Stuffed Pasta Shells
1 tub (250g) ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 small green bell peppers, finely chopped
1 small tub (100g) mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tbsp dried mixed Italian herbs or handful of chopped fresh herbs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups zingy pasta sauce
2. In a large mixing bowl, make the filling by mixing together all the ingredients above except for: pasta shells, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, and pasta sauce.
3. Spoon 1/2 cup of pasta sauce evenly over bottom of large baking dish.
4. Individually fill the cooked pasta shells with 1-2 tbsp of the filling made in Step 2. Place the stuffed shell in the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining shells.
5. Drizzle a tbsp of sauce on each shell and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil and bake for about 35 minutes.
BEST Spicy Basil Tofu EVER!
One of my favourite Asian dishes of all time is the spicy basil tofu from a Thai restaurant in Atlanta called Top Spice. When we were travelling the far east earlier this year, we had this dish at a restaurant on the small island of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It looked gorgeous and tasted out of the world. So impressed was I that I asked the cook (in my best Thai!) if I could come the next day and learn from him how to make it. Sure enough, I was there learning how to make it the most authentic way in a somewhat basic (mosquito-ridden) kitchen. Taking into consideration what I learned there and another good recipe, below is the combination that I think makes an amazing spicy basil tofu. I think it’s definitely comparable to the one at Top Spice! 🙂
The non-negotiable ingredient in this recipe is the holy basil (tulsi). You can get this Thai basil at an Asian supermarket and the standard supermarket basil is completely different and most definitely not a substitute. Holy basil’s aroma and subtle hint in the dish works brilliantly to bring all the flavours together. Another ingredient that I think is equally important is the vegetarian (shrimp-free) chilli paste. We got our chilli paste from Chiang Mai. Having dined at an amazing veggie restaurant (May Kaidee) we had to ask where she got her veggie paste from; it was quite a mission to find as the shop was only a ‘hole in the wall’ in a huge food market. (Having found the place, we were so elated and desperate to buy more vegetarian Thai ingredients, but the language barrier limited us and we nearly walked away with a herbal constipation and vomiting cure!) We now use the chilli paste a lot in our Asian cooking and absolutely love it. Though, if you can’t get hold of the Thai veggie chilli paste, you will be able to get the kick from the chinese chilli paste but perhaps not the full flavour. Not sure what we will do when our jar is over!
This Spicy Basil Tofu is really healthy and quick to make and did I mention, tasty?! 🙂
Serves 4/ Total time 15-20 minutes
600 g tofu, cut in to 1″ chunks
2 medium red or green bell peppers, cut into thick slices or chunks
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, cut into thick slices
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tbsp Thai vegetarian chilli paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp oil
Big handful of holy basil leaves (1 cup worth at least :))
salt and pepper to taste
For Paste:
12 garlic cloves
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 to 3 hot Thai green chilies
1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a frying pan or wok. Pan fry the tofu and turn every few minutes so that each piece is golden all over and has a thin crust. Do not stir too much, just move the tofu around by shaking the pan or using tongs. This process should take roughly 10-12 minutes and once done, remove from pan/wok and leave aside for later.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the paste by pulsing it to get a rough paste. Be sure not to make it into a fine paste.
3. In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the paste. Saute for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat, making sure not to burn the garlic.
4. Next add bell peppers and onions saute for about 2 minutes. Add in soy sauce, sugar, chili paste and stock. Stir-fry for a few minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit.
5. Add in tofu and stir-fry for 2 more minutes to allow the sauce coat the tofu. Add the cupful of basil leaves and stir it in. Serve this dish with steamed rice.
We had this dish together with the Aubergine Curry at a recent vegan dinner party for some friends and I think the meal went down a treat.
Thai Aubergine Curry
For those of you who do not like aubergines (eggplant), this is a must try to get you hooked! I do not fancy aubergines much, but lately they have grown on me tremendously, partly thanks to this recipe. I found this recipe when attempting to make a sumptuous last-minute meal for my hubby. Below is my adaptation of the BBC Food recipe that I found. I must admit it was a magical moment when I tasted it! It wonderfully tickled all my taste buds!
