Homemade Pizza and Pasta Sauce (GB Special)

Why would one go for a store bought Pizza and Pasta sauce when the same can be made so easily at home with available ingredients?? The store bought pizza sauce have high amount of preservatives added that it almost kills the natural taste and flavor of the sauce. Ever since I started making these at home, there is no turning back. In case you do not have access to fresh bail or parsley leaves,you can very well use the dried ones that are readily available in the market. This can be stored in refrigerator for about a week. This can also be used as a dip for sandwich, breads and buns and trust me, it tastes amazing. Let's jump to the recipe.

Serves: 1 bowl

Ingredients

1. Bangalore Tomatoes - 6
2. Garlic Cloves Big - 8 ( alternatively you can use 4 tsp of garlic powder)
3. Jalapenos - 5 slices ( for flavor and spice, however this is completely optional and you can skip if you don't have)
4. Red Chilies - 3
5. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp (for nice color)
6. Butter - 2 tbsp
7. Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
8. Tomato Sauce - 1 tbsp
9. Sugar - 3/4 tsp
10. Dried Parsley - 1 tsp
11. Mixed Italian Herbs - 1 tsp (Dried Sage,Thyme,Rosemary,Marjoram)
12. Dried Basil Leaves - 2 tsp
13. Dried Oregano - 1 tsp
14. Needed salt to taste

Method

1. Blanch the tomatoes as mentioned here.

2. Spread the blanched tomatoes on a tray for them to cool down. Remove the seeds and roughly chop the tomatoes.

3. Grind the jalapenos, garlic and red chilies together in a grinder to form a puree.

                           

4. Heat butter in a pan and add some Olive oil. Add the pureed mixture and saute it on a low flame.

                            

5. Add all the seasoning powders,kashmiri chili powder,sugar and salt. Slow cooking is very important for this sauce as only then the flavors will be released and retained. 

                           

6. Simmer it on a low flame with pan covered for about 7-8 mins.

7. Add a tbsp of tomato sauce for the right tangy flavor.

8. Steam a glass jar to get rid of any germs or bacteria by immersing the glass jar in a boiling water completely along with the lid carefully using tongs.

9. Transfer the sauce to the glass jar and store it for about a week in refrigerator.

10. You can use this for pizza, pasta, dips, salad dressing. It tastes yummy!!!!!

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.

Veggie Pasta Alfredo

White sauce that is generally used for pasta has different variations. There are different ways in making a sauce and different types of sauces that you make for pasta. These sauces need not necessarily be used only for pasta, also for sandwich, as dips and dressing for salads. One such sauce is what we will be seeing in the below post. Traditionally, this Alfredo sauce is made using eggs. I've made the egg less version. Trust me, this sauce is so easy to make with readily available ingredients in your super market. This is so Yummmy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients

1. Fresh Cream- 200 ml (I used Amul)
2. Salted Butter-1 tbsp
3. Penne Pasta- 2 Cups
4. Garlic - 4 pods(minced finely)
5. Italian Seasoning- 2 tsp
6. Freshly ground pepper- 2 tsp
7. Chili Flakes as required
8. Cheese Cubes-2
9. Vegetables of your choice-(I used Onion, carrot, Capsicum)
10. Milk as required
11. Olive Oil- 1 tbsp
12. Salt as required.

Method

1. Take a thick bottomed pan or non stick pan, on medium head,add olive oil and garlic and saute nicely till nice garlic flavor comes. Remember not to burn the garlic.

2. Add onion and saute nicely till they turn translucent. 

3. Add all other vegetables and saute nicely in the olive oil.

4. Add fresh cream and bring it to boil. Use only medium heat.

5. Add cheese cubes and stir constantly until cheese is well dissolved in the mixture.You can adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding milk.

6. Add needed salt and seasoning, chili flakes and keep stirring.

7. The sauce slowly starts thickening. Add pepper to it. 

9. Alfredo Sauce is Ready:):)!!!

10. Cook pasta till Al Dente

11. Add the cooked pasta to the Alfredo creamy sauce mixture and toss well till pasta is completely covered with sauce.

12. Close the lid and allow pasta to absorb the sauce for 5 mins.

13. Serve hot with Crispy Potato Wedges

Pasta Arrabiata

Pasta is one of my most favorite and easy dish.Pasta Arrabiata is nothing but pasta cooked in red tomato sauce.This item is available @ Hotel Havens Sampoorna,Besant Nagar. That is were I tried this menu and it was quite exotic!!! This is my best and easy option when I don't have much time to prepare dinner.

Ingredients

1. Pasta -250 gms
2. Olive oil/Cooking Oil- 3 tbsp
3. Garlic- 3-4 pods(Chopped)
4. Onion chopped-1(Chopped)
5. Chilly flakes -1 tsp
6. Bangalore Tomatoes-3 (Blanched)
7. Salt as needed
8. Sugar- 1 tsp
9. Parsley- 1 tsp
10. Basil -1 tsp
11. Oregano- 1/2 tsp

                                                          

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a pan, add chopped garlic, chopped onion and saute till Onions are transparent.
2. Grind the Blanched tomatoes into a puree in a mixer and add it to the above pan.
3. Add chilly flakes and mix well and allow the tomatoes to get cooked well.
4. Add salt, sugar, pepper, parsley, basil, oregano and saute well.
5. Cook pasta till Al Dente.
6. Once the raw flavor of tomatoes goes off, add the cooked pasta to the above sauce and gently toss it.Ensure the pasta is fully covered with this tomato sauce.
7. Serve the pasta hot:)

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Ensure you use tomatoes that are less sour.I used Bangalore tomatoes.
2. I used dried Parsley and basil.This is available at Nuts 'n' Spices and you can easily get hold of them.
3. Adjust chili flakes according to the spice needed.

