Peppery Basil Spaghetti

I love the flavour of paprika. The colour and the flavour both add a zing to the dish. This spaghetti is one of the most quickest and delicious recipes, Its spicy and creamy at the same time. the sweetness of basil brings out the flavour of the dish.I don't think i have ever cooked any dish without this particular ingredient. :) Paprika !!
So this ones for MIMI



Enjoy!!


Peppery Basil Spaghetti
For the sauce:
7 to 8 leaves of fresh basil
1/4Th cup of almonds
1/2 cup fresh cream
Crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to ur taste)
Olive oil
3-4 tbs of Chopped garlic

Grind Almonds, basil, fresh cream in a blender, add some olive oil to it.Boil Spaghetti mean while.In another pan add garlic and saute well, add the blended basil paste. and saute for about a minute. Then add crushed chili flakes and boiled spaghetti.Saute well till the paste blends well with spaghetti. Sever hot!

"not so fiery Chilies"

One more for Sensational Sides!! Monthly Mingle ends on 13th oct~
This one is a sure Hit for me. Goes well with any Indian meal, May it be a simple Dal
rice combination , Paratha's or a nice heavy meal like paneer or so.

This is " not so fiery Chilies!"
The blend of mixed spices that merge with the flavour of chili itself is amazing!I always tend to make more of it for a reason cause its snappy and i always love to
have it in my fridge.I eat this with absolutely anything!!
Enjoy!

8-10 Long green chillies (not the spicy ones)
4 tbs of coriander pwd
2 tbs of mango pwd
1 tbs of red chili pwd
a pinch of garam masala.
1/2 tsp of gram flour
salt (adjust to ur taste)
Oil
Cumin seeds
asafoetida

Firstly blend all ur spices in a dry bowl, except cumin and asafoetida.Mix well, Make a long slit in the chilies and fill in this spice mix generously in each one of them.
In a pan heat some oil and add your cumin seeds, as they begin to crackle put in a
pinch of asafoetida.Put ur stuffed chilies and turn the heat to low. Add gram flour and stir occasionally. Cook until chilies are tender. And ur "not so Fiery Chilies" are ready to eat in a snap!!

Grilled Cheesy Shitake

This one is for Meeta & Ruth :) for the monthly mingle.
Ive been wanting to always participate in one of "What's for lunch Honey?"'s Monthly Mingles and well at last ....
So it is Sensational Sides this time.... i love side dishes... continental, Indian,.... all of them are just so well relished!
I made Grilled Shitake :)
I love the rustic flavour of shitake, Wild mushrooms are in abundance in japan, Diff
kinds have very typically different flavours. I used shitake cause it has a nice chewy flavour. Also for vegetarians it gives u a nice meaty taste.
I love it when the meaty taste mingles with cheese and mint!



6 sitake mushrooms
Half a onion
1 small clove of garlic
2 tbs of chopped mint
Black pepper
1/4th cup of cheese of your choice.
Salt
Olive oil

First De-stem the shitake and chop the stems very finely.In a pan heat olive oil and add finely chopped onions and garlic, saute well and then
add the chopped stems, saute until tender and add rest of the ingredients. Turn of the heat and let it settle for about 5 min.
In the mean while rub some olive oil on the shitake caps, and then stuff them with
the above mix. Grill on low heat for about 10 min or cheese melts :)



Trust me its a tastes like n looks like a luxurious side dish!

Italian Tofu Frittata

I have seen a lot of recipes on TV of Spanish frittata;s which look absolutely yum with those potatoes, cheese, zucchini and loads of egg;s..... wait a min!! eggs!!!
Well that's what it is made of.
Its a Spanish omelet using lots of veggies cooked on the stove and then baked in the oven to finish it.
I have substitute tofu to eggs and the end result pretty amazing :)!
To give it a little more special "Me" effect,,i tried to add more of Italian ingredients to it like fresh basil, tomatoes, etc...
So here is my version of Frittata!:)
This one is for Madhuram 's event!

1 pack silk tofu (about 200 gms)
1/4th cup flour
1/4th cup cheese (u can avoide cheese, i did)
Chopped jalapenos
Chopped olives
Chopped tomatoes
Half onion finely chopped
2-3 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
Few stems of spinach finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Salt
Olive oil

In a pan heat some olive oil and add garlic and onions saute for about a min and then add rest of the ingredients to it. Add little salt and turn off the heat.
In a mixi add the flour and tofu, blend well.
Add this paste to ur veggies and cook for about a min stirring continuously.
Grease a pie pan or a cake tin and fill this mix of tofu and veggies in it.
Bake it for about 40 min at 180 deg C or till a stick comes out clean.
OR
U could mix all the ingredients and cook it on a nonstick which will make it more crispy :) and that crisp part tastes like cheese even if u dontt add cheese to it.

