Enchilada sauce recipe | Home made enchilada sauce

Enchilada sauce is used in many Mexican recipes like burrito, quesadilla and Mexican rice. It can be used as a sauce for pasta too. Today i am sharing the recipe of the Enchilada sauce which i used for the Mexican fried rice. I did this for the cookery show which i did for the Mother's day last week. The Vietnamese rolls, the mexican rice with enchilada sauce was a huge hit in the show. The recipe of Mexican fried rice will be coming up next on jeyashri's kitchen.

TOMATO PUREE RECIPE | HOME MADE TOMATO PUREE RECIPE | NO ADDED PRESERVATIVES

Tomato puree i wanted to try our for a long time , last week when i saw  red tomatoes in the nearby local shop at cheaper price, i bought and made puree out of this. This is a very basic recipe and doesn't involve any preservatives. I stored in the refrigerator for 10 days and it stayed good.

BASIL PESTO RECIPE | PESTO RECIPE

BASIL WALNUT PESTO
Whenever i make pasta i make with the usual tomato sauce or with the white sauce. Few months ago, i have tasted basil walnut pesto pasta in a friend’s place. Long time i have been thinking to make this but some how i have never come across Basil leaves when i visit the local super market. They say it be available after 11 am and gets immediately sold off too. Last week when i visited a cold storage here, i saw a fresh box of basil leaves. I picked it up and after coming home called my friend and noted down the recipe. This basil walnut pesto is a easy one to make and i loved the fresh smell of basil too.

INGREDIENTS:

WALNUTS	5-6
BASIL LEAVES	1/2 CUP (TIGHTLY PACKED)
SALT	TO TASTE
CHEESE	2 TBLSP
GREEN CHILLI	1-2
OLIVE OIL	2 TBLSP

METHOD:

• Wash the basil leaves and pat dry them. Keep aside 3-4 leaves for making the pesto pasta.

• Grind the leaves along with rest of the ingredients into a fine paste.( basil leaves, salt,green chilli,cheese,walnut and olive oil)

• With clean dry hands or spoon transfer it to a container and use it up within 3 days.  Basil walnut pesto is ready.

Stay tuned for the Basil pesto pasta recipe. Coming up tomorrow.

Note:

• I used parmesan cheese. You can use any variety of cheese.
• Blanched almonds can be used instead of walnuts.
• I added 2 green chilies and find the recipe spicy .

Technorati Tags: basil pesto pasta,walnut pesto,how to make basil walnut pesto,pesto recipes

SCHEZWAN SAUCE RECIPE | HOW TO MAKE SCHEZWAN SAUCE

Nornally i make vegetable fried rice for kids lunch box  and pack with plain raitha or some store bought chips. But my daughter always insist me to make Gobi Manchurian or Vegetable manchurian to accompany the Vegetable Fried rice. . But for me it is very difficult to make the elaborate manchurian on a weekday mornings. When we tasted Schezwan  fried rice few weeks back in a restaurant we all liked it and i have noted down in my to do list to make this recipe. Yes , now a days i am little organised and planning my menu ahead and kept a list of items to be blogged this year and planning accordingly. Coming to the recipe, i first wanted to post the recipe of home made schezwan sauce and i adapted the recipe from a cook book of Sanjeev Kapoor.

The schezwan fried rice which i made  with the home made schezwan sauce doesn’t need any accompaniment and both the kids liked it.
INGREDIENTS( FOR 3/4 CUP SAUCE)

GARLIC (FINELY CHOPPED)	1/4 CUP
GINGER (FINELY CHOPPED)	2 TBLSP
OIL	3-4 TBLSP
RED CHILLI	10-12
SOYA SAUCE	1/2 TSP
PEPPER POWDER	1/4 TSP
TOMATO KETCHUP	1/2 TSP
SALT	TO TASTE
WATER	1/4 CUP

METHOD:

• Soak the red chilli in water for an hour.
• Take out the seeds and grind it into a smooth paste. add a few tsp of water if necessary while grinding.
• the easier way to take out the seeds is ,  take it out before soaking. this makes the job easy.

• In a pan add the oil and add the finely chopped ginger and garlic . Saute for few minutes till the garlic turns golden brown color. Saute in a low flame, else it will not get cooked.

• Add the ground red chilli paste to this. ( 2tblsp )
• Mix well and cook for 2 minutes till the oil oozes out.

• Add the soya sauce and pepper powder.
• Add tomato ketchup and salt as needed.
• Keep in mind that the sauces(soya and ketchup) contains salt.

• Add 1/4 cup of water to this and cook for few minutes till it reaches a saucy consistency.
• Add little extra water if you want, but do not add too much.