Spiced Cajun Potato Wedges

If you want to make an easy crispy quick bites for your guest, this is an apt choice. Potato wedges are a frequent menu in any of the Italian restaurants or pizza corners.This is an easy quick and simple recipe and can be made in no time. If you are planning for a quick and interesting starter, check out this recipe right away.
There are 2 methods listed here in the below post, one is baked method which consumes less oil. The other one is deep fry method. The deep fry method is a fool proof method and you get nice crispy potato wedges in a jiffy. People who don't have oven can use this method.The disadvantage is that it consumes more oil. On the other hand, baked wedges consumes less oil, but crispiness depends on each oven settings.Do try out both the methods and adopt whichever is convenient for you:):)

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1. Non starchy Potatoes-3 medium sized
2. Red Chili Flakes-1 tsp
3. Mixed Italian Seasoning -1 tsp
4. Pepper powder-1 tsp
5. Garlic-5 pods (minced finely)
6. Oil-3 tbsp (Olive oil or any other cooking Oil) - If used in oven
7. Cornflour - 2 tbsp (required if deep frying method used)
8. All purpose flour - 2 tbsp (required if deep frying method used)
9. Oil for deep frying
10. Salt to taste

Method 1- Bake using Convection Mode Oven

1. Wash the potatoes thoroughly.Cut them into wedges as shown in the picture without peeling the skin.

2. Par boil the chopped potatoes wedges in water for 2-3 mins with some salt.

3. Strain them,pat them with a dry towel and place them in a bowl.

5. Take oil in a bowl. Add the red chili flakes,pepper,salt, minced garlic,seasoning to the oil and mix well. Now, marinate the potato wedges with this mixture such that the potato wedges are covered nicely with the marination.

6. Spread these wedges on an oven safe tray.

7. Pre-Heat the oven for 200 degrees C.

8. Once the pre heat temperature is reached,place the tray inside the oven and bake them for 20-25 mins until the edges turn golden and crispy.

9. Once they are baked,pat them with dry tissue to remove excess oil.

10. Serve the hot potato wedges with sauce or any other Cheesy dip.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Boiling the potatoes initially helps in reducing the baking time and also makes the wedges crispier.
2. Since, we use baking technique, this consumes less oil.
3. Pre heat temperature varies from oven to oven.Hence,you need to study your oven settings.

Method 2 - Deep Fry Method

1. Wash the potatoes thoroughly.Cut them into wedges as shown in the picture without peeling the skin.

2. Par boil the chopped potatoes wedges in water for 2-3 mins with some salt in hot water.

3. Strain them,pat them with a dry towel

4. Take a mixing bowl, add cornflour, flour,salt , pepper,chili flakes,garlic pods and seasoning. Mix well.

5. Take a zip lock cover, add the above mixture and the par boiled wedges to it and shake well. Ensure the wedges are coated well with the mixture.

6. Freeze the zip lock for an hour.

7. After an hour,heat oil, when the oil is nice hot, add the frozen wedges one by one until they are fried completely and turn into nice golden brown color.

8. The wedges are nice crispy outside and soft inside. Serve them with hot piping sauce.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Since we are adding frozen potato wedges into oil, the oil might splutter. So exercise caution while frying.
2. Ensure the oil is hot before frying, else the wedges might absorb too much oil and may not turn crispy.
3. Adjust the heat of the oil as we do not want the potato wedges to be burnt either.

Corn and Capsicum White Penne Pasta

I love Cheese pasta and I have had it several times in Hotels and restaurants, especially when I go for buffet dinner. I still remember having this cheesy white pasta at a restaurant called "Mathsya" at T.Nagar. He made it then and there and served it super hot.I was just blown away by that creamy taste.Dominoes also serve this white pasta. Once, my good friend who has designed the title header for Griha Bhojanam had made this pasta on an occasion.Until then,I never even wondered that pasta was something that could be made easily at home.This recipe has been stolen from him :P Here is the simple, easy white sauce pasta recipe that could be made very easily at home.

serves:2-3

Ingredients

Cooking the pasta

1. Penne Pasta - 250 grams/ 1 cup
2. Olive Oil/Cooking Oil-2 tsp
3. Salt - 1 tsp
4. Water for Boiling

White sauce

1. Maida- 4 tbsp 
2. Butter - 2 tbsp 
3. Milk - 3 Cup (boiled and cooled)
4. Cheese Cubes -2 

Other Ingredients

1. Green Capsicum -1/2 (Cut into thin small lengthwise pieces)
2. American sweet corn kernels- 1/2 cup *I used frozen ones
3. Salt as required

Seasoning

1. Mixed Italian Herbs - 2 tsp
2. Grated Cheese - 3-4 tbsp *I used amul processed cheese
3. Pepper Powder - 2 tsp

Method

1. Take a kadai/pan, add butter and maida to it. Roast the maida in butter.

2. Add milk and constantly keep stirring the milk and maida. Ensure no lumps are formed.

3. Add cheese cubes,herbs seasoning,pepper powder and constantly stir till you get a smooth saucy texture.

4. Add corn kernels to the above white sauce and mix well.

5. Saute capsicum in a tsp of oil for 2-3 mins in a separate pan and add it to the white sauce.

6. Cook pasta till Al Dente.

7. Now add the cooked pasta to the white sauce and gently mix. The pasta should blend well with the white sauce.

8. Ensure the cooked pasta is mixed well with the sauce.

9. Close the lid for 5 mins and allow the pasta to get blended with the white sauce.

10. Serve the hot cheesy creamy white pasta with grated cheese and some seasoning.