Penne Pasta with fresh tomato, Zuccini and Basil Sauce

Italian cuisine is loved by all in our house and  I make ( or try!!!) Italian pasta with different sauces at home often. Last week, we were loaded with lots of fresh homegrown tomatoes, zucchinis, fresh basil given by our kind neighbour. So, I decided to make a tasty,creamy pasta sauce with these fresh homegrowns. The pasta was delicious with the side of  toasted fresh Jalapeno Olive Oil Bread.  Fresh basil leaves garnishing enhances the taste of the pasta dish definitely.

We could not resist extra servings to our plate and finally the kadai was empty..An excellent Italian dinner at home.!!!(Of course with very less cost).

Ingredients

Penne Pasta - 3 Cups

Fresh Tomatoes -  3 Big ones or 4 or 5 Medium Ones

Fresh Zucchini - 1 Medium

Fresh Basil Leaves Shredded - 1 cup

Garlic Pods - 3

Olive Oil - 3 tbsp

Black Pepper Powder - 2 tsp

Italian Seasoning Powder - 1 teaspoon

Oregano Seasoning Powder - 1\2 teaspoon

Salt - To Taste

Kraft Shredded Cheese ( Italian ) -  2 tbsp

Parmesan Cheese - To Taste

Method

• Cook the Penne Pasta in a big vessel with little Olive Oil and some salt. Mean time, cut the tomato, zucchini and basil leaves and keep them ready. Cut the Garlic Pods into small pieces and keep it ready.
• Keep all the ingredients that are required for making this pasta closer before starting the process.
• Drain the pasta after its cooked and keep it ready.
• In the kadai, add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil first. When its heated up, add the shredded garlic pieces into it. Fry them for a minute and then add tomatoes to it.
• After few minutes, add the zucchini pieces to it and add little bit of salt and close the kadai with the lid. Let them cook on a medium flame for few minutes.
• Then, add black pepper powder and the seasoning powders to the kadai and mix them well.
• Add half a cup of fresh basil leaves ( shredded ) into the kadai and mix it well.
• Add the cooked Penne Pasta into the mixture now. Add required amount of salt to the kadai and mix them well.
• Add 1 tbsp of Olive Oil now and let everything cook on a medium flame for a minute or more.
• Switch off the flame. Now add the Italian shredded cheese into the pasta and stir it. You can add more black pepper to the pasta if you want it to be more spicy.
• Now garnish the Penne Pasta with some shredded fresh basil leaves and serve the pasta into a pasta plate.
• Add a dash of Parmesan Cheese on top of the pasta and serve with a side of some toasted speciality bread.

Variations

I used the Kraft Shredded Cheese Italian Variety for making this pasta. You can use any other good cheese variety of your choice.

You can adjust the spice level with the black pepper powder to your taste.

You can add more Italian cheese if you like a rich creamy pasta.

Tips

Add the cheese after you switch off the flame and just before serving the pasta. Melted Cheese makes the pasta dish creamy just before serving.

Don't forget to garnish the pasta with fresh basil leaves at the end.

Don't over cook the zucchini pieces and also the penne pasta.

Beerakaya Thokku Pachidi \ Ridgegourd Skin Pachidi \ Peerkangai Tholi Thogayal

Ridge gourd ( Peerkangai in Tamil and Beerakaya in Telugu ) is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol and has very high fiber content in it..Its an ideal vegetable for optimum health and weight loss. It has excellent cooling properties and good for all ages.  Ridge gourd as a whole is used in Indian Cuisine in many different ways. We can make currys, Kootu, Bajjis, Thogayal or pachidi, a simple dal or in any other forms. This Ridge gourd skin Pachidi is also one of the tastiest dishes made with less ingredients and Ridge gourd skin. If the skin is fresh, it enhances the taste of the Pachidi as well....

Ingredients

Ridge gourd Skin -  1 full cup

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Urad Dal \ Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera \ Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 5 or 6 based on your spice level

Garlic Pods - 2 or 3 big ones

Salt - To Taste

Method

• In the kadai, add Olive oil and add all the ingredients except the Ridge gourd Skin and roast them well to golden brown but not black.
• Transfer them to the mixer grinder and fry the Ridge gourd skin in the remaining oil thoroughly. Cover it while frying for a minute in order to cook them well too...
• Then transfer the fried Ridge gourd skin too to the mixer grinder and grind everything in the mixer grinder together along with some salt.
• Grind them coarsely and not to a fine paste. Now the pachidi \ Thogayal is ready to be eaten with hot white rice, rotis, chappathis.

Sesame Rice \ Ellu Sadham \ Nuvula Annam

This is not a traditional version of the sesame rice which you generally think of. This version is purely made for my convenience with few ingredients I like and I think...!!!! Try this out and you will surely love this spicy  rice on any day. This can be a very good option for lunch box,  a good prasadam on festive days, a different rice for potlucks...I really  wanted to make some spicy rice which should be different from the regular ones and also wanted it to be very tasty, healthy and yummy for my kids too.  This goes very well with a side of vadams \ appalams or with a simple vegetable fry.

