Baked Italian Pasta – With Assorted Vegetables & lotsa Cheese!!

Baked Italian pasta …! It is creamy, cheesy and crispy at the same time.. Sounds tempting!!

4 layer Baked Italian Pasta Presentation

This recipe is totally dedicated to cheese lovers and that too in ample amount !

Baked dishes are always attractive, alluring and fascinating .. I am always very excited to bake and try new baking dishes.. And when something comes out very perfect, I am fully satisfied with my cooking.. Baking actually makes me feel that now i know some cooking.. Baking is not that tough, the way it is sounding here but personally i feel great after baking something nice..

My version of baked Italian pasta consists 4 layers:

first, penne in white sauce

second, assorted vegetables in cheese spread

third, Paneer (cottage cheese) and coriander in cream

fourth, f penne in red sauce

On the top ample of mozerella cheese!!

Jalfrezi – Veg Version with an Italian Twist!!

JALFREZI.. !! The name comes indirectly from Bengali jhāl, spicy food, and Urdu parhezī, suitable for a diet.

Jalfrezi is such a colorful and creative dish..The more colors you add  (different veggies), more nutritive it becomes..! So, here I am using more than 10 different veggies in my version of jalfrezi..! You must be thinking why am i talking so much about nutrition here?? Medical books turned me and my thinking like this, just cant help it

Well, lets talk about flavors now.. This is Hot and Spicy (not sexy ) It is made with different vegetables( bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, beans, peas, onion, potato,carrot), tomato juice, onion paste and spices.

INGREDIENTS:

Red, Yellow And Green Bell pepper or Capsicum cut in cubes – 1 cup

Onion cut in thick shreds and leaves separated- 1 cup

Peas – 1/4 cup

Potato cut in shreds – 1 cup

Carrot cut in fancy cutting – 1 cup

Beans cut in fancy cutting – 1/2 cup

Broccoli in small florets _1/2 cup

Cabbage cut in cubes – 1 cup

4 tablespoon olive oil

4 teaspoon chopped green chilli

1 cup onion paste( 4 onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic. Grind fine in a mixer)

1cup Tomato juice( blanch 3 tomatoes and grind fine)

4 teaspoon red chilli powder

3 teaspoon dhaniya powder

3 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon raw mango powder( amchoor)

1/2 cup tomato sauce

chilli flakes for garnishing

oregano for garnishing

METHOD:

Soak bell peppers and onions in warm water for 5 mins.

Take a pressure cooker and in it add cabbage, beans, potato, carrot, broccoli, peas and 1 cup water.. Now take 2 pressures on high flame and then take out vegetables in a bowl.

Take a pan, add oil and green chilli and keep it on medium flame.

Now add onion paste in it and saute till onion becomes little brown in color.

Add tomato juice and all spices( red chilli powder, salt, dhaniya powder, turmeric powder, amchoor) and stir..

Now add tomato sauce and stir again..

Finally add vegetables and mix well..

Sprinkle chilli flakes and oregano and take it down..

Your Hot and Spicy Jalfrezi is ready ! yummm!

Indian Salad With Mango dressing – Healthy Recipe !!

Ahh !! What a wonderful dinner i just had …

Its friday night and I made Indian Salad With Mango dressing , Chickpea Salad and Gobi Ke Parathe for dinner.. Indian Salad looked so wonderful and fantastic to taste.. I would never forget this taste..

I have decided to share recipe of Indian Salad with you all and want to thank Chef  Sanjeev Kapoor for this amazing recipe..

I bet this is delicious and healthy !!

Indian Salad With Mango Dressing 

Ingredients :

For Salad:

Apple, unpeeled and shredded – 1 small

Banana, peeled and shredded – 1 medium

Tomato, de-seeded and shredded – 1 large

Orange seperated into segments – 1 large

Green Capsicum, shredded – 1 small

Pomegranate  pearls – 1/2 cup

Kiwi, peeled and shredded – 1 small

For Dressing:

Mango pulp/ crush – 1/2 cup

Thick yogurt – 1/2 cup

Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon

Fresh cream – 2 tablespoon

Salt – 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder _ 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and keep in the refrigerator.
2. Mean while make the mango dressing. Mix all the ingredients till smooth and keep in refrigerator.
3. Chill thoroughly, just before serving pour dressing over the salad and serve.

