Mushroom Pasta With Mint And Tomato Sauce.

Mushroom Pasta With Mint And Tomato Sauce. This is my new innovation to pasta. Pasta is something like can be cooked with any kind of sauce and with almost any ingredients, that is the most important thing I like while cooking pasta, the more you play with ingredients the tastier the pasta is. It has happened with me many time that I plan to cook some other recipe and I end up cooking something else and I don't know how it turns out to be the best dish, specially in Italian food.

Yesterday I had a plan to cook just plain tomato sauce paste, but I added mint and mushroom to and it was quite a delicious pasta, with fresh mint flavour in it.. I have just added the mint leaves, if you want to grind the mint leaves with tomato go head and try and do let me know the taste... You don't need any side dish for this, it has everything in it. So cook and enjoy.

Ingredient's.

1 cup paste (any shape pasta)

3 button mushroom (roughly chopped)

1 medium onion (roughly chopped)

1 cup tomato puree

2 green chilli

1tsp cruched ginger and garlic

Hand full of fresh mint leaves

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of red chilli flakes

1/4tsp mixed herbs or Oregano

1tbsp butter

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method.

Boil the pasta as per the instruction on the pack and keep it aside.

In a wok, add butter, when butter melts, add crushed ginger and garlic, sautee to light brown, add onion and green chilli, sautee for a minutes. Then add mushroom and mint leaves, fry for another 2 minutes, add tomato puree, black pepper powder, mixed herbs, chilli flakes and salt, cook till the tomato has changed color to red, that will take about 2 to 3 minutes.

Now add boiled paste and mix everything nicely and sautee for another 2 to 3 minutes.. Then sprinkle some more mint leaves on top.

Serve hot hot...

Sesame Rice/ Til Rice/ Ellu Sadam.

Sesame Rice.. This is the authentic South Indian Dish. Most of the time this rice is prepared at homes or even in temples to offer god as only "Prasadam" on festivals along with many other dishes.. I had sesame rice in one of my close friend house and I had asked for the recipe and forgot. Day before yesterday the weather was very cold here and I was craving for some hot and spicy rice, which will not take more then 10 to 15 minutes to cook. I had kept the rice to cook and thought of browsing internet for some recipe, then I found one which refreshed my memory and I planed to cook sesame rice.. It was very simple and very very easy dish to cook and I can't tell you how tasty it was.. It saves lot of time and serves the best meal of the day along with some side dish..

Ingredient's.

2 cups cooked rice

3tbsp sesame seeds

1tbsp channa dal, 1tbsp urad dal

6 to 7 dry red chilly

5 to 6 curry leaves.

For Tempering.

Pinch of hing

8 to 10 curry leaves

2tbsp oil or ghee.

Cooking Method.

In a frying pan, dry roast the above ingredients and coarsely grind. set it aside.

In a same frying pan add oil/ghee, when oil is hot, add hing and curry leaves, when they splutter, add rice and grounded powder and mix it nice and cook for few sec. Then take out in a serving bowl.

Serve warm with Papad, mixture or any side dish of your choice..

Black-Eyed Peas And Potato Curry.. (Pressure Cooker Version)

Black-Eyed Peas And Potato Curry.. A wonderful dish to go with Rice, Roti, Bread or it can even make a delicious chat, just topped with some chopped onion, green chilli and coriander leaves and from curry to chat is ready in no time.. This curry has been the most favourite for me, I don't know from when, and I never want to replace this curry with any other dish in my favourite list. When ever I cook this I always cook in a bulk, so that I can eat 2 to 3 times and the next day the taste becomes even more better.. In-front of this curry if you give me chicken, mutton or fish, but I will choose this curry only... Serve with almost anything of your choice it will taste great..

Ingredient's.

1+1/2 cup black-eyed peas (Lubia)

3 potato (cut into chunks) 

2 onion, 3 tomato, 3 green chillies (finely chopped)

2tsp red chilly powder, 1/2tsp turmeric 

1tsp garam masala, 1tsp coriander powder

1tbsp ginger garlic paste

1/2tsp cumin seeds 

Oil and Salt as per taste

Copped coriander leafs for garnishing.

Cooking Method 

Soak the black-eyed peas over night.

In a pressure cooker, add oil, when it is hot add cumin seeds, when they splutter, add onion, and green chillies fry it to golden brown. Then add all the masala powder and ginger garlic paste and fry for 5 to 6 minutes, then add tomato and fry till it starts leaving oil.

Now add soaked black-eyed peas, potato and salt, mix them all together nicely and add 2cups of water, close the lid and cook for 4 to 5 whistle (1 in high flame and rest in low flame).

Garnish with chopped coriander leafs and Serve hot with Rice, Roti or Bread.