Ingredients

Cooked Sona Masoori rice -  1.5 cup

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Jaggery Powdered - 2 tsp

Seasoning Powder for the Rice

White Sesame or roasted brown sesame - 4 tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 2 tbsp

Channal Dal \ Bengal gram \ Kadalai Paruppu - 2 tbsp

Red Chillies Dry - 2 Big

Jeera - 1 tsp

Tamarind - 2 pinches of tamarind

Coconut shredded or dry coconut powder - 2 tbsp

Tempering \ Tadka

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 dash

Mustard Seeds - 3 tbsp

Jeera \ Cumin - 1 tsp

Urad Dal \ Ulutham Paruppu \ Minna Pappu - 1 tbsp

Channa Dal \ Bengal Gram \ Kadalai Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies - 3 or 4 Medium Size

Curry Leaves \ Karivepillai \ Kadipatha - 1 full stem of leaves

Ground nuts - 4 tbsp

Method

1. Wash and cook the Sona Masoori Rice and spread it on a big bowl with little oil and keep it ready.
2. For the seasoning powder, fry the ingredients as mentioned above with little oil and grind them nicely and keep it ready.
3. On the same kadai, add remaining oil. When oil gets heated , add the ingredients for the tempering ( tadka ). Try to fry the contents to golden brown only and make sure that they don't turn black.
4. After its done, switch off the flame. Add the seasoning powder to the kadai. Mix well and slowly add the rice to the kadai and stir them carefully.
5. Add required amount of salt and jaggery powder to the rice and mix everything thoroughly so that the rice gets mixed with the salt, powder uniformly.
6. Now the sesame rice is get to be packed. This rice tastes very good after few hours of preparation.

Variations

You can customize the seasoning powder according to your taste buds and make the sesame rice in your own way too.

You can add cashew nuts along with groundnuts if this is made for a potluck, temple prasad or any other occasions.

Tips

Don't overcook the rice and make it pasty.  Texture of the rice plays a major role in any mixed rice preparation.

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi



Handmade Ganesh ( Sandal and turmeric powder ) made by my husband sitting at the center!!

Wish you all a very Happy Ganesha Chaturthi....Ganesha is my most favourite god and I always pray to him for something special and somehow he shows me the right path all the time.  Whenever I start with a new work or visit a new place or new home,  a small ganesha idol or atleast a small ganesha photo would hit me all the time which i consider very lucky...Like that , my ganesha collection at home has been growing.....Let us all pray to Lord ganesha for peace throughout the world.

Roti \ Chappati Roll with Veggie Paneer Fry

Hi Friends....after a long break. !!!!! Summer vacation got over in homeland and back home.  Have so many traditional recipes in store to post...So you will be seeing those slowly in our blog this month.. Well, cooking has slowly started  at home here and made a quick chappathi \ roti roll for us on a lazy Friday night. It was delicious, filling, tastier with a side of greek yogurt cup. This time, I used the ready made chappathis available at our local Indian store

Lots of  home grown tomatoes, zucchinis, squash were given to us by our kind neighbours. To make use of those ones with some extra veggies and paneer , I decided to make this easier roll..

You can add any vegetables of your choice to this simple fry...With some mild seasoning, this veggie paneer fry is definitely a kids choice..for any time of the day.

Ingredients

Chappathi \ Roti -  Few

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 2 teaspoon

Jeera ( Cumin) - 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1\2 tbsp

Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - a small pinch

Coriander Leaves  -  1 Handful

Vegetables

Tomato - 1

Potato - 1

Beans - 8 or 10 big ones

Carrot - 1 medium

Peas  - 1 Handful

Cauliflower -  12 small florets

White Onion - 1 Medium

Capsicum - 1\2  medium

Zucchini - 1 medium

Paneer Cubes - 15 to 20 medium cubes.

Procedure

1. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly and cut them into medium cubes and keep aside. Cut the panner into medium cubes and keep them ready.
2. On medium heat, add olive oil into the thick bottomed kadai. When oil gets heated up, add jeera first. When it sputters, then add onions, capsicum one by one and shallow fry them. Add turmeric powder and a pinch of sugar and little salt for them to cook quickly.
3. Slowly add all other veggies into the kadai and stir them nicely. Sprinkle some water and let them cook on low flame for few minutes.
4. After its cooked to a desired level, open the lid and all other seasoning powders to the kadai. Add required amount of salt to the mixture and stir the veggie mix thoroughly.
5. Add the paneer cubes into the kadai now and stir carefully without breaking the paneer cubes.
6. Keep the lid open and let the veggie paneer mix coated with the seasoned powders get fried on medium flame for few minutes.
7. Occasionally stir the contents so that they get fried uniformly.
8. After its done, switch off the flame. Garnish the dish with the crushed coriander leaves..Now the veggie paneer mix is ready.

9. Make a hot chappathi \ roti and keep 3-4 tbsp of the veggie paneer dish into the center of the chappathi, roll it perfectly and serve with a side of greek yogurt. A complete healthy meal is done very quickly with less efforts.

Variations

You can add any vegetables of your choice but not watery ones as they might spoil the fry.

