Penne Rigate in balle balle style

I was in a dilemma what to cook in lunch as my cousin, Lavi and her husband was visiting me. My cousin is a fan of North Indian food especially Punjabi food. Chhole bhature, gujiya, mango shake and spicy tomato and garlic chutney are some of her favourites. Her husband loves to eat Italian food. Pasta in white sauce, pasta salad, dip made up of basil leaves are his all time favourites. To make both of them happy, I tried Penne Rigate in balle balle style fusing the two different ingredients, flavours, food and culture together to create something new. This is what I prepared! And of course how I prepared!!

Penne Rigate in balle balle style

Servings – 4- 6 

Preparation Time – 15 minutes and overnight fermentation period and soaking time of chickpeas

Cooking Time – 45 minutes

Cook Penne Rigate

Ingredients

Penne Rigate – 55g

Olive Oil – ½ teaspoon (for cooking)

Olive Oil – 1 teaspoon (for tossing)

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Boil water in a pan. Add salt and olive oil in it. When it starts boiling add pasta and cook it uncovered for ten minutes in an open pan. Keep a timer for exact timing.

2.   During the first few minutes, starch come out of the pasta, making it sticky. Stir it continuously and gently.

3.   Take out a pasta piece and bite it. It should be ‘Al Dente’ meaning it should be firm to bite. It should neither be crunchy nor too soft. It should appeal to the teeth.

4.   Remove the pan from fire. Drain the cooked pasta immediately into a sieve and transfer it into a pan containing cold water. Drain it again, toss it with olive oil and keep it aside.

Yellow sauce

Ingredients

Mango pulp (Neither raw nor fully ripe mango medium size) – 150g

Milk – 250ml

Cream (Malai) – 40g

Corn flour – ¾ table spoon

Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) – ½ table spoon

Raw turmeric – 1 small piece

Grated cheese – 50g

Butter – 7g

Mango Essence – 2 drops

White pepper – ½ tea spoon

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Melt the butter in clay pot on low-to-medium heat. Add refined wheat flour to it. Stir it continuously with a wooden spoon to avoid any lump formation. Add 175ml milk and cream to it. Stirring continuously bring it to the boil. Add grated raw turmeric for colour.

2.  After one minute, reduce the flame and add cheese, salt and white pepper. Mix 25 ml milk and corn flour. Allow it to cook for few more minutes so that it becomes thicker than white sauce.

3.   Remove from fire and stir it for some more time to avoid any thick layer formation on the top. The clay pot retains the heat for more time, preserves the nutrients and aroma. The milk recipe cooked in clay pots tastes delicious.

4.   Blend mango pulp and the remaining milk in the mixer. Add the mixture and mango essence in the sauce on cooling and mix well. The sauce is ready. Keep it aside.

Chickpea Boiling

Ingredients

Chickpea – 25g

Dry Indian Gooseberry (Amla) – 3-4 slices

Cloves – 1

Peppercorns – 2-3

Bay Leaf (Tejpata) – 1 small piece

Cinnamon (Dalchinni) – 1 small piece

Black Cardamom (Kali elaichi) – 1-2

Ginger – 1 small piece

Baking soda – ¼ teaspoon

Turmeric – ¼ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Soak chickpeas over night. Put them in pressure cooker. Add salt and turmeric powder.

2.   Take a cotton cloth of a size of handkerchief. Put all the condiments and spices in it. Fold it making a triangle and roll it and tie a knot.

3.   Put it in the pressure cooker so that it is immersed fully in water. Add the baking soda and stir it. Close the lid. Place it on high heat.

4.   When pressure is reached turn heat to low and allow the steam-release rocker to rock twice. Remove from fire and wait for pressure to decrease. Open the lid.

5.   Squeeze the bundle into the soup to drain out all the flavours from it. This soup with Indian flavours will be used in cooking penne.

Penne in Yellow sauce

Ingredients

Red bell peppers – 2

Red chillies – 2-3

Basil leaves – 25 leaves

Butter – 7g

Olive oil – 1 teaspoon

Garlic – 6 cloves

Onion – 2 medium size

Chickpea soup – 3-4 table spoon

Oregano – 1 ½ tea spoon

Thyme – ½ teaspoon

Rosemary – ½ teaspoon

White pepper – ¼ table spoon

Salt to taste

Garnish

Pitted Black Olives – 6-7

Basil leaves – Remaining leaves

Method

1.   Melt the butter in a pan. Add olive oil. Mix them. Saute finely chopped garlic, onion. Add chopped half of the basil leaves and diagonally chopped red chilies in it. Do not overcook them.

