Rice and Pasta

Grilled Veggie Sandwich

 A sumptous grilled veggie sandwich... herb garlic butter spread, a tomato onion spread and grilled zucchini. Toast the bread with the spread and a layer of mozzarella in the oven until the cheese melts and the turns golden brown. 



Feb 2013

Home-made Eggless Cheese Ravioli

I made cheese ravioli at home. My daughter helped me in the kitchen.. What a good way of making a cheesy recipe and keeping kids occupied.

Ingredients:
For Ravioli
  • All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
  • Warm water - 1 cup
  • Olive oil
  •  Ricotta cheese - 1 cup
  • Chopped basil leaves - 1 bunch 
Method: 
Mix the first 3 ingredients adding little water at a time. Once the dough comes together, knead with your palms for 10-12 mins. The dough becomes a small ball . Brush it with a lil' oil and keep it aside until ready to use.
Mix the cheese and basil and keep it aside

For the sauce: 
Diced tomatoes - 1 can
Fresh tomatoes - 1 chopped
Onions - 1 mediam - finely chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
Basil leaves - handful chopped

Method:
Heat butter in a pan. Add garlic, then add onions and saute until translucent. Then add fresh tomatoes. Once the tomatoes soften, add the can of diced tomatoes, salt, ground black pepper. Allow it boil. Add chopped basil leaves at the end...

Making the Ravioli :
Roll-out the dough on a flat surface. Divide the dough length wise. Place the cheese mixture in a section of the dough and roll over the other section and seal the ends with wet hands. I could not take a picture of this step in the process. Boil water in a large pan. Add salt. When the water boils, add the ravioli and cook until the ravioli comes up. It may take upto 2-3 minutes. You will see when the dough is cooked. 

Heat butter in a pan. Add the sauce. When the salt thickens a bit, add some heavy cream and add the ravioli. Allow it to cook for sometime and garnish with some basil leaves and any cheese. I added some broccolli as well so my daughter eats a serving of the vegetable. 

 

Thai basil fried rice


I am not a great fan of thai food. But I love the basil fried rice served in thai restaurants and so does my husband! Here is a very easy recipe to make this


Ingredients
Jasmine rice - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 21/2 cups
mushroom soy sauce - 1 tbsp (this is the preferred sauce, however I used the normal soy sauce)
brown sugar - 1 tbsp
lime juice -1 tbsp
crushed pepper powder - 1 tsp (usually white pepper powder is used, but I have used black pepper powder)
Crushed red chillies - 2 tbsps
Veggies (sliced mushroom, peppers - red, yellow and green)
Sliced onions - 1
Chopped garlic - 1 big clove
Fresh basil leaves - 15-20
Method
  • Wash the rice completely and cook in a rice cooker. The rice has to be very grainy. You may choose to alter the amount of water as desired to make the rice separated from each other. Once the rice is done, I usually add olive oil and poke it with a fork.
  • Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and pepper powder in a small bowl and keep it aside.
  • Heat olive oil in a large wok. Add the garlic, crushed red chillies and then sliced onions. Fry well for a minute and then add the veggies and fry well.
  • Add the sauce and mix. Add the cooked rice and mix well. 
  • Add the whole basil leaves and mix. Serve hot.


Vegetable Pulao
This is my husband's style of making pulao. He says he is not a good cook, but he is being modest :-) .....

Ingredients
Rice - 2 cups
Vegetables - 1
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Whole spices (cloves, dalchini, staranise, elaichi)
Cashewnuts - 10
Onion - 1
Ginger - 1"
Pudina leaves - 1 bunch
coriander leaves

Method
  • Heat oil in a pressure pan. Add the whole spices and fry for a few seconds. Then add cashews and fry until it turns golden brown.
  • Add onions, ginger and then coconut and fry well. Now add mint leaves, coriander leaves and fry well. Grind this mixture into a fine paste.
  • Heat oil in a pressure pan again. Add mustard seeds, jeera. Once it is done, add the vegetables and fry well. Then add the soaked and drained rice and fry well. Then add the paste and mix well.
  • Add salt to taste. Add water as twice as the rice and close the lid. Cook for 2 whistles.
  • Serve hot with cucumber raitha.

