Basil Pesto Spaghetti

 Spaghetti/Noodles is a favorite meal in my house. Even my little one has started to like it. This meal gives enough opportunities to sneak healthy ingredients like vegetables and meat. Basil pesto is a very fresh and subtly delicious flavor to add to the spaghetti. 

Ingredients:

• 300 gms spaghetti noodles
  
• 2 cups of fresh italian basil leaves (I have used 1 cup of thai basil leaves, as that's what I had)
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp walnuts(I didn't use)
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil for the pesto
• 1 tbsp olive oil for spaghetti
• 10 green or black pitted olives
• 1 yellow/red bell pepper 
• about 200 gms salad shrimps (optional -- for non-veg version)
• or you can add 1 or 3/4 cup of frozen corn (optional -- for vegetarian version)
• extra basil leaves, chopped walnuts, lemon slices and Parmesan cheese to garnish
• salt, pepper and red chili flakes according to taste

Recipe:

• Boil the spaghetti in enough salted water according to package directions.
• Mine took 13 minutes. Reserve around half cup of salted spaghetti water.

• Drain in a colander, and keep aside.

• Wash and clean the basil leaves. Remove the thick stalks. Peel garlic. Chop about half of it. 

• Take the basil leaves, remaining garlic, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice and pulse in a food processor or a blender for few seconds ....till u get a smooth puree.

• Add fresh lemon zest to the puree and mix.

• Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic, red chili and saute for a minute. 

• Add the pesto paste and saute for another minute. 

• Add the chopped bell pepper and olives. Mix for 30 secs. 

• Add the frozen shrimps or the corn. Saute for another 30 secs to a minute. 

• Add the spaghetti, along with the salted water and mix well. 

• Add salt, pepper and dried chili flakes according to taste or if needed.(I didn't add any more salt)

• Serve hot, garnished with lemon slices, basil leaves, toasted walnuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Quantity:

• 2-3 servings

Notes:

• Use Italian basil leaves. That will give deep green color to the spaghetti and stronger flavor.
• Leave out shrimps to make a vegetarian version. Add corn, baby corn or maybe grilled zucchini or eggplants.
• Keep the heat, low to moderate after adding the basil pesto. Add other ingredients one after the other after the pesto, so as not to over cook it...!!! It doesn't really need to cook or over cook. 
• I didn't defrost the shrimps. It's better to defrost the shrimps or corn and bring it to room temperature, especially the cooked salad shrimps. You do not want to overcook(or even cook) them(as they are already cooked).

You can try these other spaghetti/pasta recipes too....

• Fettucine with creamy roasted bell pepper and feta *
• Roasted Vegetables and Pasta Salad *
• Penne with basil chicken

Minty Paneer Curry

This is one easy quick-fix recipe, when you are short of time and you wish to eat a full Indian meal. I served it with frozen chapatis that you get in the supermarket here. It was ready in about half hour. 

Ingredients:

• 350 gms paneer(I used frozen)
  
• a big bunch (about a cup and half) of coriander and mint leaves (stems from the mint leaves removed)
• 3-5 tbsp of greek yogurt
• 3 medium sized onions
• 3 green chilies
• 4-5 garlic flakes
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of oil/butter/or ghee (or more according to taste)

Recipe:

• Take the required paneer out of the freezer, in case you are using frozen paneer and keep it on the counter to defrost)
• Wash and rinse the coriander and mint leaves and leave it in the strainer to drain out excess water.
• In a grinder, add 2 green chilies and ginger and pulse for a few seconds. Then add the coriander and mint leaves and pulse again till you get a fine puree. 
• Add the greek yogurt and salt and pulse again. 
• Take the puree out in another bowl.

• Add paneer to the coriander-mint-greek yogurt puree, mix well and leave it aside for 10-15 minutes.

• In the same grinder jar, add garlic and the remaining chili(optional) and get a fine paste. Take it out and puree the onions to get fine onion paste.

• Heat oil/butter/ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds and garlic-chili paste.

• Then add the pureed onion paste and saute it on a medium-low flame till it is well cooked and the oil separates ( it will not happen if you use just a tsp of oil :) ... just wait for it to dry, as mine)

• Add the marinated paneer and mix well.

• Cook on low-medium flame for 3-5 minutes.

• Add about 1/4-1/3 cup of water, if u want a wet curry and let it boil for about 1-2 minutes.

• Add garam masala, mix well and turn off the flame. 

• Garnish with mint leaves, hot melted butter or ghee or even a dollop of greek yogurt.

• Serve hot with chapati, naan, paratha or rice.

Quantity:

• about 4-5 servings

Notes:

• Reduce the quantity of greek yogurt to about 1 tbsp, if you want a dry curry or to eat the paneer as a appetizer.
• You can eat the dry version of this curry, as a filling to grilled sandwich (which we did the next day)
• You can substitute normal curd for greek yogurt. Hang the curd to get a thick creamy version, for an hour or two.

Mango mousse

One more quick-fix dessert, which I made ahead for my kiddo's birthday party. This was super easy and tastes so good, and takes maybe just 30-45 minutes from start to finish. (A bit more, if you are using fresh mangoes. Also, you have to set it for 2-3 hours, but if you make it a day ahead, it's just 30-45 minute work and will feed many people). 

Bread-maki

"Makizushi" is a type of sushi. Japanese cuisine is one of my favorite cuisines after Indian. Japanese cuisine is very attractive visually.  Maki is a roll made with  bunch of fillings over rice, which is stuck over sea-weed rolled with the help of a bamboo mat called "makisu". More about sushi and maki roll here.

This post is about a snack item inspired from the Japanese Maki roll, I make for my kids for their school lunch boxes or evening snacks. Very easy to prepare and quick. All you need is some bread slices, some raw vegetables, some cheese, etc...any filling of your choice.

Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry

A simple everyday recipe. I had a few vegetables and a pack of chicken which needed to be used and not a lot of time, before my kids came home hungry for lunch. This is my quick-fix recipe, when I am short of time and need hot food in a hurry. I washed and cleaned the rice and put it in a microwave-safe bowl and set it to a 22 minute timer and started chopping the ingredients. This recipe was done just after the rice was done... so give or take 30 minutes from start to finish. It can be made faster, if u chop the ingredients in a food processor....