Easy vegetable pasta

        This vegetable pasta can be done very easily and quickly. Kids love it, the dish is colorful and really delicious. I served this pasta with a side of garlic bread.

Serves up to 2-3 people
Preparation time:30 minutes

Ingredients:

300 grams of bow shaped pasta
handful of spinach
1/2 red bell pepper
1 medium sized red onion
1/2 cup of mozarella cheese
1 tsp of ground black pepper
olive oil
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Cut the veggies in to small pieces.

2. In the large saucepan, add water and salt for the pasta. Once the water starts boiling add pasta. Keep stirring once in a while. Cook the pasta  al dente (firm to the bite) for 12-15 minutes. Transfer the pasta to the strainer. Save 1/4 cup of pasta water for later.

3. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to the pan, then add the veggies saute for 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper and salt for the vegetables.


4. Add the pasta, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, remaining black pepper powder. Switch off the flame.

5. Add 1/4 cup of pasta water to the pasta and stir well to reduce the dryness. Pasta is ready.

Red chori potato curry

   I recently discovered my sons liking to chori dhal and so I have been experimenting with different vegetables. In this effort, I used potatoes which mixes well with this dhal giving a thick consistency and can be good accompaniment for rice or rotis

Ingredients:

1/2 cup red chori dhal
2 medium sized potatoes

1 tsp red chilli powder(~spice level)

1/8 tsp of turmeric powder
1 large chopped onion

1 tsp of  fennel seeds

oil as required

salt as required

Seasoning:

1-2 tbsp of grated coconut

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 fenugreek seeds

Preparation:

1.Soak chori dhal for 6 hours. Chop the potatoes in to tiny pieces.
2.In a pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil. Once the oil is heated, add fennel seeds. Once the nice aroma comes, add the chopped onion and saute for a minute.

3.Now add the potatoes, red chilly powder, turmeric and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3.Transfer the contents of the pan to the soaked dhal and add 2 cups of water. Add salt and pressure cook them up to 4 whistles.

4.To the oil in a preheated pan, add the seasoning. Saute for a minute and transfer to the cooked dhal.

5.Delicious red chori potato curry is ready. Serve with rice and papad.

Dum aloo/ Baby potaotes masala

     Dum aloo belongs to Kashmiri cuisine. The masala sauce for this dish is flavored with garam masala. I did not complicate it with too much spices. A fork can be used to poke holes in the cooked potatoes so that the spices would permeate in the vegetable.

Serves up to 3-4 people
Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

16-18 baby potatoes
2 large onions
2 large tomatoes
1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
1 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1/2  tsp of ground black pepper
2 tsp of cumin powder
2-3 tbsp of heavy cream
2 small pieces of cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom
olive oil
1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves
salt as required

Preparation:

1.Pressure cook the baby potatoes and peel the skin. Poke them with fork.

2.Grind the onions in to a paste. Add 1 tsp of oil to the preheated skillet and add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. As nice aroma comes, add onion paste and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well till raw smell disappears.

3.Grind the tomatoes separately. Add tomato paste and little salt.

4.Saute in simmer flame for 30 minutes and then add red chilli powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder and remaining salt. Add the cooked baby potatoes and close the lid for 15 minutes.
5.Add heavy cream and stir for 2 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with roti/ puri.