Pasta Primavera

Pasta Primavera, is probably one of the most healthiest version of Pasta.There is no separate sauce required for making this pasta.It is a combination of fresh vegetables sauteed with minced garlic and Olive Oil.It is very simple and easy to make.Traditionally, Parmesan cheese is added to it as a final topping. I have skipped adding cheese as I wanted to keep it vegan and healthy. Also, I have added balsamic vinegar for additional flavor and taste. 

The taste and flavor to this pasta comes from the fusion of fresh roasted vegetables in herbed olive oil and garlic with balsamic vinegar .

Indulge in this sin free healthilicious Italian Treat.

Serves : 2-3

Ingredients

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil/ normal edible Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
2. Durum Wheat Pasta - 1.5 cups  
3. Balsamic Vinegar - 1 tbsp 
4. Mixed Italian seasoning - 2 tsp or more depending on taste
5. Garlic - 4 pods (minced finely)
6. Salt and Pepper to taste

Vegetables

• Broccoli - 6-7 florets
• Red Bell Pepper - 1 small (cut into julienne)
• Yellow Bell Pepper - 1 small (cut into julienne)
• Baby corn - 4 (slit length wise)
• Onion - 1 small (cut lengthwise)
• Tomato - 1 large or 2 small (chopped finely)
• American sweet corn- 2 tbsp

Method

1. Boil broccoli and baby corn for about 2 mins with tsp of salt. Strain them and keep it aside. Cook Pasta till Al Dente and keep aside.

2. Take a pan, add olive oil. Add some minced garlic and onion and saute till nice aroma and onions turn translucent on a medium flame.

3. Add all the veggies (other than broccoli and baby corn) and saute for 2 mins with some salt, pepper and mixed herb seasoning. Ensure the flame low-medium and not high.

4. Now add broccoli and baby corn and cook for 5 more mins. Ensure that all the veggies are nicely cooked and covered in herb flavored Olive oil and garlic.

5. Now add the cooked pasta and saute well. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and toss well so that the pasta is covered uniformly blended well with the aromatic flavored vegetables.

6. Drizzle some more olive oil and serve it piping hot with slice of bread or Soups.

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. You can add any veggies of your choice and any number of vegetables. Absolutely left to your convenience.
2. You can add some grated Parmesan or any other cheese on top before serving.

All about Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

It was a lazy Sunday noon and I was flipping through all the TV channels. That is when I bumped into a food channel - guess FOOD Network if am not wrong. I love to watch any channel related to travel and food. It is very interesting to see how the cuisines from across the globe is being prepared, the culture,food habits and their lifestyle. Anyways, coming to the post, this was one particular episode on exclusive coverage about Balsamic Vinegar :):). Yeah, right from how it is being prepared and how it is used in Italian cooking and everything about it. I was so much fascinated and was so keen to buy and try it !!! Below is the product that I could get hold of from near by 'Nuts' n 'Spices' :)

For the very first time when I tried it, I found that it had a strong aroma which I really didn't like much :\ . The taste was bit sweet. I was confused if I did the right thing by purchasing this. But believe me, it is worth every penny if you use it and eat it the right way:):) 

What is Balsamic Vinegar and where is it Originated?

Let's see what wikipedia has to say about Balsamic Vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar (Italian: aceto balsamico) is a very dark, concentrated, and intensely flavored vinegar made wholly or partially from grape must, originating in Italy.

Traditionally, it is made in Modena, Italy. 

Benefits

You can see the health benefits of Blasamic Vinegar listed here.

How can you use it :)

Personally, I have tried to use it in chinese cooking like Gobi Manchurian, Fried Rice and Noodles. Check out here. This will add some strong flavor along with soy sauce. Just drizzle some balsamic vinegar along with soy sauce to your cooking and you can taste the magic.

Also, it tastes best with fresh strawberries. Balsamic Vinegar and strawberries make an exotic romantic combination. Just drizzle a drop of Balsamic vinegar on fresh slices of strawberries. Every bite is juicy and yum.

One other dish which I tried was making Pineapple vinaigrette. Blend some fresh Pineapple with a tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar. You can add other tropical fruits like mango or anything of your choice. Blend at high speed and serve chilled. This is a great Mock tail for summer and to detox your body.




You can use Balsamic Vinegar as a great salad dressing, just drizzle them on any of your favorite salads. Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar are a great heavenly combination that can take your travel buds all the way to Italy. One such Salad recipe which uses Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar is Posted here. Balsamic Roasted Vegetables.

It can be used in your favorite pasta, as a salad dressing for pasta salad. It is all about your taste buds. 
I personally like to add it to my pasta recipe Pasta Primavera and Pasta Arrabiata.

It can be even drizzled on your favorite deserts, ice creams like vanilla or butterscotch.


