My Journey with Pasta has been a bitter sweet one and dates back to the time when we were kids. Pasta wasnt a fad back then. I remember we used to call them simple macaroni. And whenever mom would prepare it or mention it I would go meh! Rubbery white things with no taste what so ever and looking like a snail, how appetizing can it be to a 5 year old.

That impression of pasta had stayed back in the mind somewhere. So when the world was going ga ga over pastas I hardly had any interest. Then came the time when I finally decided to give the Sunfeast ready to cook pasta a try. I was told the white sauce one was good. And guess what I was greeted with the same macaroni shaped pasta. After staring at them for a whole minute I thought fine lets give it a try. And I loved the result. Creamy, buttery soft pasta. Thats probably the first time I felt good about this particular dish.

A lot of time passed in between, and my pasta pangs were only limited to the ready to cook pasta. Until recently when a group of friends went to Sundarban hotel beside the Osho Commune in Koregaon Park, Pune. It was a veg restaurant and we sat in the open seating space. There was an assortment of various cuisines and we decided to go for Italian. It was thin crust pizza with all the works and 'pink' pasta. That was the first time I ever came to know that something as a pink pasta also exists. It was a custom order -"Load it with all the vegetables you have with a pink sauce". I was curious for the outcome and finally when it arrived it looked gorgeous. The sauce looked coral coloured and the greens of zucchini and broccoli gave it a contrasting hue. About the taste I can only say, I had never tasted anything so heavenly in Italian before.

That dish made me totally fall in love with pasta and was also the main inspiration behind me trying the following recipe for the first time. And i was pretty happy with the outcome. Have a look!


2. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large colander and drain the water. Run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process. Sprinkle a little oil and toss the pasta. Keep aside

3.  Heat 2 tsp of oil in a skillet and add the broccoli. Add a pinch of salt to make it cook faster. Toss the broccoli and cook till its crunchy but cooked. It will take around 2-3 minutes with lid on. Keep it aside

Note: Since Broccoli is harder than either of Zucchini and Mushroom hence I sauteed them separately.



4.  In the same skillet, add about 2 tsp butter and let it heat. Add the chopped garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes till fragrant. Toss in the mushroom and Zucchini and fold in. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and both Mushroom and Zucchini will start wilting. Add the cooked broccoli. Saute all of it for a minute and turn off the heat. Don't put a lid on at this stage as the enclosed steam might impact the vibrant green of the veggies. 


Note: If you are using shrimp, this is he stage to add. Make sure you have selected small shrimps.  Clean and de-vein the shrimp. Toss in the raw shrimp while sauteing the vegetables. It will get cooked in the same heat and will not loose the flavor or become rubbery. Add a little more butter if u want to enhance the flavor



5. Take two table spoon of butter in a pan. When its sizzling add two cloves of finely chopped garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes. 

6. Add the tomato paste at this stage and saute till the raw smell goes off. 

7. Then add the cornflour. If you are using any white pasta mix you can add 1 tbsp of it at this stage. 

8. Add full cream milk and keep stirring till it thickens. Add fresh cream and shredded cheese and fold in. Let the cheese melt and the sauce thicken a bit. About a minute or two.

9. Add the ground black pepper, oregano/pizza seasoning and chilli flakes at this stage and mix everything. Adjust the salt and sugar level at this stage.



10. Add the cooked pasta and vegetables and fold in everything. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the pasta sauce coats the pasta and vegetables uniformly.

Dish out the pasta into a pasta plate, give a slight drizzle of virgin olive oil and serve hot.

Pasta Pointers:

Of late weather has been the hot topic of discussion in our country (no pun intended). The eastern part especially Kolkata is going through a terrible hot and humid climate and recording 41 degrees quite frequently. Whenever I call up Ma in the morning most of the days the chat would start with how hot it is currently in both ends of the country. Over here in Pune its been a mixed summer. There were hot, humid days, then there were chilly thunder shower days and currently its mix of hot during the day and  pleasant by the night. The weather forecast is predicting the Monsoon would be reaching Kerela by 3rd June which means in another week from that it would surely reach Maharashtra. Somehow I felt the Summers were short lived this time, maybe because of the occasional showers that we had throughout the past two months in Pune, the heat did not get onto our nerves. But not all states of Pune are that fortunate, parts of Solapur, Pandharpur, Latur and all such parts of the states are still reeling under the heatwave.