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY

How to make Frozen Yogurt at Home – Cool Recipe

Why i love frozen yogurt, because it is very low calorific..

It is a good source of bacteria so improves immunity.. It is very good for health as it contains yogurt and fruits..

First time i tried this at home after watching an advertisement of smoothie maker on TV.. Obviously they were telling about the benefits of smoothie maker and how easily you can make frozen yogurt at home.. As i dint have any smoothie maker at home, I decided to make it with the help of food processor and I was successful..

Strawberry Yogurt

Ingredients:

Home made plain strained(hung)  yogurt – 2 cups

Milk – 1/2 cup

Granulated sugar –  1/2 cup

Frozen strawberry – 1 cup

Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Process frozen strawberry, yogurt, milk, lemon juice  and sugar in the the food processor or blender until it becomes smooth and fine.
2. Refrigerate for 30 mins..
3. Keep in the freezer to settle  in the airtight container..
4. Take it out after 30 mins from freezer and whisk it.. Repeat the same for 6 to 7 times after every 30 mins so that smooth consistency of yogurt is achieved..
5. And if you have ice cream maker then feel free to use it..!

Note: you can make it with any fruit like raspberry, pomegranate, watermelon, muskmelon…

Chocolate yogurt

Ingredient:

Milk- 1/2 cup

Plain strained yogurt – 1 1/2 cup

Ground sugar – 1/2 cup

Cocoa powder – 1 tablespoon

Dark semisweet chocolate – 150 gms

Salt – a pinch

Vanilla essence – 1 /2teaspoon

Method:

1. Take a bowl. Add sugar, cocoa powder, salt and milk. Whisk  properly.
2. Melt the chocolate over double boiler.
3. Add this melted chocolate to the bowl and whisk again.
4. Add yogurt and vanilla essence and whisk it properly or you can use blender and blend for 5 times by pulsing machine in On And Off  manner.
5. Keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
6. Now keep in the freezer in airtight container.
7. Take it out after 30 mins and whisk it .. Repeat the same for 6 to 7 times after every 30 mins so that smooth consistency is attained.
8. And if you have ice cream maker then feel free to use it!

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY

Hot Chocolate Pudding With a Twist

Its gooey! Its chocolaty! Basically its delicious!

Ah, mmm its mouth watering !!

I am making eggless hot chocolate pudding with additional flavors of coffee and bournvita in it.. Welcome winters with this yummy hot chocolate pudding.. Nothing can be more fascinating than having hot chocolaty dessert on a winter night in garden area..Heavenly!!

CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Ingredients:

All purpose flour(maida) – 1 cup

Condensed milk – 1/2 tin

Powdered sugar – 1/2 cup

Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder – 1 teaspoon

Butter ( melted) – 1/2 cup

Hot water – 3/4 cup

Bournvita – 1/4 teaspoon

Coffee – 1/4 teaspoon

Melted semisweet dark chocolate –  2 teaspoon

Vanilla essence – 1/2 teaspoon

Cocoa powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

1. Sift maida and add bournvita, condensed milk, coffee, baking powder, baking soda, melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, butter and vanilla essence.. ( dun add water)
2. Whisk it properly and in between add water to the mixture.. Whisk it till it becomes light, fluffy and smooth.. It will take around 7-8 mins.. ( use hand beater)
3. Take a baking dish, grease it with butter and dust it with maida..
4. Now pour the mixture in the disk and bake on Convection mode or in OTG at 150 degrees for 45 mins and then microwave for 3 mins..
5. Let it cool properly and then take it out from the dish..

