Spinach Rice

Dear Appu,

Usually, this is a quick dish that I learnt to put together for Winkie’s lunchbox. Sauteed spinach leaves with the usual tadka ingredients, mixed in with rice for a quick lunch box. But today I learnt a brand new way of spicing up this recipe a bit more for adults. I think you won’t be disappointed with the result.

INGREDIENTS

Roughly chopped spinach – 3 cups
Onions – 2, chopped
Peas – 1 cup, frozen
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece, grated
All spices – Salt, turmeric, vangi bath powder or a combination of sambar powder, coriander powder & jeera powder
Rice – 1 cup, cooked

METHOD

1. In a pan, pour some oil. Add mustard and jeera seeds. Followed by sliced green chillies (optional) and ginger.

2. Add the onions and saute till golden brown.

3. Add the spinach and peas and allow it to cook for a little while.

4. Once cooked, add all the spice powders. Cook till all the flavours are absorbed and the spinach has absorbed all the flavours.

5. Mix in with cooked rice.

The best way to eat this, as we discovered today, is with a big bowl of curd and some chips on the side for that crunch!

Penne with sun-dried tomato pesto

Dear Appu,

This is one amazing, extremely simple, yummy pasta recipe that I have done over and over again many times. I reserve it for those days when I just don’t feel like cooking much. The boys love it, and it goes great with minestrone soup with all the thick, lumpy vegetables, and a glass of red wine!

INGREDIENTS

Penne pasta – 12 ounces
Sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil – 1 (8.5-ounce) jar 
Garlic cloves - 2
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Fresh basil leaves – 1 cup (packed)
Parmesan – 1/2 cup freshly grated

METHOD

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite (al dente), stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, and basil in a food processor and blend until the tomatoes are finely chopped. Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.

3. Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

[Recipe Source : Food Network]

Burrito Bol…

Dear Appu,

Did I tell you that one of our most favorite take away food is a Burrito Bol from Chipotle? We just love it! I can have it any number of times during the week and not get tired of it. And its the one thing that Winkie loves just as passionately. In fact, everytime we pass by that strip mall, or think of ordering out, he’ll ask…Appa, can we have Chipotle mummum?

You might wonder what’s in it. Well, its a whole lot of things, very simple ingredients, which come together very nicely as a very satisfying and almost homemade like meal! R was inspired today to make it at home, so he went grocery shopping and got some of the requisite ingredients. It got me excited too, and together we managed to assemble this and follow as much of the Chipotle style as possible. Let’s run through it together…

Ingredients

Cooked rice (say 1 cup for 2 persons)
Canned black beans, slightly refried at home, whilst adding some coriander and cumin powder and some garlic salt.(optional)
Red onions, green/red/yellow peppers, slit long and baked in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes
Steamed corn (we did it in the microwave for 10 minutes)
Tomato Salsa (either the store bought one or homemade, ours was homemade)
Guacamole
Sour cream
Mexican shredded cheese
Chopped lettuce

Method

Its only a matter of simple putting together. The order goes like this…first some rice, then the black beans on top. Then add the baked/grilled peppers and onions.

Then, add the salsa and the steamed corn. And finally the guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese and lettuce. As an additional touch, we added some alfalfa sprouts since we had some that we wanted to finish. It adds to the nice fresh and crunchy texture of the bol.

Healthy, yummy and easy to do, all at once! What more can you ask for from food?

Love,
Thara.