Penne Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Don't get intimidated by the name..It simply translates to pasta with garlic,olive oil and dry red pepper.This is a very simple,quick and inexpensive pasta dish.The original recipe calls for spaghetti.But I substituted Penne You can use your favorite pasta.

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta - 1 lb

Onion - 1 chopped finely(optional)

Dry red pepper flakes - 2tsp(or according to your spice level)

Garlic - 2 cloves 

Olive Oil - 4 tbsp

Fresh parsley - 1 sprig(I substituted coriander leaves because I didn't have parsley)

Capsicum - 1 chopped(optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.Add the pasta,little bit of oil,salt and cook the pasta aldente.Drain in a colander and keep the pasta ready.

In a pan heat the oil.When hot,add the pepper flakes,garlic.When the garlic turns slightly golden add the onions and cook till translucent.

Then add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes.

Now add the pasta,salt and toss together.Let it cook for 2 minutes.

Finally add the chopped parsley and garnish with grated cheese if you like.

Serve hot.

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Eggless Nutella filled Banana muffins

Who loves Nutella?I think I should've asked who does'nt?

My favorite way of eating Nutella is to just eat it with a spoon:)Me and my elder son love nutella ..

For all the nutella lovers out there..World Nutella day is Feb  5th...
So I thought I would make something with this yummy goodness.

I tried to make use of Nutella in my muffins..I swirled nutella on top of some of the muffins and filled in the rest..

Here goes the recipe..

Ingredients:


All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 1tsp

Baking powder - 1tsp

Sugar - 2/3 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Melted butter - 1/3 cup

Mashed Banana - 4

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Chopped walnuts - 1/2 cup

Nutella - 1/2 cup


Method:


Preheat the oven to 360 deg F.

Line the muffin tin with muffin liners.In a medium bowl add the all purpose flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt and mix well.

In another bowl,add the mashed banana,sugar,melted butter,vanilla essence,chopped walnuts and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.The mixture would be lumpy.Don't tend to over mix.

Fill up to 1/2 of the muffin liner.Spread the mixture evenly on the sides so that when you fill the nutella it will not come out through the sides of the muffin.Then add a tablespoon of nutella in the middle.I worked with my finger cuz I felt so easy to indent the nutella.Then fill the muffin up to 3/4 th.

You can also fill the muffin liner upto 3/4 th and then add a tsp of nutella on the top and swirl with a toothpick.

My swirl did not come out that good because nutella was sooo hard to work with..

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tester when inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and store in air-tight container.

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Mushroom Chettinad

Chettinad cuisine is one of the popular cuisines of Tamilnadu.

This recipe is adapted from Indobase website.I made some changes according to my taste.

Ingredients:

Button Mushroom - 2 lbs.Wipe the mushrooms with a wet paper towel.Cut the stalks and quarter the mushrooms.

Onion - 1 medium,chopped finely.

Tomato - 1 chopped

Tamarind paste - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 2tsp

Curry leaves - a sprig

Turmeric powder - 1tsp

Dry red chillies - 2

Oil - 2tbsp

Salt to taste

Water - 1/2 cup

For the spice powder :

Channa Dal/Split Bengal Gram Dal - 1Tbsp

Whole Black pepper - 1Tbsp

Garam Masala - 1tsp

Dry roast the Dal and pepper and grind with garam masala into a fine powder.

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan.When hot add the mustard seeds.When they splutter,add the dry red chillies and curry leaves.

Then add the mushrooms,turmeric powder.

Saute till the mushrooms start to sweat.Close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add the tamarind paste along with a half a cup of water and allow to boil for 5 minutes.

Add the required amount of salt.

Finally add the spice powder,mix and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve with roti or rice.

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Nigella Lawson's Chocolate chocolate chip muffins

I love her recipes because they are always never-let-you- down recipes

Its been a while since I baked  something.I was planning to bake something with nutella ,since a jar is just in my pantry being consumed by me a spoonful a day :)which is definitely not good for me but ended up making these.These muffins were moist and fluffy and chocolatey.

Ingredients:


All purpose muffins - 1 3/4 cups

Baking Powder - 2 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cocoa powder - 2Tbsp

Semi sweet chocolate chips - 3/4 cup and few for sprinkling on top

Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup

Egg - 1

Milk - 1 cup

Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

Method :


Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

Line the muffin tin with liners or spray with a nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl mix the all purpose flour,baking powder,baking soda,cocoa powder,semisweet chocolate chips.

In the 2 cup measuring jar,measure the milk,then oil.Add the egg and vanilla essence.

Mix everything thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold.The mixture will be lumpy.

Fill the muffin liners up to 3/4 th.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tester when inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Store in airtight container when completely cool.

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Cashew Mysore Pak

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous 2011!!

Since this is my first post of 2011,I wanted to start with a sweet note.I tried this sweet and came out very well.Ive made Mysore pak before.But this is the first time I tried cashew Mysore pak.This is a recipe of Mrs Chitra Viswanathan of Indusladies.Iam amazed by her cooking skills ranging from the traditional Tamil Brahmin recipes to International recipes.She is an inspiration to amateur cooks like me.

When my mom was here last year,she made this mysorepak and it came out perfect.So I mustered my courage to try out this new Mysore pak recipe.

Ingredients:


Powdered Cashew - 1 cup

Besan/Gram flour - 1/3 cup

Sugar - 1 3/4 cup

Ghee - 1 cup melted

Water - 2 cups


Method:


Fry the besan in 2 tsp of ghee .Mix the cashew powder and besan in melted ghee and stir till no lumps are found.

Boil the sugar and water to 1 string consistency.That is if you pour the syrup from a ladle,a string appears from the tip of the ladle.

Add the cashew-besan-ghee mixture into the sugar syrup.

Keep on stirring till it becomes a solid mass and it leaves the sides of the pan.

Pour the contents into a greased plate.When slightly cool,cut into desired shapes.

Store in airtight containers.

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