During the Summer months the appetite of having heavy greased food automatically comes down. We crave for lighter, easy on the tummy dishes and lot of chilled drinks to wash down the food. Unlike the past years where Summer would see us having lots of aerated drinks whenever we felt the urge of having something refreshing this year I turned towards a healthier drink - the age old lebur sorbot or nimbu shikanji or lemonade. I make sure my fridge always has some of these juicy lemons to be squeezed and made into a drink. Even as I am write this blog post I am sipping lebur sorbot.


I do not fancy tea much during summers. Hence during the weekend evening a cup of tea and biscuits don't work for us. The moment he is up from his afternoon siesta, he will ask for something to eat. Now I am very poor in snack ideas. Maybe a bit lazy too in making elaborate evening snacks. Because that's the time I read or write usually. But then need to feed the hungry stomach too. So I usually think of some easy ways to get the snacks done in jiffy. A couple of weeks back I had got frozen momo which I would steam and serve and it only took me 15 minutes of work. But then unused stomach started revolting against the overdose of Maida (flour) and Momo was striked off from the list. Rainy season would see me making a lot of assorted pakodas but its still Summer and fried oily stuffs are not an option right now. So I reverted back to the safest and easiest option - Chire Bhaja.

Chire or Chiwda or beaten rice is such a versatile ingredient. It can be used to make healthy breakfast dishes or peppy fried snack preparations that are still healthy and light than any other fried snacks. Chire bhaja or crispy beaten rice is one of the many popular snacks among Bengalis. We like to have our chide bhajas with fried peanuts, shredded coconuts, chanachur, just with sugar, or with lightly fried green peas (motorshuti). Anything just goes fine with the unassuming chide bhaja. Often its taken along with a cup of tea. But as I have mentioned we dont prefer tea during hot evenings hence its Chire bhaja as is for us.

I really like my chire bhaja with fried green peas. Its this mix of sweet and soft peas with the crispiness of the fresh fried beaten rice with the titillating aroma of fried ginger and crushed pepper ummm its really a winner preparation. Check out the recipe below.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes  

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

• Chire (Beaten rice) - 2 cup
• Dried Red Chilli - 2
• Ginger - 1 inch chopped into thin pieces
• Green Peas (Frozen or fresh) - 3/4th cup 
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt & Sugar as per taste
• Refines Oil for frying
•  Sev (Chickpea noodles) - 1/2 cup (optional)

1.Heat two tbsp oil in a skillet

2. When its hot crack the red chillies and toss it into the oil

3. Add the ginger pieces and fry

4. Add the tender green peas into the skillet. Add a pinch of salt and coarsely crushed black pepper. Fold in. Saute for a couple of minutes and then take it out on a paper napkin

You can use either frozen or fresh peas. If you are using fresh peas then boil it till they are soft and drain the water. If your are using frozen then blanch the peas till tender.


5. Add some oil in the skillet and fry the beaten rice in batches taking care to put only a single layer of beaten rice everytime so that each one is fried properly. Do not overcrowd else there are chances the beaten rice will not puff correctly. This required patience and skill but its worth the final result.

6. Drain excess oil on a paper napkin.

Take a bowl and place the crispy fried rice first. place the fried peas on the bed of the beaten rice. Add some sugar and salt to balance the taste. Add the sev. Mix everything and eat immediately. If you like you can toss a few chopped onion pieces for that extra crunch and juiciness.

Lonavala 2012

Swapnagandha Valley @ Wildernest

Waterfalls visible from Reception @ Wildernest

Mesmerizing Konkan Yatra by rail

This year also with the onset of May we started planning our monsoon destination. We didn’t want it to be a Mahabaleshwar, Matheran or Lonavala trip but something different. And different we have planned. A sneak peak of the place where we will be holed up. Will update details once we complete our tour.