Explore this Balsamic Vinegar , a traditional artisan product of Modena, Italy in your cooking and share your comments. Big love to All the Foodies :):)

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

This is my easiest and most healthy option for dinner. Weekly twice, I tend to have just this salad for my dinner. It is definitely a sin free indulgence. I have used extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar as dressing.Both these two combinations are heavenly with rich flavor and aroma that you almost travel to Italy. Know more about Balsamic Vinegar and its uses here. This has all the veggies that is sure the satisfy your taste buds as well as your hunger without gaining pounds. This is so easy to prepare. Whenever you want to detox your body with an healthy alternate, just go for it:):)

serves:2

Ingredients

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
2. Paneer/cottage cheese/tofu - 6-7 small cubes
3. Pineapple slices - 3 (Cubed)
4. Baby corn - 5 (sliced thinly)
5. Onion - 1 large (chopped roughly)
6. Tomato - 1 large (chopped finely)
7. Broccoli - 5-6 florets
8. Red Bell Pepper - 1 small or 1/2 big
9. yellow Bell Pepper - 1 small or 1/2 big
10. Green Capsicum - 1 small or 1/2 big
11. Balsamic Vinegar - 2 tbsp or more as per taste
12. Mixed Italian Herb Seasoning - 1 tbsp or more as per taste
13. Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Boil Broccoli and baby corn with a pinch of salt for about 2 mins. The broccoli should be semi cooked. Strain the contents and keep it aside.

2. Heat a pan and add olive oil. Add Onion and saute until transparent. Add bell peppers,capsicum,tomatoes and saute well for 2 mins.

3. Add strained baby corn and broccoli and saute well in Olive Oil. Add needed salt.

4. Add paneer and pineapple cubes and saute well.

5. Add Italian seasoning and fresh ground pepper. Saute on a medium flame for all the veggies to get cooked and soft.

7. Drizzle Balsamic vinegar in the last, raise the flame high and do a high speed saute for 2 mins. Don't take off your hand else the vegetables might be burnt. 

8. Keep on medium- high flame for about 2 mins for all the vinegar and water to be absorbed by the veggies.

9. Once done, switch off the flame. Transfer the salad to plate and serve hot:):)

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. You can add any veggies of your choice according to your taste buds. Choices like Brussels ,carrots go well with this salad.
2.  Pineapple and paneer tastes great with balsamic vinegar and hence I have used them in my salad. Off course, paneer is a great source of protein too and pineapple provides the additional sweetness and 'tanginess' that tastes great with balsamic vinegar.
3. You can use strawberries,olives or any toppings for your salad.
4. You can also add feta cheese, they taste great with balsamic vinegar.

Lebanese Falafel Wrap

Lebanese falafel wrap - as the name suggests, is a very popular dish in the Lebanese or Mediterranean cuisine. Traditionally it is made using Pita bread or Pita pockets. I have here used ready made tortilla wraps to make the base. This was first introduced to me by my best friend. She is definitely a pro in making these wraps with ease. Though I had tasted this already at a restaurant called New Yorker, I was not very much fond of this. She had once made it on an occasion for dinner. It tasted so so delicious that I instantly fell in love with it. This tasted way too good compared to restaurant which served them and it was pricey too. This is a recipe that is shared by her and I tried this at home for my husband. I was really happy with the way it had turned out. Here, I am sharing this special recipe that was passed on to me by my friend. Enjoy this International cuisine made easily at home in a less expensive way :):) Once the ingredients like falafel, tahini and veggies are ready, the falafel wrap is very easy to make and is just assembling work.

Ingredients

1. Tortilla Wraps - 6 
2. Red Chili Sauce - 2 tbsp per wrap or more as per taste 
3. Tahini Sauce - 3 tbsp per wrap or more as per taste
4. Falafel - 3 per wrap
5. Aluminium Foil for wrapping

Vegetables

• Lettuce or Cabbage (shredded) - 1/2 cabbage 
• Onion - 1 Large (cut as shown in the pic) 
• Carrot- 2 big (cut into julienne as shown in the pic) 
• Tomato - 3 large (halved and cut lengthwise)

Method

1. Heat the tortilla wrap either with little olive oil or butter on a pan until brown spots appear.

2. Apply some red chili sauce on the tortilla base.

3. Assemble all the veggies on the top - middle portion of the wrap, spare some space in the bottom and both sides of the wrap as we need to fold them on the sides and bottom so that it becomes spill proof.

4. Drizzle generous tahini sauce and chili sauce on the veggies. Place 3 falafel over the veggies.

5. Fold the left and right side of the wrap and then fold the bottom of the wrap upwards so the the contents are secured inside the wrap.

6. Use a aluminium foil to secure the wrap tight as shown in the picture.

7. Serve the wraps fresh along with Tahini Sauce or any sauce of your choice :):)!!!!

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. If you are unable to get hold of tortilla wraps, you can make a wrap base using All purpose flour. It comes out really soft and tastes even good.
2. Veggies can be anything of your choice :)

Falafel

Falafel, is deep fried balls made from chickpeas and is a popular dish in Mediterranean / Lebanese cuisine. It is said to have originated from Middle East. It can be either eaten alone with hummus or Tahini Dip or can be made as a Falafel Wrap using tortilla or pita bread. This is absolutely delicious and healthy. 