• Sauce is ready.
• stay tuned till tomorrow to get the recipe of Schezwan Fried Rice. Check for the recipe of schezwan fried rice recipe 
• This can be stored in a clean bottle for 10 days in the refrigerator. 

 

Technorati Tags: Schezwan sauce recipe,home made schezwan sauce,how to make schezwan sauce at home,easy home made schezwan sauce

CHICKPEAS SALAD WITH THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

RECIPE FOR BOTH- a LOW FAT VERSION OF THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING WITHOUT EGGS

Salads are always a super hit at my place. When i soaked channa for making Channa pulao i felt it was little extra and kept a  1/2 cup of soaked chickpeas aside for making salad. Suddenly i thought of making the salad with a dressing and i adopted this Thousand island dressing from Tarla dalal’s cook book. Though we get ready made Thousand island dressing in super markets, most of them contains eggs. So i wanted to try it out at home and it is a low fat version of Salad and diet watchers go ahead to try out the recipe of chickpeas salad with Thousand island dressing.
Also check out my

• Thai cucumber and pineapple salad
• Beetroot salad

INGREDIENTS ( FOR THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING)

YOGURT	1/2 CUP
MUSTARD POWDER	1/2 TSP
SUGAR	1/2 TSP
TOMATO KETCHUP	1 TBLSP
CHOPPED ONION	1 TBLSP
GREEN CHILLI	1/2 NO
CHOPPED CAPSICUM	2 TBLSP
SALT	AS NEEDED

FOR SALAD:

CHICKPEAS|CHANNA(BOILED)	1/2 CUP
POTATO(BOILED)	1/2 NO.
CARROT	1/2 NO.
CABBAGE(SHREDDED)	1/4 CUP
ONION	1/2
PEPPER POWDER	1/2 TSP

FOR THE DRESSING:

• Combine all the ingredients mentioned in the 1st table .
• I used the mortar and pestle to make mustard powder.

• Chop the carrots, onions and combine the boiled chickpeas, boiled chickpeas, cabbage and pepper in a wide bowl.

• Just before serving combine all the salad and thousand island dressing.
• Mix well. Serve immediately.

Note:

1. Vegetables used in the salad is truly optional. I just added the veggies which i had in my hand.
2. The dressing has to be consumed on the same day. Do not store for more than 5 hours.

VEGETABLE BROTH | VEGETABLE STOCK RECIPE

HOME MADE VEGETABLE STOCK

    Vegetable stock | broth which i wanted to try at home for a long time. When i wanted to make a Mexican Rice at home influenced by the one which we had restaurant here , the google search for most of the Vegetarian  Mexican rice includes Vegetarian broth | Stock. So i wanted to try this at home. I made this with the regular veggies which we use at home.
Before making this ensure that the vegetables should be fresh. Because i have seen in many cook books they use the left over veggies which will not give a nice flavor to the stock. When i made vegetable stock yesterday my house was filled with fantastic aroma and here comes the recipe of how to make vegetable stock at home.

INGREDIENTS:(YIELDS 5 CUPS OF BROTH)

ONION	2 NO
GARLIC	1 BULD WHOLE
CABBAGE	A SMALL PIECE
CARROT	2 NO
CORIANDER | PARSLEY	A SMALL BUNCH
WHOLE PEPPER	12- 15 NO
WATER	10 CUPS
GINGER	A SMALL PIECE
OIL	2 TSP
SALT	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Wash the veggies and chop them roughly.
• Peel the skin of the garlic and ginger and just crush them once with the mortar and pestle.

• In a heavy bottomed wide vessel, add oil and throw in the garlic and onions.
• Saute them in medium flame for 2 minutes.

• Now add all the veggies and mix well.

• Now add the water and add the whole black pepper and ginger to this.

• Now add the coriander leaves | parsley to this and add salt.
• Let this come to a boil.
• Cover this and keep the flame low.

• After 45 minutes to 1 hour switch off the flame and when it slightly cooks down and you can handle the stock pot, strain the mixture and keep the water aside.
• Discard the veggies as all the goodness of the veggies are trasferred to the water.

• If you are using them immediately continue else you can completely cool this and  freeze the stock and use when needed.

• For  3 – 4 days you can store it in a clean box and keep it in the refrigerator.

Notes:

• Normally celery, spring onions, leak are added to the stock. though i get these easily here i wanted to try out with the veggies which we use on daily basis.
• A bay leaf can be added to the stock while boiling to enhance the flavor.
• Do not boil the vegetables for more than an hour else the stock will not be flavorful.
• Freeze it once it is completely cool.
• While freezing the cubes, pour the stock in ice cube tray and once it is set, take out and put them in zip lock cover and freeze them.
• Take out the required portion when you want. Do not re freeze once defrosted.

