The White Pasta

I am a fan of Italian food. Yeah what's not to like - yummy tomato sauce, cheese of many varieties, basil and the al dente pasta... Yes from Pizza to Lasagna and everything in between it is yummy even for vegetarians. Challenge is, is it healthy?

On my quest to find a good Alfredo pasta recipe I became across a recipe where you cook the pasta in milk and pretty much cut down on all the fat and starch. Here is my version of it. 

Ingredients ( For Two)

Onion - 1/2 thinly sliced

Garlic - 2 pods thinly sliced or minced

Asparagus/Artichoke Hearts/ Broccoli - 1.5 cups ( any veggie would do)

Peas - 1/4 cup

Butter - 1/2 tbsp (can use olive oil)

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Spaghetti Pasta/ Penne Pasta - 4 oz ( follow package info to get the right quantity for two)

Milk - 1 cup

Water - 1-11/2 cups 

Salt and pepper to taste

Rosemary - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Thyme - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Grated Parmesan - 1/8 cup (optional)

Directions

1. In a skillet/thick pan add 1/2 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp oil and saute the onion and garlic.

2. Add the veggies and saute for 5-15 mins until everything is tender. For Artichoke Hearts, you need to steam it separately or cook in microwave for 3 mins if you want to save time. 

3. Keep these aside in a bowl

4. In the same skillet (now empty), add rest of the oil, add Rosemary and thyme and some pepper.

5. Add 1 cup water and 1 cup milk on medium heat. 

6. Once it boils add salt and drop in the pasta.

7. Cook pasta 2 mins more than what is given in the package as it cooks in milk. I used a multi grain pasta so cooked it close to 14 mins. 

8. Add a bit more water if pasta is not fully submerged. 

9. Once it cooks you can see the liquid reducing considerably. Now add the veggies sauteed mixture back to the skillet.

10.Mix everything and add more pepper if desired and a 1/8 cup grated parmesan if desired. 

Tips

* Pick easy cooking veggies like green squash, Yello squash, brocolli, green beans, spinach etc to make it quick.

* Consider whole wheat pasta instead of white Pasta. Multi grain is better.

* Alternate option is to make a rue with 1 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp butter after sauteeing veggies to get a thicker consistency. The starch in the pasta also does the same thing. 

 

Tofu Tests

Tofu has gone through a lot of ups and downs with health freaks. Some say it is highly fertilized crop and could have potential dangers. But I finally found organic tofu. The first time I liked tofu so much was in a Thai soup called Tom Yum, aptly named. It was like a tamarind water sauce with veggies and tofu and lemon grass. The flavors were so good I can still feel it. This gave me a new spirit to try Tofu again with a fresh perspective instead of hiding it in tomato curry and briyani.

Take 1: Tofu Burji (scrambled)
Ingredients (for 2):

Tofu - shredded and sauteed in a 1/4 tsp of oil with 1/4 tsp turmeric and a pinch of salt.

Red, Green, Yellow bell peppers - 1/2 each thinly sliced

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Mushrooms - 1/4 cup (optional)

Onion - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Garlic - 2 pods finely chopped

Ginger - 1 tbsp finely chopped

Ingredients

Coriander leaves - 3 springs finely chopped

Curry leaves - 1 spring (leaves only)

Chillies - 2 slited

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Ground pepper - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Lemon Juice 2 tsp (optional)

Directions:

1. Place a pan on medium heat and add oil. Once oil is heated, splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add garlic, chillies, curry leaves followed by onion and sautee. Cover for 2 minutes. 

2. Add the rest of vegetables and sautee well, add a 1 tbsp water if required and cover and cook for 5-8 minutes until vegetables are tender. 

3. Add Tofu, turmeric, pepper and salt and mix well. Leave it for another 2-3 until all water is absorbed. 

4. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice after removing from heat. Can be served with toasted bread or chappathi. 

Burji with bread toast

Tips:

* Vegetables are your choice, carrots, beetroot, beans, cauliflower can be added or substituted. Go with your flow.

* Onion and Garlic are optional if you don't like them, they give a good flavor and taste. 

