Thursday, August 25, 2011

Carrot Pasta with Carrot Ribbons - Homemade Carrot Pasta From Scratch



Making a recipe out of carrots kept me thinking, because I didn't want to do any similar recipe, but to be kinda unique. Well it might not be a unique one for those who have tried similar recipe...but very new to me when making pasta dough with carrots and also when it's a homemade one. This thought came to me when I was mixing spinach to the regular atta to make chapati's. Since my Son, myself and Shoj love to eat pasta, I said to myself why not try to make it myself. I have heard of spinach, tomato, whole wheat pasta...but never heard of this carrot pasta...so tried and to my surprise...it was easier than I thought and very colorful and I was overwhelmed with joy because I made it.
So here is the recipe friends, for you to try too....


Ingredients:
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To Make Carrot Pasta Dough:
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1 1/4-1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 medium Carrot peeled and pureed
1 Egg
1 tsp Water


Note: I made a small quantity, because I was trying this recipe for the first time, but this was enough to fill in out two big and one small tummies...he he - I always make in small quantity when trying new recipes, to make sure I don't waste if it doesn't turn out good :-))


To Make The Pasta Recipe:
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2-3 Garlic cloves chopped
1/2 Red Onion sliced thin
1/2 Red Bell Pepper sliced thin
1 medium Carrot, peeled and peeled to Ribbons (Note: to make the ribbons, you need to peel the carrot along the skin peeled sides to get these ribbons)
1/4 cup Green Peas (fresh/frozen) (I used frozen)
1 tsp All Purpose Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 Lemon juice and the zest
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Oil
1 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Parsley chopped

Method:
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Making Carrot Pasta Dough:
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1. In a mixer you can add carrots, egg and water and puree it to a smooth paste.



2. In a mixing surface place the flour and make a well in between and add the carrot paste with egg and water, with a fork combine the flour little by little and when it's gets bit difficult t mix with the flour, clean the fork and knead the dough with hand for about 6 mins until the dough gets soft and smooth and should not stick to your fingers.



3. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and keep it aside for about 30 mins.




4. Now remove the dough from the plastic wrap, spread a little flour on the surface, roll out the dough to any a circle or square about 1/4 inch thick. The little specks of carrot look pretty in the dough.





5. Take a pizza cutter or any design cutter to cut into long strips or the size of pasta you desire for the recipe you want to prepare. I just kept the pasta long...the way I like it. Anush was so excited and helped me in cutting the pasta strips too. It's always nice to involve kids while making something interesting or in baking....after cutting the strips he was ready to eat it raw...and I had to explain him...that he can have it after I cook it. :-)






6. Now separate the pasta strips. Note: Dust with a little bit of flour to coat each pasta strip, else it will stick. (I made these mistake..they started to stick to each other, but luckily I could separate them while boiling the pasta) :-)




7. Boil a big pot of water, when it starts to boil, add enough salt and add the pasta stir it once, and allow it to cook for about 7-10 mins in medium high flame, once the pasta is cooked, they start to float over the top of the pot or take a piece of the pasta and bit into it....it should be Al Dente.
8. Strain the pasta in a colander and reserve some of the pasta water.


Making Pasta Recipe:
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1. In a sauce pan add oil and butter, when the butter starts to melt add the garlic and saute it for a min.




2. Add all the vegetables including onion, red pepper, carrot and peas and saute it for about 2-3 mins. The vegetables should be little bit cooked and still crunchy.
3. Add salt, pepper (make sure you check the salt, as we have enough salt in the pasta water).
4. Add the flour and saute it in low flame until it absorbs all the oil.




5. Add the pasta water and stir well so that there are no lumps. Now add the pasta and mix well, gently not breaking the pasta.





6. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and mix well and serve it immediately when it's still hot and garnish with parsley, parmesan cheese and red chili flakes. 


Sending this recipe to the Event "Veggie/Fruit of the month-Carrot" hosted by Reva and Priya, "Pasta Pizza and Noodles hosted by Jayasri - "Samayal Arai" and Pari - "Foodelicious".

