Happy Gudi Padwa

March 16, 2010 MysTri Mum3 Comments

Wish you all a very happy Gudi Padwa.May the new year bring you lot of happiness and prosperity.

Gudi Padwa signifies the beginning of a new year,as per Hindu calendar.It is also known as Ugadi in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.Growing up Gudi Padwa to me meant-New clothes all day long and yummy food.It also meant lunch(if it was a Sunday) or dinner with family friends.We were always away from family but there were more than enough honorary uncles and aunts to make it feel like family time.Mom sloughed in the kitchen to prepare delicacies and then,in the evening,after a good scrub,we donned our second pair of new clothes and waited our guests.
To me a festive meal means Puri-batata bhaji-Masale Bhaat and koshimbir and a dessert. The dessert can vary,but it is not a festive meal without the other four. Batata bhaji or Potato subji has to be made in a particular way- Boiled potato pieces,tempered with turmeric,green chilies,mustard seeds,hing and garnished with corriander leaves.
This year for Our Menu for Gudi Padwa dinner was- Puri-Potato Bhaaji,Masala bhaat,koshimbir and Shrikhand.DH loves Shrikhand and this is the first time I actually made it.I have had the recipe for a long long time..but just never used it. I think my friend,AP,passed it on,roughly and I eye-balled the ingredients.
Here’s the recipe-

You need-
* 200gms of sour cream(I used low fat sour-cream)
*2 tsp yogurt
*1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup chopped nuts – run the nuts through a chopper till coarse.
*1 tsp charoli (I don’t know what its called in english)
*1/2 tsp cardamom powder
* 3-4 saffron strands,soaked in 2-3 tsp warm milk

Preparation-
Add the sugar to the sour cream and mix well with a spoon till all the sugar is dissolved. Add the chopped nuts and charoli dana and the saffron milk.Stir well and chill for 1- 2 hours.
Serve chilled.

End Result- The shrikhand had a nice silky consistency.I added a little more nuts because we like nuts in our shrikhand. You can add a little more sugar to make it sweeter.

DH opened the refrigerator to get something and saw the shrikhand kept to chill.He made a face and said,it looked like garlic sauce or raita.He dared to taste it,when feeding Aadi her lunch and closed his eyes with delight!!wowww!!..thats all he said!!:D

Recipe · Uncategorized

Penne Pasta with vegetables in garlic infused white sauce

March 16, 2010 MysTri Mum5 Comments

Now,if the name,didn’t make you go,wowwwwww…and make you drool,this picture definitely would.

And this is just the picture of the veggies..:)
The white sauce recipe was shared by a cousin,when I was may be 17-18 and since then,it has been a family favorite.My dad who doesn’t care much for noodles-foodle,pasta-wasta(his words not mine!),actually took a bite,to make me happy the second or third time-well he didn’t have a choice,when my sister and I bullied him:D And he asked for seconds..Since then,this is the only pasta dish,he eats and relishes.As for my sister and best friend,any pasta/veg in white sauce,is good only if it tastes like mine..and coming from two VERY fussy eaters,this is a compliment.
DH loves it too,and fortunately,so does the little one.

(Not a very good picture..)
Here’s my Penne Pasta with vegetables in garlic infused white sauce:
You need-
400 gms of Penne Pasta( you can replace Penne with Fusili or Macaroni as well)
1 whole Red Capsicum,diced
1-2 carrot-diced
6-7 green beans-diced
1/2 cup cauliflower or brocolli florets
1 medium sized onion diced.
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
For the Sauce-
2 tsp butter(I used olive oil spread)
1 cup milk( I used low fat milk)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup grated parmasaen cheese
2 garlic cloves,crushed.

Preparation:

* Prepare the Pasta,as per the instructions on the pack.Toss it with a tsp of olive oil and keep aside.Save a little water,from the pasta,in a separate bowl.
* Saute’ the vegetables and keep aside.
* To prepare the sauce-
(Start with a fresh pan,to get the perfect white color) Take some butter in a pan and when it starts to sizzle,add the crushed garlic cloves.Pick up the pan and shake it gently,so that all the butter,gets the garlic flavor.Lower the flame.Remove the garlic,after a minute and add the all purpose flour.Keep stirring,so that the flour or the butter don’t burn.This is the most important step,if you want the right color.Keep the flame low.
When the flour turns slightly yellow,add the milk and water.Stir/whisk vigorously,to avoid lumps. When this mixture,starts bubbling,add the grated cheese and stir again.Make sure,you maintain medium heat,till all the cheese melts.Add salt to taste.You can also add pepper if you like.

*Once your Sauce is ready,toss in the veggies and the pasta and the water saved from boiling pasta.Mix it well and serve hot.You can garnish it with some cheese if you like.

Serving Suggestions- Serve hot with Garlic Bread and crisp green salad.

This is the first post on Project Lunchbox! I packed this yummy pasta along with some garlic bread and told him to sprinkle some water on the pasta,before heating it..(which I know he is not going to do!)

Mumma's Kitchen · Recipe · Uncategorized

Spinach Pulav and Beetroot Raita

March 9, 2010 MysTri Mum11 Comments

This is one of my favorite dinner combination,especially on a friday night or on weekends.I love the colors it brings to the dinner table,making it festive right away. And both the dishes are loaded with vitamins.Its Diet Food,tasting like comfort food!
Without further ado,here are the recipes-

Spinach Pulav

Ingredients-
2 cups rice
2 cup chopped spinach
1 cup grate carrot
1 onion(medium sized) finely chopped.
1 green chili-chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tsps chopped corriander leaves
Cummin Seeds
Whole spices-(2-3 ,each)
{Cardamom,Clove,Pepper corn,Bay leaves}
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp corriander-cummin powder.
Oil 2 tsps
water-as required for the rice you are using.normally I use 3 cups,for my basmati,when making pulav.
salt to taste

Preparation-
Wash and soak rice for 10-15 minutes.
In a pan,heat oil,add cummin seeds and whole spices.Fry for a minute,add onions and saute’ till gold brown.Add ginger-garlic paste mix well and add the spinach and carrots,followed by rice,green chillies and corriander. Add all the spice powders and salt to taste.Add the water and bring it to a boil.Lower flame,cover and simmer till rice is cooked.
Garnish with onion rings and chopped corriander and serve hot with Raita and Papad.

Time required-20 mins plus chopping time.

Beetroot Raita-

Ingredients-
1 cup fresh low fat yogurt
1/4 cup boiled and grated beetroot
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
1 tsp chopped corriander.
salt to taste
1/2 tsp cummin powder.

Preparation-Mix everything together.Serve chilled,with chapati,rice or even as a dip.

I am re-posting this because,this is my entry for the Combo event on Foodelicous.This is the first time,I am ever entering in a food-blog competition.