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.

Mother's Day

It was just another day. As usual, called home and spoke to mom and dad like I normally do. When I picked up the day's newspaper it was full of Mother's Day articles and then it struck me that May 10 was being celebrated as Mother's day. It was Mother's Day and the irony was my Mom was not made to feel any special than other days. :(

A lot of things crossed my mind and some thoughts lingered for a while. I debated whether I should call her up again and wish her "A Happy Mothers Day". Well, I decided against it finally. I just don't need to wish her only on such occassions - do I? I always wish her lots of love and luck, health and happiness. Even when I am not with her, there is not a single moment when I do not think of my mother. I don't let a single day pass without talking to my mother...mummy as I call her. During our growing up years Mothers Day concept was not such a hype. Infact I didn't even know such a day existed till I was in school - I mean that's an honest confession. :D

My Mother- Mummy as I call her -In my life she has always been the guiding star, someone who would stay awake throughout the night to take care of me whenever I was ill, someone who made sure I have everything I ever wished for. Of course, I have had my own share of arguments and fights with her. Times when I wished she wasn't there to nag me all the time. There were times when I thought, had she not been there I could have done certain things.

Those were the days of youth and freedom. The carefree days when you just don't have time to think about anything in life. When parents become low priority as compared to friends. Rather everything else in life takes over the most importat thing ever- Your Parents. We do not realise their importance then or perhaps we do- but we don't know how to handle it.

Anyways, coming back to the point. My mother has been the epitome of strength and perseverance in my life. I have never seen her cry or being rude to anyone. I don't think, I ever heard my mother raising her voice and talking to people. I am just the opposite though. :)
Never did she ever talk ill about anyone or get into gossips in the neighbourhood. During my growing up years Mummy was mostly busy in taking care of the family. Looking back - my memories are of mummy cooking for us, teaching us or playing badminton with us. Like other moms she never came to the bus stop to drop us for school. May be, I was lucky that the bus stop was half a kilometre across the road from my house. And half a kilometre wasn't really a distance in those times. May be she just didn't have enough time to do so- what with the four of us to get ready for school or may be by doing that she made sure we become independent and responsible individuals when we grow up. Which I can proudly say I am.

Mom is an extremely good cook and everyone in the neighbourhood turned to her for her recipes, be it regular food or delicacies. She is known for her culinary skills.
Mom is also too good at stitching and knitting. I still remember the many appreciations by family and friends on the embroidered bed covers, curtains and table covers she used to make. Till I came to college most of my dresses were stitched by her. I have fond memmories of how aunties used to call me and see my dresses which were of course tailor made by Mommy. During winters neighbourhood aunties would call me to have a look at the designs on my sweaters. I was proud then and I am proud now MA!

I can go on telling endless tales about mom and my journey so far but all I wish right now and pray to god for now- is that "May he give her all the happiness and strength she deserves and may she have a happy and peaceful life!"

Friends

Last few months have been kind of a Rejuvenation - in terms of spirits.

Sunita called up out of the blue and said she is in India. It was like a rush of adrenaline pumping through the heart to hear her after so many years...it seemed ages and actually it was! 5 years is a long time isn't it?
She is a school friend. We were good friends in school and then we lost touch. Dad was transfered and we moved to Jamshedpur. I heard she got married and all, through some of the friends I was in touch with. Then one fine day, as I walked the streets of Delhi....I thought I saw her. It was a far cry to find someone you know in Delhi considering the place I come from and more over considering that I had no idea where she is. I knew her family is still in Hazaribag but nothing much...nor did I ever try to find much about her- that is what is special about teenage - you keep falling in and out of friendship and school friends soon take a back seat once you are out of school. I had a gut feeling it's her so I returned to catch up with her as we crossed path with each other in the opposite directions. I called "Sunita." She stopped and turned. ...and then said "Sonia?"
We were in the middle of the road and honestly, I didnt feel much bonding with her then. We just exchanged our phone numbers and parted promising to call. I don't remember who called up first, but yes-we revived our friendship from then on and became really close. We started visiting each other, shopping together and sharing everything with each other. It was like we were friends forever and this time the friendship was stronger and matured. But then she moved out of the country.
After 5 years, in December I met her in Ranchi as she was there too and I was scheduled to go there. But the best part was the time spent with her when she came to Delhi in January. It was really a pleasure to sit and chat with her and it seemed we wouldnt be able to have enough time to catch up on our lives so far.....
I still wish she was here and we could share so many things and have fun like the good old days.

Last tuesday, Chandrani called up to say she is in Delhi and would leave by evening the same day.
Chandrani happens to be my friend from college days. I have memories of sharing our crushes and heartbreaks and love stories and discussing about boys ;-) bunking classes, night outs, hostel life, movies and magazines, icecream and food, scooty races during college holidays. Riding our two wheelers through the streets of Jamshedpur. I met her after 9 years and it felt like ever since. Time just flew....we lost track of time.....we craved for more as hours passed by. The old days seemed like "Once upon a time...." tales that we used to hear as kids. It is strange how we were craving for more time now, time- which never seemed important during those days...a phone call and you are there....even if you don't call up you can still visit anytime.. Time was not as important as it seemed now when I met her after so many years. This is what time and distance does to your relationships...excitement and wait.....there are things to share.......infact there is so much that you never seem to complete all that you wanted to talk about.

I was living and re-living my good old days, days long gone by....memories that had taken a back stage in the tale of life, I had covered a long distance in time....and this was my past. As I lived each moment now, I was filled with varied emotions....The memories seemed like a delicious piece of cake and I wished I could eat it bit by bit so as to let the taste last longer. And, as I took the last bit, like the topping on the cake was another call- Manjery.
Manjery came a week later and we had fun.....went to all the malls close by...went to all the stores with the board "Sale" - very typical of her.
came across Manjery when she joined my team at work....she was an intelligent and qualified girl, plain and simple, hesitant and shy. Gradually she did change a bit - all for the good though -- and I am happy for her.
We liked each other and shared a comfort level. We went to places after work, shopping-window shopping, eating joints and restaurants. Both of us were foodies so we explored all the retaurants of Sec 18 Noida that existed then. We were equally passionate about chocolates... and I still remember the frequent trips to the closest from office- Nirula's for their Truffle pastry and Hot Chocolate Fudge. Whatever be the weather, there was no stopping us from going to Sec 18. A weekly visit was a must...whether you shop or window shop..whether your purse is full or empty.
Our friendship at work grew and moved to the personal sphere, to home and family, through opinions and discussions, thoughts and wishes, to personal joys and sorrows . We groomed and nursed our friendship to one that reached where we are now - A Lifetime.
Even though we are in two different cities, we still find time to catch up, update each other about life. She is the only girl to date with whom I discuss about work and office and crib about them if I feel like, without a seconds thought. She is the one who has been a part of my life through my hardships. In the most difficult of my days in life, she was there, just by my side, standing quietly and never even nudging. Some people have it in them to be there in your life silently- like god. I raise a toast to this friendship today!

Friends can be fun anytime all through your life. And I am happy to have come across some remarkably good people in life who I can call friends!

Forever Gone

As I sit by the window
Looking at the sea down below
Wondering about how my life is going to be

Thoughts wandering
Images floating
Thinking of the times when we were together
Of all the laughter and the fun
The sharing and the caring
The special ways to make me feel
You are there and will always be

I am brought back to reality
Like a turmoil in the sea
How you are now gone forever...
and will come back to me-- never o never!