Vegetable Upma

It was one of those days when none of us were in a mood to eat a full fledged meal. All I got when I asked what do you want for dinner was "Make something light".

My standard resort on such occasions is poha or sabudana khichdi or idli/dosa - you get the drif! Along the same lines, this time I made vegetable rava upma - a standard breakfast item at weddings and such along with the usual idli/vada/pongal!

It was only very recently that I came to know that in Tamil Nadu, this dish is actually called "khichdi"! The discovery in  itself was an amusing incident involving two of my friends - one from Madras (I still can't think of it as Chennai!), the other from Orissa and ofcourse me! When the latter fed her kids "khichdi", the former was puzzled that it looked more like dal rice with vegetables and there was no sign of rava in it! After much confusion and some arguing, we realized that while two of us called the rice and lentils cooked with vegetables "khichdi" (I think that's what most of the country calls it!) the other one was looking for vegetable rava upma!

As far as my husband and kid are concerned, when I say upma, it means vegetable rava upma. There is no way they are eating a plain upma! Also, one wants any and every vegetable, while the other is allergic to nuts and can't stand the sight of onions and capsicum in his. So, I end up making "customized" upma!

What I mean is that, I cook my vegetables (I used the frozen mix of peas, carrots, beans and corn and added diced potatoes to it) separately in the microwave but saute the onions and capsicum along with the tempering in another pan! You can prepare the tempering and cook all the vegetables directly in the saucepan that you are using to make the upma. I just find it handy and quick to do all these things separately and since its the dishwasher that cleans the dishes, I don't hesitate to use an additional pot/pan!

So, while the rava is being roasted, I boil water in the kettle, cook the veggies in the microwave and simultaneously prepare the tempering mix! Finally, I just add everything in parts, making sure to separate my son's share before adding the tempering. But by all means prepare the tempering, add in the rest of the vegetables, add water, bring it to a boil and mix in the roasted rava - all in the same vessel.

Whichever way you choose to cook it, whatever you choose to serve it with (I did not go to the trouble of making chutney or sambaar, a Lime Ginger pickle was enough to satisfy us!) - this is a simple, fulfilling yet "light" meal!

Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes          Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

Rava/Sooji/Cream Of Wheat - 1 cup

Green Chillies - 2, chopped fine
Ginger - a small bit, minced
Turmeric/Haldi Powder - ½ teaspoon
Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup (beans, carrots, peas, corn, potatoes)
Potato - 1 small, diced
Capsicum - 1 small, diced
Onion - 1 small, choped fine
Curry Leaves -  a few
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Water - 3 cups
For Tempering: 
Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon 
Urad Dal/Black Gram Dal - 1 teaspoon
Jeera/Cumin Seeds -  ½ teaspoon
Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal -  ½ teaspoon
Cashews - 10-12, broken


Method:

1. Microwave the vegetables for 5-7 minutes, till they are cooked.
2. Bring about 3 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or another vessel - this hastens the cooking process as we don't have to wait for the bottle to boil when we add it to the rava.
3. Heat the remaining ghee for tempering, add in mustard, jeera, urad dal and chana dal. When the mustard and cumin seeds splutter and the dals turn a golden brown, add in the curry leaves and cashews. 
4. When the cashews get a reddish tinge, add the onions. When the onions turn transluscent add the green chillies, ginger and capsicum and saute for a couple of minutes, then take off the flame.
5. Roast the rava with 1 tablespoon of ghee till it turns a reddish tinge and gives off a nice aroma.
6. Now, slowly pour in the hot water, stirring constantly so it doesn't form lumps.
7. Continue to stir and cook till the rava reaches a smooth consistent texture and has absorbed most of the water.
8. Now add the turmeric, salt, mixed vegetables and the prepared tempering.
9. Mix everything well and cook for another minute.

Serve hot with chutney/sambaar or plain old pickle - yummy!

