Easy Penne Pasta

Pasta is one of our favourite dish. We can have it for any meal, or even as a snack. Here is one of the many ways that we cook our pasta. This one's without cheese. The key to this recipe is the tomato puree that is prepared fresh. You could also use ready-to-use tomato puree, if you have no time to make it fresh. We make our pasta in pressure cooker which greatly reduced the effort of boiling, cooling and draining the pasta. In this recipe we add just enough water to cook the pasta without having to throw out any water.

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta:                     200 g
Carrot:                                1/3 cup, chopped
Beans :                               1/4 cup beans
Cabbage :                           1/2 cup, finely chopped
Onion:                                 1/3 cup, chopped
Tomato:                               3 medium size, chopped 
Oil:                                       2 tsp
Salt:                                     To taste

Seasoning:
Black pepper:                     1 tsp, crushed
Oregano:                            1 tsp, flakes

Procedure:

For tomato sauce:
Blend the tomatoes in a mixer. Heat a kadai, add 1/2 tsp of oil, and then add the blended tomatoes. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until you don't get the raw smell of the tomatoes.

For pasta:
Add the penne pasta in a pressure cooker and add water, just to cover the pasta in the cooker.

Add all other ingredients in the cooker.

Cover the cooker with the lid and cook it on medium flame. After 1 whistle, reduce the flame to minimum. After 5 minutes switch off the gas.

After the pressure in the pressure cooker is normalized, open the cooker.

Add in the tomatoe puree and mix well.

Season with the pepper and oregano.

Easy penne pasta is ready to serve.

Variations:
You can add some Mint/Pudina leaves in the tomato puree as its cooked. It gives a tangy taste to the pasta.

For seasoning you can use a combination of pepper, oregano, chilli flakes, basil, thyme and any other spice that you can think of. 

Wheat-oats muffins

Here's a recipe for making wheat-oats muffin. Rich in energy and fibre, its a healthier alternative to maida based muffins. Very low on oil and sugar, its an ideal snack that you can eat without feeling guilty.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour:        ½ cup 

Oats flour:                      ½ cup

Baking powder:            1 tsp 

Baking soda:                ¼ tsp

Powdererd sugar :        2 tbsp

Powdered jaggery :      1 tbsp

Honey :                          1 tbsp

Milk :                              ¾ cup

Egg white:                    1 egg

Cinnamon powder:      ½ tsp

Vanilla essence :         ¼ tsp

Salt:                              1 pinch

For garnishing:

Raisins: 10 -15

Almonds: 3 - 4, finely sliced

Procedure:

Mix wheat flour, oats flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, jaggery and salt in a bowl (dry mix).

In an another bowl  whip the egg white, add honey, milk and vanilla essence, and mix them well (wet mix). 

Add the dry mix in the wet mix and mix it slowly with a spoon for 2-3 minutes. Remember not to mix it too much. Add the raisins to the mix.

Pour the mixture in the muffin moulds and garnish on the top with sliced almonds. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.

Bake the muffins for 15 minutes. Poke it with a tooth pick and check whether it is done. 

Keep it in the oven for the next 10-15 mins. And remove it from the mould once its cooled down and enjoy.