As it was such a great hit, I decided to make it for an upcoming dinner party with a vegan friend. It was a perfect match as the coconut milk provided some creaminess that Sunil & I were craving since (prematurely) giving up cheese for the Hindu religious month of Shraavan. Everyone enjoyed it! I have been raving about it to my mother in law and she has been patiently waiting for me post the recipe! Mom, I hope it was worth the wait. 🙂
Serves 2-3; Total time: 30-35 minutes
1 medium size aubergine, quartered lengthways, then halved
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
1-2 spring onions, finely chopped
200 ml coconut milk
200 ml vegetable stock
1/2 of small tin of bamboo shoots
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 tsp soy sauce
Handful coriander sprigs, chopped
For the paste:
2 green/red chillies, seeded
2″ piece of galangal (can use ginger as substitute) or a mix of both
1 lemon grass stalk, trimmed and roughly chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
1. Pulse the chillies, garlic, galangal/ginger and lemongrass to a paste. Set aside.
2. Mix the turmeric and chilli powder together and rub all over the aubergine wedges. Be careful not to spill out the bowl over your kitchen counter or not wash your hands properly before touching things. YES, speaking from experience, turmeric will stain everything! 🙂
3. Heat the 1/2 tbsp olive oil in large frying pan, add the aubergines as a single layer, allow to cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, turn to ensure even browning, remove from the pan and set aside. This process should take about 10 minutes. Be sure not to stir or move the aubergine pieces too much else they will break down and become mushy.
4. Add 1/2 tbsp of oil to the same pan and cook the paste, sugar, kaffir lime leaves and spring onions for a few mins, then return the aubergines to the pan. Add the bamboo shoots, soy sauce, coconut milk and stock. Mix well and bring the liquid to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the aubergine is tender. This will take about 15 minutes.
5. Season to taste and sprinkle with fresh coriander. Serve hot with steamed rice.
It might seem like a very spicy curry but the coconut milk balances it out in the end. If you prefer less heat, you can choose leave out fresh green/red chilies. There are really not great substitution for any of the ingredients as the flavour comes from all the fresh herbs. You can easily get these ingredients in any Oriental/Asian shop. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!
Black Pepper Tofu
For dinner I made an Asian dish from Yotam Ottolenghi’s vegetarian cookbook, Plenty. We came to know about this cookbook from my husband’s friend, Niraj, who equally enjoys cooking vegetarian food. We have heard really great reviews about the Ottolenghi restaurants in London and can’t wait to visit so that I can post a review of my experience. As Ottolenghi himself is not a vegetarian, he also has a non-vegetarian Cookbook out.
I have only had 30 minutes to glance through Plenty, but I am very impressed with his creativity and originality. (In fact my husband glanced through Plenty whilst walking back from the library and was inspired to spontaneously stop at a market stall and buy some fruit and veg!) With that said, a lot of the recipes revolve around generous use of oil and butter. These recipes are great for dinner parties, but if you want to enjoy them on a daily basis, I would recommend altering them to make them healthier; as I have done for this black pepper tofu recipe. I have substituted some of the ingredients (to make it less fiery and make it more store cupboard ingredient friendly) and opted to stir fry instead of deep fry and slashed the butter amount by almost 8 times. It was still very delicious!
Serves 2/ Total time: 40 minutes
400g firm tofu, cut into large chunks (about 3X2 cm)
2 tbsp oil, (I used Chinese stir fry oil)
Cornflour to dust tofu
1 knob of butter
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red (bell) pepper, diced or 2 large mild chillies, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp brown or caster sugar
1 tbsp coarsely crushed black pepper
2 spring onions, cut into 3cm segments
1. Heat oil in a frying pan or wok. Toss the tofu in cornflour and shake off any excess. Pan fry the tofu and turn every few minutes so that each piece is golden all over and has a thin crust. Do not stir too much, just move the tofu around by shaking the pan or using tongs. This process should take roughly 15 minutes and once done, remove from pan/wok and leave aside for later.
2. In the same pan, melt butter. Add onions, garlic, ginger, and capsicum/chilli. Saute for 15 mins on low to medium heat until all the ingredients are completely soft.