Talking of the rains and not talking about the foods that make the season all the more special would be an injustice to all foodies out there. After getting drenched on way home what could give you more comfort than a bowl of steaming vegetable Maggie (noodles)? Add a handful of scrambled eggs to it and voila you have a royal dish in your hands. Monsoon is the time everyone willfully surrenders to their fritter cravings. Kanda Bhaji (onion fritter), Pale Bhaji (Spinach fritter), Batata bhaji (potato fritters) and all other kinds of bhajiyas make their appearance at the roadside stalls. Bun-maska and masala chai is also a great combination for the hungry souls.  Back in Bengal it would be time for muri makha (a heady mix of puffed rice with different spice mix) ,aloor chop (Potato cutlets) and adda (chitchat). Time would fly and no one would even notice when the evening made way for the night. Let's also not forget to mention about the sliced tangy Kacchi kairi (raw mangoes) seasoned the typical Maharashtra way that you get near any tourist destinations especially outside the historic forts. It was an electrifying experience the time we had some kacchi kairis at the Sinhagad fort.

Kacchi Kairi @ Sinhagad Fort

Along with the food we also have the all important chai (tea). Whether its a masala chai, raw tea or a simple milk tea a rainy evening cant do without it. The shot of steaming cutting chai (small tea cup)  is as intoxicating as a shot of tequila.

Cutting Chai & Bhajjis

Preparation Time: 10 minutes 

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Serves:2



Ingredients: 

• Kumro Phool (Pumpkin Blossom)-8
• Besan (Bengal gram flour) - 1/2 cup
• Rice Powder - 1/4 cup
• Kalonji (Nigella seeds) - 1/4 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste
• Refined oil - for deep frying

1. Remove the stigma and the stem from each blossom. Wash the blossoms properly in a colander taking care not to tear them (the blossoms are very delicate)
2. Prepare a uniform thick batter of gram flour, rice powder, baking soda, red chilli powder, nigella seeds, sugar and salt.


3.Heat oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot enough, dip the blossoms one by one into the above batter and place them in the skillet. The blossoms will quickly get fried in about a couple of minutes. Fry them till they turn a shade of golden brown.


4. Remove the blossom fritters from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them over tissue paper so that extra oil gets soaked.

Note: You can try the same recipe with other Squash family blossoms like Zucchini blossoms.


Serve as it is with any chutney or sauce or you can serve it as an accompaniment to daal rice.


It's also my Birthday today. So it's a day of celebrating my birthday, the monsoons and plenty of warm memories to go with it. Today is no-cooking day for me. It will be a dinner of delectable mutton pulav and chicken kabab from a famous Parsi joint in Pune.

Signing off with a few lines I read somewhere:

My kaleidoscope dreams have all been unfurled
Since you Green   have colored my world,
You rescued my heart, Green
You rescued my heart...

Take care everyone and enjoy the rains!

Sending this to Just not the cakes' "Let's celebrate Halloween" event and Pari & Jiya's "Only Traditional Recipe",.

The Pune weather has really undergone a lot of changes in the past couple of years. I remember 4 years ago when I was staying in Navi Mumbai, I had visited Pune along with my mother around the starting of November and God it was some cold. The moment we had come out of the temperature controlled comforts of the Volvo we were greeted by bone freezing chilly air. Hardly prepared for such a cold whether when in Mumbai it was still warm and toasty, we almost spent the entire weekend shivering.

Global warming, pulling down mountain after mountain to make place for 'chic planned cities', increasing vehicles and pollution, population burst have all contributed to the decline of Pune weather which was once as good as Bangalore weather. The outskirts of the city still enjoy the remnants of what once used to be hills, but sadly enough the hills are now dotted only with brick and mortar skyscapers rather than wild flora and fauna. We stay in Anandnagar which was once considered a remote part of Pune but very soon would be consumed by the tentacles of the rapidly growing city limits. Whenever we get some time in the evening we go to the terrace. The billowing lights all around does make it look as if Diwali never ceases to exist in Pune, but also makes us see the reality that even the remotest hilltop is not saved from human intervention. "Valley view" housing societies make sure they grab the best location in town so as to grab the elitest of clientele.