CHOCOLATE SAUCE:

Semisweet dark chcolate – 100gms

fresh cream – 1/2 cup

Melt chocolate in double boiler and add fresh cream.

How to serve:

Pour hot chocolate sauce over the cooked pudding and serve. You can also serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Note:

I prefer beating the mixture with the palm in circular motion.. I get the best output by this method.. Use hand glove and then beat..

Decoration:

You can use sprinklers, silver balls, dark and white chocolate flakes, fresh fruits, cream or anything you want to decorate with..

If you liked this, you might also want to check out:

• Cold Coffee with Milkmaid
• Chocolate Coconut Ladoos

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY :)

Making Cold Coffee With Milkmaid Condensed Milk

Wow!! Yummy Coffee made with Milkmaid condensed milk !!

Condensed milk adds richness to the coffee.. A great coffee made with a blend of milk, condensed milk and coffee…

I was first introduced to it by my very close friend..! One day we were talking  and our taste buds started recalling past and missing the taste of all that stuff which we used to eat and drink when we were kids.. Then suddenly i heard something like ‘ cold coffee with condensed milk’ .. I was so surprised and asked to repeat what he just said.. Then he was like you have never heard of it and i was like ‘Noh’ , what are you saying?? Cold coffee with condensed milk??

On that day i came to know about it, he disclosed the secret recipe of world’s best cold coffee with condensed milk.. His friend’s mom a.k.a ‘Sweet Aunty’ used to make this coffee for him when he used to stay back for playing at his friend’s place.. He misses his sweet aunty just becoz she is world’s best coffee maker according to him

After listening to him i went damn curious and excited to try it asap.. And after the day i tried it , i never make coffee without condensed milk.. This coffee is rich and fine.. And a person like me who is fond of having coffee would surely love it..

Ingredients:

2 cups milk( frozen)

1/2 cup skimmed milk( you can use any type of milk)

2 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp coffee

Method:

1. Take frozen milk , coffee, milk and condensed milk in the food processor or blender..
2. Pulse the machine till it becomes smooth..

Servings: 2

Chocolate Coconut Ladoo Recipe – An Indian Sweet

Yes, we are making scrumptious looking and heavenly tasting ladoooos.. !!

Ahh… Love the combination of chocolate and coconut..!!

I feel chocolate is always best paired with coconut.. The blend of chocolate and coconut together creates magic..I am not joking, you must try it once..

I think i should disclose a secret or the best way to have them.. Keep them in the fridge for 1 hr before you serve ..And then prepare chocolate sauce ( see recipe below) , it should be served hot.. They taste heavenly with the hot chocolate dip.. I promise you will never forget this taste..!!

They can be made with variety of topping  like ground almond, cashew, brown sugar, white chocolate, dark chocolate..

This is the best chocolate treat for kids and  festive occasions  ..

You can also make them colorful and with different flavors or according to the theme color of your party.. Here i give certain examples:

1. Strawberry essence and Raspberry red color ( most tasty and beautiful looking)
2. Pista essence and Green color
3. Almond essence and roll in ground almonds
4.  Add Saffron and yellow color

Chocolate Coconut Ladoo

Ingredients:

coconut powder or flakes – 250 gms

sugar (granules) – 250 gms

water – 1 glass

cocoa powder – 2 tablespoon

vanilla essence – 1/2 teaspoon

grated khoya ( thickened milk or whole dried milk) – 200 gms

extra coconut for rolling

Method:

1. Take a pan. Add sugar and water.  Keep it to cook and stir continuously till sugar dissolves completely. Now let it boil till one string syrup is formed.
2. Now add khoya to it and stir again till khoya mixes completely with the sugar syrup. Take it down.
3. Now add coconut powder, cocoa powder and vanilla essence. Mix properly and let it cool.
4. Now make round balls out of it and roll in coconut flakes.
5. Keep in the fridge to set and then serve.