Vegetable Biryani


Ingredients
Basmati Rice -2 Cups
Vegetables - carrots, beans, peas, cauliflower, jalapenos, potato - 2 cups
mint leaves
green chillies - 5
tomatoes (cut into julians) - 2
cloves, cardomom, dalchini, bayleaves, and other whole spices


Method

  • Wash and keep the rice aside.
  • Grind together mint leaves, greenchillies and garlic.
  • Heat oil in a pan or pressure cooker. Add jeera, mustard. Once it splutters, add cashews, curry leaves and the whole spices
  • After a minute add the pudina paste and fry for a while.
  • Add tomatoes and fry. Add the vegetables and fry again.
  • Now add the rice and fry for a minute.
  • Add water to the rice (water proportion is slightly less than twice the rice) ...
  • Preheat oven at 350 and transfer the above misture into a baking pan or casserole. Bake for 45 minutes or untol done.
  • If baking is not an option, then pressure cook until 2 whistels.
  • Serve hot with Cucumber raitha or any vegetable gravy.

Methi Pulao

Ingredients
Methi leaves - cleaned and cut. - 1 cupBasmati Rice - 1 cup
Ginger
Garlic
Chopped Onions - 1 cup
tomatoes - 1
Method
  • Wash and drain the water from the rice and keep it aside.
  • Add oil in a pressure pan and add jeera. Once it splutters, add whole spices and fry for a minute.
  • Then add ginger,garlic and green chillies' paste and fry for a minute.
  • then add onions and fry till golden brown. now Add methi leaves and fry until the oil starts separating.
  • Add tomatoes. then add rice and fry for a while.
  • Add double the quantity of water as that of rice and cook in a pressure cooker.



Masala Bath


Ingedients

Rice -2 cups
Coconut - 1 cup
Dhaniya - 1 tbsp
Pudina
green chillies - 4
Ginger
Garlic
Vegetables (carrot, potatoes, peas, Lima beans...) - 2 cups




Method
  • Wash, drain water and keep rice aside.
  • Grind together all the other ingredients except vegetables to a fine paste.
  • Heat oil in a pressure pan. Add jeera, mustard, curry leaves and cashewnuts. Once they are done, add whole spices such as dalchini, cloves, elaichi.
  • Add the ground paste and fry for sometime.
  • Add rice and fry for a minute. Then add double the water and cover the lid. Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
  • Serve hot with raitha.

Chana Pulao - A Variation


There are many many ways of making pulaos. One of my variation is using chana topped with fried potatoes.

Ingredients

  • Basmati rice
  • Onions - 1 Sliced
  • Tomatoes- 1 Sliced
  • Whole garam masala (cinnamon, bayleaf, cloves, star anise )
  • Chickpeas - soaked overnight
  • Potatoes - thinly sliced

Method. 

  • Heat butter and oil in a pan. 
  • Add whole garama masala and jeera. When it starts to splutter, add sliced onions and green chillies. Saute until golden brown. Then add tomatoes. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add salt to taste
  • Add garam masala or any pulao masala that is store-brought.
  • Then add chickpeas and rice. Saute for a couple of mins until the oil coats the rice completely. 
  • Then add less than twice the water and cook. I prefer cooking this in rice cooker.
  • In the same pan. add sliced potatoes and fry until golden brown.
  • While serving, add these crisped potatoes on the rice and serve.


Pasta - Indian style


Ingredients

  • Penne pasta
  • Veggies - chopped
  • Jeera
  • Jeera powder - 1/2 tbsp
  • Dhaniya powder - 1/2 tbsp
  • Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp
  • Italian dry herbs - 1 tbsp
  • Vinegar 
  • Soy sauce
  • tomatoes chopped - 1 big
  • Onions - chopped
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Cheese

Method

  • Boil water and add salt. First add the veggies and allow them to cook until they are cooked but have a crunch.
  • Cook the pasta in the same water, Al-dante..  
  • Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera, onions and fry well... When done add the veggies and tomatoes
  • Add all the other ingredients except cream and cheese.
  • Add salt to taste (remember, you cooked pasta in salt water)
  • Then add the pasta and mix well...
  • Then add the cream and bring one boil.
  • Then add cheese and serve hot.

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