Tofu Curry Pasta

I am a big fan of Italian pasta.I invariably order pastas in most Italian restaurants that I visit in the US ! I love the smell of cheese melting over the hot pasta flavored with basil leaves...whoa what an aroma !! Nonetheless,its not possible to have this very often as it is loaded with calories. All those who want to enjoy pasta without those extra calories will love this protein rich pasta dish ! Its called the Tofu Curry Pasta ! Tofu as you would know is a soy bean product loaded with protein.Its a staple food for the Japanese.Off late there has been a lot of controversy regarding the health benefits of Tofu as most of the modern day Tofu is processed containing GMO which is unhealthy according to recent researches. The Japanese prepare tofu traditionally using fermentation process and hence is nutritious but modern day tofu is not prepared this way.Hence I prefer to use organic non GMO tofu which will eliminate the health concerns of using tofu !! I am touching on the nutritional aspects of food as it is as important as the taste itself ! Now onto the recipe...
Ingredients

1/2 cup organic tofu
1/2 cup minced onions
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup green peas
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp cilantro leaves
1 tsp paprika or red pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 cup cooked fusilli pasta
Salt to taste

Preparation

Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the cumin seeds and turmeric powder.After the cumin seeds splutter,add the chopped onions and salt.Cook till onions become tender. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for a few minutes.

Add the shredded carrots and peas and cook for few more minutes.

Now,add the minced tofu and cook well until soft.You may sprinkle some water if the gravy becomes very dry.

Now add red paprika powder and chopped tomatoes and cook on a high flame till the tomatoes are completely mushy. Transfer it onto a plate and garnish with cilantro leaves.Sprinkle some cheese on top .

Now take the cooked fusilli pasta and mix it well with the tofu curry.

The protein rich tofu curry pasta is ready to be served hot !

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Pumpkin Spice Pie

Its officially fall time in the US and its literally raining pumpkins here ! I just picked a pumpkin while shopping today,could not resist the urge to make a pumpkin pie;a traditional fall dessert.I am already in the mood for halloween :)
Ok now back to business ! Basically there are 2 types of pumpkins,the bigger one is used for carvings/decorations during halloween and also for savories and soups(it usually has more fibre).The ones that are used for desserts are called SUGAR PUMPKINS ! These are the small pumpkins that taste sweet. So quickly onto the recipe.....
Ingredients

For the pie crust

1 cup All purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter
3-4 tbsp cold water
1/2 cup crushed graham crackers or ginger cookies(This forms the base for the pie crust)
1 tsp salt

For the filling

2 cups pumpkin puree
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk(I made it at home)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp clove powder
1 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation

Cut the pumpkin into 2 halves and remove the fibre and seeds(The seeds are nutritious and can be used for later use).

Place them on a greased baking tray(cut side facing down)and bake it in oven at 400F for 35 minutes.

Scoop out the baked pumpkin flesh once cooled and make it into a fine puree with the help of a spoon.Meanwhile mix all the dry ingredients for the pie crust and prepare the dough.Its important that the pie crust ingredients are all cold.The prepared pie crust dough should be wrapped in a plastic sheet and refrigerated for 30 minutes. This makes the pie crust crisp when baked.

Preheat the oven to 400F and start working on the filling and pie crust. Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a vessel and prepare a nice batter.I added some peanut butter to the filling mixture but its entirely optional. Now roll out the pie crust dough into 9 inch diameter(or according to the size of your baking tray) and prepare the crust as shown below.Place the crust in a 9 inch baking tray.

Cover the bottom of the pie crust with graham crackers or ginger cookies.This is essential since the pie filling when poured directly into the crust may make the pie soggy and soft.In order to give the pie a hard base this filling is required.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake it in an oven at 400F for 15 minutes and reduce the temperature to 350F and bake it for another 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and perform the tooth pick test to see if the pie has baked well. Allow to cool and cut the pie into your desired shape and refrigerate well before serving.

