Lauki/ Doodhi/ Ghiya Curry (bottle gourd cooked with tomatoes)

Lauki or Bottle gourd is called by various names at various places in India. This humble vegetable is somehow skipped when we talk about delicious foods.

 
Here I'm sharing a simple recipe which is a regular feature of our household as both me and my hubby relish eating this one. Usually when we both want a light, regular, home cooked meal; this is the one which comes to our mind. Though it can be cooked as a dry vegetable also; we usually use the curried one.

Ingredients:

1. Lauki- 1 (cut into medium sized pieces)
2. Tomatoes- 1 big (chopped)
3. Jeera (cumin seeds)- 1 tsp
4. Ghee (clarified butter)- 1 tsp
5. salt to taste
6. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Haldi (Turmeric powder)- 1/4 tsp
8. Dhaniya (coriander seeds powder)-1 &1/2 tsp approx.

Method:

• Take a pressure cooker and add ghee to it.
• Add Jeera and wait till it sizzles.
• Add Lauki and chopped tomatoes and toss it around.
• Add the remaining spices and 1 Tbsp water (optional).
• Cover and cook at medium flame
• After one whistle, the curry is usually cooked. You might need to cook more if the gourd was very stiff in the beginning.
• Serve hot with Chapati or rice.

This simple vegetable it can be transformed into a delicacy by making 'Koftas'. Will write about that some other time.

Pasta with skillet roasted vegetables (and ketchup!)

When you are out of cheese and do not want to work up the oven, but still want to have roasted veggies with pasta, you have to innovate or modify your cooking method. That's exactly what I did. When I read this recipe; I knew I had to make it. And the perfect opportunity presented itself when both of us (me and my hubby) felt like having something light, yet filling.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 /2 medium sized broccoli, cut into florets

3/4 cups sweet corn

1 capsicum/ bell pepper (you can add red/yellow ones too. )

2 small tomatoes (quartered)

1 tsp salt or to taste

pepper, freshly ground, to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

For vegetables:

Take a skillet. Heat olive oil in it.

Put all the vegetables and cook on medium to to low flame till they get charred. Stir in between to cook evenly.

For the pasta

Cook the pasta as per the direction on the packet

To assemble

Ingredients:

1&1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion(medium sized), sliced into half moons

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup ( this is what I added, but if you want more flavour then go ahead and pour according to your taste)- it gave a saucy zing to the recipe.

Method

In a wok, heat the oil over a medium flame. Put in the onions and fry till translucent . Toss in the pasta and roasted vegetables and mix well. Add the oregano and ketchup and toss well enough to coat the penne pasta properly.

Serve hot and enjoy!