2.   Add chopped red bell peppers. Saute them. Add boiled chickpeas and soup. Mix yellow sauce and obtained the desired consistency of sauce. Add salt and other spices.

3.   Add pasta and stir it very gently. Remove from fire and garnish it with chopped olives and basil leaves.

Penne Salad

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes – 8-9

Chopped Cucumber – 70g

Chopped Carrot – 60g

Chopped Radish – 30g

Chopped Red bell peppers – 20g

Penne Rigate Boiled – 3-4 pieces

Lime juice – 2 teaspoon

Olive oil – 1 teaspoon spoon

Honey – 1 teaspoon

Radish leaves small sized – 3-4 leaves

Coriander leaves – 20g

Dry Mint – ¼ teaspoon

Black pepper – ¼ teaspoon

Oregano – ½ teaspoon

Parsley – ½ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Mix oil, lime juice and honey in a glass bowl. Add chopped ingredients in it. Add finely chopped radish leaves and coriander to it.

2.   Slice pasta piece into three parts cutting it diagonally symmetrical to its edges. Sprinkle spices and toss them gently.

Triangular stuffed n puffed bread

Ingredients

Barley flour – 10g

Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) – 100g + for rolling bread

Curd – 20g + 20g = 40g

Roasted capsicum – 2

Boiled Pasta – 10g

Butter – 1/4 teaspoon

Canola Oil for frying

Filling

Ingredients

Pitted Black Olives – 30g

Boiled Sweet Corn – 30g

Grated Cheese – 30g

Raisins – 12-15

Garlic – 2-3 cloves

Chilli flakes – ½ teaspoon

Dry Parsley – ½ teaspoon

Dry Thyme – 1 pinch

Dry Rosemary – 1 pinch

Basil leaves – 10 -15 leaves

Olive oil – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Heat olive oil. Sauté chopped garlic and basil leaves in it.

2.   Saute coarsely crushed sweet corns and olives in it. Add cheese. Add spices and salt. The filling is ready.

3.   Mix half quantity of curd and barley flour. Leave it overnight to ferment.

4.   Remove the skin of roasted capsicum it will easily peel off if the oil is applied on the outer surface of capsicum before roasting. Grind it along with the remaining amount of curd.

5.   Take the refined wheat flour in a bowl. Add butter and salt to it. Rub it nicely in the flour. Knead the dough using fermented barley flour and capsicum blend.

6.   Make small balls of dough. With the help of rolling pin, roll it more lengthwise then width wise. Place the rolled out dough on the triangular mould.

7.   Place the filling in the lower part or base portion.  Move the wet finger very lightly on the three sides of the mould so that it seals well and the filling doesn’t come out. Do not fill it too much that it touches the sides of the mould. It should be sealed properly else it will mess while frying.

8.   Flip the top end over the bottom one. Press it gently. Trim off the extra dough from the edges and mix it in the rest of the dough. Open the mould and very gently take out the stuffed triangular piece.

9.   Deep fry them in oil till golden brown. Take them out on the paper so that paper absorbs extra oil.

Basil and peanut chutney

Ingredients

Basil leaves -15g

Peanut – 15g

Roasted and unshelled Whole Bengal gram (Bhuna hoya channa) – 10g

Pistachio – 2-3

Curd – 40 - 50g

Green chillies – 2

Garlic – 2 cloves

Ginger – 1 small piece

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Roast peanut in a pan. Rub it gently between the palms and skin will peel off. Blow off the skin.

2.   Grind Peanut, Bengal gram, pistachios into a fine powder.

3.   Grind basil leaves, garlic, green chillies and ginger using a small quantity of curd.

4.   Add salt. Mix them together.

Tomato and Garlic chutney

Ingredients

Country Tomato – 150g

Garlic – 6-7 cloves

Carrot – 30g

Red chillies – 3

Ginger – 1 small piece

Onion – 1 small size

Red chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Butter -7g

Oregano – ½ teaspoon

Thyme – 1 pinch

Dried parsley – 1 pinch

Cloves -1

Roasted cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

Fennel seed powder – ½ teaspoon

Sugar – 3 teaspoon

Black salt – ½ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Grind tomato, garlic, onion, carrot, red chillies and ginger to make a fine paste. Add red chilli powder to it.