Take 2: Tofu Cubes (Snack)

This is a simple preparation. Cube the tofu slab after removing water from it. In a 1 tbsp of oil sautee the cubes with salt, pepper and turmeric. Once the tofu gets golden crust remove from heat. This can be stored in the refrigerator for a week and snacked cold or hot. While serving squeeze on some lemon juice and add coriander leaves. 

Take 3: Tofu Rasam (thin soup)

The credit for this goes to my husband for the discovery. The steps are similar to a traditional rasam, just don't add lentils to it. Instead add tofu from Take2 with a small rind of lemon cut to mini pieces before boiling. If you get baked tofu you can cube and add it no prep needed. This will taste more or less like the tom-yum soup and can be had as a soup or with rice.

My Experiment with Injera

Injera is my favorite dish along with the many side dishes it comes with in Ethiopian cuisine. It delivers high protein in such a small grain along with the many benefits of using a whole grain packed with flavor. After I had it in restaurants I resorted to make my own version of it and it came out really well.

Ingredients:
Whole grain Teff - 4 cups
Urad dhal - 1/2 cup
Water (to grind and make batter)
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Soak the whole grain and urad dhal separately in water for 4-6 hrs.

2. Then grind them separately it to a smooth paste in a mixer by adding required water.

3. Mix them together along with required salt and keep it to ferment for 8-10 hrs.

4. Once the batter raises add needed water to make it like pancake/dosa batter consistency.

5. Heat a iron tawa apply oil and wipe with a cut onion. Pour a ladle of the batter and spread the batter in clockwise motion with the back of ladle.

6. Sprinkle oil on to the sides and cover. Cook for a min and turn it over. leave for 30 secs and remove from tawa and roll it.

7. Serve hot with the Ethiopian side dishes or tomato chutney and Sambar :)

Tips:

* To make it immediately mix a cup of curd to the batter and use after 20 mins.

* Yeast can be added to enhance fermentation or existing dosa batter can be also used. In Ethiopia they have the starter batter for getting the right fermentation in every house.

* You can do this without any urad dhal but fermentation will take longer 12-18 hrs.

* If you are not going to consume immediately, Roll and cover with a moist cloth, for longer time cover in a foil and keep.

Black Gram Rice (w) Sesame Chutney

Don't get scared with the thought of raw Sesame and Plain Urad Dhal, this recipe has its secrets to good taste.  Down the dusty paths of the old south Tamil Nadu this was a famous dish and is still prepared with much care and love. Black gram (Urad Dhal ) is a staple of this place. So most of their dishes involve using it in large quantities.

As far as the medicinal values goes it increases the pelvic bone strength especially in women and is preferred before child birth. In modern terms it is a whole grain with much of the needed Protein (25% by weight) and Carbs. Also due to very less cooking time (30 mins tops) makes an excellent lunch choice for a lazy weekend afternoon ! So getting into the actual preparation...

Ingredients:
Black Gram (halved with the black coat) - 2 Cups
Rice (can be par-boiled rice) - 2 Cups
Garlic - 15 Pods
Water - 6 -8 cups depending on the pressure cooker.
Salt - to taste.
Chillies - 3-4 (if desired)
Curry Leaves - for garnishing
Grated Coconut - (can be added to the rice or used as garnishing)
Gingely Oil - for serving.

Direction
Pressure cook dhal, rice, garlic, coconut & water adding salt to the mixture. When adding water I usually like to keep it at 2 cups for 1 cup of rice and 1 to 11/2 cup for a cup of dhal. Once the pressure is released you can roast red chillies & curry leaves in 1 tsp of oil and add to it. While serving pour a little bit (1 tsp per cup) of  gingely oil on top. It will be delicious!

This goes well with sesame chutney which is as simple as the main dish. Dry roast 1/2 cup sesame (black or white) with 2 Tbsp of coconut & 2 red chillies. Grind it to a fine paste. Add Salt to taste.  No tempering required, but if desired splutter jeera & mustard seeds in oil and add it to the chutney.

Tips:
      *   No need to mash the dhal/rice after cooking
      *   The curry leaves and chillies are optional. Coconut is also optional. The basic dish itself will taste good.
      *   The dish can be prepared with the yellow urad dhal as well but may not be very delicious and would lack some nutritional values too.
      *   If you are not a sesame fan you can try with Sambhar or regular coconut chutney. I personally like the white sesame chutney :).