Ingredients

1. Chickpeas soaked overnight - 250 gms or 1 Cup 
2. Onion - 1 Large (roughly chopped) 
3. Garlic - 4 pods 
4. Coriander leaf/cilantro - 1/2 bunch 
5. Parsley - 2 tbsp finely chopped (Optional) 
6. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 
7. Salt as needed 
8. Red chili powder - 1 tsp or more as per the taste 
9. Cornflour - 3 - 4 tbsp for binding 
10. Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Pulse the soaked chickpea along with other ingredients mentioned into a coarse mixture as shown in the picture above.

2. Form equal sized balls from the coarse mixture and deep fry them in hot oil until they are golden brown.

3. Serve hot yummy falafel with Tahini Dip or any other sauce.

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. The falafel shape can be either rolled out to balls or can be flattened. Depends on your wish.
2. I have used cornflour for binding as it adds crispiness to the balls. You can also use All purpose flour/Maida.

Tahini Dip

Tahini is a sauce that is prepared by grinding toasted sesame seeds with garlic, olive oil and lemon.This is a major staple in the Mediterranean cuisine and has originated from Middle East. My close friend had made this on one occasion and it was absolute yum. This is a recipe that has been shared by her along with falafel wrap which I tried at home and became successful. This has got a creamy texture and a nutty flavor and can be paired with pita bread,falafel, hummus and can even be used as a salad dressing.

Serves: 3 dips as shown in the pic above

Ingredients

1. White sesame seeds - 1 cup
2. Roasted Garlic - 3 pods 
3. Lemon juice - 1/4 cup or more as per the taste
4. Salt - 2 tsp or more as per the taste
5. Fresh parsley chopped finely - 2 tsp (Optional)
6. Water - required to adjust the consistency
7. Extra virgin Olive oil - for dressing

Method

1. Dry roast the sesame seeds on a medium flame in a thick bottomed pan until it turns aromatic and slightly brown in color.

2. Cool it completely and blend it at high speed with roasted garlic, salt,lemon juice and needed water.

3. Adjust the consistency of water required and keep blending until you get a nice creamy texture and saucy consistency.

4. Transfer the contents to a container,drizzle some olive oil.

5. Rich creamy Tahini dip is ready to served with your favorite pita bread, hummus or falafel.

Aloo Capsicum Masala

Aloo or potato and capsicum is a common vegetable in every household. Aloo being the king of vegetables always makes a great choice for any gravy. This is also a commonly available gravy at any restaurant or dhaba. Let's see the preparation of this gravy.

Serves:4

Ingredients

1. Potatoes - 2 Big
2. Capsicum / Bell Pepper(Green/Yellow/Red) - 1 big or 2 small
3. Medium size tomatoes- 4
4. Almonds (Blanched)/ Cashews - 7
5. Big Onions -2 
6. Mustard Oil or any cooking oil - 3 tbsp
7. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
8. Ginger garlic paste- 2 tbsp
9. Red chili powder- 2 tsp
10. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
11. Coriander powder- 2 tsp
12. Garam Masala powder- 2 tsp
13. Whisked thick Curd - 3 tbsp
14. Fresh Cream - 2 tbsp (Optional)
15. Cinnamon stick-1 piece
16. cloves-3
17. Bay Leaf - 1
18. Kasuri methi crushed- 1 tbsp
19. Coriander leaves - few for garnishing

Method

1. Boil the potatoes separately in a pressure cooker with pinch of salt.

2. In a separate pan, add oil and saute capsicum for 2 mins with a dash of salt and keep it aside.

3. Grind onion and ginger garlic paste together. In a pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds,bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cloves and saute on a medium flame.

4. After cumin seeds crackle, add the onion + ginger garlic paste and saute well until the paste turns to golden brown color. The raw flavour of onion ginger garlic paste should completely go off.

5. Grind the tomatoes and (almonds/cashews) together and add it to the above pan.

6. Add turmeric, red chili, coriander powder and needed salt to the above pan, mix well and cover the pan and cook for about 5 mins.

7. Now add the whisked curd and garam masala and mix gently. Add the cooked potatoes and fried capsicum to the above gravy mixture. Allow it to simmer on low flame for another
5 mins.

8. Add some fresh cream and simmer for 2 mins.

9. Add crushed kasuri methi.

10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any Indian Breads.

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. If you are using cashews, soak them in warm water for 15 mins before grinding it. This ensures a smooth paste is formed.
2. You can either use almond or cashew, this is added to enhance the flavor,richness and provide a creamy texture to the gravy.
3. Fresh cream is added to balance the tanginess of tomato and curd and also to give a creamy taste and thickness.