Spaghetti and Vegetable Balls

Spaghetti 

My daughters picked up a packet of spaghetti the other day from the local supermarket and have been pestering me to make spaghetti and meatballs, mock meat of course!

Where on earth, or should I say in Panaji, will I find mock meat?

So I Googled for recipes for Spaghetti and Meat balls unfortunately every recipe I landed on call for ground beef (guess I used wrong key words :-) ), any way they were just grinning through all my efforts finally asked me do we have to tell you? Just invent? 

For the sauce as I already had some lasagne sauce & hence ½ kg tomatoes was too much for me. I suppose ¼ kg would be enough. Also the spaghetti should be boiled in a bigger vessel.

Ingredients:

For the Veg. meat balls:

4 boiled potatoes

200 grms paneer

Salt

2 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp dried oregano powder

¾ cup rolled oats

1 cup bread crumbs

Oil for frying

For the sauce:

4 cloves garlic, minced

10-12 stalks of coriander (no leaves as I have run out of coriander), minced

2oilve oil

½ tsp oregano

1 onion, chopped fine

½ kg Tomato (As I had about 1½ cups of sauce I had made for lasagne lying in my freezer I dumped it too in the sauce)

2 tblspn tomato ketchup

1 tsp chilli sauce

½ tsp Soya sauce

Sugar (optional)

Method:

For the Veg. meat balls:

The veg balls being shallow fried

1.       Grate the boiled potatoes, paneer and mix all the ingredients to form soft dough.

2.       Make small marble sized balls and fry them, reddish. The choice is yours either deep fry them or shallow fry them like I did.

3.       Keep aside.

For the sauce:

Tomato sauce just before it staterd bubbling

1.       Make a cross on the tomato near its stalk. Heat enough water in a pan and dump the tomatoes for about ½ hour.

2.       The skin peels easily after this, puree the skinned tomato in the mixer. Keep aside.

3.       In a pan add the garlic and coriander stalks with the oil and brown the garlic.

4.       Add the oregano, stir and add the onions fry till soft and translucent. Add the pureed tomato at this point I added the lasagne sauce too.

5.       Bring to a boil adding the ketchup, Soya and chilli sauces, sugar salt.

6.       Adjust the amount of sauce and the seasoning.

7.       Just before serving thicken the sauce using corn flour in water.

For the Spaghetti

1.          In boiling water toss the spaghetti till it is cooked.

2.          Drain and cool using running water. 

3.         Toss a little oil over the spaghetti to prevent sticking.

To serve:

1.          Arrange the balls on in a deep dish and pour the thickened sauce. . (You have to cook the meat balls in the sauce in the actual recipe but since my meatless balls are already cooked and appear to be fragile I followed this way as we do for koftas).

2.        Ladle the spaghetti on the plate and the balls and sauce.

  

The Best Food I have Blogged about 2010

I had promised my self that I will not wait for the last minute but post my post for Smitha's Event. But kept postponing it. Sorry Smitha!!


Anyway here is the picture of the best food I have blogged about 


It was sheer panic when I could not find this pasta recipe at Priya's place as I had not bookmarked or copied it or even mailed it. Guest were expected for the B'day party and my daughter's friend were waiting for PASTA.I just made it! Improvised at every step,got on everyones nerves! BUT the highlight was when my FIL tried it(he does not like this kind of stuff) and told me it was good! It is the best award I have received!!

Delicious Pasta Springs 

Theme: Best Food I have Eaten or Blogged About! Bye Bye 2010, Welcome 2011

Sweet Corn Cream Style Vegetable

I have run out of vegetables and when I went to the market today I did not like what I saw. So I am back to square one no vegetables.

Now I started wondering what I should make or order from the take away when my eyes spied 1 lonely tin of sweet corn cream style soup tin.

 Long time ago I had reading in Snajeev Kapoor’s book about making some kind of spread so I decide to make vegetable. I just hope the family like it. The test comes dinner time.

Ingredients:

6 cloves garlic

I tblspn homemade butter (you can use any oil/butter)

1 onion chopped fine

1 tin sweet corn cram style soup (460grms)

1 tsp of ranjka (it is a spicy, fiery ground chilli with garlic and salt)

2 chillies

Salt

½ a carrot grated

Coriander

Method:

1.       Heat kadhai heat butter. Crush the garlic and add.

2.       When you get an aroma of garlic add the onions and fry till soft and translucent.

3.       Add the soup can, ranjaka, chillies, salt.

4.       Stir fry till the mixture is well mixed.

5.       Add the carrot coriander and remove from flame.

Cheese Crackers

CHEESE CRACKERS

I saw this recipe for salted cookies here I was reminded of my old diary, which I had started with a collection of my recipes when I was newly married. 

The one that finally filled up and I started a new diary, the cause for many experiments as due to diary confusion  I could not find the recipe I was hunting for. 

It is after ages that I have made these crackers. The only change now is that I have substituted maida with whole wheat flour and butter and salt with Amul butter.

85 grms whole wheat flour

25 grms butter

55 grms grated cheese

¼ tsp cumin seeds (the recipe called for shahi jeera/cumin seeds/jeerigi  but I used ordinary ones)

1 tblsp milk

A pinch of salt

Method:

1.        Sieve the flour and rub in the butter with fingertips.

2.       Add the rest of the ingredients and make dough with milk.

3.       Roll out the dough into ¼ inch thick chapatti and cut into desired shapes.

4.      Arrange on a greased baking tin prick all over with fork and bake till golden brown at 450°F or 180°C.