Year by year as the seasons are forgetting their original characteristics. Summer merrily eats away the monsoon seasons, the rains hardly make their presence felt and the the famous "gulabi thandi" of Pune- a season when your cheeks turn a shade of rosey pink have all gotten lost in transition somewhere. With December creeping in and the need to still put the fans on is quite a surprising thing. All over India, apart from the northern limits, winter seems to have forgotten its way. We spent the last weekend in Panchgani  but even at the hill station the temperature was like normal Pune temperature. Yesterday the papers had claimed that it was the effect of some easterly winds that was responsible for the high temperature and from today onward Pune would see a drop in the mercury. Considering the heat level yesterday I had hardly pinned any hopes. But when we woke up today morning at 7 am, the entire neighborhood was wrapped in a soft blanket of fog. I could barely make out the shops below. As I nudged through the window to really believe what I was seeing, I felt a waft of chilly air brush through my face. I recoiled as an instant reaction, my breath made a small circle of fog on the cold window. As I closed the window shut, I was smiling. Finally the time of cuddling inside a warm blanket with a cup of steaming coffee while watching a nice suspense movie has arrived. Today is also the much hyped doomsday 12-12-12. if I am lucky enough to survive the predictions of the Mayan Calender, I would look forward to enjoy each and every day of this lovely winter weather as long as it lasts.

Egg keeps your body warm, so winter is the time to try and experiment with a lot of egg preparations. So I decided to improvise on boiled eggs. Once again something really quick , easy and tasty. This recipe takes the best of both worlds North and South, maybe a dash of East and West as well.


Preparation Time: 5 minutes 

A delicious evening snack

It has been raining on and off here in Pune - sometimes its pouring like anything and sometimes just a surprise drizzle which catches you off guard. Pune has a pretty dry weather and whenever it rains, the temperature takes an immediate nosedive. Chilly winds make you shiver to the core. But if this is a short spell, the very next moment be prepared to get scorched  by the strong sun. This alternating between hot and cold spells presents the perfect setup to fall ill. And in our home also its not an exception.

Weekend is the only time I get to experiment with my food or make new stuffs. But since I am such a lazy person so I try to think out recipes which are easy yet yummy. I was just recalling the recipes that my mom used to make in evening snacks when I was a kid. So I thought to make the same.


This is one recipe which was one of my favourite 15 years back. After starting to cook myself I came to know how difficult it was to think up of a new recipe everyday for dinner  and to think that mom used to come up with new recipes three times everyday - it leaves me awed every time. She is a whiz in thinking up snacks - I do not remember a single day I did not relish the morning breakfast or evening snacks. This particular pakoda was a hit on rainy evenings when one had to just stare at the rain sitting by the window. And the pet kitties surrounding your feet hoping to get a share of the yummy tid-bits. Those were really the days!

Preparation & Cooking Time: 30 mins
Procedure:
1. Chop the onion, coriander leaf, green chilli finely and keep them aside
2. Remove the sides of the brown bread with a knife and cut the slices into small pieces

Bread plays the role of a binder in this recipe. It makes the pakoras tasty and healthy as well.

3. Skin the potato and boil it. Mash the boiled potato
4. Toss all the above three into a mixing bowl, add red chilli powder and salt to it. Mix everything into a fine paste. Taste the mix to be sure about the saltiness of the mixture before adding the egg.

Mix everything together

5. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and add it to the mixture. Mix everything together. It should be a nice and thick mixture
6. Heat oil in a skillet and put roundels of the mixture in the oil
7. Fry the pakoras till golden brown
8. Serve the crispy pakoras in a serving tray and top with a few twigs of coriander leaf. Compliment with tomato sauce or any hot and sweet dip. Since the husband had a sore throat and running nose I served it along with steaming tom yum seafood soup.

Egg Pakodas with Tom Yum Seafood Soup - Perfect for a rainy evening