Ratatouille Pasta

The dish "Rat-a-too-ee" grabbed my attention only after watching the culinary adventures of Remy the rat in the movie "Ratatouille". Until then it was just any other French word to me. Though it was a light-hearted animated  movie, it inspired me in many ways as to how you must use your sense of touch, taste & smell in whatever you cook. one should not just eat to live but get to know the gastronomy of cooking. 
"Ratatouille Nicoise" pronounced as "Rat-a too-ee Neesua" is a roasted vegetable stew originated from the place called Nice in France. The basic ingredient of the stew is tomato & the main vegetables used in this dish are zuchinni/courgette, eggplant & bell pepper.  

Ratatouille is mainly served as a side to any pasta or bread but here I have combined both together to bring out a single main dish. This is a very healthy meal as it has no fat content & also packed with nutrients. This recipe is a simpler & quicker version of a traditional Ratatouille, so instead of stewing up the veggies, I have just roasted them along with the tomatoes and then mixed with the pasta at the end. If you don't have an oven, try sauteing the veggies in a pan until cooked & soft.
Ingredients:

• 200 gm pasta (any type, I have used penne)
• 1/2 courgette (cut into bite size chunks)
• 1/2 aubergine or 2 small eggplant (cut into bite size chunks)
• 1 bell pepper/capsicum (any colour, cut into bite size chunks)
• 1 medium onion (finely sliced)
• 1 big tomato (roughly chopped)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to season

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 Degree Celsius. 
2. Take a roasting tin and tip in all the chopped vegetables & garlic except for tomato. pour the olive oil over the vegetables. Season them with salt & pepper. Toss everything together gently with your hands. 
3. Put the roasting tin in the oven and roast the vegetables for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain and keep aside.
5. Take out the tin and add the tomatoes to the roasted vegetables. Put the tin back in the oven and roast for 8-10 minutes more. 
6. Take out the tin after 10 minutes & add the cooked pasta to the roasted vegetables. Add the oregano to it with a little drizzle of olive oil. Give everything a good mix. Serve immediately.

Stir Fry Greens & Jamie's Crispy New Potatoes

Some Carbs & Greens coming your way this time and both these dishes are great as an accompaniment to any meat or vegetarian main meal. Stir Fry Greens are the easiest, quickest & the most healthiest dish you can make. You don't have to sweat it out in the kitchen & at the same time you give your body a complete pack of nutrients. This recipe can be made with any kind of edible greens like spinach, brussells sprouts, kale or leaves of any root vegetables like beets, carrots or radishes. 

Stir Fry Greens:

Ingredients:

• 500 gm greens (you can use spinach, kale, brussels sprouts, or any other edible mixed greens) 
• 4 green chillies (slit into half)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 inch ginger ( finely chopped)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas (optional)
• 1 tbsp fresh or desiccated coconut (optional)
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash & finely chop or shred the greens which you are planning to use for this recipe.
2. Heat oil in a non stick pan. When hot, put the mustard seeds, cumin seeds to it. Let it splutter.
3. Now add the slit green chillies, chopped ginger & chopped garlic to it. Add the turmeric too.
4. After a minute, add the shredded greens to the tempering with the required amount of salt. 
5. Saute well for a minute and sprinkle some water for the greens to cook. At this stage, you can add the peas as well if you are using. Peas helps in increasing the quantity of the dish as the greens when cooked, shrinks to half its quantity. Also the peas makes the dish look more prettier like little green beads in between. :)
6. Close the pan with a lid and allow the greens to cook for 4-5 minutes. 
7. Open the lid and stir well again. Switch off the heat. 
8. You can put the coconut at this stage for the extra nutty flavour. Serve as a side with any veggie or non veg main meal. 

Jamie's Crispy New Potatoes:

I call this adorable Brit Chef, a Cutie Pie. Jamie Oliver and his way of cooking is absolutely droolworthy. He doesn't care about the sophistication in the way he cooks, tidiness is not in his dictionary and above all I just love the way he throws a generous amount of Olive oil in his every dish. Just what I want...;) But casual cooking is his USP and his cookery shows are so popular in the UK that his cook books sell like hot cakes. "Jamie's 30 Minutes Meals", is one of his cookery shows, where he cooks up a full 3 course meal in just under half an hour. "Crispy New Potatoes" was one of the dishes he showed in this programme. I tried it and I absolutely loved it. 
I have cut down on the oil, so you don't have to worry!! :)

Ingredients: 

• 500 gm baby new potatoes
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• few sprigs of fresh rosemary (can use dried rosemary if fresh is not available)
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 a lime
• salt & pepper to season

Method:

1. Leave the skins on the potatoes. Cut into half if there are some large potatoes. Boil them in a saucepan along with a pinch of salt & the cloves of garlic. You can throw in the garlic with the skins on. (work made easy) Cook the potatoes for a maximum of 15 minutes. 
2. Drain the potatoes & retain the garlic as well.
3. Heat the olive oil in a non stick pan or wok. Tip the potatoes & garlic to the oil & saute well.
4. With the help of a spatula or a flat spoon, just press each potato to make it little flat without mashing it entirely. The reason you make it flat is to help the skin go crispy as quick as possible. Add the sprigs of rosemary to the pan with some more salt & some black pepper. 
5. Toss the potatoes in regular intervals until all the sides have become golden & crisp. Squeeze some lime juice in the end & serve hot with any steak, rice or pasta. 

Khattu Mag (Moong bean cooked in spicy sour yoghurt)

Now before introducing this dish to all of you, I must admit, I had no idea that such a dish exists. Until I tried "Khattu Mag" in two of my Gujrati Thali sessions. For those of you who are not familiar of what a THALI is, it is a selection of various dishes (number goes from 4- 12) of a particular region served in small steel bowls on a big round steel plate. So if you are visiting India for the first time, I suggest you to try out Thalis of different regions in order to get familiarized with the native delicacies. :)





So "Khattu Mag" was one of the veggie dishes which I very much relished in my Gujrathi Thali. It was a combination of a dal & kadhi gravy. I usually had them both as two different dishes. Ths was two in one. I immediately thought of making this at home and post it in my blog for my vegetarian friends. "Khattu" means Sour & "Mag" means Moong beans. So as the name suggests, it is a simple gravy but a lot of flavours will play in your palate. Absolutely easy to make with no extra effort and yeah very very healthy too!! :) 


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sabut moong (whole mung bean/green gram)
• 1 & 1/2 cup sour yoghurt 
• 2 tbsp besan (chickpea/gorgonzola/gram flour)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp green chilli paste (grind 2-3 chillies)
• 1 tsp sugar or jaggery
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• pinch of heeng (asafoetida)
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the sabut moong an soak it for a minimum of 2 hours. Drain it & boil them in a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles or a maximum of 15 minutes, whichever is the longest. Switch off the heat. 
2. Meanwhile, take a large bowl & mix the yoghurt, besan, turmeric powder, ginger paste, chilli paste, pinch of salt & whisk them to a smooth mixture. No lumps should be seen. 
3. Add sugar or jaggery at this stage along with a cup of water & whisk again. 
4. Heat oil in a non stick kadai or a saucepan. Now add a pinch of heeng, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek seeds & allow it to splutter for a minute. This is what you call the tadka or the tempering to the gravy.
5. Pour the whisked yoghurt mixture to the tempering and cook for 5-8 minutes over a low-medium heat until the  gravy thickens or the raw smell of the besan & yoghurt has fully gone. 
6. Open the pressure cooker & add the cooked moong bean to the yoghurt mixture and cook in a low heat for another 3-4 minutes. 
7. Switch off the heat & serve hot with plain rice and rotis. :)