Chocolate sauce

Ingredients:

dark chocolate(grated)- 100 gms

fresh cream – 1/2 cup

Method: 

1. Melt the chocolate using double boiler and add cream. Mix well for a min.
2. Serve hot

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY

Do share how did you find the recipe. Btw, if you liked this sweet, you will definitely love my Hot Chocolate Pudding.

Black And White Sesame Ice-Cream Recipe!

Yeah, its a japanese ice cream..

You all must have tried black sesame ice cream.. And if you havent tried it till now then am here to guide you guys how to make it at home.. The authentic sesame ice cream is only made up of black sesame seeds..

Especially  for Indians, if you have ever tried Til ( white sesame) Ka Ladoo and liked it then you are going to love this ice cream and you are going to miss your mom.. For this reason i am making it with a twist..  I am adding white sesame seeds to it , just to give it resembling taste.. And its Black And White appearance makes it look amazing..

This ice cream is very creamy and condensed milk makes it super tasty..

Ingredients:

black sesame seeds – 1/4 cup

white sesame seeds – 1/2 cup

sweetened condensed milk – 4 tablespoon

milk powder – 2 tsp

cornflour – 1/2 teaspoon

fresh cream ( whipped cream) – 1.5 cup

granulated sugar – 1 teaspoon

milk – 3/4 cup

vanilla essence – 10 drops

Method:

1. Take a pan. Add milk, milk powder, cornflour and condensed milk. Mix it properly and then keep it to cook. While cooking stir it continuously and wait till first boil comes.
2.  Now take it town and transfer into other container and cool it properly.
3. Take a mixer. Add this milk mixture and sugar to it and beat in the mixer for 1/2 min.
4. Now add whipped or fresh cream and vanilla essence in the mixer and but this time beat it On and Off  for 5 times.
5. Take another pan. Add both white and black sesame seeds and pan roast on low flame.
6. Cool sesame seeds and crush them little in the mixer. Dont crush them very fine.
7. Now add crushed seeds to the mixture already prepared.
8. Take a air tight container or air tight aluminium box. Pour ice cream mixture and keep in the freezer.
9. After every 30 mins take out the ice cream box and mix  the mixture with spoon. Repeat this for atleast 6 times. You have to do this otherwise seeds will settle at the bottom. And if you take out ice cream after every 30 mins and mix , the ice cream becomes thick and at that stage seeds dont settle at the bottom.
10. Ice cream will take 4 to 5 hrs to freeze.

Serving suggestion:

Scoop out ice cream from the box and sprinkle little coconut powder and enjoy this lovely ice cream.

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY

Home Made Minestrone Soup !!

It is type of thick ITALIAN soup usually made by adding rice or pasta(mini shell or macaroni).. Main ingredients are beans, onion, carrot, celery and tomatoes..  But it can be made with any seasonal vegetables..

You have to be innovative and confident when you make such soups, becoz minestrone is a type of soup that can be made with so many twists.. You can add any vegetable of your choice and any type of pasta. If you want to make it more attractive to kids then add 3 to 4 types of pasta ( penne, spaghetti, fusilli, gomito).. But when you use  such type of pastas, then boil them separately as all such types are thick and will take more time to become soft.. I am sure kids are going to love this soup as pasta would be there and you dont have to hesitate while making or serving this soup as at the same time it is very nutritive too..

Today i tried almost 10 different types of soup in my cooking class. Minestrone was the most colorful and best to taste.. Then i decided to make it at home for my family.. Everyone loved it especially my younger brother liked it a lot.. Do try it once

