lauki gilki turai (long melon/ sponge gourd/ ridge gourd) recipe

gilki/ sponge melon/ sponge gourd

lauki / long melon / long gourd

turai/ ridge melon/ gourd

The above three vegetables have exactly identical recipes except the cooking times.

These veggies are classified under "Saatvik" food in Indian culture which means "pure/ sin-less".
The other category (which i admit, it more popular in our household contains) meat, dairy, onions, garlic, and pretty much anything which is tasty.

But still these "Saatvik" veggies are brilliant and very satiating by themselves!

Ingredients (to serve 4 when it's the only dish being served with chapaati/ rice):

1.5 kgs of either Long Gourd (LG)/ Sponge Gourd (SG)/ Ridge Gourd (RG)
20 ml oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/6 tea spoon of asafoetida powder (like a couple of pinches, that's all)
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
salt to taste

Skin the veggies and cut into small pieces, heat oil in a heavy base pot and add mustard seeds followed by cumin seeds after 10 seconds. let them pop for another 15 seconds and add asafoetida. after 5 more seconds, add the diced veggies, cook on high stirring occasionally for 2 mins, reduce heat to low-medium, cover and cook for 5 mins. add the chilli, turmeric and salt, cover back and cook for another 15 mins. Easy and yummy-as :p

Alu Baingan Recipe (Potatoes and Eggplant)

Hey all,

This is a recipe given by Khushboo and we absolutely love this one! The speciality is the crushed peanuts added to the spices to give it a crunchy texture. Of course, you can leave peanuts out or substitute for another nut if someone is allergic to these!

Ingredients

1. Eggplants – 500 grams, diced
2. Potatoes – 300 grams, peeled and diced
3. Onion – 1 medium size, finely chopped
4. Tomato – 1 big size, finely chopped
5. Ginger – 1 inch piece, peeled and crushed
6. Garlic – 5-6 cloves, peeled and crushed
7. Chilli – 3-4, chopped fine
8. Oil – 1-2 tablespoon
9. Bay leaves - 1-2
10. Dry Coriander seeds - 6-7
11. Whole black paper - 4-5
12. Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
13. Cumin – 1 teaspoon
14. Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
15. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tea spoon
16. Coriander powder - 1 big spoon
17. Salt – as desired
18. Optional -
19. Peanuts - 100 grams crushed fine
20. Sesame seeds - 1 spoon (roasted and powered)

Recipe

1. Take a kadhai or a heavy base pot
2. Heat oil on medium
3. Add bay leaves, dry coriander seeds, whole black paper , mustard seeds, cumin & cook for about 30 seconds or so.
4. Add ginger, garlic & chilli. Saute for a minute.
5. Add in the chopped onion stir till golden brown.
6. Add chopped tomatoes & saute till the mixture leaves oil or around 5-6 min. on high flame.
7. Add crushed peanuts & optionally sesame seeds.
8. Add all dry powders (chilli, coriander & turmeric)
9. Stir for a minute and add potatoes & eggplant.
10. Add salt, stir and cover the pot on low heat.
11. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes, stirring every 7-8 minutes, till it turns dark brown. Make sure it doesn't stick to the base (sprinkle some water if needed)

Season with some chopped coriander leaves & dash of lemon :)

Fettuccine with olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, pine nuts and garlic

Well, the name says it all. It's a simple and honest dish with no disguises in the form of cream or spices.

Ingredients (to serve 4):

400 grams fettuccine (ok, i am not that fuzzy about the pasta so if you don't have fettuccine, spaghetti or spirals would do)
4 cloves of garlic
1 red onion
50 grams of sun-dried tomatoes
50 grams corn kernels
50 grams pine nuts
2 tablespoons or 50 grams of pesto sauce (I like eggplant pesto in this dish but you can also get basil pesto)
25 ml olive oil (for cooking sauce)
15 ml olive oil (for dressing)
15 ml olive oil (for cooking fettuccine)
1 carrot
100 grams of grilled eggplant
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (no black pepper in this dish, please)

Boil 2 liters of water with 1 teaspoon of salt and 15ml olive oil. Add fettuccine when it comes to a boil and keep boiling on medium to high for 10-15 minutes till it's about 80% cooked. You will notice it getting a bit translucent (yet solid in the center). That means it's *almost* there and you can take it off heat and drain the water. I don't like overcooked pastas as they become soggy and slimey.

When you put the fettuccine to boil, start working on the sauce so that they both finish together. Chop the red onion nice and fine and slice the garlic really thin. In a saucepan, add 25 ml olive oil and when warm, add onions and garlic. Unlike Indian cuisine, you should refrain from "browning" garlic as it should be caramelized in Italian dishes. Saute' this on low-medium for 3-4 minutes and add pesto, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, corn kernels, chopped carrot (optional), chopped grilled eggplant (optional), pine nuts (chopped walnuts if you can't get pine nuts) salt and chilli flakes. Turn heat high and toss for 3-4 minutes. If fettuccine is not ready yet, turn the heat off under sauce. Once they are both ready, turn heat high, add fettuccine to sauce and toss again for 2 minutes. Plate up, drizzle with a few drops of olive oil per plate and top it up with chopped basil. Yum!