Veggie Orzo Pockets

I am always breaking my head over what to pack for lunch for my little one. Doesn't matter that I try not to repeat the same thing very often, I still get the "amma, please give me something different" from him! I am sure most parents with school going kids would relate to this, or should I say most moms? Now I understand why my mom's daily bedtime lament used to be "naalaiku ennadi pack pannaradu lunchuku?" - meaning, what am I going to pack for your lunch tomorrow!

Idlis, dosas, chapathis, pooris, rice based dishes, soups, pasta , sandwiches and even maggi - you name it and I have packed it! His favorite is stuffed paraatha, because he finds it easier to hold the paraatha rolled in a foil and eat while yapping away with his friends. But there are only so many varieties of stuffing that I can prepare at 5 in the morning!

Anyways, I am always looking for ways to combine vegetables and some form of grain in an easy to handle compact form that would appeal to my fussy eater! While thinking along those lines, I hit upon this idea. Am sure its nothing unique and has been tried by someone or the other somewhere. But this is the first time I tried this, and it was a huge hit!

I always keep crescent roll dough tubes stocked up in my refrigerator as they come in very handy - specially during the weekends when we have friends over for "chai-nashta". Now I thought, why not make pizza pockets with the same. But I wanted to add something more filling to it. My son loves pasta in various shapes and sizes - so I settled on orzo as the grain. He loves marinara sauce. While I have made sauces from scratch, it is just too much to ask of me if you are expecting me to make a small amount of the sauce everytime I make pasta for my kid! Though I am not a big fan of ready to use products, there are certain instances where I make an exception - pasta sauce is one of them - to be specific, store bought bottled marinara sauce; I am not too brand specific, though my current favorite is Giada's Vegetable Marinara sauce. I added a bit of this. Now, how could I leave out the veggies - so I went ahead and added some carrots, zucchini and broccoli as well. Feel free to add any vegetable you like - infact I even thought of using radishes but dropped the idea the last minute as I felt it would be too pungent and wouldn't blend in with the rest of the flavors. Forgot to remove them before clicking the final picture though :p!! Finally comes the cheese - come on, its a baked product for my kidddo - obviously am going to add cheese - loads of it!

The end result was a surprisingly quick, delicious and filling meal that was easy to handle and well liked by my sweetie pie! After the way he asked "amma, can I have the same thing tomorrow?" - this one is a keeper!

Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes          Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Mixed Vegetables (Sliced Carrots, Diced Zucchini and Broccoli Florets) - ¼  cup
Orzo - ¼  cup, cooked tender

Ready Made Marinara Pasta Sauce - 4 tablespoons
Kraft Shredded Natural Italian Five Cheese Blend - ¼  cup
(Mozarella, Provolone, Romano, Asiago and Parmesan)
Parmesan Cheese -  ¼  cup, finely grated
Fresh Cracked Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
Cooking Spray - to grease the baking sheet
Pillsbury Crescent Roll - 1 tube

Method:

1. Preheat  the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
2. Cook the orzo till tender. Drain and keep aside.
3. Saute the carrots and zucchini in olive oil till they soften. Then add in the broccoli, and marinara sauce. Give it a good stir.

4. Now add in the orzo, salt and pepper. Mix well.



5. Roll out the dough, keeping the rectangles intact. Smudge over the dotted edges of the triangles with your fingers so they smoothen out and don't break into triangles. Cut each rectangle into three smaller rectangles.
6. Place a small amount of the vegetable orzo on each cut piece and top it with the cheeses.

7. Wrap the pockets over and seal the edges. Place them on baking sheets and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes till the top is nicely browned

Serve hot. Or cool down completely, wrap in a foil and pack them up in the lunch box for the little ones to enjoy at school!

Sending this across to

Vardhini's Bake Fest # 16 guest hosted by  Surabhi.

