Baked Ravioli

Ingredients

1. Cheese & Spinach Ravioli - 1/4 lbs
2. Red Onion - 1 No.
3. Big Roma Tomatoes - 6
4. Basil Leaves - 6
5. Green Chilli - 4 nos. (add more if you can handle the spice)
6. Garlic - 6 cloves
7. Salt - To Taste
8. Cheese - 2 tbsp
9. Oil - 2 tbsp (I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Procedure

1. I didn't make the ravioli from scratch, bought one from the store. There are several kinds of ravioli's and I don't like a lot of cheese, so, just went with the cheese & spinach ravioli. Just open up the cover and put the ravioli's in boiling water for a while, drain the water and keep the ravioli aside
2. Now, boil the tomatoes and peal the skin. Ground them in a mixer/blender with Garlic, Basil Leaves & Green Chilli
3. Sauté the onions and when it turns golden brown, add the ground mixture let it boil for sometime
4. Now, add the ravioli and mix it thoroughly. Transfer the contents to a baking dish. Sprinkle some Cheese on the top and shove it in the oven for 30 mins (350F)
5. You're done!

Masal Vadai

Ingredients

1. Channa/Gram Dhal - 1 cup
2. Red Onion - 1
3. Garlic - 4/5
4. Ginger - 1 tbsp
5. Green Chilli - 1
6. Crushed Red Pepper - 1/2 tsp
7. Curry Leaves - 1 branch
8. Asafoetida - One small pinch
9. Salt - To Taste
10. Oil - To deep fry

While frying...



After frying...



Procedure

1. Soak gram dal for about an hour. Finely (I mean, very finely) chop Onions, Green Chillis, Garlic, Ginger & Curry Leaves
2. In a mixie/blender, coarsely grind the soaked dal with the crushed red pepper
3. When its done, add the above finely chopped items to the ground mixture with salt and asafoetida
4. Now, take a ping-pong sized ball of this mixture and place it on a ziploc sheet (or vaazhai ilai, literally speaking) and pat to flatten it (You can sing this song though!)
5. Slowly, drop the patted vadai in boiling oil. Keep the stove in medium flame so that you'll let the vadai cook properly and turn golden brown as well.
6. Serve with Coconut/Mint Chutney and put on a lot of weight!

Okra & Tofu Manchurian

Ingredients

1. Bell (Green/Red/Orange/Yellow) Peppers - 1
2. Extra Firm Tofu - 1 pack
3. Okra - 1/4 lbs
4. Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp
5. Chilli Sauce - 2 tbsp (or based on your spicy level, you can reduce/increase it)
6. Sweet & Sour Sauce - 4 tbsp
7. Oil - 1/4 lbs.

Procedure

1. Cut the Okra's length wise and Tofu into little cubes. Deep fry them separately and have them ready
2. Cut the bell peppers into little squares and sauté them in a pan with some little oil
3. Now, add the deep fried Okra, Tofu and all of the sauces and sauté them until the sauces are well spread over the Peppers, Okra & Tofu
4. Enjoy this tasty, but unhealthy snack :)

Kadai Paneer, Manchurian Style!

Ingredients

1. Big Red Onion - 1
2. Bell (Green/Red/Orange/Yellow) Peppers - 2
3. Panneer - 1/2 cup
4. Serrano Chilli - 2
5. Garlic - 5 cloves
6. Ginger - 1 tbsp
7. Green Onions - 8 stems
8. Fresh Basil - 4 leaves
9. Salt - To Taste
10. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Oil - 2 tbsp (Olive/Vegetable/Canola)
12. Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp
13. Chilli Sauce - 2 tbsp (or based on your spicy level, you can reduce/increase it)
14. Sweet & Sour Sauce - 4 tbsp
15. Salt - To Taste
    

Procedure

1. Cut Onions, Bell Peppers & Serrano Chilli length wise and sauté them for a while in a pan with 2 tbsp of Oil
2. Add finely chopped ginger & garlic to the pan along with some turmeric powder and mix it well for a few minutes
3. Once the fresh smell of garlic is gone, add the length wise cut panneer to the pan and mix it well
4. Now, add all the sauces (Soy, Chilli, Sweet & Sour) & salt to the pan and stir the whole mixture properly
5. Add half of the chopped green onions & fresh basil leaves to the above mixture and close the pan
6. Keep your stove in medium flame, open and stir the contents every 2-3 minutes. You have to leave this in the pan for nearly 10-15 minutes so that the panneer gets marinated well with the sauces and juices from onions & peppers
7. Now, garnish the kadai panneer with the rest of the chopped green onions & fresh basil leaves. Turn off the flame and keep the pan closed for atleast 1 hour. Basically, this dish will taste better when its marinated well for a long time. Just before you serve, heat it in medium flame for a few minutes
8. That's it! Enjoy with your Roti's and/or Rice!

Note (சூது வாது...)

• If you don't have fresh basil leaves, use dry basil leaves (duh!)
• If you're so diet conscious (or) a vegan (or) lactose intolerant, replace panneer with Extra-Firm Tofu
• To marinate well and keep it warm, once you've made the kadai panneer, preheat the oven to 300-400F and turn it off. Now, transfer the kadai panneer to a baking dish and shove it in the oven and leave it for an hour or so. This way, you don't even have to heat it just before you serve (சித்தப்பு, நாங்கல்லாம் யாரு...)
  

Ras Malai

Stay tuned for the recipe...

 

Gulab Jamun

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Baked Peppers in Coconut Milk

Ingredients

1. Mixed Bell Peppers - 2 nos.
2. Basil Leaves - 6
3. Thai Green Chilli - 4 nos. (add more if you can handle the spice)
4. Garlic - 6 cloves
5. Coconut Milk - 1 can
6. Salt - To Taste
7. Oil - 2 tbsp (I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
   

Procedure

1. Cut the bell peppers into little squares and mix it with little bit of oil & salt. Put them on a baking dish and shove it in the oven for 30 mins (350F)
2. While the bell peppers are getting baked, finely ground the garlic, Thai Green Chillis & Basil Leaves in a mixer/blender and keep them aside.
3. Now, take a pan and add the ground mixture with a can of coconut milk and keep it on medium flame.
4. When the bell peppers are baked, add them to the pan and let it simmer for another 10-15 mins.
5. You're done. Most easiest & quickest thing to make. Enjoy it with some steamed rice or Rotis.