Macaroni Soychunks Manchurian

Gobi Manchuri/Manchurian is a very popular street food. The bright orange food coloring, the overused oil, the grease and what not - all these add to the taste factor. The resulting brown mass with the addition of crunchy onions is a big favorite with many youngsters. 

If you love that taste but started getting health conscious, then this dish comes to your rescue. It is also a healthier alternative to serve to your kids. Macaroni, soy chunks and manchurian are magnets on their own, and combine it with making it healthier, in a pressure cooker, then what is not to like in it. I have also found that this dish is pretty tasty even it is cold, making it ideal for a lunch box option.

Sphagetti with Zuchini, EggPlant and Tomato

Colorful plate with green zuchini, purple egg plant and the red candy colored vine ripe tomatoes, sauteed in olive oil, flavored with garlic. Doesn't your mouth water. Do not wait if it does, get the recipe below, try it out and let me know how it works. As usual, I always add a pinch of turmeric in almost all my dishes, Indian or not. So you will always find yellow pasta in our plates.  Let the sun rise on your plate with the colorful pasta.

 

Lucky Lentil Pasta, Any Time Meal with Corn and Lentils

I came to know that lentils are served in Italy for good luck on New Year. That is it, I had to blog about this pasta dish I make regularly, for DelMonte cooking contest.  I could use all the luck I can get for winning this one, what with all the amazing cooks across the world wide web.

Lentils are power houses of nutrition. Especially if you are a vegetarian or a vegan or want to have a meat free meal with good quality protein, then lentils are the way to go. Lentils in some shape or form appears daily on our plates. My blog has a good collection of recipes with lentils, whole and split and sprouts.

I have substituted whole organic masoor dal as we do not get the Italian (Puy or Umbrian varieties) here in Bangalore. The picture and the description matched that of  whole masoor. We also like the delicate nutty taste of whole masoor when cooked, in addition to the fact that it gets cooked very fast.

Here I have lentils for the protein, corn for the vegetable and a favorite with kids and of course, the star of the dish - the pasta. Butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice add all the oomph. I generally use my pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time and save on the fuel. All the ingredients in the pressure cooker, 2 whistles on medium high. Voila, you have an easy, tasty and a healthy dish that goes on the serving table in 15 minutes with minimal preparation. In fact, taking the pictures for boasting take more time than cooking and eating.

Serve it as breakfast, as an evening snack or in the lunch box, which ever way you want. Get back the cleanly licked box/bowl as a bonus.

Manchurian Pasta with Sprouts, East meets West in a Pressure Cooker

Indian's fascination with Gobi Manchurian is never ending. From street carts that can be smelled a mile away, to the budget eatery or the fancy up class ones, at least one variation will be served. You can go to the smallest town and you will find a street cart selling "Gobi Manchuri and fride rice", spelled in as many imaginative ways as possible. You will also see curry leaves added for a good measure in some of these establishments. In fact, Indian Chinese or Chinese Indian is now an acknowledge and well loved genre. The only Chinese influence I can see in this dish is the addition of soya sauce.

Eggplant,Tomato and Basil Spaghetti

Tender purple eggplant/brinjal, fresh basil and ripe tomatoes sauteed and served with spaghetti makes this superlative anytime dish. Absolutely amazing and colorful. I use turmeric in all my dishes, so please excuse the bright yellow color of the pasta.

Easy Dinner For a Lazy Day, No Sauce Pressure Cooker Pasta seasoned with Turmeric

Long tiring day at work. Paining legs after shopping.Tired after running around the toddler. Or just plain lazy to cook dinner. Busy and tired or Lazy and tired, whenever you need a quick dinner with minimal effort and a dish that everyone will eat without complaints, try this pressure cooker pasta. 5 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cooking time, dinner is ready to be served. If you have the energy, have a quick side dish or just serve as is.

This is not for the puritans of pasta. No making sauce, no boiling, straining etc etc. All in one dish. It has turmeric for good measure (for the health quotient) cooked in a pressure cooker like the regular Indian fare. Puritans are welcome to try if you want a quick short cut.

Do try and let me know your experience.