Cilantro Pesto Presto Pasta!

I was very reluctant to try out this combo, but I did give it a try and we liked it. We really liked it. Its a combination of Cilantro (instead of parsley/basil), cashewnuts(pine nuts traditionally) and to give it more zing, I added chopped Jalopenos (the ones you get in a jar, pickled ones). All you spice lovers, give it a try and you wont regret!

I havent been in the blogging world for a while, so I am not sure, if somebody has already tried this combo.

Well, since its not Aug 10th yet, I can send this for Mallugirl's Summer Express Cooking Event. Thanks Mallugirl for the event. I like this one!

Anyway, here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup of pasta

1 handful of cilantro

1/4 cup cashews

4 fat cloves of garlic

Peas, Baby bella mushrooms and Bell pepper (any veggies of your choice)

10 pickled Jalopenos

6 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

Dried parsley and oregano to sprinkle

Method:

1. Cook pasta in water accordingly. Meanwhile prepare the pesto.


2. For the pesto: Grind cashews, garlic, and cilantro in a blender/mixie/food processor.


3. Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the bell pepper,mushrooms and peas.


4. Add the ground mixture for the pesto and fry till it changes color a little bit.


5. Add salt and then the cooked pasta.


6. Add the dried herbs and the chopped jalopenos and mix it to coat. Thats it


7. Dont forget to turn off the stove.

You can add more olive oil if you think its too dry for you. Of course, I have not added any cheese and it is totally upto you. Grated parmesan might be good on this one.

The whole meal can be done in under 30 minutes from start to finish!

Eggless Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:

Milkmaid/Condensed Milk--1 can
Maida--1.5 cups
Butter --3/4 cup
Cocoa- 4 tbsp heaped
Coke-200ml
Baking Powder--1tsp
Baking Soda--1tsp
CoolWhip--1 tub
Cherry Pie Filling Can-1

Method:

Lightly grease and flour 2 baking round pans.
Preheat oven to 300F
Melt Butter and add condensed milk
Sift Maida, baking powder, soda and cocoa
Mix the above mix with condensed milk alternating with coke till they are over.
Immediately divide the mix into 2 round pans and bake for 30-40 minutes


For assembling, put half of the cherry pie filling and half of the whipped cream on the bottom layer. Close with the top layer and repeat the cherry layer and whipped cream layer. u can cover this whole thing with grated chocolate if you want and decorate it with cherries.

Karela Curry

After a long break, I finally thought its time for me to post something. So here is one of my favorite karela recipes which I like to eat with plain white rice and also with curd rice. This is a very simple dish and I just cant get enough of it. I don't do anything to the karela like soaking it in salt/turmeric etc. for it to lose its bitterness. I fry(with 2 tsp of oil, which I use for tampering) it quite well and its not that bitter when cooked. If you dont like the bitterness, then you can try the same with the chinese karela which is not bitter at all.


Ingredients:

Karela : 4-5 Medium sized ones, cut into small pieces
Coconut : 6 tbsp
Fried Gram : 5 tblp
Red Chilly Powder : 1 tbsp
Salt : 1 tbsp or according to your taste
Tamarind paste : 1 tsp
Oil, Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal and Channa Dal for tampering

Method:

1. Put oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. After they sputter, add chana dal and urad dal. Once they turn brown, add the finely cut karela.

2. Cook the karela till it becomes soft. If you are in a hurry, you can add salt at this point to speed up the process.

3. Meanwhile, grind the fried gram, coconut, red chilly powder into a fine paste with water.

4. After the karela is done, add the ground paste, tamarind paste and the required amount of water. Once it comes to a boil, the curry is ready to eat. Don't forget to turn off the stove. :)


Variation: You can add curry leaves for grinding for a different taste.

Meme- About Me,Me and Only Me

Woa! Did I get tagged?

My all time favorite picture which always brings a smile on my face!.

I was: tagged by Asha of Foodie's Hope. Thanks Asha for tagging me.

I am from: Mysore.

I am thinking about: buying some real estate in Mysore.

I said : give me a break!

I want to : work full time and also be a good mom and wife and cook and........

I wish : we bought a site in india 5 years ago!

I regret : about eating a lot while pregnant.

I hear : the monitor(baby) buzzing.

I am : into browsing the internet for deals.

I dance : when my son wants me to, while watching The Wiggles on TV.

I sing : when I am alone, listening to music.

I cry : all the time.

I am not : a movie person.

I am with my hands: typing this meme....:)

I write : shopping list for groceries.

I confuse : amisha patel with preity zinta.

I need : to send my son to preschool.

I value: my "alone" time.

I love: browsing the internet, listening to some 80's and 90's music, watching my toddler learn new things and cooking, of course.

I think: people should start using coupons to save on everyday things.

I hope: happiness and peace to one and all!

I tag: Karthi Kannan of Kitchenmate.

Wow that was fun!

Thanks for reading :)

Pineapple Cherry Squares!

