Ratatouille and Pici Pasta

Thought shifting to Boston would have American influences on a person, but Neeharika seems to be inspired the Italian way. So here’s presenting our latest pasta adventure:

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Olive oil ½ cup 
Onion diced 1
Bell peppers 2
Brinjals  2
Zucchini 4
Tomatoes 2
Sugar 1 tbsp
Chopped rosemary 1tbsp
Fresh thyme 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Pici pasta 1 cup
Chopped parsley 2 tbsp

Method:

Cut the bell peppers into cubes. Peel and chop the tomatoes. Cut the Zucchini into cubes. Peel the brinjals.

To sweat the brinjal lay the slices on a paper towel and dust moderately with salt. Allow to sweat for around 20-25 mins and with paper towels wipe the bitter juices and salt from each slice. Cut them into half an inch cubes. Alternatively, chop the brinjal to cubes and soak in salted water.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot on medium heat. Add onions, peppers, brinjals and zucchini. Cook on medium heat until the vegetables have softened. Add tomatoes and sugar. Turn down the heat and cover the pot for 30 mins. Add the rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, stir well for 5 mins.

Drop the pici pasta in a large pot with heavily salted boiling water and cook until about 5 mins. Remove and add a tbsp of olive oil and chopped parsley.

Pici pasta with Ratatouille is ready. Garnish with parmesan cheese, serve and enjoy.

Aratikaya kura/Raw banana curry

Another of the daily curries, soft and bland raw banana curry is a yummy yet simple one. 

Preparation time: 15-20 mins

Serves: 2

To see how raw banana curry is made, please click here.
 

Ingredients:

Raw bananas (aratikaya) 2
Refined cooking oil 1 tbsp
Red chillies 2
Mustard seeds (aavalu/rai) 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeelakarra/jeera) 1 tsp
Pinch of turmeric (pasupu/haldi)
Pinch of asafoetida (inguva/hing)
Salt to taste
Fresh and chopped coriander for garnish
Fresh and grated coconut for garnish

 Method:

Wash and peel the raw bananas and chop finely or into small pieces.

Heat oil and add the red chillies and mustard seeds. When they pop, add cumin seeds and a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida.

Add the chopped bananas and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add around half a cup of water, cover and cook on simmer for around 5-10 mins.

When the bananas feel cooked and are boiled soft, add salt to taste and mix well.

Garnish with fresh and chopped coriander, fresh and grated coconut and serve with hot ghee topped rice or Indian bread.

Undrallu and Devudi Undrallu

A very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. It is that time of the year when not just at home but every street is decked up to celebrate. And thanks to globalization, Dubai too looks colorful.

Undrallu are a special Naivedyam or Prasad made for Ganesh Chtaurthi, and of course list on Ganapati bappa’s favorites.

Thank you Radhika Kandala for the recipes.

Undrallu

Preparation time: 30-45 mins

Ingredients:

Raw Rice (chawal/biyyam) 1 cup
Bengal gram (chanadal/senaga bedalu) 1/4th cup
Cumin seeds (jeera/jeelakarra) 1 tsp
Salt
Refined cooking oil/ghee 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for around 2 hours. Drain and dry the rice. Grind the rice coarse and fine ala semolina. Alternatively, coarse and finely ground rice semolina (biyyam rava) can also be used. However when ground fresh at home, the taste is much better.

Add Bengal gram and cumin seeds to the ground rice. For one cup of rice, add 2 cups water and a spoon of oil/ghee and pressure cook to two or 3 whistles. The mixture should be almost cooked and not turn hard and brittle else it wouldn’t mould easily into balls. Thus, ensure it is not overcooked. It might be appropriate to cook on the slow flame for a couple of whistles or around 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When at room temperature, roll into balls. Undrallu are done and generally served along with spicy and fresh ginger chutney.

Devudi Undrallu/God’s Undrallu

This is a variation of the undrallu. Devudi undrallu or God’s undrallu as the name suggests are another of Ganesha’s favorite and cooked specially for him. Popular in most parts of Andhra Pradesh, these Devudi undrallu are tied into a muslin cloth and hung over Ganapathi Bappa’s shoulder, dangling below his large ears on each side just before the Visarjan or farewell, so that little Ganesha can munch them as he swims his way to Kailash or his Parents’ abode.

Ingredients:

Rice flour 1 cup
Jaggery 1/4th cup
Milk 1/4th cup

Method:

Grate/powder the jaggery fine.

Mix all the ingredients to a smooth dough ala a chapati/roti dough. Generally fresh milk (unboiled) is used.

Take small lumps and roll into smooth and fine balls. For the prasad/naivedyam generally 21 such undrallu are made.

Serve Ganesha with a few, pack a couple of them for his trip and enjoy the remaining.

For now, let us all usher Vigneshwara into our lives and pray for sweetness galore. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you and your family.

Cherry gojju

Preparation time: 10-15 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Red cherries 3/4th tin
Olive oil 2-3 tsps
Red chillies 2
Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds/menthulu) 1tsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera/jeelakarra) 1tsp
Mustard seeds (rai/aavalu) ½ tsp
Black gram (Uraddal/uddi pappu) ½ tsp
Curry leaves 4
Grated Jaggery (gud/bellam) 1/4th cup
Pinch of tamarind
Pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste

Method:

Chop the cherries and set aside.