2.   Heat butter in a pan. Pour the mixture in it. Stir it till the water gets evaporated.

3.   Add grinded clove and roasted cumin seeds to it. Add oregano, fennel powder, dried parsley, thyme, black salt to it. Add salt. Do not add salt in the beginning as the quantity of mixture will decrease.

White balls

Ingredients

Paneer (chhena) made from cow’s milk– 15g

Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) – a pinch

Salt to taste

Method

1.   Rub the paneer with the heel of the palm so that it is mashed well.

2.   Add refined wheat flour and repeat the process till the palm become greasy.

3.   Make the small ball by rolling the small portion between the palms.

4.   Boil water in the pressure cooker. Add salt in it.

5.   Slide the balls slowly into the salty water. Close the lid. Place it on high heat. When pressure is reached turn heat to low and allow the steam-release rocker to rock twice.

6.   Remove from fire and wait for pressure to decrease. Open the lid. The balls will swell and become soft.

Plating

Spread the penne. And garnish it with fresh basil leaves. Put the salad and puffed and stuffed triangular bread. Make the line of green chutney and end it with a dot of red dip. Put the white balls on the red colour.

There were big smileys on the faces of my cousin and her husband on seeing the smiley on a plate. They both liked the idea of combining Indian and Italian recipes very much. On tasting, they both said, "Perfect". 

"Please believe me, I prepared the pasta for the first time." I shyly said.

Movie Review : Ahalya by Sujoy Ghosh

The short film ‘Ahalya’ by Sujoy Ghosh is going viral on Youtube. It is a thriller in which the viewers’ eyes are glued to the screen for the fourteen minutes. Not a scene can be missed from this movie. And moreover one keeps thinking about the film story line and its interpretation after watching it. It is based on a mythological story of Ahalya and her husband, Sage Gautam. Indra who is attracted to beautiful and young Ahalya disguised himself as Sage Gautam, visited their hut to woo her. The sage caught them together. He cursed her to turn into a stone and came back to life only after the touch of Lord Ram’s feet. He as well as cursed Indra with impotency.

In Ahalya movie, Radhika Apte acted as ‘Ahalya’, Soumitra Chatterjee as ‘Gautam Sadhu’, Ahalya’s husband and famous artist. Tota Roy Chowdhury was a stoned face policeman named ‘Indra Sen’. The story began with a policeman who rang the bell of a house and a beautiful lady opened the door. The policeman, Indra Sen visited the house of the famous artist Gautam Sadhu to enquire about the missing young person Arjun. The beautiful wife of artist greeted him. The policeman saw Arjun’s humanoid sculptures along with others on mantelpiece in their drawing room. The artist told him that Arjun had modelled for him a month ago and also about the magical stone that turns one into whatever one wished to which Arjun might have used before missing. The policeman doubted the story. The artist asked him to check the magical powers. He touched the stone and went upstairs to hand over the phone to Ahalya. She treated him as her husband. He was also surprised to see himself as Gautam Sadhu in the reflection. When he was coming back, in the mid way he changed his mind and went back to her bedroom. He found himself next to the other humanoid sculptures on the mantelpiece.

In mythology, Sage Gautam cursed both of Indra and Ahalya for what they did where as in this movie only Indra Sen was punished where as Ahalya enjoyed her life as before repeating the same mistake again and again. In the beginning Ahalya was wearing white colour dress and in the end she was wearing black after the secret was revealed to the audiences.  

The movie has the shades of ‘Professor Shonku O Ashchorjo Putul’ (Professor Shonku and the strange dolls) by Satyajit Ray and the animated movie ‘Alma’. Professor Shonku went to Sweden and met a person named Gregor Lindquist who was a doll maker and visited him to see his creations and falls in danger. Humanoid sculpture idea was well used in this film.

This movie is really gripping!

Space available for shops and offices at Rewari

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7.       First shopping center in Rewari with solar light facility

8.       Long corridors for free movement and excellent access

9.       Proper ventilation and sunlight

10.   All modern facilities available

11.   Close connectivity with Circular road and Jajjar road

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If you are interested in starting a business in Rewari, Ashish Shopping Center is the best place to begin at lowest lease / rent amount.

Grab the golden opportunity now!

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Double colour Leguminous flower

"Where did you click this pic from?" On seeing this beautiful double color leguminous flower, one of my friend commented.

"In our society." I replied.

"Where in our society?" She asked with a bit of surprise in her voice.

"Just below your kitchen balcony." I smiled.

"I never notice this flower."

