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Napoli Sauce for Pasta

Ripe Tomatoes-2 Garlic-8 Onion-1 Butter/Olive Oil Cheese-optional Brine of pickled olive-1/2 tsp Heat 2 tbsp butter or olive oil in saucepan.  Add chopped garlic-8 to 10 garlic cloves. Fry till brown and smelling lovely.  Add 1  large chopped onion and stir. Reduce heat to medium. Add  some salt,and cook, slowly, till onions are translucent.  Add 2 chopped tomatoes (ripe and soft). Puree them if they are firm.. Don't add any water. Add salt, pepper and brine. Keep frying while stirring frequently.  Simmer, add a tbsp of ketchup, stir till mixed well.  Add 50 ml of water, red chilli flakes and simmer. Add mixed herbs- thyme,basil and oregano. If you want it cheesy, add in 2 cubes of grated cheese or 2 slices of cheese in the step, before adding the water.(You have to Skip the water. )Let it melt and add milk instead of water. It gives a dreamy creamy sauce!! Traditionally, wine is added in Napoli sauce, but I don't  use it.
Recent posts

Mushroom and Bok Choy Soup

It makes for a healthy, light yet wholesome winter soup.The mushroom and Bok Choy make an awesome pair while the subtle ginger-garlic and herbiness will light up your palate and calm your soup craving. INGREDIENTS Button Mushrooms- 150 grams Fresh Bok Choy- 200 grams Ginger- 1 inch Garlic- 12 cloves Onion shoots (sliced)- 1/2 cup Salt- to taste Freshly ground pepper- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp Basil- 1/2 tsp (Oregano or sage will taste good too) Butter - 2 tbsp Olive oil- 1 1/2 tsp Vegetable stock- 2 cups (I used some stock from mushrooms I had reduced for a stir-fry too) Water- 3 cups Wash the Mushrooms and slice into thin segments. Chop the Bok choy roughly into large pieces. Julienne the ginger and finely chop the garlic. Heat a deep-bottomed pan. Add the butter and some oil. Add the garlic and fry until  slightly brown Now add ginger, onion shoots and toss. Add sliced mushrooms and fry. Add some salt. Add the Bok Choy and turn the mushroom over.  Leave to reduce.

Stir fried mushrooms with garlic in white sauce -Served here with cheese buns

Button Mushrooms- 1/2 kg Garlic-1/2 bowl Olive oil Basil, oregano, and cilantro- 2 tsp Maida (white flour)- 3 tbsp Milk- 1 large glass (to make it smooth and yum!) Salt and pepper- to taste Clean mushrooms by putting in cold water i.e. 'shocking' and gently rubbing skin upward to remove dirt and outer skin. Chop mushroom into small pieces. Also, chop lots of garlic. In a pan or kadhai, add some oil and fry mushrooms with salt and pepper till they reduce and become dry. When they are boiling, keep removing 'liquid' and retain 'stock' in a bow l. In a huge pan, heat olive oil or butter and add garlic. Next, add 3 tbsp of maida and fry till golden brown. Switch off and after 1 minute, add 1 huge glass of milk and 1 bowl of stock.Mix to make a paste. Add 2 glasses of water, 1 tsp of basil+ cilantro and oregano (or just garlic bread seasoning or pizza seasoning 😉 ) Switch on gas and keep stirring till it starts thickening. Put in mushrooms and 2 drops o

6 layer watermelon,yoghurt & crunch dessert

This is an interesting and a very healthy twist to conventional milk-based desserts. Children like the combination of fruits, crunch from chikki, chocolate and yoghurt. It reminded my daughter of smoothies and 'Naturals' icecream :-) Ingredients Watermelon-1/2 Sweet curd and aamkhand/shrikhand- 2 bowls each( you may use rabdi if you like it sweet,) Muesli-1 bowl Pomegranate: half a bowl Chikki-crushed-1 tsp Crushed munch-3 Layer 1 Take 1 tbsp sweet curd and spread at base of bowl.  Layer 2 Place a little muesli and chikki and sprinkle with  few pieces of watermelon on top. . Layer 3   Spread rabdi/aamkhand (mango flavoured sweet curd).  Layer 4 Repeat watermelon and  Crunch: muesli/ chikki Layer 5  S pread sweet curd.  Layer 6 Top with pomegranate and crushed munch. Serve immediately. Best within 15-20 minutes. Can be served after refrigeration too. It is quite tasty!!

Vegetarian (Eggless) Pancakes with Fruit Sauce and Honey

Ingredients (Serves 3-4) Pancake Batter 200 gms maida (refined flour) Healthy option: 100 gms refined flour + 100 grams wheat flour 1 1/2 to 2 cups luke warm milk 1/2 cup room temperature water Baking soda/ baking powder- 1/2 tsp Cocoa powder- 2 tbsp (Optional) Powdered Sugar- 2 tbsp (can be increased to suit your taste) Butter or oil to cook Stuffing Apples: 2 (Peeled,Cored and pithed) Sugar- 1 and 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder- 1 pinch Nuts-Almonds and Cashews- chopped and crushed (optional) Honey to serve Batter Sieve the flour(s) and baking soda (with cocoa powder) together in a large bowl. Add the milk, sugar powder and water gradually. You may need more water to make it into a semi- fluid batter, similar to cake batter. Let it rest for 5 minutes at max. Stuffing Heat a non-stick pan. Add a little butter (half a teaspoon). Fry sliced apples slightly and add sugar when the apples are slightly brown. Keep aside for stuffing. Alternatively, You can caramelize

Mango Smoothie

Serves 3-4 INGREDIENTS 2 cups diced frozen mango 3 Tbsp honey- I prefer it to sugar or 3 Tbsp Sugar 1 Tbsp Vanilla Essence 1/2 cup plain curd/ yogurt 1 cup low fat milk DIRECTIONS Add all ingredients into your food processor or heavy duty blender and blend until smooth and frothy. You can also add crushed ice while blending. Serve cold. Garnish with slices of mango or sprigs of mint for flavor.

Kids Special-Red Carrot and Tomato Soup

My daughter wanted a soup that was 'red in colour' and I did not get a very great idea how to make it without beet roots. She likes carrots and I made it with this healthy vegetable. This turned out to be quite an interesting soup and she liked the creaminess too. Makes about 2 bowls of soup You need: Carrots:2 Tomato: 1 large or 2 small Onion:1 Garlic:5-6 Salt-to taste Pepper-to taste Oil/ butter- 2 tsp Milk-1/2 cup Water-3 bowls (minimum) Basil and oregano seasoning (optional)- 1/2 tsp Method Finely chop the vegetables -including half the chopped onion and garlic. Steam in the cooker for 10 minutes with 2 tbsp of water or microwave on convention mode on high for 5 minutes. Let it cool. Puree in a grinder till smooth. You can add 2 raw chopped garlic. Heat oil in a wok. Add the remaining chopped onion and garlic. Fry till golden brown. Add the pureed vegetables wit a cup of water. Stir slightly till it starts boiling. Keep on a low flame till it changes