Also i would recommend to eat this with mustard sauce and a spicy chili sauce :)
Trust me ud love it!!


The end result is pretty soft, i guess adding some boiled potatoes would give it a more cake like texture. I did not want to add potatoes cuz i wanted it to be low calorie.

Vermecilli Upma

I simply love this simple and healthy dish :)
Its sooo quick to make that ud b shocked trust me!
I like it spicy so i made it vvv spicy :) n that made it more appetizing :)
U can vary the content of veggies in it to make it wholesome.
I used minimum cuz i enjoy the taste of vermicelli a lot.:)
A must try!!

1cup Vermicelli Roasted (if u don't have roasted then first dry roast the vermicelli until brown)
1 tsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 medium Onion thinly sliced
Green chillies
Ginger
1/4 cup Peas
1/4 cup Beans
1 Carrots chopped finely
2+ cups Water
Ghee
Curry Leaves
Salt to taste

Heat ghee and add chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves. When they start to crackle , add peanuts sand saute for a min.
Then add chillies, ginger & onions, saute until onion is translucent.
Add carrots, peas and beans. Cook until tender.
Add salt and vermicelli, saute well and add water, keep adding water until vermicelli is cooked.
Mix well and Cover with a lid, cook on low flame for about 5 min.
Serve hot with chutney :)

Zesty Lemon Bars

OK! now this is my first ever Blog event that i m participating in and trust me i m just so excited about it. I did have to rack my brain but the best part is It turned out YUM!! :) well that's the result one always wants and gets often if you do it with all your heart :)

Coming to the challenge, this event is hosted by Madhuram

You can find more details here

Well the recipe that you have to create should be using egg and u have to replace egg with silken tofu.

Honestly Ive read a lot of recipes using tofu which are sweet and i never read the recipe further after seeing tofu being used in it :) i could never imagine tofu being used in a dessert, so this one was a big apprehension for me.

I never have eaten eggs or used eggs so i have no clue that how would my recipe taste with eggs, all i know is i have seen this being baked on a Japanese channel with eggs , Also not knowing the language well i could make out just a few obvious ingredients in it one of which was egg, but it looked so tempting that i had to try it and i thank Madhuram for giving me this opportunity, so here is my version of Zesty Lemon Bars using silken tofu :)

It was fun baking this and the best thing i love about these bars is the "tangyness" of it .

Crust:

2 cups +2 Tbs all-purpose flour
2 Tbs Sugar
1/3 cup margarine or unsalted butter

Filling:
2 Tbs Silken Tofu
3/4th cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice

2Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs rind grated
1/2 tsp baking powder

In a bowl mix in flour, butter and sugar, mix well with both hands to form a crumbly texture.

Once mixed well press it into a greased and dusted baking tin, bake in a pre-heated oven for about 20 min or until light golden brown.

This recipe can fit well into a 8inch tin well.

For the filling :

In small bowl mix in all the filling ingredients and using ur comfortable device mix well. I put all the ingredients in a blender and blended until i got a smooth paste like texture. Once blended well pour the mixture into the crust and bake for about 30 min or until light golden. Cool and cut into squares/bars.

Ive used orange along with lemon to balance out the sourness and bitterness of lemon's. It gives a more intense taste along with a mild sweetness :)

Me being my impatient self i could not wait to taste so i de-moulded it white hot, and ended up with creased top.

To conclude with my understanding of tofu as a egg re-placer is AMAZING. Some issues come along with it like it leaves the end result a little moist and soggy, while a egg would make it more fluffy and light. While beating the mix with tofu it does not emulsify like a egg would.Well for people like me tofu as a replacement is a Boon! :)

Sukhadi

A rich Sweet made in a jiffy :)

I love this sweet. I know of a restaurant in ahmedabad where Ive eaten it a million times n would love it eat it more. They serve it hot in a brass plate the traditional way... i can never get that taste! never!! Yet i keep making it cuz i love it, my family loves it. The best part about this sweet is that it can be stored for a long long time say more than a month. Ideal filler to carry when travelling, healthy too.

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup ghee/ clarified butter

1 cup jaggery/Molasses - shredded (u could make it a little less if u want it less sweet)

Pinch of cardamon powder

Firstly shred Molasses and keep it aside.

Place a thick bottomed pan to heat and add ghee in it, once melted add flour and cardamon powder, Keep stirring for about 10-15 minutes till you get a pleasant/cooked aroma and it turns nice golden brown. Turn off the gas and Add crushed Molasses to it and stir until it melts and mixes well with the flour. Pour it in a greased tin and let it cool.