Blackgram and Pasta Medley Cooked Salad

Ingredients:

Black Gram                             - 2 cups soaked and boiled
Soup Pasta                               - 1 cup boiled
Tomato                                    - 1 cup chopped finely
Cucumber                                - 1 cup chopped finely
Onion                                       - 1 cup chopped finely
Carrot                                       - 1/2 cup grated
Radish                                      - 1/2 cup grated
Garam Masala                          - 1/4 tspoon
Salt                                           - To taste
Turmeric                                  - 1/4 tspoon
Chaat Masala                           - 1/2 tspoon
Cumin Seed                             - 1/2 tspoon
Asafetida                                 - a pinch
Apple                                       - 1/4 cup grated


Method:

Heat up the oil in a pan, crackle the cumin and add the asafetida to it.
Fry the onion in it until translucent.

Add tomatoes, grated carrots and grated radish to it. Fry it for 2 minutes.

Now add in all the dry spices to it and mix well for another minute.

Now add the pasta to the pan. Give it a good mix.

Now it's Blackgram's turn to come in the pan. Add the boiled black grams in the pan and mix it very well.

Mix well and add cucumber cubes to it. Switch off the flame, once cucumbers are added in.

Take out is a serving bowl and garnish with grated apples. You can add other fruits such as pomegranate kernels, chopped berries and so on.

The salad is ready to serve as breakfast, side dish or evening snack.

Homemade Pizza/Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil           -4 tblspoon
Shallots                                -2 finely chopped
Garlic                                   -5 clove, crushed
Chopped tomatoes               -1 tin
Oregano                               -1 teaspoon
Tomato puree                      -2 tblspoon
Italian Seasoning                 -2 tblspoon

Method:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the shallots and sweat down for about 5 minutes.
Now add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute.
Now add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil and simmer on low flame for an hour or until the sauce is thickened.
Now let the sauce cool down.
I blended half of it to a smooth paste for my pizzas and kept half of it chunky for the pasta.
Give the sauce atleast a day before using to develop the taste.
Store the sauce
in air-tight bottles and into the fridge for 1 week.

Baked Pasta Muffin

Ingredients:

Small macaroni pasta          - 1/2 cup
Grated mozzarella                - 1/4 – 1/2 cup as cheese you want
Grated parmesan                  - 2 tblspoon (Optional)
Bread crumbs                       - 1/4 cup
Olive oil                               - 3 tblsp
Chopped vegetables             - your choice for topping
Salt                                       - to your taste
Any Italian herb                   - 1 tsp
Chilli flakes                         - 1 tsp (Optional)

Method:

Boil the pasta as per package instructions with a pinch of salt. Drain the water and keep aside.
After cooled down, mix with grated mozzarella.
Preheat oven at 190 deg. C.
Grease a muffin pan/muffin moulds with olive oil. Dust it with bread crumbs generously. Tap off the excess crumbs.
Fill with the pasta/cheese mix.
Top with the vegetables of your choice. I used broccoli, Sweet corn, mix peppers, green beans and onions. All are blanched except onions.
Top again with mozzarella if you want, or just with the parmesan.
Then sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over every muffin and drizzle some olive oil over it.













Bake this for 15 – 18 minutes or until a golden crust is formed.
Cool down for 4 minutes and spoon out each one carefully.
It's a great snack for kids after school or may be breakfast for lazy sunday morning.