Macaroni in Orange Sauce

Hello again! 

Yesterday night me and my dearest husband were home alone and since I was in charge of the dinner it had to be understood by default that my husband would like to have something other than the normal dal roti sabzi. 

Originally I wanted to make pasta in orange sauce. But since we didn't have any pasta at home and the macaroni was in abundance, I ended up making macaroni in orange sauce. 

My husband and I both enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy cooking it and having it with your loved once. 

INGREDIENTS (serves 2 hungry people)

4-5 fistfuls of macaroni (boiled with a spoon of oil)

Fistful of grated pizza cheese 

1/2 tbsp garlic chilli seasoning

1 capsicum (diced and steamed)

Handful of beans (chopped and steamed)

For Orange Sauce 

Mix the below mentioned two sauces

Red Sauce

2 Bay leaves

1/2 tbsp garlic paste

3 tomatoes (puréed)

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

2 tbsp ketchup 

White Sauce

2 tbsp butter 

1/2 tbsp garlic paste

1.5 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup milk

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Oregano to taste 

RECIPE

Red Sauce

Put oil in a pan. Add bay leaves to it and let them crackle.

Add garlic paste and cook for a minute.

Add puréed tomatoes and salt and cook till tomatoes reduce to almost half.

Add ketchup and pepper. Let it cook for a few minutes, then turn the flame off. 

White Sauce

Put butter in a pan. Add garlic paste to it and cook for a minute. 

Add all purpose flour, sauté for a few seconds.

And milk and stir really well to avoid lumps.

Let it simmer for a minute or two. Add salt, pepper and oregano. Cook for a few more seconds, then turn the flame off.

Orange Sauce

Mix the above two sauces. Add some milk if it gets too thick and let it come to a boil. 

Final Macaroni

Add grated cheese to the Orange sauce and stir well.

Add the boiled macaroni, steamed capsicum and beans and mix them all well.

Cook for a few minutes, drizzling some garlic chilli seasoning. 

Serve hot with toasted buttered bread. 

NOTE:

You can use wholewheat pasta for a healthier version.

I didn't have too many veggies at hand so I used what was lying in the fridge. You can add mushrooms, broccoli, red and yellow bell peppers.

You can use a tbsp of sugar instead of ketchup  to balance out the tang of the tomato purée.

I didn't have fresh basil leaves. If you can hold of them, add them to your red sauce, sparing a few for garnish.

You can serve this with garlic bread or focaccia. I used what I had in stock.

HAPPY COOKING! 

Chinese Idli

So the other day we had some leftover idli batter at our place. Now even though I love south- indian food, I just can’t bring myself to have the same sambhar (lentils cooked with veggies) and coconut chutney (sauce) the next day.

Hence, I decided to cook some steaming hot idlis but with a twist.

This recipe is originally my sister’s, but I cooked this dish with a few changes of my own. I personally savor these idlis and my dear husband and father-in-law also appreciated them.

You can have it for breakfast or as an evening snack. Women, this is a wonderful and easy dish to keep on your menu for your next get together. Also, kids will love to have it in their tiffin boxes since it is a pleasant change from the conventional masala idli that is cooked with curry leaves and black mustard seeds.

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

INGREDIENTS (serves 3)

6 idlis (each cut into quarters)

1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste

1 onion (thinly sliced)

1 tomato (chopped)

2 capsicums (thinly sliced)

1 spring onion (chopped)

3 tbsp tomato puree

3 tbsp tomato ketchup

Salt to taste

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic chili seasoning

2 tbsp oil

RECIPE

Put oil in a wok. Add sliced onions to it.

Wait for the onions to get golden brown and then add ginger garlic paste. Cook for two minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes and salt and cook till tomatoes become tender.

Add ketchup and pepper and stir well.

Add idli quarters and sliced capsicum and give it all a good stir. Cook for a minute.

Tip in the tomato puree and garlic-chilli seasoning. Cook for another two minutes.

Sprinkle the chopped spring onion leaves, switch the flame off, and cover the wok for a few minutes before serving hot.

NOTE:

You can make rice or suji (semolina) idlis as per your liking.

If you do not have garlic-chilli seasoning, you can simply add chilli flakes.

You can also add some soy sauce and some green chilli sauce to it for added flavour.

You can pack this dish with nutrition by adding veggies like carrots and beans to it. The kids won’t mind it.

Happy Cooking!!!