Quinoa Puliodarai

I love the luxury of online shopping - my favorite site being Amazon.com! But it has certainly spoilt me to the extent that I find it extremely frustrating when I cannot simply order something with a mouse click! While going to the store, picking, touching, smelling, trying and bargaining has its own charms (come on, you have to agree with me, specially if you are an Indian like me :) ), there are times when all I want to do is log in, browse and buy - specially if there is a fast shipping option!

The reason for my starting off on this point is, recently my friend spoke about her having tried quinoa puliodarai at her aunt's place and that set off a craving for it. But the main problem was, while I had all the necessary ingredients for making a pulikaachal, I did not have any quinoa on hand. Boy did I wish I could just order some online during the day and get it by evening - just on time for dinner! But alas, that was not to be, so I had to drive down to the local grocery store to get some. I know, I know, I could have just gone ahead and made it with rice, which is probably what any sensible person would do. But moi being moi - just had to go and buy the quinoa!

That is what prompted me to make my pulikaachal in a crock-pot instead of going the traditional gas top way. So, while I ran my grocery errand, the pulikaachal was cooking away in the crock-pot and got ready just around the time I finished cooking the quinoa - perfect timing!

Now, I have used quinoa for making "curd rice" with tempering and pulao, even khichdi. But never for puliodarai. I loved it, will definitely be making it again.

The spice level on this was through the roof - well we do have a high tolerance for heat, but if you prefer your food on the milder side, feel free to reduce the amount of red chillies used. The same goes for the tamarind - but this dish is an extremely tangy one.

The pulikaachal prepared can be refrigerated and used whenever required. The ingredients mentioned below make pulikaachal to serve 6-8 people. But I added a few tablespoons of it to 1 cup of cooked quinoa which was sufficient for me and my husband and stored the rest for future use.

Preparation & Cooking: 3 hours         Serves: 6-8

Ingredients: 

Qunioa -  1 cup
Tamarind - big lemon sized
Jaggery - 1 teaspoon, powdered (optional)
Coriander Seeds/Dhania - 2 tablespoons
Fenugreek Seeds/Methi - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch
Red Chillies - 20-25
Peanuts - ¼ cup
Turmeric Powder/Haldi - ¼ teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Tempering:
Mustard Seeds - 1 tablespoon
Black Gram/Urad Dal - 4 tablespoons
Bengal Gram/Chana Dal - 2 tablespoons
Fenugreek Seeds/Methi - 1 teaspoon
Curry Leaves - a few
Sesame Oil - ¼ cup

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water for a few minutes. I usually microwave the water and tamarind for a minute then set aside for 5 minutes. Then prepare a thick tamarind pulpy juice by squishing the tamarind. With the said amount of tamarind, you should be able to extract 1½ to 2 cups of thick pulpy juice. Strain this and set aside.
2. Dry roast the coriander seeds, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and grind it to a smooth powder.
3. Heat the sesame oil and all the ingredients for tempering. When the seeds crackle, add in the peanuts.
4. When the peanuts turn a golden brown, add the red chillies and fry for a couple of minutes.

5. Now, at this stage, if you want to continue cooking on the stove top, add in the remaining ingredients (except the ground powder) and cook, stirring slowly. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame and simmer till the raw tamarind smell disappears and the mixture thickens considerably into a paste like consistency. Finally add in the ground powder. Some people add in the ground powder just when mixing with the rice.
6. But on the other hand, if you are out of patience and kitchen standing time, as I was, then go ahead and take out that additional gadget that's resting somewhere in you kitchen - yes I am talking about the crock-pot!
7. Add all the ingredients (except the ground powder) to the crock - pot, set it at high for cooking, cover it with a lid and go ahead finish of your chores in the next couple of hours!