"Of course it can't be noticed from sixth floor as its size is small." I said with a little wink. "These days it is blooming you can watch it whenever you pass by that area." I smiled.

Healthy cooking

Dear readers, can you guess what I am cooking?
(Hint Healthy recipe)

Filling a cheque

“So, should we start the business meeting?” I asked two gentlemen sitting in front of me.

“We can do the meeting in the bank!” One of them suggested.

“Why in a bank?”

 “Actually I have to present the cheque of Rs. 37 lacs.” He replied. “You come along with us and we can do the meeting in the bank.”

“You can present the cheque after this meeting; it is only 9:45 a.m. yet.”

“Ya, but it is very urgent. If it is not presented early, it will not be cleared.”

“Fine. Then present your cheque first, I am waiting for you here. When you come back then we will talk about business.”

Both of them went away, I took out my novel and started reading.

Two hours later, they came back.

“Just because of YOU, my work was not completed.” The person who had to present the cheque complained.

“What did I do? I was sitting here reading my novel. I said. “How can I disturb you?”

He realized that he picked up wrong words and said politely, “As you were waiting here, in hurry to return back while filling the cheque I wrote 37 thousands instead of 37 lacs. My cheque got wasted.”

“If you were so concerned about me and thinking about me while filling a cheque then why you filled only 37 thousands, you should have filled 37 crores.” I thought. ;)

Book Review : If Truth be Told – A Monk’s Memoir

I have read the memoirs written by so many saints and sages but Om Swami’s memoirs ‘If Truth be Told – A Monk’s Memoir’ is one of the best. The flow is simple, lucid and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

I went to HarperCollins office to attend a meeting organised by Indibloggers. At the end of the meeting, one of the staff members asked all the bloggers to pick any book which they liked the most from the HarperCollins office. As I passed through the passage with cabins on both the sides, I saw an ochre colour book on the shelf above the sitting area. I went closed to it and found it was written by ‘Om Swami’. Wow! I am a regular reader of Om Swami’s blog and have watched some of his videos. His talk about ‘What is God?’ inspires me the most. Earlier, I desperately wanted to visit the function of the release of ‘If Truth Be Told – A Monk’s Memoir’ at Delhi. But I couldn’t as I was busy or ill or both, I couldn’t remember correctly now. I picked up that book and announce that I wanted this book. I was the first blogger to choose.

This book tells about the life of Om Swami before and after taking ‘sanyasa’. He was voracious reader from his childhood days. He learnt astrology and tantric practices at young age. His name was Amit Sharma and lived in Patiala along with his parents, sister and brother. At the age of eighteen he went to Australia for higher studies. He worked hard to earn and to learn simultaneously. He made a good amount of money and started his own business which he later on extended to U.S. and Europe. He took sanyasa from a naga sadhu but left him as sadhu had not yet mastered his emotions like anger. He went to Himalayas to do intense meditation in silence and solitude. He succeeded and realised himself. He felt a sense of dispassion and detachment arising from within without any effort. Just like when we churn milk it turn into butter and that butter can never be converted back into milk, his mind experienced an irreversible peace and immense joy.

Some of the wisdom gems from this book are listed below:-

1.  When you write, I want the writing to be so taut that if anyone is to remove even a comma from your sentence, the entire paragraph will have to be rewritten. When you speak, I want you to struggle, not because you cannot think of words with which to express yourself but because so many rush to your mind that you have to really choose to pick the word that is most apt, that is perfect.
2. Never lose stocks. Never forget that you buy them to make a profit. Once you have reached a profitable position, exit. If they betray you and you are making a loss, exit. Your goal is to make more profits than losses.
3. Why do we earn, and why do we learn?
4. It is wrongly assumed that tantra is about tantric sex, tantric massage, tantric yoga and so on. This is not where tantra starts or ends. Tantra is an inner journey the practitioner undertakes to break the conditioning of the mind and move beyond the conditioned and egoistic self, so that he may see himself as he truly is.
5. Meditation, worship, praying it’s all useless if we are unable to go beyond what holds us back.
6. Self-realization is removing yourself from the support structure. You no longer require the pillars; in fact, you become a pillar of divine love and light.
7. The eternal truth is that you have the right to live your life to the fullest. Every moment.
8. Find what makes you happy and pursue it.
9. You are a master of infinite possibilities.

In the end OM Swami said, “I’ve given you my truth. Go, discover yours.”

Dear readers, I think this is my longest post, may be because I am a great admirer of Om Swami. :)