Pasta

I love experimenting with food. I cannot use the recipe thoroughly and even if I follow the recipes, I usually tend to change it during the process. I don't know why I do it every time. May be because basically I am the kind of person who always tries to find out different ways to do a thing than the regular set of rules or procedure. And in food I generally would try to change to make it simpler and easier so that it suits my taste buds without actually spending too much time in the kitchen. Another reason may probably be because my recipes are never planned in advance. I usually cook whatever I feel like eating at that time unless I am expecting guests.
I had a close friend visiting me last night and she actually loves pasta the way I make it.
Here is how I made pasta last night:

Pasta

Penne Pasta-250g
Beans - 50g
Carrot - 50g
Cabbage - 50g
Mushroom - 50g
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Tomato-2 medium sized
Garlic - 10 cloves
Cooking Oil - 4tsp
Salt- 3tsp
Pepper -1/2tsp
Oregano-1/2tsp
Chilly flakes-1/2tsp

For the white sauce:
Milk - 2 cups
Butter - 75g
Cornflour - 4tsp
Melt the butter in a pan. Then add cornflour to it. Let it cook for 2mins. Remove from heat. Add this to 1 cup of milk and shake well. Keep aside

Finely chop onions, beans, carrots, cabbage and mushrooms.
Grind the Tomatoes and garlic cloves together into a smooth paste.
Boil 4 cups of water and add the chopped vegetables to it except the onion.
When the vegetables are half cooked, remove from heat and drain out excess water.
Heat 8 cups of water in a vessel. Add 1 tsp oil and 1/2 tsp salt to this. When the water comes to boil add the pasta. Let it cook for 15mins or till done. Remove from heat and drain out water.
In a pan heat 2tsp oil and saute the onions. Add the chopped vegetables after a while.
Add the tomato garlic paste to it. Cook for 5mins stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, chilly flakes and oregano to this. When the tomatoes are well cooked, add the pasta and mix well on the heat. Cook for 5mins. Add the white sauce mixture to this and 1 cup water. Let it simmer for sometime.
Serve hot with garlic bread or any bread of choice.
I toast the brown bread and pat it with a lot of butter.
Last night I used the regular white bread toasted using salt, garlic paste and butter instead of ready made garlic bread and we had a hearty dinner.

Snacktime

When I was in school, it was very common to visit people at their homes. Those weren't days when you would need to call someone before going to their place. A friend's mother used to make this and I liked it a lot during those days. I have memories of buying this from stalls during Durga Puja too.
Although I never asked anyone how to make this but have tried it on my own several times since I got married. This also happens to be my most frequent recipe for a sunday snack or when I have friends coming over to spend the evening and I don't want to spend much time cooking.

Egg Devil

Ingredients:
Eggs(hardboiled) - 6
Potatoes (bolied) -2
Onion-1 finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Salt-1/2tsp or as per taste
Cornflour - 2tsp
Bread crumbs-2tsp
Spice Mix- Take a pinch of each of the following:
Pepper, red chilly powder, coriander powder,
turmeric powder, cumin powder and garm masala powder.
Oil for frying
Method:
Mash the potatoes. In a pan heat 2 tsp oil. Saute the onions. Add the mashed potatoes and fry for sometime. To this add the ginger garlic paste, salt, pepper, red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and garm masala powder. Mix while frying till done.
Let the mixture cool.
Cut the eggs into 2 halves. Take one piece of the egg and cover it with the mixture. Spread the mixture evenly over the egg.
In a flat plate mix the cornflour and bread crumbs. Roll the egg balls over this mixture lightly.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the balls till the color changes to reddish brown.
Garnish with thinly sliced onions and coriander leaves. Serve hot

Note: Minced meat is also used for covering the eggs, however this is a quicker and much easier version of Egg Devil

Quick Chocolate Mousse

The other day when my little one said that he wants to eat chocolate mousse, I thought of trying something that's healthy as well as quick and easy to make. I experimented with what I already had at home and following is my own innovation:

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:
Britannia Marie Biscuits- 15pcs
Chocolate Powder- 8 heaped Tbsps
Butter- 350gms (Preferably fresh white butter)
Sugar- Tbsps
Walnuts, cream and cherries
Method:
Grind the Marie biscuits and sugar till finely powdered. In a bowl blend butter and chocolate powder. Add the sugar and biscuit powder to this and whip till all the ingredients blend into a fine consistency.
Pour the batter into pudding moulds or small dessert bowls. Decorate with walnuts or cream and cherries. Refrigerate for around 1/2 an hour and serve cold.
The best is to use just one of these for the topping. Although, I sometimes combine cherries and cream but have never used walnuts and cream together. I usually use either of these.
I recently made this for a kids party that I hosted and the children seemed to love it. So I am happy. :-)

From the Regular Kitchen

A few of my friends have been telling me to post my recipes on my blog. Being the lazy bum that I am, I never thought of giving it a try until now. Here comes my first recipe. The recipe is my all time favorite "Aloo Posto" the way I make it.

Aloo Posto

Ingredients:
Potatoes (boiled)- 4 large or 6 medium sized
Posto or Khus khus - 50gms
Dried Red chilly- 4
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Oil- 2tbsp (Mustard oild Prefered)
Salt - 1 tsp or according to taste
Red Chilly powder according to taste
Water - 2 cups
Method:
Soak the posto (khuskhus) in water for about 2-3 hours then grind to a paste.
If you want it to be quicker you can use hot water to soak the posto and let it soak for 1/2 an hour to save time. Cut the potatoes into 2inch cubes.
In a pan heat the mustard oil , then add the whole red chilly and mustard seeds to crackle.
Add the potatoes and cook for around 2 mins adding salt as per taste
Add the Posto (khuskhus) paste and mix well with potatoes. Let it cook for another 2 mins. Then add the red chilly powder and water. Let it cook for 15 mins. Remove from heat and add 1/4 tsp mustard oil and mix.
This tastes best with steamed rice. However, since I want to relish the taste, I usually eat this with roti or chapati. A must try since it is easy to cook.