8. Oh yes, one more thing - cook the quinoa as per the package instructions. I usually rinse it thoroughly and cook it in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes in double the quantity of water, stirring once or twice in between. Then I cover and let it rest for a couple of minutes and finally fluff it up with a fork. Some people say you should soak it, but so far I have not bothered to do that.
9. Finally, mix in the ground powder, add the required quantity of pulikaachal to the quinoa and set aside for a few minutes before serving, that way the quinoa will absorb the flavors better. Usually for the amount of qinoa cooked 3-5 tablespoons should do the trick, depending on your taste buds. Add a little at a time and keep tasting till you get your desired taste.

PS: If you have left overs, don't worry, puliodarai always taste's better the next day!
Sending this across to

as well as

Venn Pongal

And its Pongal again - have come a full circle! My first ever post was a Pongal post - Chakkara Pongal. How could I not post something this Pongal? So, this time, I have opted to post the recipe for Venn Pongal. Of course I made the Chakkara Pongal as well for neivedyam.

 Venn Pongal literally translates to "White Pongal"!

Before I got married, I used to not like eating pongal. Infact at weddings I never understood the fascination with idli, upma, pongal and vadai for breakfast! Both, my sister and I, would drag our feet when called for the wedding breakfast feast - the only think we liked eating on that menu was the vadai!

Another memory associated with pongal is the bets that my parents would have on Sunday nights - appa, amma, sis and me would play some card game or carrom or some other board game like ludo or snakes and ladders. One parent and one sibling teamed against the other pair. We were young enough not to care about anything other than who won and who lost, my parents on the other hand had the same running bet. If my mom won, she got to pick what we had for dinner, but if dad won, it would either be pongal or khichdi for dinner - that's how much he loved both these dishes while the rest of us had them on our least favored list!

All these years later, post marriage and one kid, I have gained an appreciation for this dish though! It is a quick, one pot meal that has rescued me on many a weekends when I am in absolutely no mood to cook. The fact that hubby loves it is an added benefit! What I team it with depends on my level of laziness and how much time I have spent yapping on the phone with my parents and sis! When I have time on hand and don't mind a few additional minutes in the kitchen, I will serve it with a quick tomato gothsu (using canned diced tomatoes ofcourse ;) ), at other times I'll prepare a quick coconut or almond chutney (as was the case today), while on the laziest of days, we'll make do with some pickle!

What ever be the choice of accompaniment, this simple dish is one of my "go to" dishes on most weekends. I just take out a small portion and temper it without the pepper and cashews for my little one - pepper because he can't take the heat, and cashews because he is allergic to nuts.

Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes          Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) - ¾ cup
Rice - 2 cups
Water - 6 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
For Tempering:
Ghee - 3-4 tablespoons
Cashews - 10-15, broken
Ginger -  1 teaspoon, minced
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 4 teaspoons
Peppercorns - 10-15
Curry Leaves - a few

Method:

1. Roast the moong dal for a few seconds till it gives off a nice aroma, don't let it brown.

2. Wash the rice and add it to the dal. Add in the rice, salt, water and milk and pressure cook it till it turns soft and mushy.

3. In the mean time, grind the cumins seeds and pepper corns into a coarse mixture or crush them using a mortar and pestle.
4. Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and adding the cashews. When the cashews turn a golden brown, add in the ginger, curry leaves and the ground cumin and pepper mixture, give it a stir and take off the flame.

5. Once the pressure cooker has let off steam, open it and add in the tempering and mix well.



Steaming hot Venn Pongal is ready to be served.

Sending this across to

hosted by Sara's Kitchen.

Spinach Potato Cauliflower Casserole

This New Year's Eve, we had a potluck lunch planned with some friends. Throw in an allergy induced visit to the ER with the little one, followed by dinner, drinks and movie with another friend ending with an impromptu midnight dance performance by the kiddos with a resounding "Happy New Year" - I'd had just about more than enough of a roller coaster ride of emotions to last me through the new year!

The day started of harmlessly enough though! My contribution for the potluck was a spinach potato and cauliflower casserole.

