Pasta with olives, tomatoes and chilli

We Indians always wanted our dish to be so complicated, oily and spicy. We had an assumption that these are the factors which turn our dish to tasty. But these days, as international cuisine stepped into every kitchen, we love to be lazy and experiment with pastas, noodles or the same. But these can be healthy too with little of fat and spices; but damn tasty.

This is a simple pasta tossed with vegetables and olives.

Ingredients:

Penne or any other pasta 500 gm
Olive oil
Baby tomatoes
garlic cloves 4 chopped
chilli 1
salt and pepper, to taste
eggplant 1
Bell peppers (yellow & red) 1/4 cup
black olives, pitted
parsley 2 tbsp, chopped

Method:

1. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.

2. In the meantime, heat oil in a frying pan and cook tomatoes, garlic, eggplants, peppers and chilli until tomatoes begin to burst.

3. Drain pasta and add to tomato mixture and toss. Add olives and toss again. Garnish with parsley

Double Chocolate Cheesecake- Noora's first bake !!

Baking can be  a turned to a world of fun for kids. My kids always accompany me in the kitchen while they smell something special is being cooked there. They love to hold the beater, to read the recipe for their mom or arrange the muffin cups etc. But this is the first time that Noora, my daughter, independently baked a cake.

Its always a good idea to choose something with fewer steps and ingredients and the one that they will luv to eat when finished. And I'm sure they won't complain about the taste and texture unlike when baked by their mom. :)

 Ingredients:

Oreo/Bourbon Cookies 24
Butter 1/2 stick or 1/4 cup
Chocolate 8oz/220 gm
Sugar 1 cup
Flour 2 tbsp
Vanilla Essence
Philadelphia Cheese or any other cream cheese 32oz/ 900gm
Eggs 4


Method:
Preheat oven at 325F/160C .

Crush cookies ziplocked in a freezer bag, using a roller pin . You can use a food-processor too for the same. You may not wipe the cream.

Melt the butter and mix in with the crushed cookies. For the bottom layer, press these into the baking pan with your palm or a dry measuring cup. Bake it for 10minutes.

Melt chocolate using a double boiler or microwave it for 1 minute. Let it cool.

Beat cheese along with other ingredients including the melted chocolate except eggs. The cheese should be at room temperature. If it is not, microwave for a min.

Add egg one at a time and beat till it blends well. Make sure you don't overbeat them.

Pour this over the baked crust.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Let it cool for a minimum of 4 hours and then refrigerate it.

**If you do not want the salty flavor of cheese, you can substitute half of the cheese by sour cream or fresh cream.

Crunchy Caramel Popcorns - It is addictive

Its a special day today ..  - a day celebrated to honor kids all over the world, to make them feel special in this world of adults; a day when they get to be pampered by their teachers and parents. In India , we celebrate Childrens Day today; ie; November 14 as it marks the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

My kids, like any other kids, like to be surprised once a while; especially on such occassions; with some goodies , bakes or anything as such. Last year I tried caramel popcorn which was awesome and this year planning to bake some cake for them. It was now that I realized that I'ven't posted Caramel popcorn recipe yet. It's a simple recipe and I'm sure that many of us don't know it. Before I used to mix popcorn in caramelised sugar. But there was something missing in the recipe. Then I started googling for the original recipe for crunchier ones and yes..  This I think is the right way - to bake it after caramelising. 

Ingredients:

Popcorn 1 cup
Sugar (preferrably brown) 1/2 cup
Salt a pinch
Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
Butter 1/4 cup
Corn Syrup 1 Tbsp
Pecans or any other nuts 1/4 cup (optional)
Baking Soda 1/4 tsp

Method:


1. Pop up the corn according to the package instructions. Mix in the nuts if you are using them.

2. Take a pan and melt the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter until hot and bubbly. Switch off the flame and mix in vanilla, baking soda, salt and cinnamon ( if you want to flavor it so).

3. Pour over the popcorn. Mix it well till they are evenly coated with caramel. If your kids don't like it much sweetier, mix it accordingly;don't go for even-coating.

If you want chewy ones, go for it

OR

If you want a Crunchy Snack.....

1. Preheat oven at 120C.

2. Pour Caramel corn over a lined baking sheet and arrange in a single layer as possible.

3. Bake in oven for 5 minutes. Take them out and stir. Bake them again for 5 minutes. Continue this process until the popcorns turn as crunchy as you need them; but make sure it should not be more than 20 minutes of baking in total.

Let it cool and break them into pieces if it is stuck together. It will harden as it cools and can be stored in airtight containers

.

EID MUBARAK

Eid Mubarak !! It's time again to celebrate !! We celebrate Eid usually with lots of enthusiasm like any others; but this time with the arrival of the two gorgeous princesses in our family, the festival brings lots of colors than ever before. Naila (my sister's daughter) and Nawal (my princess) are about to celebrate their first ever Eid Al Adha this time. So this Eid should be special. ahhaa... it defenitely is......

But I was so busy that I completely forgotten about Eid post. So this time nothing new.. Thought of liking this to some Eid specials mainly desserts.

MUTTON BIRIYANI (KANNUR)

ALISA/AREES

TRIFLE PUDDING

 APPLE DELIGHT

TIRAMISU

CARROT HALWA/GAJAR KA HALWA

CRUNCHY DELIGHT

RASGULLE KI NAKHRE

CHEESECAKE WITH BLUEBERRY TOPPING

CHOCOLATE RABRI BLUEBERRY COMPOTE CUPS

DRY FRUITS AND PINEAPPLE PUDDING

POUND CAKE TIRAMISU