3. Next add soy sauce and sugar and stir before adding the crushed black pepper (if using a pepper mill, it is best to crush the pepper beforehand so that the liquids don’t evaporate away before you are done). Add the fried tofu and spring onions to warm it up for a minute or two. Serve hot with (wheat) rice.
If you have used other recipes from Ottolenghi’s book, Plenty, or you have tried to make this Black Pepper tofu, I would be keen to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!
Long Beans Dry Curry (Chorri Shaak)
The other day, I had the pleasure of going ‘Indian grocery’ shopping to with my mother-in-law at one of the plethora of stores in North West London. It’s always an adventure when I go shop with her as I get to learn so much about Indian spices, lentils, and flours. I remember when I was growing up, my own mother trying again and again to explain the same things to me but it was so irrelevant to me. Years on and I seek out every opportunity to learn from people’s mothers.
Anyhow on this shopping experience, I bought myself a variety of Indian vegetables and my mom directing me over Skype, I made a Gujarati meal for dinner.
Serves 2-3; Total time 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes (new or baby ones work best), cut into small cubes (yields 1 1/4 cup worth)
1 bunch long beans (chorri), cut into small 5mm lengths (yields 2 cups worth)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 cup water
handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Spice batch #1
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera), 1/2 tsp of ajwain (ajmo), 1 tsp sesame seeds; pinch of turmeric powder (haldi) and asafoetida (hing)
Spice batch # 2
3/4 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground coriander-cumin powder (dhana jeera)
1. Heat oil in a pan until hot but not smoking. Temper the oil with Spice Batch #1. Add the potatoes and long beans. Add salt, stir and cook on medium heat for a minute or so.
2. Add water and turn the heat medium-low, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. The water should be fully absorbed by now.
3. To finish off, add Spice Batch #2 and give it a quick stir. Let the flavours develop for a few minutes and sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves. Dish is ready to serve with chapatis. The reason you wait to add the second batch of spices until the end is so that you don’t burn the spices and doesn’t darken your vegetable curry.
For the first time, I was truly satisfied with my chorri shaak. Even my husband really enjoyed it! 🙂
Mediterranean Style Chickpeas & Spinach
One of the many great restaurants in Atlanta is Cafe Istanbul, serving fantastic vegetarian Turkish food. I really enjoyed this dish there and decided to make it at home so I don’t need to fly across the world each time the craving hits me 🙂 It is delicious, abundantly nutritious, and quick to prepare.
Serves 2/Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
14 oz can of chickpeas, drained or 8 1/2 oz of cooked chickpeas
150 g of spinach, chopped
2 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, jeera (We indians love our jeera but remember its not an Indian dish!
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp of coriander-cumin powder, dhana-jeera
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
1/4 tsp of salt, or to taste
1 tsp oil
2/3 cup basmati rice, boiled
Yoghurt Accompaniment:
1/2 cup greek yoghurt (plain would work as well); 1/2 cucumber, grated; salt and pepper to taste, mint paste or fresh (optional)
1. Heat oil in pan. Temper the oil with cumin seeds for 20 seconds, then add garlic and onions. Saute for 5 minutes on a medium heat until onions are yellow/brownish.
2. Add the chickpeas, coriander-cumin powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Stir and warm through for a few minutes.
3. Now add chopped spinach and parsley and simmer with lid closed on low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Prepare rice by placing rice in big pot of salted boiling water. Drain after 8-10 minutes. Rice is ready.
5. Prepare yoghurt accompaniment by mixing all the ingredients.
6. Serve the dish with rice and yoghurt!
What do you think? How did yours turn out? For the Atlantans, does it live up to the restaurant standards? What would you change?
My Dum Aloo (Potato Curry)
I think I first made this dish when my sister taught it to me 6-8 years ago. Thanks sis! 🙂 I have adapted this recipe to make it easier, quicker, and healthier. Over the years, my friends have loved this dish, especially my favorite Atlantans! 🙂 As I am not around to make it for them now and on special request, I have decided to post the recipe! There are many variations, but here is my twist!
