Pasta Shell With Mascarpone and Roasted Red Bell Pepper

Hey All!!! It's pasta time.....Again. I love pasta in any form fresh or dried. I always have different varieties of pastas in my pantry. I crave for stuffed pastas like Ravioli and Tortelline. Usually, spinach and cheese are most common and popular fillings for the pasta. I like my pasta 'al dente. Only store-bought dried pasta can be cooked 'al dente'.Tamato-based sauces are the most popular. Pasta can be made with any vegetables, cheeses, meats, and even with fish. They are also very good with any kinds of beans and lentils.

In this recipe, I combined my favorite flovers; like sweet and smoky roasted bell peppers, nutty lentils, creamy Mascarpone cheese, buttery parmesan cheese, salty black olives, spicy red pepper flakes, and fruity olive oil. I also used my favorite shape Shell pasta also known as Conchiglie pasta. I am almost sure everyone will love this as much as I do.

Ingredients:-

• 1/2 pound Shelle Pasta
  
• 1 cup French Lentil, bolied
  
• 3-4 Roasted Red Bell Pepper, cut into bite size pieces
  
• 1/2 cup Black Olives, halve
  
• 1 cup Mascarpone cheese
  
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
  
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 tsp Red Pepper flacks
  
• 1/4 tsp Dried Basil
  
• 1/4 tsp Dried Rosemarry
  
• 1/4 tsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
  
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  
• Salt to taste
  

Method:-

1. Cook pasta al dente and boil lentil until cooked or soft.

2. Heat oil in pan and add garlic and saute for minute.

3. Add red bell pepper, lentil, pasta, dried hearbs.Mix well.

4. Add Mascarpone cheese, salt, red pepper flacks, and mix well.

5. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add 2 tbsp pasta water, and olives.

6. Add parmesan cheese and mix.

7. Sprinkle parsley and serve.

Buon Appetito...


This is my entry to Pasta Party Event by Jyoti From Panch Pakwan.




I am also sending

1. Linguine With Toasted Bread Crumbs.




2. Tortellini With Spicy Mint Oil.




3. Macaroni Masala.




4. Navy Bean and Pasta Soup.




5. Orzo Pasta Salad




Buon Appetito..

Shaam-Savera

This is Sanjeev Kapoor's one of the classic recipes. I saw this only once on TV in 1994 and still remember. It was just starting episodes of Khana-Khazana. My mom always makes killer Sham Savera on special occassions.

At the very basic, Shaam-Savera is Paneer stuffed spinach koftas in tangy tomato gravy. To save the real essence of this dish, I did not make any changes to the original recipe.

I recently made this on my son's six months' birthday. Everyone enjoyed it, so thought of sharing it with everyone. I also made 7 Layerd Paratha, Punjai Kadhi, Jeera Rice,and Paneer Cigars and will share recipes in upcoming posts..



Ingredients:-

-- For Kofta

• 4 cups Spinach, chopped and boiled
  
• 1 tsp Green Chilli paste
  
• 2 cups Paneer, grated
  
• 3-4 tbsp Corn Flour
  
• Pinch of Nutmeg
  
• Salt to taste
  

-- For Gravy

• 3-1/2 cups Tomato Puree
  
• 2 Green Cardamom
  
• 1 Cinemon Stick
  
• 1 Whole Red Chilli
  
• 1/2 tsp Ginger paste
  
• 1 tbsp Garlic paste
  
• 1 tbsp Red Chilli Powder
  
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
  
• 1 tsp Kasoori Methi
  
• 3 tbsp Butter
  
• 5 tbsp Cream
  
• 1 tsp Honey
  
• 1 -1/2 cups Water
  
• Salt to taste
  

Method:-

-- For Kofta

1. Mix spinach green chilli, salt, and corn flour.

2. Mix Paneer, nutmeg, and salt in another bowl and make small balls.

3. Flatten Spinach mixture on your palm and put paneer balls in center of spinach to make kofta.

4. Deep fry koftas and keep aside.

-- For Gravy

1. Heat oil and butter in kadai, saute green cardamom, cinemmon stick, whole red chilli, garlic and ginger.

2. Add tomato puree, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala, and water. Mix well and bring it to boil.

3. Turn down the heat and simmer for 4-5 minuts.

4. Add heavy cream and turn off the stove. Pour into serving bowl.

5. Cut koftas into half and put into gravy.

6. Serve hot with paratha, naan, or tandoori roti.

Mughlai Corn Curry

This rich, creamy, sweet and spicy mughlai curry dish. At first, it is spicy from all the masalas, and when you work through your way to sweet corn, it is actually sweet. It is little different from the other curries. One can have this with rice, naans, paratha, but my personal favorite is garlic naan. Keep in mind, this dish is high in calories, so keep those workout outfits handy, hehe.

