Green Pasta

No, its not halloween and this is not one of Dr.Seuss’s recipes 🙂 Its just pasta with some stir fried green veggies and a simple green chutney.

• I am using angel hair pasta. Any pasta , noodles or vermicelli will do. Cook the pasta according to box instructions. 
• To make the green chutney you will need a bunch of mint leaves and a bunch of cilantro. If you get cilantro with thin stems, use the stems too as they are packed with flavor.

• You will also need green chillies and ginger.

• Heat oil in a pan  and saute the green chillies and ginger and then saute the mint and cilantro.

• Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes and then grind them to a chutney. Add little water if needed.

• For the stir fry I am using green peppers and green peas. I also have one jalapeno, seeds removed and thinly sliced.

• Heat oil in the pan and saute the veggies.

• Add the pasta to the pan for a quick saute.

• Add the green chutney and mix well.

• Keep mixing until every angel hair has its good share of the chutney.

Sprinkle some parmesan if you wish. (This is a very simple recipe with the basic green chutney. The chutney is multi purpose, it can be used in sandwiches, wraps or even as salad dressing.)

Kadai Tofu

Kadai chicken/ Kadai Paneer is one of the Punjabi Dhaba recipes, which is basically a quick and rustic stir fry. Quick is a tricky word here,  if you have the kadai masala (dry spice blend) and the tomato gravy ready , then it is really quick to stir-fry. If you are making everything from scratch like I did today, it does take a little bit of time. But its worth, not just the taste but the aroma that fills the house. “Kadai” is the Indian wok. I am using Tofu today , the curry base is the same whether it is Kadai Paneer or Kadai chicken.

• First lets make the kadai masala. Its a blend of the dry spices. Traditionally ‘Kasoori methi’ (dried fenugreek leaves) are used. I do not have it, so I replaced it with fenugreek seeds.
• Heat a wok and dry roast the spices, add the fenugreek at the very end as roasting them too much can give a bitter taste. Grind them to a coarse powder.
• Next step is to make the tomato gravy.  Grind a few garlic cloves with a pinch of salt to a thick paste.

• You can use tomato paste. But I prefer using fresh tomatoes. Dice about 3-4 big tomatoes.

• Heat up 2tbsp of oil in the wok (you can use butter/ghee or a mix of ghee and oil) and fry the garlic paste. Take your time and cook until the raw smell is completely gone. And then add 1 tbsp of the kadai masala (dry spice blend) to the oil and fry for a few seconds. The rest of the kadai masala will be used at the end.

• Now add the tomatoes to the oil.

• Add salt and cook until the tomatoes sweat and soften.

• Cut some onions and green peppers into chunks.

• Add the onions and green peppers to the gravy. I know it is counter intuitive to add raw onions to the gravy, but for this recipe it works really well. It is important to have the crunch in the finished gravy.
• Let the gravy simmer. Meanwhile, we can get the Tofu ready. I am using extra firm Tofu. Cut the Tofu in cubes.

If you are using paneer, frying the paneer is optional. If you are using Tofu, I strongly recommend slightly browning the tofu before adding to the gravy. This can be done with 1 or 2 tsp of oil.

• By now, the gravy should have reduced. As with all tomato based gravies, as we cook them longer and slower the color becomes rich. I am making this as a side for rice, so I allowed my gravy to reduce a lot, you can make it as loose as you prefer.

• Add the tofu to the gravy and mix well.

• Finally sprinkle the rest of the kadai masala (dry spice blend) and mix with the tofu and the gravy.

• And the Kadai Tofu is ready. Serve with rice or naan.

Sesame Rice

This is my attempt to re-create the “prasadham” I enjoyed in my hometown temple when I was a kid (when temple visits were culinary experiences 🙂 )…..I remember sprinting around the navagrahas so that I can get my share from the priest. I guess it was the offering for Saturn (Saneeshwararn)…..

• Cook 1 cup of rice and allow it cool down.

• black sesame seeds, red chillies, urad dhal and channa dhal

• Fry urad dhal, channa dhal, chillies and sesame (in the same order) in a tsp of sesame oil.

• After they cool down grind them into a coarse powder ( which looks like top soil ) 🙂

• For the final seasoning  you need curry leaves, peanuts and mustard seeds.

• Fry the mustard seeds, curry leaves and peanut in a tsp of sesame oil.

• To the cooked rice, add the sesame powder and the fried seasoning.

• Mix them all together and add salt to taste. Also drizzle a tsp of sesame oil and mix.