What I had in mind initially was a simple spinach casserole. I wanted to use some grain to go with it - a perusal of the pantry produced some Orzo and I thought, why not - spinach casserole with some orzo.

When I got down to getting the casserole ready, I realized there was not enough orzo and spinach for all of us. That's when I added the cauliflower. Finally, the dried potato flakes just made perfect sense and brought it all together!

When it came to the sauce, I wanted something that would be thick and gooey! So I just opened the refrigerator and took out EVERY kind of cheese that I had! To balance the salty flavors of the cheese, I added a bit of sour cream and Greek Yogurt. I did console myself with the fact that, wherever available, I used non-fat or part-skim versions and the portion size was very small!

One special mention is the deli style sliced pepper jack cheese that I used. The habanero and jalapeno peppers pop out with a burst of heat, but in tune with the rest of the ingredients, are not overpoweringly spicy.

I did not want to add too much spice as the kids were also going to eat it. I just used some nutmeg and fresh cracked pepper. I also topped the casserole with some red chilli flakes (I figured I could always remove the top layer before serving the kids) and dusted a bit of cocoa powder over it.

The end result was this rich creamy and flavorful casserole that was a tad on the heavy side, but go easy on the portion size and it spells absolute comfort food!

Preparation & Cooking: 40 minutes          Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 bunch, finely chopped
Onion - 1 large, finely chopped
Cauliflower - 1 cup, broken into small florets
Dried Potato Flakes - ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon
Ready Made Marinara Pasta Sauce - 2 tables spoons
Orzo - 1 cup
Nutmeg - a pinch
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 teaspoon
Fresh Cracked Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
Kraft Fine Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend - ¼ cup
(Cheddar, Montery Jack, Asadero and Queso Blanco)
Kraft Shredded Natural Italian Five Cheese Blend - 4 tablespoon
(Mozarella, Provolone, Romano, Asiago and Parmesan)
Sargento Deli Style Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese - 4 slices
Ricotta Cheese - 2 tablespoons
Sour Cream - 2 tablespoons
Greek Yogurt - 2 tablespoons
Cocoa Powder - 1 teaspoon
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
Cooking Spray - to grease the casserole dish
Pillsbury Crescent Roll - 1 tube

Method:

1. Preheat  the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cook the orzo al dente. Drain and keep aside.
3. Saute the onions in olive oil till they turn translucent. Then add in the spinach, cauliflower and marinara sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Now add in the potato flakes (set aside1 tablespoon for the topping), orzo, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Let everything mix well.
5. Finally add all the cheeses (except the Mexican blend), sour cream and Greek yogurt and let them melt and blend in.



6. Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in the vegetable and cheese mixture. Now cover this with the crescent roll dough.



7. Top this with the Mexican blend of cheese, making sure to cover the entire surface. Finally, sprinkle the red chilli flakes, freshly cracked pepper and potato flakes and dust the cocoa powder on top.



8. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes till the top is nicely browned.

9. Serve hot.

Sending this across to

Vardhini's Bake Fest # 15 guest hosted by  Sumee's Culinary Bites.

Spinach And Carrot Layered Rice

My son's homework for the long weekend was this sheet which had the picture of a plate marked out into partitions. He was supposed to fill out what he ate for thanksgiving feast. Our thanksgiving dinner was at a Chinese restaurant, with friends of course, though I am sure that filling out the restaurant menu was not what the teacher had in mind!

Well, the saving grace is that I did cook lunch for the family in the morning, so what if the family is just the three of us - kiddo, hubby & me! And I did bake something, so what if it was neither turkey nor tofurkey!

So, here ladies and gentlemen, is what I prepared for our cozy thanksgiving meal - Spinach & Carrot Layered Rice with Tomato Avocado Raita. Oh yes, there was pineapple jelly for dessert! Don't you dare scoff at the menu, after all, didn't Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (US writer & physician) once say -

"The true essentials of a feast are only fun and feed."