Tandoori Fish Fry



This is our favorite fish recipe. Whenever we feel like eating spicy fish fry we make this recipe which takes just few minutes to prepare and very tasty and with a spicy kick with the tandoori masala. This same recipe can be made with chicken too. To make this instant tandoori chicken you need to use thin slices of chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins, so that you need not marinate it for long time. Seafood should not be marinated more than 15-20 mins, because it will harden after cooking. Chicken should be marinated for about 30-45 mins.




Ingredients:
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2 Tilapia Fish fillets
2 tbsp Shan Chicken Tandoori Masala
1 tbsp Yogurt
Salt and Pepper if needed
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 + 1 tsp Olive oil

Method:
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1. In a bowl mix tandoori masala, yogurt, ginger-garlic paste and 1 tsp olive oil and taste it. You can add salt and pepper if needed. You can also add chili powder if you need some extra spice.
2. Now brush the marinade on the fish on both sides and keep it aside for about 15-20 mins.
3. In a skillet add 1 tsp olive oil and when it's hot place the fish and cook for about 4-5 mins on each side or until a golden brown color is achieved.
4. Serve this hot with any Indian dish or biriyani.



Sending this recipe to the Event " Serve It - Grilled" hosted by Oh Taste n See and Krithi's Kitchen



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Pan Fried Tilapia

Gobi Manchurian (Spicy Cauliflower Fry)


I remember eating the best gobi manchurian during my college days. We used to go to that restaurant almost every sataurday early dinner. During those days at the end of every month we used to run out of money, but still would go to this restaurant just to eat this manchurian. Guess what the gobi manchurian they sold was only 20 rupees (INR) and it was so yummy. Month end weekends we used to run out of money, but make sure that we have two friends who can manage 10 bucks each to get that one dish. I know it sound funny, but it was so very good, and way way better than our hostel food. :-)
Whenever I make this recipe it all reminds me off our college days.
I know that there was so much oil and ajinomoto (Chinese salt/ mono sodium glutamate) in that recipe, which is one of the reasons it tasted so good, but who do you think was thinking about healthy eating, we were just craving for some tasty food, and any food other than hostel food was very tasty for us.
So I thought of making a healthier version of the recipe without any deep frying and without using ajinomoto.
I liked this recipe a lot and it tasted the same, with all the healthy alternatives. :-) So my heart is all happy and healthy.

Ingredients:
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1 medium sized cauliflower cut into medium size florets
1 large Onion chopped
4-5 Garlic cloves chopped
1/2 inch ginger grated or chopped
1-2 Green Chilies chopped
1 bunch Green Onion chopped (white and green part seperated)
1 tsp + 1 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tsp + 1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1 tsp + 1 tbsp White Pepper powder
1/4 cup + 1 tsp Corn flour
1/2 tsp Tandoori masala for color (optional)
Salt to taste
2 tsp Oil

Method:
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1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a small bowl mix together 1 tbsp onion, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp green chili, 1 tbsp green onion, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp tomato ketchup, salt and white pepper powder and mix this mixture and add the cauliflower florets and mix well.
3. Now sprinkle 1/4 cup corn flour on top and mix well with a light hand, so that all the corn flour is well coated on the cauliflower.
4. Now line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with oil and arrange the florets and bake it for about 20 to 30 mins or until the cauliflower florets turns crispy and golden.
5.  After the cauliflower is cooked take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 5 mins.
6. Meanwhile in a pan add oil, and when it's hot add ginger and green chili, and after a minute add garlic, sate is for few seconds.
7. Now add the onions and the white part of the green onions and sate it until it turns golden brown, now reduce the flame to medium and add salt, white pepper powder, soy sauce, tomato ketchup and tandoori masala and sate it until the sizzle stops.
8. Mix 1 tbsp of corn flour in few drops of water and add it to the mixture and cook in medium high flame.
9. Now add the cauliflower and mix gently but fast so that all the sauce is well coated over the cauliflower, keep stirring gently on high flame for about 2 mins.
10. Now add the green part of the green onion, keeping few for garnish.
11. Serve hot as an appetizer snack.

Sending this recipe to the Event " Serve It - Grilled" hosted by Oh Taste n See and Krithi's Kitchen