Pasta In Pumpkin Sauce

Pasta has been my comfort food.. I have always found it very easy to make pasta in creamy bechamel sauce with lots of cheese on it... Whenever my friends came over for lunch or dinner pasta was one dish that i always made apart from other dishes..Be it in bechamel sauce, marinara sauce or just a plain pasta salad... They all would just love it.. This time when my best friend called me to her new home for lunch, i decided to make pasta in pumpkin sauce..I have always heard of it, but never tried it... I didnt know how it would turn out as it was the first time i was working with a pumpkin.. Bit apprehensive, still decided to go on with it.. One thing about me cooking is that I cannot cook the same recipe everytime, i need to tweak it everytime so that i dish out something new, with new flavours and textures... Then let the result be whatever.. So this habit of mine pushed me to try this pasta in pumpkin sauce..

                When i went through the recipes online to get an idea of pumpkin puree, all I could find was pasta in normal pumpkin sauce with regular italian flavours.. I always like my dishes to have that extra zing of flavours which impart a bit of tanginess to it.. Im more inclined towards spicy food.. So to add that extra zing, i added a few sauces to my pasta sauce.. This gave an extra flavour as well as the sweetness of pumpkin could also be felt..

                In one of the recipes online i found that cream can also be substituted with coconut milk.. As pumpkin and coconut go together very well... As at that of point of time i didnt have coconut milk, i went ahead with cream only.. Next time i make this pasta again, i wil make sure that i have coconut milk available with me, so that i get to taste a different flavoured pumpkin pasta..

Penne in Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked penne pasta

2 cups pumpkin peeled and chopped

2tbsp olive oil

1tsp garlic crushed

1 onion chopped lengthwise

1/4 cup colored bellpeppers julienned

1 carrot julienned

1 tomato julienned without pulp

Salt

Oregano or mixed herbs as per taste

5-6 Basil leaves torn with hand

Red chilli flakes

1tsp vinegar

1tbsp chilli sauce

1tbsp tomato sauce

3-4 tbsp cream

1/2 cup processed grated cheese

Method: Heat a pan and cook pumpkins with 1/2 cup water till soft and mushy. (Alternatively you can even boil the pumpkin). Let it cool and blend it into a thick puree. This would reduce to 1 1/2 cup approximately. Now heat the pan again and add olive oil. Saute garlic and onions till transluscent. Add bellpeppers and carrot and cook for 2mins. Then add tomato, pumpkin puree, salt, oregano, basil leaves, vinegar, tomato sauce, chilli sauce and red chilli flakes. Mix well. Add cream and also little water as per consistency. Once it comes to a boil add in the pasta. Mix. Cover and simmer for about 5-7mins till pasta absorbs the gravy. Sprinkle grated cheese and serve hot.

Macroni in Oats Sauce

Macroni and oats.... Oats and macroni... It has never appealed me to have a combination of these both together until I really gave it a try..

My mom saw this recipe on a tv channel and from then on wanted me to try out this recipe.. After her  persuading me so much to cook this out, i made this.. And Voilaaa.... I was really surprised and amazed at the way this dish tasted...  Velvety and creamy.. These are the words i would use to describe the texture of the dish..

Ingredients:

1 onion chopped

1/2 cup of colored belleppers chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 pack saffola masala oats - any flavour of your choice ( i used peppy tomato oats)

1 cup macroni cooked

3-4tbsp processed cheese grated

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp mixed herbs

Method: Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan and saute onions till translucent. Add bellpeppers and saute for 3-4mins. Then add tomato, salt, black pepper powder and mixed herbs. Mix well. Add masala oats packet and a cup of water. Mix well and cook till it resembles a thick gravy for 2-3mins. Add in macroni and finish with cheese. Serve hot.

Note: if you find the gravy to be too thick add in a little more water. 

Kala Chana & Brown Rice Kebab

Kebab, the word itself tantalizes my taste buds, every time I hear it. Whether grill it, bake it or fry it... it just melts in the mouth. The word kebab is derived from an Arabic word 'Cabob' which means to burn or char. They are one of the most popular grills around the world. In India, kebab has been a symbol of opulence. Most of the famous kebabs originated in the Royal kitchens. Today it has transformed into a common street food. So I thought why not try my hand at making kebabs today. Kala chana or brown chick peas is supposed to be very healthy and nutritive. What better than having a royal dish served in the most healthiest way possible.

