Dum Aloo

I love potatoes in all form. Fried, mashed, roasted, boiled, baked anyway u give it to me and I will eat it. I guess this is same with many people...now who doesnt love potatoes. It a boon veggie for moms. I dont know a single kid who hates potato. But beware it id not good for health when fried and roasted in oil. It is a starch and full of carbs so having too much of it is not advisable for ur tummies.

I always used to love the roasted Baby potatoes (Asokan as named by and dad and uncles) my granny used to make. She always used to make it along with Arachuvitta vengaya sambar (onion sambar). Yumm! what an terrific combination it used to be. Or the Aloo saag and mixed veggie curry my mom used to make to go along with phulkas. These were the main curry forms of potato I was accustomed to at home. So when it came to making Dum aloo It was a new dish for me as I have never tasted this before (even in restaurants or at home) never seen anyone make it too..although I have heard the name several times. One solace was that it was made of roasted mini potatoes (just like the Asokan my granny used to make.) and hence I jumped into trying this recipe for the first time. I followed this recipe....mainly coz it didnt ask me to deep fry the potatoes unlike many. I made few changes but nothing major. So here goes..:)

Ingredients :

Small red potatoes / baby potatoes - 5 to 6

Oil - 1 tbsp + 1tbsp

Curd or yogurt - 4 tbsp

Kasuri methi - 1 tsp crushed

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Kitchen king Masala - 1 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp

Coriander-cumin powder - 2 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Tomato puree / canned tomato sauce - 1 small can

Ground Masala paste ( of 1 medium onion, ginger- 1" piece, garlic - 4 pods, Green chilli - 1 ground without adding water)

Method :

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

Boil the mini potatoes and peel them. Now poke holes in it using a fork. Now spread the potato on a baking tray and coat them with some oil. Place the potatoes in the preheated oven and let it roast for 20 minutes until the skin becomes lightly crispy.

For the gravy take the rest of the oil in a non stick pan and add the ground masala and saute well until the raw smell of onion goes off. Add the tomato puree and cook well till the tomato puree cooks well and the sauce reduces a bit. Add water if the gravy is too thick. Add the masalas (garam masala, KK masala, CC powder and salt and mix well. Let it simmer for 30 minutes or so.

Add the baked potatoes to the gravy and coat it well with the tomato gravy.

Beat the curd well in a small bowl and pour it on the potato and mix well. Make the gas flame low and let it cook on simmer. I added dum by cover the top with a tight lids and sealing it with maida dough on the rim....for the dum effect. U can skip this too. I cooked the curry on dum for 30 mins on the lowest heat. Remove it from heat and set aside for 5 to 10 mins. remove the seal and garnish with fresh coriander.

This was amazingly tasty. I am glad I tried Dum aloo....do try it and leave me ur comments and experience.

Colorful "No cheese" Pasta Salad

How can anyone say no to something which looks awesomely delicious and so colorful. I can't. I love food thats colourful....maybe coz I am a fine artist.....color really attracts me even in food. So this was something we had for a dinner last week...along with a bowl of warming low fat tomato basil soup and some garlic bread. Here I am just sharing the recipe for the pasta salad.... will share the soup recipe later.

Ingredients :

Multi grain rotini pasta - 2 cups
Green bell pepper - 1
Red bell pepper - 1
Red onion - 1
Fresh Basil - 3 sprigs
Garlic - 4 cloves
Red chilli flakes - 2tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Olives sliced - 1/2 cup (optional)
salt to taste
lemon juice - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tsp

Method :

In a big pot keep water to boil. Add salt and little olive oil to it and keep it boiling.

Now, In a skillet take some oil and heat it well.Add the red chilli flakes and garlic and suate for few minutes. Add the veggies and stir fry on high flame. See that the veggies get cooked yet remain crisp. As these veggies can even be eaten raw u dont actually need to cook them but stir fry them well so that the flavour of the oil, garlic and chilli coats them well. Off the heat and add the basil leaves roughly torn by hand.

Simulataneously, Add the Pasta to the boiling water and cook till al dente. Drain the pasta and without rinsing transfer the hot pasta into a salad bowl. Add the cooked veggies into the pasta along with some salt , pepper and chopped olives. Mix well. Add some lemon juice on top if needed. My hubby loves lemon in everything so I added some lemon juice and some lemon rind to this... tasted awesome. Do try this Pasta Salad and let me know how it worked for u.

I opted to roast the veggies on stove top, but U can even pop them in the oven and 350 degress for 10 to 15 minutes and add this to the pasta...:)

Enjoy this wholesome goodness..:)