And let me assure you, both the essentials were present at our dining table :)

This recipe is adapted from a Tarla Dalal recipe book that I have. The original recipe does not use any of the spices. I thought it would taste rather bland, so I added the whole spices to the rice and nutmeg to the spinach. Also, the original recipe called for curry powder to be used for cooking the carrots, I did not have any handy, so I ended up using Sambar powder instead...

Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes                          Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Parmesan Cheese - for garnish
Oil/Cooking Spray - to grease oven proof dish
For the rice:
Basmati Rice - 1 & ½ cup
Cardamom Pods (Elaichi) - 4
Cloves (Laung) - 4
Star Anise - 2
Cinnamon Sticks - 2
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
For the spinach layer:
Spinach - 2 cups, chopped
Peas - ¼ cup
Onion -1 small, chopped
Green chillies - 1, chopped fine
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 teaspoons
For the carrot layer:
Carrot - 1 cup, grated
Turmeric Powder (Haldi) - ½ teaspoon
Sambar Powder - 2 teaspoons
Oil - 2 teaspoons

Method:

1. Cook the basmati rice with the whole spices, salt and ghee. I microwaved it, took about 10 minutes. Spread it on a tray to cook so that the grains don't stick to each other.
2. Cook the spinach and peas in the microwave with the salt and nutmeg for about 4 minutes. In the mean time, heat oil and add cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, add onions and green chillies and saute them till the onions turn translucent. Now add in the cooked spinach and peas and give it a good stir. Set aside
3. Cook the grated carrots in the microwave for about 5 minutes. In another pan, heat oil and add the remaining cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the grated carrots, salt, sambar powder and turmeric powder. Cook for a minute and switch off the gas.

4. Grease an oven proof dish. First cover the bottom with a layer of rice. Next spread a layer of spinach and peas. Once again layer the rice on top of the spinach and peas. Finally spread the carrrot curry over the rice layer. Top this off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake in preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Nutritious, colorful layered rice is ready.

Flavored Basmati Rice

There are days when dinner is a simple dal and rice with may be some salad or papad as a side. Tonight's dinner was one such simple affair. I was too lazy to even make a salad! So, I just added some vegetables while pressure cooking the dal. But when it came to rice, I did not want to just cook plain rice.

Instead I used some whole spices to add flavor to the dish and cooked it with some vegetable bouillon and some cilantro seasoning cubes. This was very similar to jeera fried rice, except that I added more spices than just cumin. You could omit the vegetable bouillon and cilantro seasoning cubes, but I just felt that it enhanced the flavors.

This is a very simple recipe, but the flavors and aroma made it seem like an elaborate preparation!

Rice Soaking Time: 15 minutes       Cooking Time: 12 minutes            Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Black Cumin/Kala Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Bay Leaves - 2-3
Cinnamon Sticks - 2
Green Cardamom Pods - 4
Cloves - 4
Star Anise - 2
Mace - 2-3
Roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
Vegetable Bouillon - 1 cube
Cilantro Seasoning - 2 cubes
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon (I used Olive Oil)
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Rinse and soak rice in water for 15 minutes.
• Heat the ghee and oil in a sauce pan and add all the whole spices to it. Saute this for a minute.

• Add in the cumin powder and soaked rice, after draining out the water. Give this a good stir.

• Now add in the salt,vegetable bouillon, cilantro seasoning cubes and water and bring it to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flame, cover the rice and let it simmer for around 10 minutes.
• By this time the water should have evaporated and the rice will be cooked. Spread the rice out on a a tray or cookie sheet so that the grains or rice don't stick to each other, but remain separate.

• After the rice cools down completely, remove and discard the whole spices.

Heat it again before serving. This rice goes well with dal or any other gravy based vegetable.

Vegetable Fried Rice (Fast Food Style)

Hi friends, am back after almost a week long break - enjoyed a relaxing, long memorial day weekend! While I do have a couple of things that I wanted to write about, today am handing over the reins to fellow contributor Nutmeg, who has submitted the following guest post. Enjoy...

