It takes just a little lemon to make delicious Lemon Rice

Had a surprise visit from my folks with some delicious Kadu Manga (fresh green mango pickle) and of course I had to have some at lunch. Decided to whip up some Lemon Rice for lunch. Its a very easy dish to prepare and takes less than 20 mins (do u see a pattern here in what I choose to cook:-)). I had just come back from a couple of hours of pampering at the spa and didnt want too much prep time.

The ingredients are:
Onions 1. Finely chopped
Ginger: 2 inch piece finely chopped
Tadka / seasoning: Rai (Mustard) and then Ulva and Urad dal
Whole dry red chilli - 4 or 5 torn into 2 pieces
Lemon juice  - I substituted with Lemoneez as didnt have any lemon
Turmeric: 1 tsp


Take a little oil in a kadai and sputter the rai. Once its sputtered, add the ulva and urad dal. Add the Onions and Ginger and saute till onions turn pink. add the whole red chilli torn up. Add the turmeric and lemon juice and saute. Add the freshly made rice into this masala and stir well.

Eat it hot with curds and pickle. Very cooling for the summer.

Rosemary Potatoes Home Style

As Lady Margaret my cook is away on her annual month long break, I am encouraged to cook and decided to try out a dish I had made a few years ago. Again from the Italian cookbook.

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 Red Onion sliced lengthwise
8 peeled garlic pods
Rosemary herb
Oregano herb (this is my salt substitute)
Olive Oil
Butter

Prepare a baking dish (I use my microwave as I dont have a seperate oven) with olive oil. Place the slice baby potatoes in the dish, along with the onions, garlic and a little butter. Garnish with Rosemary and Oregano and toss well.

Place to bake for 20 minutes and serve hot. Its pretty tasty and the rosemary makes an excellent tango with potatoes. I use this as a main course but you can make this as a side dish or a mains.

 

My favourite Pesto Pasta unveiled

Those following my blog or FB updates would know that I absolutely adore Pesto Pasta and have actually eaten it thrice this week - once on Monday at Spagghetti Kitchen, Powai with my colleagues, second in Phoenix again at Spagghetti kitchen and today when I made it at home.

Its a really simple pasta to whip up in 20 minutes or so as long as you have the ingredients at hand. I learnt from an Italian cookbook i picked up some years ago at a Crossword sale and ever since its been one of my signature dishes.

Ingredients

Fresh Basil - I use a whole packet
Pinenuts  - 1 tbsp (available at Patel's Bandra)
Garlic paste or whole - 1 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1 tsp
Mushrooms
Onions
Pasta: Penne or Macaroni
Garnish with oregano, chilli flakes, jalapenos

Prep
Wash the basil leaves well and drain out all water. Place basil leaves, pinenuts,garlic paste and olive oil in the mixie and whip till you get a fine green paste. If you use fresh garlic, then please add salt. 

Boil the pasta (add salt in the hot water and then add the pasta) till al dente (firm to the bite). Drain and keep aside (toss with a little olive oil so it doesnt stick together)

In a kadai, please add olive oil and onions with a garnish of oregano and chilli flakes, until onions start to turn a deeper pink. Then add mushrooms and saute it for a couple of minutes. The drained pasta can be added as well as the pesto paste. Saute for about 3-5 minutes till done.

Add fresh Jalapenos or any garnishes and serve.

Its absolutely delicious, not as bad for your diet as white sauce pasta and an easy dish to whip up for your friends. Do try it out for yourself.

Delicious Pulidorai aka Tamarind Rice at Chez Moi

Been dying to eat some delicious Pulidorai (Tamarind Rice) and since no Chennai trips are planned soon, decided to cook this easy to make comfort food. I had some grocery shopping to do at Neelam"s and Godrej Nature's Basket (for a change as Patel's was closed). Got back home and dug out the Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana of Indian recipe book to get started. Actually you dont really need a recipe book as its very similar to any of the rices - Lime or Curd.

Ingredients
Rice (freshly made) - I used a katori but how much ever you need
Whole Red Chilli's - 6
Mustard Seeds (rai) - 1 tspn
Roasted Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - 10 -12 (I dont use this)
Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped fine
Onion - 1 big red onion (not in the original recipe but I love the taste)
Tamarind pulp - 3 tbsp (add water to the paste)
Asofoteida - 1/4 tsp
Chana Dal - 2 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 3 tbsp
Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
Turmeric (haldi) - 1.2 tsp

Prep

• Wash and soak the rice in water for half an hour. Drain and cook rice in plenty of boiling water. Once the rice is cooked strain and spread out on a plate. You can add a little oil and mix lightly. I actually just add it into the tamarind mixture.
• Dry roast sesame seeds and grind coarsely with 2 red chillis. Wait for it to cool before you place in the mixie.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add 4 red chillis, mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal & peanuts. Saute for a couple of minutes till brown. Add turmeric powder, asofoteida, curry leaves, onion, ginger and tamarind paste. Stir fry for half a minute. Add a little more water if too dry.
• Mix in the tamarind mixture and dry mixture to the rice. Mix well and save.

I love tamarind rice with curd & pickle (i ate Priya's red chilli pickle) but you can serve with Papad or Banana Chips.

Do try out this delicious southern delicacy and tell me how it turned out.

Of Lady Margaret & absent cooks

Summer is here and its time for all good cooks to fly away. My long time (7 years) cook Lady Margaret has taken off for a few weeks to Kolkata to see her son. I am in the meantime left to my own devices so its time to cook again. Went to Patels this evening and stocked up but was a bit too late to snag mushrooms etc. Will try again tmrw or check out Godrej Nature's Basket.

Tomorrow planning to make some delicious Pulidorai for lunch. Will blog about the recipe soon and try out a Arabietta Pasta for the evening.

Stay tuned for the recipes tmrw. If you are in the vicinity, you can try it out for yourself