This dessert is supposed to be prepared in a broad dish and each serving is a square containing a cherry! This is what my sister calls it. This is her recipe. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

Crushed Marie Biscuits--1 cup
Pudding (Kraft/Hunt's/Jello) Any flavor that you like-2 containers
Powdered coconut--2-3Tsp
Pineapple cut into very small pieces or Crushed pineapple can or Dole pineapple fruit cups

Method:

1. In a deep bowl, put half of the crushed wafers. Make it an even layer.

2. Add the coconut and spread evenly.

3. Put the pineapple pieces evenly on top of the coconut layer.

4. Spread the pudding on top of the pineapples. You can make your own pudding, but since I did not have any pudding mixes handy, I just used the ready made pudding.

5. Put some slivered almonds on top.

6. Repeat steps 1-4.

8. Top it with cherries, either fresh or maraschino bottled cherries.

9. Cover it up and put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. This allows the wafers to soften and they all blend well into one another.

10. Cut it into squares and serve.


Variations: You can use Graham crackers/Nilla wafers/Stauffer's Animal crackers instead of Marie Biscuits. Nuts are also optional. Instead of pudding, you can use ice cream or even yogurt. Whatever milk based stuff you have in hand, you can add it.

There isn't a single person so far who hasn't asked for a second serving of this when I have made it!. You gotta eat it to believe it!

This is my entry for JFI-Milk, hosted by Vineela.

Pasta with Homemade Sauce and Breadsticks

Ingredients for the sauce:

Chunky crushed tomatoes with basil and oregano: 1 lb 12 oz can
Rasam Powder: 1 tsp (Yes I said Rasam Powder!!!)
Salt: 1 tsp
Garlic: 10-12 cloves
Bell Peppers/Capsicum: 1 medium sized cut into medium strips
Mozzarella cheese shredded: to taste
Oil for saute`ing

Ingredients for Pasta:
Elbow shaped pasta: 1 lb
Water for boiling

Ingredients for the Breadsticks:
Pillsbury Garlic Breadsticks found in your grocer's refrigerated section.

Method:

1. Boil pasta in water till done according to your taste. Drain water and keep aside.

2. Heat a pan and put little olive oil. Saute the garlic and bell peppers. Then add the chunky crushed tomatoes can and let it come to a boil.

3. Put the rasam powder and salt. Stir well.

4. Add the pasta and mix well.

5. Add the cheese and mix lightly and turn off the heat.

6. Just before serving, sprinkle some parmesan cheese.

7. Bake the garlic breadsticks according to the instructions on the box.

The rasam powder gives this dish a nice Indian kick. I guess you could even add a little jeera/coriander powder. I was trying this for the first time and I did not want to get too much of an Indian taste. One could also use fresh tomatoes and crush some of them and blend some of them to get that chunky crushed tomatoes texture.

Tri-Colored Spiral Parathas

This is a very good way of getting veggies into kids. This involves mixing 3 different doughs. I have used spinach and carrot. You can also use peas, beans, beets, etc. pureed, mixed into the wheat flour while mixing the dough for making parathas. I have not used oil while mixing the dough and I just used very few drops of oil while roasting it on the tava. It is a low calorie food and very nutritious.

I was pureeing veggies for my kid and then I thought why shouldn't I mix it with the dough to make the chapathi more colorful. Recently, I was reading about swiss cake rolls in a cookbook and when I saw the cross section, I thought this will make a good colorful paratha and I tried it. I liked the way it looked and of course the way it tasted. Its hard to get spinach into kids. But this way, I am sure anybody will like it. Its a feast both for the eye as well as the tummy.


Ingredients:

Orange Dough:
Cooked and pureed carrots: 4 tbsp
Wheat Flour: 1 cup
Salt: to taste

Green Dough:
Cooked and pureed Spinach: 4 tbsp
Wheat Flour: 1 cup
Salt: to taste

White Dough:
All purpose flour: 1 cup
Salt: to taste


Method:

1. For each dough, mix the ingredients given with water if needed. Puree's will have water. So be careful when adding more water.

2. Roll each dough into a circle/rectangle. Rectangle will have no waste.

3. Place the green circle/rectangle at the bottom. Put the white circle/rectangle on the top of it and then put the orange circle/rectangle . Press the circle/rectangle a little bit.


4. Now roll this sandwiched circle/rectangle as shown.

5. Cut this log into the required number of pieces.

5. Take each piece and flatten it and roll it into a circle.

6.Put it on the tava and cook it.

Note: Initially if you roll each dough into a circle, then when u roll the doughs, except for the central part, the sides will have less dough in them. That is why I said you should roll it into squares or rectangles.

I made the following parathas by cutting the sandwiched circle/rectangle along the circumference/edge. Or should I say, I drew a concentric circle and removed the outer part. I took the outer part and I cut along the small side and rolled it tight and then cut it crosswise and rolled it. This way you get a lot more spirals of the 3 colors. The last picture has the cooked paratha with more spirals with Eggplant and moong wadi subji.

This is my entry for VCC Q2-2006 , JFI-Flour and Independence Day Food Parade .