Naari – The Woman

My special macaroni

Macaroni – those cute and soft little tubes that can blend in any flavor and tickle your taste-buds. Lately I have been experimenting with this simple and readily available ingredient. Have many successes and of course, some disasters to my credit.

Anyways, here’s one of my favorite varieties. I simply love the aroma of herbs and peculiar veggie taste this one has. You could alter the veggies to suit yours.

Here goes.

Take:

1. 1 cup macaroni (I use the Bambino ones you get locally in Noida)
2. 2 cups of chopped veggies
• I throw in almost any non-pungent vegetable like carrot, beans, capsicum, eggplant (brinjal), a piece some veg from the guard family, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
• I avoid radishes or similar strong smelling items.
3. 1 big red tomato finely chopped
4. 1 big red onion finely chopped
5. 1 tsp Oregano
6. 1 tsp Basil
7. 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
8. 1 tsp Olive oil
9. Salt to taste
10. Red chilly powder to taste or chopped green chillies to taste
• I generally use either red chilly powder or chopped green chillies at one time.
• The powder is more convenient if kids are to eat this dish.
11. Water – about 2-3 cups

1. Heat a pan (I use my pressure cooker) and add olive oil.
2. Add all veggies including onion and tomato and macaroni. Sauté for a min.
3. Add water, salt, oregano, basil, turmeric powder, red chilly powder (if you choose).
4. Cook for about 5-10 mins till macaroni is tender. My pressure cooker needs about 2 whistles and its done.

Tan ta dan… Hot, delicious, mouth watering macaroni is ready to eat. Go grab that bowl and spoon and get started. If you like you can grate some cheese on top or add about 1/2 tsp of butter.

Yummy… Hey makes me sooo hungry…

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Tuesday – Top 5

Ok, so on Tuesdays I am planning to bring to you my “top 5” list for various things. You can share yours also using comments. Who knows we might discover several ‘like-minded people’ around?

Today, I would like to start with my “Top 5 fiction writers”.

For a bookworm like me the choice is really difficult one. I have been reading since my mom taught me how to. Even before I went to school I loved reading and would read children’s books like “Chandoba”, stories for kids etc, of course, in Marathi. My teachers taught me English and Hindi languages and also imbibed in me a love for literature.

I adore books. I can easily skip food and sleep to spend time with a good one. There were summer holiday times at my home when my mom would angrily tell me not to touch a book while she was awake, because once I had a book, I would sit oblivious to my surroundings. Totally lost. Not responding to her calls or anyone else’s. There are still times when I am experiencing some physical pain (like after a couple surgeries etc) and books are my pain-killers.

I respect all writers. People who create a world with words. But here are the ones I love reading. Have ordered them in chronological order not priorities. Simply because I could not do justice to one by ranking him / her below the others.

1. Enid Blyton – The first English books I read when I was in school were mostly “Famous Five”, “Secret Seven”, “Nancy Drew”, “Hardy Boys”. The Famous Five are my personal favorite till date. I love the way Enid Blyton describes a scene, specially the details about food items – Juicy apples and Marmalade and Strawberry Jam and Lemonades. Yummmm. Love it.

2. Agatha Christie – The queen of mystery. Every book is a page turner. Me and my sister used to spend hours reading her books and then discussing the plot amongst ourselves. Loved the way I used to believe an innocent person was suspect until I reached last 5-10 pages. And then the plot would turn around. Yet every angle would seem absolutely logical.

3. Sidney Sheldon – Another super story-teller. Romance, thrill, logic – you name it, you have it. His heroines reflect the epitome of female emotions.

4. Robin Cook – Sci-fi at its best. Fever, Coma, Mutation, Abduction. Love each one.

5. J. K. R. – My latest best. Each of her Harry Potter books was a hard-to-put-downer. The seventh was the masterpiece of the series. Have also read her “Tales of Beedle the Bard” and enjoyed it.

So that was my list… What about yours? Got any favorites in this section? Feel free to share… Happy reading

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Healthy tiffin week

In my little one’s school last week was celebrated as “healthy tiffin week”. Here are the recipes we tried.

Monday: Oats upma Tuesday: Vegetable cutlet with bread Wednesday: Sprouts and nuts salad Thursday: Spinach, cottage cheese (paneer) stuffed parantha Friday: Fruit chat (Each student had to carry a fruit and the school folks prepared chat in school) Saturday: Corn and veggie pulao

Here is the “Oats Upma” recipe for you. Rest will follow

Ingredients:
1. Oats – 1 cup (Quaker Instant Oatmeal)
2. Water – 2 cups
3. Onion – one medium
4. Tomato – one medium
5. Peanuts – a handful
6. Green chillies: about 2-3, vary as per your taste
7. Spluttering:
     Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
     Asafetida: 1 pinch
     Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
     Oil: 2 tsp
8. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Finely chop onion, tomato and green chilly.
2. Keep water on flame and start boiling it.
3. Roast oats till they become crisp and keep aside.
4. In a kadhai, heat 2 tsp of oil and add peanuts. Roast till crunchy. Remove and keep aside along with oats.
5. In the same oil add mustard seeds, asafetida. When these splutter, add chopped green chilies and onion and sauté till onion turns translucent. Add tomatoes. Sauté till tender. Add turmeric and mix well.
6. To this mixture add, roasted oats, peanuts and salt. Mix well.
7. Turn off the heat and add water which will be boiled by now. Stir to avoid lumps and cover for about 2-3 mins.
8. (Optional) Garnish with grated coconut and / or chopped coriander leaves (cilantro).
Serve hot.
To save time during morning rush, I pre-prepare the oats+peanuts+onion+tomato+salt mixture the night before and refrigerate it. In the morning I simply heat-stir this mixture a little, add boiling water and get my oats upma ready to eat.

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