Serves 2/ Total time 35-40mins:
Ingredients:
10-12 baby potatoes or new potatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves and 1/2 inch ginger, made into a paste
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 cup tomato sauce (US) or passata (Italy) or chopped tomatoes, pureed (for once, fresh is not best)
3 tbsp plain yoghurt
3 tbsp heavy cream/double cream
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp of dried methi (fenugreek) leaves
1/2 green bell pepper, big chunks (optional)
Spice batch #1
2 cloves; 3 bay leaves; 2 green cardamoms ; 1/2 piece cinnamon stick (3-4cm); 1 dry red chilies; pinch of turmeric powder (haldi) and asafoetida (hing)
Spice batch # 2
1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp ground coriander-cumin powder (dhana jeera); pinch of nutmeg; salt to taste
1. Prepare potatoes: scrape the potatoes with knife slightly. Be sure not to remove all the skin. With a fork, pierce the potatoes all over to eventually allow the flavours to penetrate. Boil them for 10-12 minutes in salt water.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, puree the onion.
3. Heat the oil in a pan until hot but not smoking. Temper the oil with Spice Batch #1, onion puree, and garlic & ginger paste. Saute the onions on a medium-low heat until they are brown (but not burning at the edges) and when the oil begins to separate. (over 5 mins).
4. Add the tomato puree and Spice Batch # 2. Continue to cook out for about 5 minutes. Now add the potatoes and yoghurt. At this point, you can also add the bell pepper chunks if you wish. Turn the heat low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. To finish off, add the cream and dried methi(fenugreek) leaves. Let the flavours fuse together for a minute and you are ready to serve with rice, naan, or chapatis.
For more of an authentic touch, you can par boil the potatoes for 5 minutes and roast them in the over for 20 minutes. This is a healthier option to the traditional deep-fried method.
Try at home and let me know your thoughts on this simplified method of dum aloo!
Home-made Ravioli
This was my very first attempt to make homemade ravioli. I wanted to make a special meal for my hubby so I decided to make everything from scratch. It was good that I had an entire day to myself as it was a bit of work, but worth the reward!! 🙂 This another dish where you have 95% of the preparation done ahead of time. At serving time, you just have to boil the pasta for three minutes and serve up the plates!
Dough:
To make the dough is really simple and you can get creative with the colors by adding vegetable of your choice to the flour. I used grated carrots to give it a mild orange look. You can use beetroot or spinach for other fun colors 🙂
Filling:
I always wanted to make a vegetarian filling that was mix of many vegetables and not overpowering with cheese. As much as I loveeeeeeee cheese, I was going to hold back and try a making a healthier version. So here was my golden chance! The filling I made was a cooked and seasoned mix of chopped eggplant, spinach, courgette, red pepper, green onions, crushed pine nuts, basil, tomato, grated carrot and just sprinkles of parmesan to bring it all together. Use your favourite veggies to make your perfect filling.
Sauce:
You have a choice. Either you can use a ready-made pasta sauce or create your own. You can make a cheese sauce, pesto sauce or variations of tomato sauce. I opted for a simple tomato sauce. I quickly made mine by cooking together chopped tomatoes, bit of tomato paste, onions, garlic, and herbs. Next time I make my pasta sauce, I will be sure to post exact measurements and method. 🙂
Assembly:
1. Roll out the pasta dough as thin as possible. Cut into small 2.5-inch squares
2. Place about a tablespoon or so of the filling on half of the squares. Seal the ravioli by placing the another square on top of the filling and pressing the edges down with a fork.
3. Once all are sealed, boil in water for about three minutes. It’s ready to drain when the ravioli starts rising to the top.
4. Serve with pasta sauce on top and garnish with grated parmesan cheese, basil, freshly ground black pepper.
Would love to hear about what fillings would you make?
Chutney coated Mock Chicken
This was a result of a craving and laziness! I was watching an episode of “Come Dine With Me” and my mouth started watering when I saw mashed potatoes served with a meat dish. After the episode ended, I decided to whip up something similar for myself.
I had some mock chicken and my super versatile coriander-coconut chutney left in the fridge..and voila, 10 minutes later, a tasty, quick meal was created. I sautéed on small bell pepper strips and mock chicken for five minutes and added about a tbsp of my wonderful chutney. I let it all cook for few more minutes until it was throughly coated. I added no other seasoning. I made some instant mash and gravy to go with my main! And of course some hot sauce to go on the side 🙂
VegDelights 