Ingredients:-

• 3 cups Sweet Yellow Corn,
  
• 1 Big Red Onion, grated
  
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves, grated
  
• 1/2 tsp Ginger, grated
  
• 1-1/2 cups Tomato Puree
  
• 1 Potato, cubed
  
• 1 cup Khoya, grated
  
• 2 Green Chillies, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Dhania-Jeera Powder
  
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
  
• 1 tsp Kichen-King Masala
  
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  
• 2 Green Cardamom
  
• 1 Bay Leaf
  
• 1 tsp Shaahi Jeera
  
• 1 tsp Amchur
  
• 1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi
  
• 1 cup Vegetable stock
  
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
  
• 2 tbsp Oil
  
• 2 tbsp Ghee
  
• 1 tbsp Butter
  
• Salt to taste
  

Method:-

1. Heat oil and ghee in pan. Add shaahi jeera, cardamom, and bay leaf. Roast them.

2. Add potato and cook them.

3. In same pan add onion, ginger, green chili, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

4. Add tomato puree, salt, red chili powder, amchur, dhania-jeera and cook for 3-4 minutes or until oil is separated.

5. Add corn, vegetable stock, khoya, and kitchen-king masala. Stir well, cover with lid and let it boil on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.

6. Add heavy cream and kasuri methi, stir, and cook it on low heat for 2-3 minutes.

7. Pour this curry in serving bowl and place hipping spoon of butter on top.

8. Serve hot with Garlic Naan.

Enjoy..


Also checkout my upcoming posts..


1.Shaam Savera - Paneer Stuffed Spinach Kofta in Tangy Tomato Gravy.





2. Pasta Shell With Mascarpone and Roasted Red Bell Pepper.




3.Lentil Risotto With Pomegranate Wine.



Enjoy...

Oven Roasted Chatpate Chane and Almonds

This is one of my favorite munchies of all time. Back in India, I and my father enjoyed chatpate chane from a lariwalla every friday while watching Antakshari and Saregamapa on Zee Tv. I always wanted to make these chane at home but never got the chance, until recently. With this same recipe one can use any nuts like Almonds, Cashew, etc.., but never roast chane and nuts together because chana takes much less time to roast then the nuts.

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup Roasted Chana/Garbanzo
  
• 1 cup Almonds
  
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  
• 1-1/2 tsp Dhania-Jeera Powder
  
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice or (1/2 tsp Citric Acid)
  
• 1-1/2 tsp Sugar
  
• 1-1/2 tbsp Oil
  
• Salt to taste
  

Method:-

1. Preheat oven on 275f.

2. Mix all ingredients into the bowl.

3. Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. Ready to eat with your favorite Tv Show or movie ; ))

Enjoy...

Spinach and Bottle Gourd Handvo

Life is hectic and tiring these days with my 4-month old. The time passes by very fast, which leaves me hardly any time for the blog :((. But when he smiles, all the tiredness, all the fatigue goes away in an instant. Every morning I wake up thinking that today I am going to post at least a new recipe. I even make drafts but cannot fine tune them. Anyways enough with time problems, finally, I have one easy and quick recipe if you plan a little ahead.

Handvo is very popular Gujarati snack. It looks beautiful and tastes great, but basically it is lentil flour cake, which also smells very nice. It is perfect with tea, coffee, or cold drink. It is easy recipe for picnics or long trips. It stays in fridge for around a week. It is usually made with bottle gourd but could be substituted with squash. I used spinach and pigeon peas for a little more flavor. Traditionally, Handva flour is prepared with many types of lentils which are grounded and mixed, but in modern times, it is flour is readily available in Indian stores.

Ingredients:-

• 3 cups Handvo Flour, store bought
  
• 1 Medium Bottle Gourd, grated
  
• 2-1/2 cups Chopped Spinach
  
• 1/2 cup Pigeon Peas, boiled
  
• 3 cups Yogurt
  
• 3 tbsp Penuts
  
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  
• 2 tbsp Dhania-Jeera Powder
  
• 3 tbsp Green Chili-Ginger paste
  
• 2 tsp Red Chili Powder
  
• 2 tbsp Sugar
  
• 4 tbsp Sesame seeds
  
• 1-1/3 tsp Eno Fruit Salt
  
• 1-1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
  
• 1/2 cup Water
  
• Salt to taste
  

-- For Tadka

6 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
3-4 Curry Leaves



Method:-

1. In large bowl, mix handvo flour, yogurt, grated bottle gourd and water. Leave overnight to ferment.

2. Add green chili-ginger paste, turmeric, salt, sugar, dhania-jeera powder, penuts, pigeon peas, spinach, red chili powder and 1/4 cup water leave for 2-3 hours.