Tips

Don't fry the paneer separately.  Add them to the veggie mix and coat them with the seasoning. Let the paneer get fried along with the veggies in the kadai itself.

Kalyana Gothsu / Gotsu / Gosthu

In many south indian marriages you could definitely taste a very unique side dish called "Kalyana Gothsu" which is generally served with idli,dosa and pongal varieties. My mom made this side dish for idli and it was very good. Just for a change, try to make this dish instead of idli sambar. Process is simpler and faster too...If you like this recipe, all the credits go to my mom.

Ingredients

Brinjal - 2 Medium

Carrot - 1 Small

Onion - 2 Small Size

Potato - 2 Medium

Green Chilli - 1 Big

Tomato - 1

Moong Dhal / Payatham Paruppu / Pesara Pappu - 3/4 Cup

Channa Dhal / Kadalai Paruppu / Senaga Pappu - 2 tbsp

Sambar Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Tamarind Juice - 3 tbsp ( Thick Juice)

Kadalai Maavu / Besam Flour - 2 tsp

For tempering

Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 stem

Method

1. Soak both the dals together in one vessel for 5 minutes.
2. Wash and cut all the vegetables into small cubes and keep it ready.
3. In a small pressure pan or small pressure cooker, transfer the vegetables, green chilli,soaked dals into it.
4. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder, little salt and add enough water for the contents to get cooked.
5. Close the cooker and allow the contents to get cooked and switch off the cooker after 2 whistles.
6. After its cooled down, open the cooker and slightly mash the veggies and dals.
7. Add the tamarind juice extract into it first.
8. Add 2 tsp of besan flour / kadalai Maavu into a small cup and add little water and make a watery paste.
9. Add this watery besan paste and required amount of salt and water to the pressure cooker.
10. Allow the contents to be on medium flame for few minutes.
11. Meantime, finish the tempering process and pour them over the pressure cooker.
12. Now the Gothsu is totally ready to eat with idli, pongal or dosa varieties.

Tips

Try to add enough water along with tamarind extract and cook. Otherwise, it will look like a thick kootu. If its little watery, it would go well with the south indian tiffin.

Thanjavur Kadappa / Thanjavur Kadapa / Hotel Kadapa

In our hometown thanjavur, small hotels on road side used to give a mild yellow colour side dish as a side for Idly, dosas and it tasted very good. We used to fight for those small potatoes hiding in that gravy. That dish was called as Kadappa which was served only in Hotels. This would look like a watery spicy gravy with some small baby potatoes in it. Though I am a big fan of having Idlies with hotel sambar and chutney, I still like to have Idlies with this special Kadappa. Someone who does not like to have Idlies will definitely eat idlies with this special Kadappa dish. Though I make this kadappa dish at home nowadays, still the flavour and exact taste of those road side hotels do not even be compared to mine. Those were so unique.

Ingredients

Potatoes - 10 or 12 small

Onion - 1\2  cut into thin slices lengthwise

Moong Dal \ Payatham Paruppu \ Pesara Pappu  - 2 tbsp

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Dry red chilli powder --- 1 tsp

Salt -- To Taste

Jeera - 1 tsp

Cinnamon Sticks \ Pattai - 2 medium

Lavang \ Cloves - 3 or 4

For Grinding

Fresh Coconut - 4 tbsp

Sombu \ Fennel Seeds -- 2 tsp

Garlic Pods - 5 or 6 big

Green chillies - 3 Big

Khus Khus - 2 tsp

Method

1. Wash the Moong Dal and cook it to a smooth paste in a pressure cooker. Add some water to the cooked dal and keep the Dal water ready.
2. Peel the skin of the potatoes and cook them either in microwave or on the stove.
3. Grind the ingredients as mentioned above and make a smooth creamy paste of the grounded mixture.
4. Cut the onions into thin slices. Keep all the masala ingredients ready on the side.
5. On medium heat, add olive oil first. When its heated, add jeera, cloves, cinnamon sticks to the heated oil. When its roasted, add thin slices of onion and turmeric powder to the Olive Oil.
6. Fry them well for a minute till the onion becomes translucent. Add the grounded paste to the kadai and fry them very well till the raw smell of the garlic completely goes off.
7. After that, add the Dal water to the kadai. Mix them well and add required amount of salt to the contents in the kadai.
8. Add a pinch of sugar too to the kadai. Add 1 tsp of red chilli powder to the kadai.
9. Close the lid and let the kadappa gravy comes to a boil. Then, add the cooked potatoes to the kadappa gravy.
10. Close the lid and let the kadappa gets cooked with potatoes for few minutes.
11. Switch off the heat then and let the kadappa settles down for few minutes.
12. Add a tsp of lemon juice to the kadappa and garnish with coriander leaves to the Kadappa.
13. Serve this yummy gravy to any south indian tiffin varieties or roti.

Tips

• As there is a slight difference between this Kadappa and a normal potato kuruma, don't make this Kadappa gravy in a thick or semi solid state. Make it little watery but with a good punch in its taste.
• You can add extra green chillies while preparing  the creamy paste for the gravy.   As we add the Dal water too, the spice level  might get lowered in the gravy. So, its better to add one or two green chillies extra before grinding the paste itself.