Idli upma/Thalicha Idli/Mildly Spiced Idli crumbs

I don't make this as often as I would like to. Somehow I make idly upma only when my idlis are a few hours old and need to be finished. This is one of the yummy and preferred breakfast or snack at my place. Don't worry when your idlis are either hard or a day old, go ahead and try this. :)

Idli Upma

Ingredients

Serves - 2
Spice Level - Moderately Spicy
Prep time - 5 min
Cook time - 5 min

Idlis - 10
Onion - 1 , chopped finely
Curry leaves - 1 Sprig
Dry red chilli - 2
Mustard - 1 Tsp
Urad dal - 1 Tsp
Hing - 1/2 Tsp
Jeera/Cumin - 1 Tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Salt - as per need.


How do you do it

Crumble the idlis completely using your hand or the food processor with a few quick pulses.Keep aside. Heat oil in a kadai. Add hing,mustard - let it splutter, add jeera, urad dal, let them roast to a brown. Break the red chillies and drop them into the kadai along with curry leaves. Toss in the chopped onions now and saute till they become translucent. Add the crumbled idli , little salt [ remember idlis already have salt in them, so be cautious] and wrap well with the tempering.Stir well for a couple of minutes and you are done.

Sprinkle some idli podi / gun powder on top while serving. Yum! :)


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Aglio Olio Pasta with Mushroom and Peas

This is probably one of the easiest pasta that can be made. Aglio Olio basically is wrapping up your favorite pasta in olive oil infused with chilli and garlic and is usually made with spaghetti. Unlike other pasta dishes that are sauce-heavy, here the spaghetti/pasta is the star of the dish.

I don't make Italian dishes much at home , not really fond of them either, but once in a while its a welcome change in my kitchen :). Me and S enjoyed this pasta with mango lemonade on a raining friday evening. :)

Aglio Olio Pasta

Ingredients

Adapted from noobcook

Serves - 2
Spice Level - Moderately spicy
Prep Time - 15 min
Cook time 10 min

Spaghetti - 150 gm  [or any other type of pasta that you like , I used whole wheat semolina durum spaghettini ]
Garlic cloves - 12 small, finely chopped
Fresh/Dry red chilli - 1, remove seeds and break into pieces
Red chilli Flakes - 1 Tsp
Parsley leaves - 3 Tbsp
Button Mushroom - 4 , chopped roughly
Peas - 1/4 cup boiled
Olive oil - 3 Tbsp
Salt as per need


How do you do it

First cook your spaghetti al-dente or as per packet instructions. What I did - Bring water to a rapid boil in a huge pot. Add 1 tsp salt in the water. Drop your spaghetti in and let it cook for 12 minutes in high flame. Drain the water and put the spaghetti under running cold water for a few secs and then spread on a plate and keep aside.

Heat olive oil in low flame. Add in chopped garlic , red chilli and 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes.Let the garlic get cooked completely - 4-5 min. Add in the mushroom and peas now and saute for a couple of minutes till the mushrooms gives that shiny look. Add about half he quantity of salt now and give it a stir. Now toss in the cooked spaghetti , remaining salt , parsley, 1/2 Tsp red chilli flakes and wrap well with the garlic-chilli infused olive oil. Stir for a couple of more minutes and switch off flame.

Serve this aglio olio pasta with your favorite chilled drink.

Notes

1. Make sure not to burn the garlic. Burnt garlic will ruin the entire dish. So if necessary, saute mushroom and peas separately in a Tsp of olive oil for a few minutes and then add that to the oil which is already infused with garlic and chilli and continue as per the above instructions.

2. Also remember we have already added 1 tsp salt when the pasta was cooking, so be careful when you add salt at later stages.



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Spicy Brinjal Roast | Brinjal Curry

Once in a while its okay to indulge and have roast type dishes that are cooked for a really long time and is slightly greasy but absolutely salivating and spicy. This brinjal roast made its appearance in my mom's kitchen a very long time back. We loved it, but it never showed up again because it took a lot of time, a considerable amount of oil and dint really belong in the healthy section.

All of a sudden I was reminded of this dish and wanted to make it. My mom vaguely remembered how it was done, so got the recipe over the phone and it was a winner - why wouldn't it be? spicy and roasted - those are two words i absolutely love when it comes to cooking. :) . So me and the Spicy roasted brinjal were re-united after a decade! ;).

Spicy Brinjal Roast 

Ingredients

Serves - 3
Spice Level - Quite Spicy
Prep Time - 15 min
Cook time - 45 min

Brinjal - 500 gm, chopped lengthwise in medium sized pieces
Onion - 2  Large chopped well
Tomato - 2  Large pureed
Curry/Masala powder - 5 Tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Cumin/Jeera - 1 Tbsp
Hing - 1/2 Tsp
Oil - 5 Tbsp
Salt - as per need


How do you make it

Heat oil in a kadai. Add hing and jeera - let it roast. Add the onions, ginger garlic paste and saute until the onions are done. Add the tomato puree now , little salt and turmeric, wait until the puree is cooked well. Add the curry powder now and saute until the raw smell of the curry powder vanishes. Now add the brinjal pieces and wrap well with the masala. Bring the flame to low. Close the kadai with a lid. Every few minutes , keep an eye on it and stir it well. The brinjals need to sit on low-medium flame for about 30-40 minutes, until you see the skin of the brinjal start to shrink, and you get a nice semi-dry gravy texture as seen in pic. In between the 30-40 min time frame, add the remaining salt too. Make sure to stir every now and then, to prevent the curry from burning. If it gets too dry in between, add a spoon or two of oil and wrap well and continue till the brinjals are completely roasted.

Serve along with curd rice or rotis. :) 



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