Dahi Vada.. (Curd And Lentil Vada With Tangy Tamarind Chutney)

Dahi Vadas are lentil dumplings topped with a spicy savory yogurt and tamarind chutney. These are great as a side dish on any occasion or served as a chat too.. This dahi vada was made by Nupur my friend on Diwali day in a different way and with different ingredients... I use moong dal to make dahi vade but she made it with urad dal, exactly the way we cook medu vada. It was very good and I'm happy to know one more recipe of dahi vada..

To be honest I'm not a great fan of dahi vada, because of that only I use to avoid cooking.. But this time it was totally opposite because of the tamarind chutney, I ate 2 dahi vada with lots of tangy tamarind chutney and chat masala.. It was awesome and I have a plan to cook it again in some time... Thanks to my friend Nupur for a such a yummy dahi vada recipe..

Ingredients For Vadas.

1 cup urad dal

Oil for deep frying.

Ingredient's For Curd.

1 1/2 cup yogurt

3tbsp milk

1tsp salt

1/2tsp roasted cumin powder.

Ingredient's For Tamarind Chutney.

1cup tamarind pulp

2tbsp sugar

3/4 cup jaggery

1/4tsp red chilly powder

1/2tsp roasted cumin powder

Pinch of salt.

Cooking Method For Tamarind Chutney.

In a heavy bottom pan, add all the ingredinets of tamarind chuteny and cook on a low flame, till tamarind pulp becomes semi thick and dark in color.. That will take about 30 minutes. (keep stirring in between to avoid sticking at the bottom) When it is done take out in a bowl and allow it to cool.

Cooking Method For Vada.

Wash urad dal several times until the water appears clear and soak it over night.

Drain the water and blend dal to very creamy texture. Just using enough water as needed to blend. 

Whip dal batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about two to three minutes until batter become light and fluffy. If needed add few spoons of water.

In a deep frying pan add oil and allow oil to become hot on medium flame. To check if oil is ready put a little batter into the oil, oil will sizzle and batter should start expending upwards slowly without changing color.

Then place a plastic sheet on to a flat surface and apply little water, then put 2tbsp batter on to plastic sheet and slowly flatten the vada and make a small hole in a centre. Take the plastic sheet slowly up and leave the vada into hot oil for frying. Fry until they are golden brown and fry the vadas in small batches

After you have made all of the vadas, place the vadas in luke warm water and soak for about 20 minutes.

Next squeeze the vadas gently to take out the water, be careful not to break the vadas.

To make Yogurt topping and Garnish.

In a large mixing bowl take yogurt, milk and mix until very smooth. add salt and cumin powder give a good mix.

Then soak all the vadas in the yogurt for at least twenty minutes, giving the vadas time to absorb the yogurt.

Slowly pick up each vada and transfer into a serving dish, pouring a few spoons of extra yogurt all over the vadas.

Just before serving, sprinkle red chilly powder and chat masala finish off with a drizzle of tamarind chutney.

Meethi Chicken. (Fenugreek Leaves And Chicken Curry)

Meethi Chicken has become now common dish in India, before very few people were aware of this dish. Now there are so many different version to cook this curry, I think every one like to cook in there own way and that becomes one new and different dish... I use to cook this meethi chicken then I stopped from a very long time. Then again I tried this 2 weeks back when we had our friends over and they like it so much, My friend told me why don't I put this recipe on my blog.. To be honest when ever I use to cook, it use to get over and I never got a change to take the pictures, it happened the same when I cooked this curry on that day. But I had in my mind that I should cook this soon and post it or else the day is never going to come.. Keeping that in my mind I cooked this Meethi Chicken curry yesterday and took the pictures also.. ufff so relieved.. This is my own recipe simple and delicious... Serve with Naan, Roti or even Rice...

Ingredient's.

1/2 kg chicken (cut into medium pieces)

1 medium onion (thinly sliced)

1 bunch of meethi leaves (Fenugreek leaves)

1cup chopped coriander

6 green chilis

10 to 15 curry leafs

2tsp black pepper corn

1tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 medium tomato

3tbsp Oil

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method.

Wash and drain the water of chicken and set it aside. Clean and wash the meethi leaves and set it aside.

In a non-stick deep frying pan, add oil and onion, fry the onion for minute or 2. Then add chicken, meethi leaves and salt, mix them and allow the chicken water to evaporate.

In a mean time add all the rest of the ingredients into a mixer jar and make a smooth paste by adding little water.

Now add the grounded masala to chicken, give a good mix and check for the salt. Then close the lid and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low flame (keep stirring in between)

Then open the lid and stirfry till all the masala has coated well to chicken and there is no water..

Serve hot with Naan, Kerala Poratha or Roti's.