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Fruit & Nut Cake

Christmas is just a couple of months away and what better than baking your own cake for Christmas ! Personally Christmas reminds me of the delicious fruit cakes that I get to have from my neighbours back home during my childhood days.
Fruit cakes are perfect for gifting too,they can be prepared well ahead of time, refrigerated and gifted during the festive season.Since most fruit cakes incorporate rum or brandy(alcohol),they age well with time and the flavor matures just in time for the festival.Since I am making this cake for everyone in my family including elders who are very specific about the ingredients that goes into the cake,I am sharing an alcohol/egg free version of the fruit cake here. Nonetheless believe me the taste of the fruit cake is definitely not compromised !
Ingredients
1 cup nuts(broken cashew,sliced almonds,pista)
1 cup dry fruits(raisins,prunes,cranberry,apricots)
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 a cup plain white sugar
1/3 cup of almond powder(I used MTR Badam drink mix)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp cranberry syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preparation

Take 2 cups of water in a deep bottom vessel and bring it to boil.Drop the nuts and dry fruits into the boiling water and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Now add the butter to the nut and fruit mixture and stir in till the butter melts into the mixture.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F or 180C before you start proceeding to the cake batter.

Add the rest of the ingredients one by one and keep stirring continuously in order to get a smooth batter.Pour the cake batter into a greased 9 inch baking tray and place it on the lower rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the baking tray and test the cake with a tooth pick to see if it has baked completely.(The tooth pick should easily come out without sticking).

Slice the fruit cake once cooled into pie shaped pieces or squares according to your preference.

Store the pieces in a nice air tight container and refrigerate.The fruit and nut cake tastes good when served cold !

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Schezwan Noodles

Schezwan noodles are one of my favourite Indo-Chinese noodles.You can make them with any vegetable readily available like cabbage,peppers,carrots,sprouts,french beans,shallots etc
Like I mentioned earlier in one of my blogs,you can use the home made schezwan sauce for this recipe ,your total cooking time is significantly reduced if your sauce is ready to use. And now to the recipe,here it goes !
Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 cup noodles
3 tsps schezwan sauce(Look for this recipe in my recipe index)
1 cup sliced peppers(red,green and yellow)
1 cup spring onion or shallots( just the white part)
1 cup julienne carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
A dash of salt to taste

Preparation

Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the minced garlic and ginger.Saute for a few seconds. Now add all the vegetables one after the other and cook until all the veggies are semi crisp.

Now add the schezwan sauce ,soy sauce and vinegar and cook for a few more minutes till the sauce is well incorporated into the veggies.

Meanwhile bring water to a rolling boil in a deep bottomed container and add a pinch of salt and sesame oil.Drop in the noodles and cook untill you notice the broth raising up.

Now turn off the heat and strain the noodles with a colander.Transfer the noodles into the sauce pan and give a nice stir to mix it with the cooked vegetables.
Garnish the schezwan noodles with spring onions on top.
Yummy schezwan noodles is ready to be served !

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Schezwan Sauce

The 'Schezwan Sauce' serves as a base sauce for most of the Indo-Chinese recipes such as Schezwan Paneer,Schezwan Noodles,Schezwan Fried Rice,Schezwan baby corns/potatoes and so many more.Most grocers sell these sauces by the bottle but they can be easily made at home too.They come in handy when made in a large quantity and stored for use in the above said dishes. Here's a quick look at the recipe.

Ingredients
5 long red chillies
1 cup spring onion or shallots( just the white part)
1 large tomato
1 bunch chopped corriander leaves
3 tbsps minced garlic
3 tbsps corn oil/sesame oil/peanut oil(I prefer corn oil)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsps brown sugar
A dash of salt to taste

Soak the red chillies in hot water for 30 minutes and pulse the red chillies in a mixer along with the water.Now add the diced tomato to this red chillie mixture and pulse it again to form a thick puree.The sauce should be chunky and not very mushy.