VEGETABLE PASTA RECIPE WITH HOME MADE SAUCE- KIDS FRIENDLY RECIPE.

As mentioned in my previous post, i am here with the recipe of Vegetable pasta made with Home made pasta Sauce. This is absolutely a kids friendly recipe and perfect for lunch box. My son will be more happy whenever i make this for him.
Check out my

• Sweet corn pasta
• Pasta primavera

INGREDIENTS:

MACARONI PASTA	1 CUP
MIXED VEGETABLES(I used  broccoli, corn,carrot)	1 CUP
CAPSICUM(CHOPPED FINELY)	1/4 CUP
OLIVE OIL	1 TBLSP
TOMATO SAUCE	1 AND 1/4 CUP
WHITE SAUCE	3/4 CUP
SALT	AS NEEDED
GRATED CHEESE	1 TSP(OPTIONAL)

• Cook the pasta as per the instructions given in the packet by adding enough salt and a tsp of oil to this.
• Chop the veggies as desired.
• When the pasta got cooked, switch off the flame and before draining the water add the chopped veggies to this and let this sit for 2 minutes.
• Now drain the water and add a tsp of oil and toss this nicely.

• In a pan, add oil and add the finely chopped capsicums to this and saute for few minutes by adding a pinch of salt tot this . Let this be crunchy.

• Now add the tomato sauce and white sauce and mix well.
• Let this boil for 2 minutes and add the cooked pasta and veggies.

• Let this mix well nicely and the sauce gets infused into the pasta.
• Switch off the flame in 2 minutes.
• Add the grated cheese (if using)at this stage and serve hot.

HOME MADE PASTA SAUCE RECIPE- TOMATO SAUCE AND WHITE SAUCE RECIPE.

Pasta sauce - Red sauce and white sauce -Recipe with video   

The very first time I was introduced to pasta by a friend after coming to Singapore 4 years back. When she was talking to me, she was telling that she made pasta for dinner and when i asked about her the recipe she told that she always makes with store bought pasta sauce. So i followed the same way and made for kids and they liked that very much. Now after few years I am so bored with this store bought pasta sauce and wanted to make on my own. The tomato based sauce i learnt from a friend and for the white sauce i followed the recipe from Tarla Dalal.
Check out how i made veg pasta recipe using this home made pasta sauce recipe.

Pasta sauce| Tomato pasta sauce

  Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 Mins |Yields: 1 and 1/4 cup

     Tomato   4 
     Onion    2
     Garlic   4 cloves
     Green chili 1
     Red chili powder  1 tsp (reduce if you want less spicy)
     Ajwain | Omam  1/2 tsp
     Sugar  1 tsp
     Salt as needed
     Olive oil   2 tblsp
     Oregano | Italian seasoning  1/2 tsp 
                                            Video on how to make pasta sauce (both sauce)

                           

Method: 

• Chop the onions and tomatoes roughly and peel the skin of the garlic.
• In a pan, add a tblsp of oil to this and add the garlic, onion and green chilli to this and saute for few minutes.

• Now add the tomatoes to this and saute nicely in a medium flame till the tomatoes shrink nicely.
• Add ajwain seeds, salt, redchilli powder,sugar and tomato ketchup.

• Allow this to cool completely and grind into a fine paste.

• When done, again add oil in the pan and add the ground  tomato paste to the this and add the oregano powder and saute this in a medium flame for 5 minutes stirring in between. 

• Allow this to cool and store it in a airtight container and can be stored in the fridge for a week.

White sauce for pasta

  Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 Mins |Yields: 1 cup 

     Butter  1 tblsp
    Garlic  1 tblsp (finely chopped)
    Maida or millet flour  2 tsp
    Low fat milk  2 cups
   Oregano   1/2 tsp
   Black pepper  1 tsp
   Red chili flakes   as needed
   Grated cheese  1 tblsp
   Salt  as needed 
     
     

Method:

• In a pan add the butter and add the finely chopped garlic and saute for a minute.

• Add the plain flour or millet flour and saute for a very few seconds.

• Add milk to this and whisk it well.
• Stir well not to form any lumps.

• Keep it in a medium flame and stir well till it thickens.
• Once done add oregano powder, pepper powder and red chilli flakes.
• Mix it well and let this boil to get a saucy consistency.

• Add grated cheese to this.
• Mix well. Switch off the flame.
• Add salt to this. 

• Cool and store in the refrigerator for a week.

Notes:

1. For both the pasta sauce recipes i added spices as per my preference, as we all want it bit spicy.
2. You can reduce a little bit if you want it less spicy.