Ingredient:

olive oil – 1 tablespoon

grated onion – 1 small

grated garlic cloves – 4

grated tomato – 1 large

finely chopped cabbage – 1/2 cup

finely chopped carrot – 1/4 cup

finely chopped capsicum -1/4 cup

french beans – 1 tablespoon

pasta ( shell  or macaroni) – 1/2 cup

water – 2 glasses

cottage cheese (paneer)  - 1/4 cup (cut in small cubes)

salt – 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon

white pepper ( can use black) – 1/4 teaspoon

cornflour – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Take a pan. Add olive oil, chopped garlic and onion.  Saute for a min or two.
2. Add chopped cabbage, capsicum, carrot, beans and grated tomato. Mix it well.
3. Now add cottage cheese and pasta.
4. Add 2 glasses to water.
5. Lastly add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and white pepper. Cover it and cook it over medium flame till pasta and vegetables become soft.
6. Take a bowl, in it add 1/2 cup water and cornflour. Mix it properly.
7. Now remove the cover  and add cornflour and water mixture to pan. Stir continuously for a min.
8. Before serving add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and serve hot.

Serving Suggestion: 

Garnish with coriander leaves and fresh cream.

Servings: 4

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY

How to make Pasta Alla vodka?

Ah Yes, we are making Pasta Alla Vodka..

This is my utter favorite among all pastas.. I know its your favourite too..  And if you have never tried this pasta before then i recommend you to try it once.. You all are gonna love it

There is a good story behind this pasta..  First time i had this pasta in REPLAY lounge and the whole credit goes to the prettiest lady mah best friend TASHI ..  She was the one who made me try this pasta at replay..  I cant tell you guys, how tempting and inviting it was..  I was actually salivating..  And that very moment i had that delicious pasta directly from the serving bowl, I cudnt even wait till it was served..

Now i go to Replay just to have this delicious pasta.. I dun try anything else there.. But every time you cant manage to go just to have it, then i decided to try it out at home and guess what i was successful.. And it came out so well that now i feel its better to make it at home only as at home you are free to make changes according to your taste buds..

This was too crazy at my part, that i celebrated mah birthday party at replay this year just becoz of this alla vodka pasta I wanted that mah all friends should try this pasta and always remember mah birthday treat.. Jokes apart, lets make it finally..

Ingredients:

olive oil – 2 tablespoon

butter – 2 tablespoon

chopped garlic cloves – 3 or 4

chopped onion – 1/2  cup

tomatoes – 1 kg

chilli flakes – 1/4 teaspoon

salt – 1/4  to 1/2 teaspoon

black pepper powder – 1/4 teaspoon

penne pasta – 400 gms

heavy cream – 1/2 to 3/4 cup

vodka – 1/4 cup

parsley for garnishing

grated parmesan cheese/ mozarella cheese for garnishing

for boiling penne pasta :

water – 8 to 10 glasses

salt – 1/4 teaspoon

olive oil – 1 teaspoon

Method:

• Blanching of Tomatoes :  Directly roast on low heat or roast in oven for few secs. Now remove the knob and peel of the skin of the tomatoes and deseed. Slit tomatoes in 4 halves.
• Tomato Puree : Blend  blanched tomatoes in the mixer very finely.
• Boiling of Penne Pasta : Boil water and add penne, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tsp olive oil. Wait till they start coming on the surface of the water. Drain the penne and slightly rub penne with olive oil so that they dont stick.
• Alla Vodka Sauce : Take a pan over low to medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. Let butter melt properly. Now add chopped onions and garlic. Saute for 2 mins or till they become golden in colour. Now add tomato puree and stir it continuously for a min. Now take it down ,transfer into the other bowl and let it cool ‘properly’. After cooling it completely, blend this mixture again in the mixer so that sauce becomes smooth and fine. Now transfer it again into the pan over low heat. Now add vodka and stir. Wait till first boil comes. Add salt, black pepper and chilli flakes. Then add fresh cream and mix it properly.
• Finally add boiled penne and mix lightly using 2 round spoons and take it down. Be careful not to overcook.

Serving Suggestion:

Garnish with grated cheese and parsley or basil leaves.

If sauce is thick or it becomes thick when you leave it for sometime then dun wry, simply add milk or warm water to change the consistency.

You can also add finely chopped zucchini, capsicum at the time you add fresh cream.

Servings : 6

EAT HEALTHY AND STAY HEALTHY