Preparation
Add 3 tbsps of corn oil in a deep bottomed pan and add the spring onions,minced garlic and chopped corriander leaves. Saute for a few minutes until the onions become tender.
Add a pinch of salt to hasten the cooking time of onion. For best results use the white portion of the spring onion and reserve the green portion for garnishing.

Add the red chillie and tomato purée into the pan and cook for a few minutes.As soon as you notice the bubbles on top of the cooked mixture, add soy sauce and vinegar and keep stirring the sauce untill it starts leaving the sides of the pan and the oil seperates.Now add the brown sugar.Brown sugar mellows down the spiciness of the sauce and balances the taste. At this stage the sauce is ready.Turn off the heat now.

Transfer the contents in a glass container along with the oil and store it in the refrigerator for future use.You can make this sauce in a large quantity and store it for a long time.Its important to use oil generously in order to preserve this sauce for a long time in refrigerator.

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Schezwan Paneer

Indo-Chinese dishes are in vogue in most of the Indian restaurants these days. The Indian tweak to these Chinese recipes add up spice,flavor and color to the dishes. One such hit Indo-Chinese dish is our very own 'Schezwan Paneer'. It's a mouth watering dish and my personal favorite too !!

Ingredients
1 cup cubed paneer
1 large red onion (chopped)
2 tbsps olive oil
2 cups chopped green,red and yellow peppers
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
3 tsps schezwan sauce( Look for this recipe in my recipe index)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 cup water mixed with 1 tsp cornflour
A dash of salt to taste

Preparation
Add 2 tbsps of olive oil in a saucepan and shallow fry the cut paneer cubes on both the sides until golden brown.

Now remove the paneer and transfer to a plate.In the same oil,put onion,peppers,ginger-garlic paste and saute until the bell peppers are semi crisp.Add a little salt so that the onions cook faster.

Now add 1 tsp soy sauce and 3 tsps of schezwan sauce and cook on a medium flame until the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan.

Now add the fried paneer cubes and the water corn flour mixture and cook till a thick gravy is obtained.You can add water further based on the consistency you prefer.Finally add salt according to taste.

Turn off the heat and transfer the dish into a bowl and decorate with spring onions on top. And the yummy schezwan paneer is ready to be served !

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Vegetable Indo-Chinese Noodles - A Healthier Version

Indo-Chinese noodles are very popular among the Indian noodle lovers.I am no exception to that but I always wondered if they are healthy to be eaten frequently since every Chinese noodle dish invariably contains Ajino-moto and soy sauce(which has a combination of not so healthy ingredients too).Hence I am always skeptical when it comes to making Chinese noodles at home. I then decided to try an alternative and a much more healthy version of the indo-chinese noodles without compromising on the original taste and have come up with that recipe here. So here's a guilt free version of the ever popular indo-chinese noodles !

Ingredients
1 cup cooked wheat noodles(tossed in olive oil)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Julienne carrots
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup sliced onion(length wise)
1/2 cup sliced green peppers(length wise)
5-10 broccoli florets
2 tbsp peanut butter(A replacement for ajino moto)
2 tbsp organic plum or prune puree(A replacement for soy sauce)
1 tsp green chillie(either slit or sauced)
A dash of pepper and salt to taste
Note :
1) Peanut butter gives an earthy flavor to the noodles.
2)Plum/prune sauce give a tangy/sweet taste effectively replacing soy sauce.

Preparation
Add 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and sautee the onions and garlic until golden brown. Add a little salt so that the onions cook faster. Now add the carrots,green peppers,broccoli and cook until semi crisp.I like the vegetables to be slightly raw in my noodles to get a good bite of it in the noodles. Now make a well in the center of the saucepan and add the plum/prune puree,peanut butter and green chilli sauce and saute them in the oil for a few minutes. Combine this with the rest of the vegetables and saute for a few more minutes. Now add the cooked noodles into the sauce pan and combine well with the rest of the ingredients. Finally add salt and pepper according to taste.A healthy guilt free version of the original Indo-Chinese noodles is ready to be served !

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