                Kala chana kebabs are supposed to be very dry. So you can add more of thick yoghurt or even a tablespoon of cheese spread to make it moist. But make sure the dough is not loose. Otherwise you might have to add in more bread crumbs to lock in the moisture.

Kala Chana and Brown Rice Kebab

Ingredients:

2 cup kala chana soaked and pressure cooked

1 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup brown bread crumbs

1 inch piece ginger chopped

3-4 cloves garlic

2tbsp yoghurt

Salt to taste

1tsp red chilli powder

1tsp dhaniya powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

2 green chillies

1 lemon juice

1/4 bunch coriander

To be served with:

Onion slices mixed with salt, red chilli powder and sash of lemon juice

Mint Chutney

Lemon wedge

Mango Salsa

Method: Coarsely grind kala chana, brown rice, green chillies, ginger, garlic and coriander together. Remove in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. The mixture would resemble a hard dough. Now make patties and shallow fry in a pan using oil till brown and crisp on both sides. Serve with mango salsa, onions, lemon and mint chutney.

Note: Can substitute cooked brown rice with boiled and mashed potatoes.

Grilled Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

1 raw mango cut in horizontal strips

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 capsicum chopped

1 green chilli chopped

Salt to taste

1 lemon juice

Method: Take a grilling pan and grill the mango slices using little oil on both sides till the grill marks are visible. Be careful as the mangoes grill very fast and become soft and mushy. Remove in a plate and cut in small cubes. Mix all other ingredients and let it sit for a while till all the flavors blend together. Serve with kebabs or as a side dish.

Banoffee Pie

Banoffee Pie ... As the name implies... A dessert simply made of bananas and toffee sauce.. Its a rich english dessert, totally irresistible.. You can never go wrong with this dessert if you want to make something quick and delicious for your loved ones.. For the sweetest occasion ever!!!

Now, coming to my style of  "Banoffee Pie".. Generally the base is made of regular digestive biscuit crumble or a pastry dough.. I gave it a twist by making the base with chocolate hide and seek biscuits... It just lifted the banoffee pie to a whole new level.. I love it this way,, with a slight taste of chocolate..

As for the toffee sauce is concerned,, you can either go the traditional way of boiling a can of condensed milk to make the toffee sauce, which is supposed to be done way in advance or directly use a store bought caramel or go with the recipe that I have shared with you below.. I found making caramel from scratch as the best way and also it gives me the satisfaction of making the whole pie all by myself and not using store bought products.. Hope you enjoy making it as much you would love to eat it...

Banoffee Pie

Ingredients:

2 small packs hide and seek biscuit coarsely grinded

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

2 cups caramel

3 ripe bananas thinly sliced

1 cup cream whipped

2tbsp grated chocolate for garnish

To make Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon butter
10 tablespoon heavy cream

Method:

To make Caramel: Place sugar and water into a saucepan over medium low heat and stir the until sugar has dissolved. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to high. At this point do not stir the mixture directly. Now and then, using the handle, give the saucepan a swirl to keep the mixture moving. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute or so. After 3-4 minutes the mixture will turn from a light amber to medium amber and then finally to a dark reddish brown color. Once the mixture starts to smoke, add the butter and heavy cream. The mixture will bubble wildly. Whisk to combine (bubbles will subside upon cooling). Set aside to cool completely.

TO assemble the pie: Take a 9 inch pie dish and grease it with butter. Mix grinded biscuits and melted butter nicely. Spread it evenly in the pie dish covering the sides. Press it firmly so that biscuits take the shape of pie. Put in fridge for 30mins till chilled. Then remove and spread caramel on it. Again set in fridge for 30mins till the caramel thickens. Then place sliced bananas over the caramel and cover it up with whipped cream. Garnish with grated chocolate. Serve cold. 

Note: While making caramel use a saucepan bigger in size as the mixture would bubble wildly.. Can give any variation or twist in the dessert as in using coffee powder or cinnamon powder instead of grated chocolate as per your taste and preference. Can also add chopped walnuts in the pie along with bananas to give it a nutty and crunchy taste..