of Ingredients. Dont let them lose their crunch
3. Spray or smear the baking tray with butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
4. On it make a bed of whole spinach leaves.
5. Place the marinated fish along with the marinade on the leaves.
6. Roughly chop 3-4 bunches of spinach and garnish the marinated fish fillets with the leaves.
7. Sprinkle liberally crushed black pepper, chilli flakes, oregano, small cubes of butter or drizzle 2-3 tsp of EVOO.
8. Garnish  with grated cheese.
9. Slit the tomatoes on top cross-wise. push in a couple of peppercorns and a pinch of salt into each tomato. smear some butter/EVOO.
10. Put in the baking tray into the preheated oven (temp around 280-300 deg F) for 10-12 minutes.

11. If necessary, i.e if the tomatoes are still raw, put the tomatoes back in the oven for another 5-8 mins.
12. While the baking is being done, in a non-stick pan, smear some butter and saute the steamed veggies with a sprinkling of salt & pepper.
13. Make a batter of rice flour with water, salt, chilli powder and a pinch of turmeric. Dip the steamed potatoes in the batter and deep fry to get crispy fried wholebaby potatoes .

Arrange the baked fish fillets along with the spinach leaves, sauted whole vegetables, crispy fried whole potatoes and serve.