Whats in the tiffin today Mamma??

Dinny it's a fomous dish in Andhra

 

Hello Ladies
My kid doesn't like macoroni cheese or Pasta with white sauce. So I make Pasta to suit to Indian taste.

Pasta (preferably Rotini pasta from Shoprite or any grocery store - you get plain or wheat)
onion - 1 chopped
green chillies - 2 (add more if you want)
capsicum - 1 chopped
tomato - 1 chopped (gives taste, otherwise more pasta sauce can be added instead of tomato)
Pasta sauce - required amt (i like Ragu classic)
1 small tin - olives
Basil spice crushed powder to sprinkle at the end which gives authentic flavor
butter (optional )

in a pan, add little oil, fry onions,green chillies, capsicum, tomato, salt. When they are almost cooked add little butter, olives, pasta sauce and let them boil for 2 mins. add boiled pasta and mix well. sprinkle Basil crushed and serve hot. you can sprinkle little pepper powder also if you like the flavor

If you boil pasta and keep it ready in fridge, it takes 15 mins to prepare this dish. boiled pasta stayed for a week in fridge for me last time. I pack this for lunch in a hot box for my kid

Hope it will be useful for most of you.

 

That's a variation we haven't had here. I'll have to try it.

Lately, my boy is on a cereal kick. All he wants is cereal. For every meal. He wont touch anything else. Argh. His food phases are usually about a week long, so next week maybe we'll have some more interesting things to make/share!

 

I've never made curry powder at home. I usually just buy them, but if I'm gonna be starting to include more authentic Indian dishes in my family's menu I probably should start making them! Anyway, I was in the spice aisle today, looking from some completely unrelated herbs and spices. I remembered this thread and thought to look at the ingredient labels on the "curry powders." Most of the ingredients looked about the same and I have no idea what the proportions are, but here is a list of what is in the varieties I found. (May be incomplete; I only wrote down the ingredients I don't currently have in my cabinet and tried to remember them when I typed them just now, but I may have forgotten something.)

Curry Powder:
Coriander
Fenugreek
Cumin
Turmeric
Black pepper
Bay leaf
Celery seed
Garlic
Onion powder
Red pepper

Red Curry:
Coriander
Black pepper
Cumin
Cardamom
Chili pepper
Turmeric

Hot Madras Curry:
Fenugreek
Coriander
Cumin
Black pepper
Red pepper
Garlic
Turmeric

And for the Garam Masala (is that a curry powder? I don't know.):
Coriander
Cumin
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Black pepper

Also, unrelated: anybody know what to do with star fruit? My landlady dropped off a big bowl of it (she grows it on her organic farm and apparently had a big crop this year). There are probably 30 fruits in there. I don't use it much and I don't think we can eat that much star fruit in the week or so that I have before it goes bad!

 

I didnt think it was a curry powder, but I wasnt sure, so included it just in case. Good to know that it isn't, and what the differences are. Thank you

I wasn't taught to cook as a child/teenager, as my parents both worked full time and my mom didn't have a lot of time to cook between getting home at 5:30 and dinner at 6. Weekends were about the only time we had a from-scratch meal. I was raised on pasta and just-add-water/veggies/whatever things from a box. Having to learn in my late 20s is both enlightening and frustrating, because I don't just know what ingredients work well together! I have very few recipes I can just throw together from memory. Most of them, even ones I've made a hundred times, still require recipe cards to make sure I have all the ingredients.

The same seldom applies to baking, though. I can remember proportions and directions for most baked goods with no trouble, because I was actually TAUGHT how to bake by my grandmothers. Those were instilled from childhood. Dunno why or how cooking never made it into my brain!

 

Dinny,nice thread and recipe...I usually do this without stuffing(ie green chutney), so would give a try on your recipe..

I usually make ragi,rice puttu,sundals with peas/channa/cowpeas etc, lozhukattai as snacks in the evening...

 

Mix pulses/ceareals dosa

soak all kinds of pulses & cereals (I added toor dal, moong dal, urad dal, green moong, matki, chole, kidney beans) at night & morning along with some water grind ginger, garlic ,green chilli & corriander leaves. Similar to the green dosa but packed with goodness of all cereals/pulses.

Sometimes I give DS this dosa with tomato ketchup... sometimes put some butter & strawberry crush & make it like a sandwich cut in nice shapes.

 

Today lunch was leftover chicken and yellow rice from last night. I confess that last night I was lazy and used prepackaged yellow rice and canned chicken, but here is my family's recipe that I normally use:

1 lb chicken, cut into bite size chunks. (I use chicken breast, but you can use whatever chicken parts you prefer, or omit the chicken altogether for a vegetarian option.)
Oil for frying
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup rice
2 cups water or broth (vegetable or chicken)
3-5 saffron threads, ground up
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil over medium heat. Sauté chicken until almost completely cooked. Add garlic and onion. Sauté garlic and onion until chicken is cooked and onion is translucent. Add rice, water, and spices. Bring to a boil. Boil for a minute, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until all the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve with veggies.

My kids like it with peas or broccoli.