3. Preheat oven on 375 F.

4. In the mixture, add Eno and then add lemon juice so that it covers the Eno. Let it bubble and mix well lightly clockwise (in one direction).

5. Grease deep baking dish and pour handvo mix. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

6. Heat oil in small pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves.

7. Give tadka on top. And bake for 40-45 minutes.

8. Serve with tea, coffee, cold drinks, pickle or with any meal as a side dish.

Enjoy...

Tip: Please keep in mind if you have extra water, it will be okay but less water would be bad since handvo will end up dry.

Surti Khaman

Khaman is most popular Gujarati snack. Gujjus can't imagine Gujarati thali without Khaman as a side dish. One popular misunderstanding is khaman dhokla is one in the same thing, but it isn't. Main difference is Dhokla is made out of rice and urad daal, while Khaman is usually made of Chana Daal or Chana Daal flour. There are many varieties in Khaman but main two types are: Nylon Khaman and Vati Dal Khaman.

Nylone khaman is made with besan (Chick Pea flour)and is made instantly. Vati Dal Khaman is made with Chana dal, and it takes a litte more time to cook. Nylon khaman is mostly popular in North Gujarat, and Vati Dal Khaman is more popular in South-Gujarat. This recipe is taken from Surti version of Vati Dal Khaman, hence the name.


Ingredients:-

• 3 cups Chana Dal
  
• 4-5 tbsp Besan
  
• 1 cup Yogurt
  
• 2 cups Water
  
• 3 tbsp Green Chilli-Ginger paste
  
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves, grated
  
• 4-5 tbsp Sugar
  
• 1-1/2 tsp Eno Fruit Salt
  
• 3 tsp oil
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Cilantro, chopped
  

-- For Tadka

3 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1-2 Whole green Chilli
Pinch of salt

Method:-

1. Soak Chana Dal in water for 12 hours.

2. Soak besan and yogurt mix for 5-6 hours.

3. Grind soaked chana dal coarsely.

4. Mix coarsely-ground chana dal with besan and yogurt mix. Add green chilli paste, oil, salt, sugar, and garlic.

5. Leave this mixture in the sun for 7-8 hours for fermentation.

6. Take steamer and boil water on high.

7. Grease containers.

8. Add Eno and mix well.

9. Pour batter into the containers.

10. Steam Khaman for 20 minutes without pressure.

11. Open steamer after 10 minutes and let it cool for 3-4 minutes.

12. Cut khaman into squares.

-- For Tadka

1. Heat oil in pan.

2. Add mustard seeds, When they crackle,add green chilli and pinch of salt.

3. Give tadks to the khaman.

4. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and Serve with chutney and sev.


Enjoy...


Also check out my upcoming posts.



1.Spinach and Bottlegourd Hondvo




2.Oven Roasted Chatpate Chane and Almonds





3. Mughlai Corn Curry





Enjoy...

Fresh Corn Chevdo

This is my mom's one of the best recipe. She won first prize for this one in a side dish competition. This is a spicy corn dish. The inspiration for this was dry corn chevda available in market. As much as I love dry corn chevda, it is a little unhealthy because fried dried corn flakes. I use white corn but one can use sweet yellow corn as well. With sweet corn, there is no need for sugar. I think white corn gives it it better taste though.

Highlights of this dish are Sev and Milk. The milk make this side dish smooth, creamy, and helps it to cook fast. Sev helps in turning down heat from chevdo.

Ingredients:-

• 6 Fresh White Corn, grated
  
• 3 Medium potato, grated
  
• 4 tbsp Green Garlic, chopped
  
• 2 tbsp Ginger-Chilli Paste
  
• 1/4 tsp Sugar(Optional)
  
• 1 cup Milk
  
• 5-6 tbsp Oil
  
• 1/4 Mustard Seeds
  
• Pinch of Turmeric
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Sev
  
• Lemon Wedge
  
• Cilatro, chopped
  

Method:-

1. Heat oil, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add grated potatoes.

2. Cover pan with lid and let the potatoes cook for 3-4 minutes on mediun heat.

3. Add corn, ginger-chilli paste, salt, milk, and turmeric. Mix well.

4. Cover pan with lid again and cook chevdo for 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Stir frequently.

5. When chevdo is completely cooked, add sugar and mix well. Turn down the heat on low and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Take out chevdo in serving platter and sprinkle sev on top of chevdo.

7. Serve hot with lemon.

Enjoy...

This is my entry to Visual Treat Event hosted by Sanyukta.