This is simple and delicious alternative fried rice, prepared without soy sauce and ajinomotto. This is a low sodium and nutritious version of the fast food style fried rice which can be made in a jiffy without even worrying about whether we have soy sauce in our pantry.

Prep & cooking time: 30 minutes        Serves - 3

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
1 cup of chopped vegetables (Carrot, beans and peas)
 2-3 chopped Green Chillies 
1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 Onion Sliced

1 tsp black jeera (Optional/for flavor)
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

• Wash and soak the rice in enough water for 10-15 minutes and drain.
• Add rice, little salt, black jeera and 1tsp oil in boiling water.
• Cook uncovered on medium heat till rice is tender.
• Take care, the rice should not be overcooked and each grain of rice should be separate.
• When rice is done, drain the excess water and spread the cooked rice in a large plate and set aside.

• Heat oil in a large pan and stir fry all the chopped vegetables, ginger garlic paste and chillies for 3-4 minutes.

• Vegetables should not be overcooked, they should be crisp.
• Mix salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the rice and toss it gently and cook on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes

  Then add crispy fried onion on top of the fried rice (optional) and serve hot. 

-Nutmeg

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Pasta

It was half day at kiddo's school today & all his classmates' parents decided to meet out at a local park for a picnic lunch and play date. The question was what should I pack for lunch that would be tempting enough to make him sit through the meal without distractions at the park. And I did not have much time to prepare anything. Had to prepare this meal along with dinner in a little over an hour as the rest of the day was jam packed with activities.

Pasta seemed like the best alternative - he loves it and if I used ready made pasta sauce and added some veggies it would satisfy my needs too. All the cheese would also make it filling.

I had bought some jumbo pasta shells with the idea of trying some stuffed pasta recipe. So, I decided to use those. Now came the question of stuffing. Used whatever cheese I could find in the refrigerator. I had some Parmesan cheese and a packet of shredded five cheese blend for pizza, so used both those. I also had some Creamy Swiss flavored Laughing Cow Cheese, so used that as well.

Now came the veggie part. Spinach seemed like the most suitable option, so that's what I used. The pasta sauce was some ready made tomato basil marinara sauce.

My son of course ate his limited portion size but I absolutely pigged out!

Preparation & Cooking: 50 minutes            Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Jumbo Pasta Shells - about 15 shells
Spinach - ½ cup, chopped fine
Basil - 2 tablespoons, chopped fine
Instant Mashed Potato Flakes - ¼ cup
Grated Cheese - ½ cup (I used a mix of Mozzarella, Parmesan, Somked Provolone, Asiago, White Cheddar & Romano)
Creamy Swiss Flavored Laughing Cow Cheese - 3 wedges
Sour Cream - 2 tablespoons
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese - for topping off
Pasta Sauce (Marinara) - 1 & ½ cup
Nutmeg - a dash
Pepper -  to taste, freshly cracked
Salt - to taste
Oil/Cooking Spray - to grease the baking dish

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).

• Cook pasta in boiling water al dente (about 8-10 minutes approximately). Drain and set aside.

• In a bowl take the chopped spinach and basil, grated cheese, cheese wedges, sour cream, mashed potato flakes, nutmeg, pepper and salt to prepare the stuffing.

• Microwave this mixture for 2 minutes with about a tablespoon of water & mix  well.

• Grease an oven safe deep dish and fill it with about a cup of pasta sauce and keep it aside.

• Fill each pasta shell with the spinach & cheese stuffing

• Place the stuffed shells in the prepared dish.

• Ladle another quarter of a cup of pasta sauce over the pasta shells and then grate some parmesan cheese over it

• Bake it in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) for about 35 minutes. Take it out of the oven once the cheese gets bubbly.

Serve hot...