War of the Instant Noodles

First there was noodles, then along came smoodles and now we have foodles. The naming is possibly where the differentiation against Maggie noodles and new entrant Horlicks foodles* ends.

Foodles tastes just like Maggi noodles ( and possibly better, the quantity of the spice mix looked a little more than in the Maggi packs – which seems to lend a richer taste).

The verdict : When Maggie noodles and Horlicks Smoodles are so close in taste, texture, quantity and pricing I would not bother much about which to pick. Although I really like the aroma that comes only from cooking Maggi noodles .

* Horlicks smoodles claims to be a a multi grain noodle which comes with multi-vitamin enriched spice mix. Maggie has also being playing on the health angle by promoting its product as a healthy snack with its now popular tag line “Taste bhi Health bhi”.

Also did you know that there is a World Instant Noodles association?

When??!!

When will this convenience hit our city??

Pasta Mania -2

So, here is another quick easy and smoking version of a hot Pasta Salad.

What you would need : As always I recommend that you use your flavour profile to mix and match the quantities, just be careful not to overdo it though :).

Pasta- 2 cups (I used a combination of penne and fusilli)
Red Onion - 1 small
Tomatoes - 4 large
Capsicum - 3 large
Spring onion whole - 3 sprigs
Milk cream - 2 tbsp
Cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup
Green Olives
Black Olives
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper

Prep :
Cook the penne and fusilli in water with a little salt and a drizzle of oil (to avoid the pasta from sticking) - drain and keep a little stock aside.

In a wok, heat some olive oil add finely chopped red onion and half of the tomatoes. Toss around till they blend into a course sauce, add the milk cream and allow to thicken. Now add the chopped spring onions and toss. Remove from heat, add the capsicum and mix so that it absorbs the heat of the sauce. Toss in the pasta and mix. Put on slow flame and top with the cheese. In a bowl mix the remaining tomatoes(big chunks) and medium size chops of capsicum, add some olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix and add to the pasta. give a quick stir and serve hot.
I enjoy mine with a lot of fresh tomato and capsicum. Do try and let me know :).

Pasta mania - 1

I have had just about enough of cheesy creamy pasta, so I decided to take it on my self to make two simple variations of pasta that focus less on the dressing and a bit more on the pasta itself.

The first of which is a extremely simple : 'Penne in Eggplant sauce'.

What you would need : always I recommend that you use your flavour profile to mix and match the quantities, just be careful not to overdo it though :).

Pasta- 2 cups (I used Penne)
Eggplant - 1 medium
Spring onion whole - 3 sprigs
cherry tomato - 3 ( If you do not find these u can use any tomato with citrus notes)
Red Onion small - 1/2
Tomato puree - 2 spoons (If you do not have puree you can whip up some or use some ketchup)
Green Olives
Black Olives
Olive oil
Sal to taste
Cheese

Prep :
Cook the penne in water with a little salt and a drizzle of oil (to avoid the pasta from sticking) - keep a little stock aside

In a wok, heat some olive oil add thinly sliced eggplant and toss till brown and slightly crispy. Remove the eggplant chips and in the same wok add diced onions followed by the finely chopped tomato. Add the spring onions and toss, follow with 3/4 cup of the penne stock and simmer till the paste thickens. Add the tomato puree and close flame, grate some cheese , add the olives and the eggplant chips. Mix well.

Now lightly fold the penne into this sauce till the pasta is lightly coated, drizzle some olive oil and enjoy.

Although a huge fan of the traditional creamy pasta or the sundried tomato pasta I like to experiment with the simpler dressings. Do tell me how this turns out for you.

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival – Vinayaka Chavithi

Like all festivals celebrated in India, Ganesh Chaturthi is also celebrated with a great deal of enthusiasm. Recipes passed down from generations are used to prepare sweets and savoury dishes.

The dishes prepared on this day are offered to Vinayaka first.

To me this festival marks another day of feasting and a mighty great day for cooking and sharing.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi, and as always happy reading and happy eating :).

Cheers!!

Dressing up .. the noodles ;)

There are many reasons why I love cooking and eating Chinese - it is delicious, it is quick, it is healthy and one great dish makes for an entire meal :).

Most of the Chinese noodle recipes involve a quick stir fry of cooked noodles and veggies. I have tried to add a variation to this by finishing of the stir fry with a "dressing" made of fresh spring onions and ginger.

What you would need:
For the noodles:
Chinese noodles - 200 gms
Vegetable julienne - 2 cups ( I used Carrots, capsicums and cabbage)
Garlic (sliced) - 4 no's
Dry Red chillies (chopped) - 1 to 2 no's
Chilli sauce - 3/4 tbsp
Chilli Vinegar - 2 tsp
Black Ground pepper - 3/4 tbsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
Oil

For the spring onion and ginger dressing:
Spring onions (Finely chopped including the whites) - 2 cups
Ginger (finely chopped) - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
Olive oil - 4 tbsp ( You can use sesame oil as a variation)
Salt - 2 tsp

Prep :
We need to prepare the dressing first, giving it enough time to cool before using on the noodles.
Spring onion and ginger dressing:
Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl. You will notice that the potion of the spring onions shrink and the colour deepen as a result of using salt and sugar. heat the olive oil in a pan till smoky, remove and pour over the spring onion prepared. Mix well and set aside to cool.
Tip: Pour from a arm's length distance to avoid hot oil splattering on you.

Stir fry veg noodles:
Heat water (about 10 cups) in a large pan and bring to boil, add 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp oil (regular cooking oil will do) add the noodles and cook till almost done. Drain and set aisde, if you feel that the noodles will stick to each other drizzle a little olive oil.

In the same pan heat some oil, add garlic and red chillies add the vegetables when aromatic. Stir as you mix in the chilli sauce, pepper and ajinomoto. Add the vinegar and the noodles and stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Remove and mix in the spring onion dressing.

Serve hot and fresh :).



I hope you guys enjoy this recipe, do write in to let me know.

Peanut Butter with a twist. Ofcourse!!

My knack of trying variation's to any recipe has made me come up with some great dishes.
This post is about one such fabulously rewarding experiment.

You must have all tried different variations of the peanut butter spread - smooth, chunky ... spicy???

You heard me right .. spicy :).
This spicy home made variation of the peanut butter is so good and unique, that I am actually having second thoughts about sharing it ;) .

What you would need:
Roasted peanuts - 2 cups
Roasted dry red chillies - 4 to 5
Garlic Flakes - 6
Salt

Tip: Go easy on the chilli and garlic if you do not want it to be super hot mix and match the quantities of chilli and garlic to reduce spice or enrich spice.

Prep:
Combine the peanuts, chillies and grind coarsely. Now add the garlic and salt and grind to the consistency that you like.


This is a dry spread and can be stored for weeks in a air tight jar without loss of flavour or freshness.

Use this along with regular butter and spread on toast :).

I absolutely love it, do try and let me know how it works for you.

Cheers!!