Creamy White Sauce Penne Pasta

Creamy White Sauce Penne Pasta

I moved to Mumbai almost 3 years back and like any other Indian, coming to Mumbai was a big fascination for me. I always thought ‘Bombay’ would be full of glamour and bollywood people roaming around. Every morning I used to flip directly to Bombay Times and read about page 3 gossips and high profile parties in the town. It was a time for me when I can actually go to the places where these celebrities go. I read somewhere long back that there is this Italian restaurant in Juhu called “Del Italia” and it was Madhuri’s (ya ya our very own dhak-dhak girl) favourite eat out place in Mumbai. So one day while crossing the juhu beach I saw the same place!! My excitement level was sky high to dine at a place which is Madhuri’s favourite.

Ya I know how lame it sounds, but c’mon back then I were a new girl in the ‘tinsel town’. Any ways we entered the restaurant hoping to have some great time. Ambience was just perfect, open air roof top restaurant, sea facing table and candle light. I mean why wouldn’t this be anyone’s favourite!!!
Coming down to food this was my first ever italian meal (I don’t count pizza outlet’s pizzas as Italian whatsoever). I was in a fix on what to order as I had absolutely no idea what is what. So the waiter suggested us to try veg Alfredo pasta with a portion of garlic bread on the side. So we ordered the same. When our food was served it looked so pretty but believe me or not I hated the pasta on first go. It was too bland for my taste buds at that time. I thought too bad, Madhuri and my choices don’t match! But I didn’t give up on trying liking white sauce pasta. And finally the fateful day arrived when we went for midnight buffet at the Sahara Star. The freshly prepared warm white sauce penne was served. I don’t know but there was something magical about it. The moment I had my first bite I told myself, yes this is it I am totally in love with this. Perfectly cooked penne, topped with creamy n cheesy white sauce, crunchy colourful bell peppers and right amount of herbs. Sheer divine!!! Ever since then, I am a big big fan of Italian cuisine. Thanks to the ‘Little Italy’ outlets which serves delectable veg Italian food.

Khas-Khas ka Halwa (Poppy seeds Dessert)

Khas-Khas ka Halwa

Generally speaking I don’t have a sweet-tooth as such but yes I drool over a few desserts. One of my favouritest (I think it should be word as we cannot define so many amazing food with just ‘favourite’) dessert of all time is Khas-khas ka Halwa. The warm aroma used to get diffused in the whole house when my mom used to prepare this halwa. It is absolutely a comfort food which will lift up your mood no matter how much low you are feeling. In fact, once I and my bestie ‘K’ had a bad day in college. So we watched a movie together – ‘The Notebook’ (beautiful movie to say the least) and finished the whole box of khas-khas ka halwa at a go! When I was in hostel my mom used to always send me this halwa which can be stored in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. But now as she has realized that I can cook and all, she now sends me a jar full of poppy seeds and expects me to prepare the halwa by myself. Not fair!!! To Mom – “I can cook doesn’t means that you should stop sending me the halwa, it is one of those speciality of yours which tastes heavenly. And I will never be able to replicate it, no matter what”.

Poppy seeds are obtained from opium poppy which is dried into seed pods. Opium is widely used as a drug which is produced by using the latex of the unripe fruit. So although poppy seeds are very nutritious it might contain slight traces of alkaloids (God knows what does that means but yes over eating might makes your head spin round!!!). In a lot of countries like UAE, poppy seeds are banned for drug control reasons.

Khas-khas is used in various gravies to give them thick texture and a distinctive flavour. It takes any normal recipe to all together a different and rich level. It is also widely used for garnishing purpose. Khas-khas ka halwa is a very easy and mouth-watering desert to prepare on any occasion. Also it is a delight for the weight watchers as it uses very less ghee and sugar.

Cheesy Poha Cutlets

Cheesy Poha Cutlets

Being a hard-core and heart-core Indori indefinite love for Poha comes naturally to me. As a child, I used to ask my mother to pack Poha in tiffin almost every alternate day. During college days, me and friends used to go to chhappan(a very famous eating area in Indore with 56 shops so it is called – Chhappan ) for Poha and Jalebi breakfast. Any Indori will swear on this amazing breakfast combo.

Even to this day I love having Poha for any meal of the day. Poha is dehusked rice which is flattened into light dry flakes. Poha is again one of the most versatile ingredients to have in your pantry. Traditionally, it is used to make Poha upma, Poha chivda, etc, but you can experiment with Poha to make a lot of other dishes.

Yesterday, I was having a few of my friends over at my place so was thinking of making something quick and delicious for them. So I made Cheesy Poha Cutlets as a snack which was given thums up by my friends. Cutlets can be either shallow fried or deep fried but as I was having a little time crunch I opted for deep frying. Shallow frying in a non-stick pan is a better option if you are counting those extra calories.

Masala Makai Kondya (Spicy Cornmeal Dumplings)

Masala Makai Kondya

Big big APOLOGIES for being away from blogging since long. My friends and few readers mailed me and showed concern as to why I have not been regular with my blog. Thanks to all the people who look forward to read my humble posts.

Lately, a lot of trips to country side made me observe one thing that they eat a wide variety of cereals in their diet other than wheat and rice. Maize, Millet, Sorghum, buckwheat, etc forms a part of staple diet for many. These are high in nutrient contents and at the same time very filling. Maize flour known as Makai ka atta is widely used in many forms. A coarser version known as cornmeal is used to make cornbread, corn fritters, etc.

Back at home we use makai ka atta to make either roti or dumplings. These cornmeal dumplings are called “Kondya”. I know I know name sounds really scary but trust me it is really healthy and easy to make. The basic kondya can be eaten in two forms- sweet or masala. Today I tried the masala version so sharing the same.

Lal bhaaji aur aloo ki sabzi (Red Spinach with Potatoes)

Lal bhaaji aur aloo ki sabzi

I have been on holiday for a last couple of weeks. Attended a few weddings, met a lot of old and new people and most importantly ate a lot of amazing food. Visits to Indore just can’t happen without overeating as you have so much to eat in so less time. I didn’t want to miss out on any of the delicacies so result as always was filled my tummy like a trash can. Coming back made me realize that now I should go on a detoxification diet for a few days and eat pretty light.

Winters is about to leave and so would the fresh leafy vegetables. It’s not that you don’t get leafy vegetables year round but the crispness and freshness of the leafy vegetables in winters is incomparable to any other season. So picked up a bunch of red spinach and some potatoes and made a delicious and very healthy recipe. The red colour of spinach makes it look so vibrant and beautiful.