A Little Video of our Kitchen Preparations.

Here's a small video of our kitchen preparations this year. Well almost. Some pics are from previous years but they were too good looking to be excluded. We'll try to put up more videos in future.

Thanks for watching.

Baked Pasta, some continental food for dinner.

Saturday night dinner was a surprise from wife as she cooked up two variations of Baked Pasta.

It's not very difficult to cook as the ingredients are few and the dish doesn't need too much preparation. We used macaroni pasta as the base. Boiled the pasta in water and drain once cooked. Chopped broccoli, beans, carrots and sweet corn were the main ingredients. In addition purple cabbage was used in the pasta with white sauce only version. The other version had white sauce and tomato sauce.

Tomato and white sauce based

White sauce based This version had purple cabbage as extra ingredient.

White sauce based

Ingredients:

Macaroni pasta (boiled with olive oil and salt, and drained).

Cheese slices.

Broccoli florets.

Carrot slices.

Chopped beans.

Sweet corn kernels.

Chopped purple cabbage.

White sauce/tomato sauce.

Olive oil for tossing vegetables.

Preparation:

Heat a pan, add some olive oil and add all the vegetables. Toss them for a minute or two and then take off the heat. Layer in the bowl - first the sauce, then the pasta, then the vegetables and finally the cheese slices. You can also add the cheese slice in between the pasta and vegetables for more cheesiness. Quantity of cheese slices is totally up to your personal preference. We used exactly one slice per bowl. Then bake in OTG for 20 minutes at 220 C. If you want the cheese to be more stringy/burnt, then increase the overall baking time to 25-30 minutes.

Serving:

Garnish (optional) before serving. We used  red chilli flakes. You can also add various herbs for seasoning like thyme, rosemary, oregano. Scoop out portions and serve. 

Hope you liked this recipe. Do let us know if you have any queries in the comments.

Varanasi and it's food

Varanasi/Benaras is a city on the river Ganges/Ganga in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It's considered a holy city and one of oldest continuously inhabited city. It's temples, ghats and lanes are timeless. One could wander through the city for days and weeks and still discover something new every day.

I have a special connection with Varanasi as I was born here and spend my childhood here till I left to pursue my engineering studies in Chennai. As a family we moved out of Varanasi in late 1990s but the pull to visit the city has always been strong in me through all these years. So finally after telling Jamna stories of Varanasi for several years, we visited Varanasi in the 3rd week of December 2013. Although our trip covered lots of religious and historical landmarks, this post is limited to the food that we ate in Varanasi and around. Street food and QSRs are dime a dozen in the city and most of them serve excellent fare while prices are minimal. We had our fill of the local delicacies and street food. We did miss the famous Lassi of Ramnagar but we'll make it up on our next trip to Varanasi.

I should add that winter season is the best time to enjoy your food in Northern parts of India as the temperatures are mostly down and hence extra calories burn off just countering the chill. Again, use your judgement on the quantity that you eat :) 

Varanasi is known for it's chat bhandars (shops) and stalls. The most famous chat bhandar is arguably Kashi Chat Bhandar in Godowlia area of Varanasi. You will find chat shops almost everywhere in the city, static or mobile. 

Aloo tikkis fried and ready for mixing with chats

These two are running this chat stall that their father started. I've now eaten chats from both generations. Location - West Market, DLW, Varanasi.

Aloo tikki chat ready for hogging. This is my most favourite chat item.

Golgappas, same as Pani puris in most parts of India and Fuchka in Kolkata.

Our lunch in Sarnath, Varanasi. I think the entire order cost us about Rs. 250 or less.

Ayyar's Cafe, Godowlia, Varanasi. It's known for serving idli, dosa and filter coffee for decades now.

Coffee in Ayyar's Cafe, Godowlia, Varanasi.

Cold Coffee with chocolate ice cream, outside Birla Temple, BHU Campus, Varanasi. This is a must try if you are inside BHU campus.

Litti Chokha, a rustic dish from UP/Bihar. Wheat balls stuffed with gram powder and spices. Served with mashed potatoes and tomatoes (Chokha).

Litti being roasted on coal fire.

Gulab Jamun, my favourite dessert.

Malaiyo, a winter-only special available in Dec-Jan months when it's chill.

Malaiyo is just Kesar flavoured milk froth. As light as air.

Sale starts from this huge kadahi and gets over quickly.

All ready for sale.

Madhur Jalpan, an age old sweet shop near Vishwanath Temple. I have been eating sweets from here since early 1980s.

Jalebis being prepared. They are fried first and then dipped in sugar syrup.

Jalebi serving for us.

Poori/Puri Sabji, a popular breakfast in Northern belt of India.

Rabri, a sweet prepared from reduced milk. Tastes too good.

Lassi, blended curd with sugar and ice but this taste we rarely get outside of Varanasi.

Momos being sold in Varanasi, recent addition to the city.

A plate of momos with chilli chutney as dip.

Tea, the first thing and the last thing to have. Even anytime in the day is welcome. Winter time made us consume several cups in a day to beat the chill.

Continental food - Veg. Russian (Olivier) Salad with Pasta

Russian Salad is also known as Olivier Salad. It's a common dish in European countries. It's basically a potato based salad with other ingredients. Normally vegetables and fruits are added, along with sour cream or mayonnaise. Boiled meat or fish can be added if preferred. Pasta is also added as a variation. There are probably hundreds of versions of this dish.

Here we present our version of Veg Russian Salad with pasta. Do try it out and let us know how it tasted.

Ingredients:

• 75 g - Pasta (we used penne pasta) cooked al-dente (boiled fully and then ice water is poured to prevent further cooking due to heat)
• Apple - 1/2 peeled and cubed.
• Black/green grapes - 10-15, washed.
• Potatoes - 1/2 medium size. Boiled, peeled and cubed.
• Carrots - 1 small. Sliced in round/oval. Can be par-boiled if you don't want the crunchy texture.
• Baby corn - 1/2. Sliced round.
• Broccoli - 50 g. Cut to small florets and blanched in hot water.
• Beans - 5/6. Chopped it fine and boil for 3-4 minutes.
• Lettuce - 1 large leaf. Torn with hand in small pieces.
• Mayonnaise - 2-3 tbsp. Can be adjusted as per your personal preferences.

Seasoning:

• Oregano seasoning - 1/2 tsp or adjust.
• Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp or adjust.
• Salt - To taste.

Things to note:

• It's better if all ingredients are chilled in fridge for at least 1 hour as it tastes better when cold/chilled.
• Check if your mayonnaise is salty as it may change the overall taste.

Preparation:

• Take a large bowl.
• Add and mix all the ingredients, except mayonnaise, in the bowl.
• Then add the mayonnaise and mix well.
• Add the seasoning and mix again.

Serving:

• Pour portions in bowls/plates and serve chilled.
• Bon appetit. Enjoy your pasta.

Hope this recipe is useful. Please leave your feedback/queries as comments.