In a drop or two of oil, dry roast the red chillies, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. Set aside to cool. Once at room temperature grind them to a fine powder.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. As they pop add black gram, curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida.

To the seasoning add the red cherries and keep stirring to cook. Add a couple of spoons of water if required (we did not). Cover and leave to cook until the cherries feel mashed and juicy.

Add a pinch of tamarind, the jaggery, the above ground fenugreek-cumin masala, salt to taste and around a cup of water and mix well for the masala to seep in.

Let the gojju cook and thicken. This should take a couple of minutes.

Red cherries gojju is done. As mentioned, it makes a great combo with both Indian bread and plain hot rice/curd rice. Sweet, tangy, sour and fruity it is a delight all the way. Dad loved the gojju, clicked and mailed us this picture.

Tomato pappu/ Tomato dal

This is a popular, favorite and regarded the best at home. It is what Pavan loves (of course, takes second place in his heart) and is cooked daily at home. So on any day you come home, you will at least find Tomato pappu or dal.

Preparation time: 20-25 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Pigeon peas (toor dal/ kandipappu) 1 cup
Tomatoes 2
Onion 1
Green chillies 2
Ginger 1/4th inch
Refined cooking oil 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Black gram 1 tsp
Curry leaves 4-5
Fresh and chopped coriander 2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1-2 tsps
Pinch of asafoetida (hing)
Pinch of turmeric (haldi)
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and pressure-cook the pigeon peas to 3 or 4 whistles on simmer. If using a microwave, cook for 15 mins on medium heat, add more water and cook again for 15 minutes for the pigeon peas to mash well.

Finely chop the onion, tomato, green chillies, ginger and coriander.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and as they pop add the green chillies, ginger, cumin seeds, black gram, curry leaves, coriander and a pinch each of asafoetida and turmeric.

To the seasoning, add the onions and sauté until golden brown. Add the tomatoes and cook until all of the pieces are mash able. Add water and leave to boil for around `5-8 mins.

When the tomatoes are soft and mashed, add the pigeon peas and mix well. Add salt to taste, red chilli powder and half a cup of water if necessary. Boil until the pigeon peas are well mashed to a dal consistency.

Hot and spicy tomato pappu or dal is a rice supplement but makes a good combo with Indian bread too.

As mentioned, this is Pavan’s favorite and please do drop in when you want to have it from the horses umm Hand.

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Pineapple Zabardast

Preparation time: 15-20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Pineapple slices 1
Red Cherries ½ cup
Corn ½ cup
Tomato and Basil pasta sauce 1 cup
Olive oil 5tsp
Carom seeds (ajwain) 1 tsp
Black cardamom (Bada elaichi) 1
Cinnamon stick (Dal chini) ½
Red chilli powder 2 tsp
Cumin powder (jeera powder) 1tsp
Coriander powder (dhania powder) 1 tsp
Garam masala 1tsp
Pepper 1tsp
Gram flour (besan) 2tbsp
Chat masala 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Slice the olives, sprinkle chat masala over them and set aside.

Add water to the gram flour and mix to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside

Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add carom seeds, black cardamom and cinnamon stick. As the carom seeds pop, add the pineapple tidbits, cherries and corn. Mix well; add a cup of water and cover to cook.

In another pan, heat a little more of olive oil and add the tomato basil pasta sauce. Add red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and pepper. Stir until the sauce turns thick and sticky. This should take around 5 minutes.

When the pineapples feel cooked, pour the pasta sauce, gram flour with the water, and a cup or two of water if required and stir to gravy. Add salt to taste and leave to cook for a couple of minutes.

Garnish with the olives before serving with any Indian bread/rice/pav bread.

With the pineapple, cherries and corn being soaked in sugar syrup, there is an inherent sweetness in the recipe. The sauce feels tangy and the spices give it the desi flavor.

The best part, a well-flavored gravy curry without using the knife! With all the ingredients available, the curry is just a moment away.

Fenugreek Soup

The rains have been heavy in India while humidity has caught up four-fold here. What better than a hot bowl of soup, one that works as both an appetizer and insulator from upset stomachs, cold and other rain related health issues?

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Fenugreek leaves (Methi leaves/ Menthinasoppu/menthe kura) 2 bunches
Almonds (badam) 5-10
Milk ½ cup
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

 

Method:

Soak the almonds for around 10 minutes. Dry and grind to a fine powder.

Pluck the fenugreek leaves, add half a cup of water and boil until soft and cooked. This will take around 10 minutes on simmer. Set aside to cool.

Once at room temperature, add the cooked fenugreek leaves and half a cup of milk to the Almond powder and blend to thick and fine paste.

Pour the paste into a cooking pot/vessel, add 2 cups of water and boil until the soupy texture seeps in. Add salt and pepper to taste as the soup is boiling.

If in India, sip hot and sour fenugreek soup, enjoy the rain and keep the chill away. If in the gulf, sip sour and chilled fenugreek soup to keep the humidity off and yourself cool.