Pasta with Veggies

I made this pasta for the Thanksgiving feast at school today. It turned out pretty good, and it was easy to make. I used rotini pasta from Safeway and cooked the whole box since there were more than 30 kids, and many parents brought food as well—so I figured one box would be enough. Here’s the recipe I followed.

Aloo Kachori

When we were in Delhi, we had the chance to travel to many places in North India. During those trips, I came across different types of kachoris. Every time we stopped for breakfast or a snack, one of us would buy one and share it.

I never had the confidence to try making them at home. Last week, while preparing to make samosas, I got the idea to try kachoris. Below is the recipe I followed. I’m not sure whether it’s authentic, but my girls and the rest of the family liked it a lot.

Green Apple Instant Pickle

I made this green apple pickle using super-sour green apples from my backyard. We were literally wasting those apples because none of us likes sour apples. I came across this recipe when a relative visited us and suggested making this pickle.

At first, I tried it with just two small apples since I wasn’t sure whether my family would like it, but surprisingly, they loved it. In fact, my girls even enjoyed taking it to school as a side dish with curd rice. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Green Apple -  2
2. Salt to taste
3. Red chilli powder - 2-3 tsp (acc to taste)
4. Hing - few generous pinches
5. Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp
6. Mustard Seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
7. Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

• Chop the apple into small pieces.  
• Sprinkle the required amount of salt, mix it well and keep it aside for an hour.   
• After an hour, heat the oil, crackle mustard seeds. 
• Add methi seeds and fry it until golden brown.  
• Mean time, add the required amount of chilli powder on top of the apple pieces along with few generous pinches of hing.  
• Pour the hot oil tempering on top of the chilli powder and mix every thing well.  
• Keep it aside for another half and hour and can be used after that.

Since this is an instant pickle, we can use the mustard seeds and methi seed as tempering.  If we are planning to make it in large quantity, it is better to dry roast mustard and methi seeds and grind it and use that ground powder.  It will definitely taste better. Above said quantity will last for two days with a family of five :)