Fried Ravioli With Carrot Halwa

Ohh already one week finished with this fusion cooking. I am very exited with this recipes, I just love to take like this challenges in cooking. When I saw this theme in BM themes for this month just jumped to take this theme for my first week. the only thing I think about is the Italian Ingredients like polenta and some pastas like Ravioli sheets. Polenta I got it very easily But I did not find ravioli sheets. Then I took a day time from Valli to decide this theme whether I can make this sheets at home or not. Finely I decided to take this challenge and made this pasta sheets at home. They came out ok but not perfect.
                 I thought making pizza for this theme but making this traditional bread in to Indian style is very popular in every pizza corner now a days in India. So I want to do my experiments with other ingredients in Italian Cuisine. Here are my 6 recipes what I made for this BM first week hope you all like them.Thank you So much Valli for this wonder full theme, I enjoyed making them and hubby enjoyed eating them.
Spaghetti With Kerala Stew
Bruschetta With Chenna Masala
Polenta Upma
Risotto with Palak and moong dal
Ravioli with Shahi Paneer
Pasta Butter Masala
Now here is the final recipe for this week  is Fried Ravioli With Carrot Halwa....
INGREDIENTS:---
Flour ----- 1 cup
Egg ----- 1 no
Salt --- a pinch
Water -- few drops if require

METHOD:----

1. Take flour on a work top and make a well in the center sprinkle salt, break the egg in the well.
2. Use a fork to scramble the egg, incorporating the flour.
3. Once they mixed with the flour then use your hands to make a dough.
4. If you feel that the dough is stiff can sprinkle a few drops of water and or the dough is sticky then add a little flour and knead the dough for one minute.
5. Now make the dough in to two portions and press them in to thin sheets with a rolling pin. If you have a pasta maker then your work will be very easy.
6. Trim the edges to make the pasta sheets a rectangle.
Now Let's check for this filling Carrot Halwa
INGREDIENTS:---
Carrot --- 1/2 kg (about5-6 carrots)
Khoya --- 50 gms
Full cream milk --- 1/2 cup
Sugar --- 3/4 cup
Ghee --- 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts --- 20-25
Raisins --- 20
Almonds --- 15 (soaked in water for over night and chopped)
Cardamom powder --- 1/2 tea sp
METHOD:----
Scrub and wash the carrots and grate .
Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and fry cashew nuts till gold and keep a side, then fry raisins and leave a side, then fry almonds(badam) and keep a side.
Now fry grated carrot in the same ghee till raw smell of the carrot disappears.
Now add 1/2 cup full cream milk and stir till milk gets dried.
Then add sugar and stir for some time first sugar leaves water and then it become dry cook in a medium heat .
Now add 3/4 cashews, raisins, almonds,cardamom powder mix well then add 3/4 khoya mix well and stir for 2 sec. and remove from the fire.
Dish out in to a serving bowl and top with remaining dry fruits and khoya
Now lets start making the fried Ravioli
METHOD:---
1. Brush the pasta sheets with water.
2. Place a tea sp full Carrot halwa on the pasta sheet.
3. Leave about half inch in between each tea sp of Carrot halwa.
4. Take a second sheet of pasta and lay it over the ravioli.
5. Now cut out ravioli in to individual squares and press the edges to secure the filling in side the pasta.
6 Now leave this carrot halwa filled Ravioli a side for few minute.
7. By the time heat oil in a deep frying pan to deep fry sweet ravioli.
To check if the oil is hot enough to fry ravioli drop a small piece of bread if the bread turn brown in two minutes then your oil is ready for deep frying the ravioli.
8. Now drop slowly 2 ravioli s at a time, turning occasionally fry till golden this will take 60 seconds
9. Remove from oil drain well and let them cool for two minutes and serve.
Serve this Carrot halwa filled ravioli with a scope of ice cream or just sprinkle some honey on top and enjoy.
This is my seventh recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page.

Pasta Butter Masala

When ever we talk about Italian food first comes Pasta to our mind.Pasta in it's many forms is a staple food of Italian cuisine. There are two types of pastas which they use in Italian cuisine they are dried pasta and wet pasta. Dried pastas are very popular now in all over world but now a days wet pasta s also getting popular. In this dried pasta Macaroni is one which is very popular. Macaroni is most popular baked with cheese.
            There are many verities of pasta in India also getting popular  with this short dried pasta, Today's my fusion recipe is Pasta Butter Masala. In this BM theme I used long pasta as spaghetti and egg pasta sheets for Ravioli and now I like to use this cute Short pasat Macaroni with typical Indian butter masala which normally we make with paneer as paneer butter masala. Hope you all like my creation, let's check the recipe.
INGREDIENTS:---
Cooked Pasta  ---- 2 cups
For cooked pasta boil 1 lit water in a pan with little salt and 1/2 tea sp oil  bring to a full boil.
Add 1 and 1/2 cup pasta to the boiling water cook till pasta become soft now pasta is ready for pasta butter masala.
Tomato puree ---- 2 cups

Thick cream --- 1/2 cup
Onion --- 1 cup cut in to cubes
Ginger garlic paste --- 1tea sp
Coriander and cumin powder (dhaniya, geera powder) --- 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder ---- 1/2 tea sp
Garam masala powder --- 1/2 tea sp
Red chili powder – 1 tea sp (especially Kashmiri chili powder that gives a nice color to the gravy)
Kasuri methi --- 1 tab sp
Cashew nut paste --- 1 tab sp
Butter 2 tab sp
Salt to taste
METHOD:--
1. Peel, wash and cut onion in to cubes, and cook till soft in little water (cook in 1 cup water, and strain the water and leave a side. This water you can use in the gravy). Cool and grind in to a smooth paste.

2. Dry roast Kasuri Methi and crush with your hand and leave a side
3. Now heat butter in a pan and add onion paste and fry till light brown color. Then add ginger garlic paste and stir for a min.

4. Then add all powder masalas like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander and cumin powder, garam masala powder and mix well then add cashew nut paste and tomato puree, salt to taste and cook till butter leaves from the sides of the pan.
5. Now add cooked pasta mix well and add cream and kasuri methi mix well and cook for 2 more min. and remove from the heat.
Serve this with garlic bread.
This is my sixth recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page.

Ravioli With Shahi Paneer

Ravioli is a pasta which is a filled egg pasta. Since this one is a filled pasta traditionally they fill this with meat mince and serve with tomato sauce. other then meat filling there many other filling also is there . even you can fill this with a sweet also as it turn in to a dessert.
    Now my twist to this traditional pasta in to Indian flavor I choose a paneer curry with gravy for this so that we can fill the pasta with curried paneer peace and serve with the gravy as a sauce. When I got this idea for this BM I search for ravioli sheets but I did not find them any where. So I tried to make them at home. I did not get a perfect sheet but I think made them ok should have a lot of practice. I am sure keep on trying pasta sheets at home and let's check today's recipe

Flour -----   1 cup
Egg  -----  1 no
Salt  --- a pinch
Water  -- few drops if require
METHOD:----
1. Take flour on a work top and make a well in the center sprinkle salt,  break the egg in the well.
2. Use a fork to scramble the egg, incorporating the flour.
3. Once the mixed with the flour then use your hands to make a dough.
4. If you feel that the dough is stiff can sprinkle a few drops of water and  or the dough is sticky the add a little flour and knead the dough for one minute.
5. Now make the dough in to two portions and press them in to thin sheets with a rolling pin. If you have a pasta maker then your work will be very easy.
6. Trim the edges to make the pasta sheets a rectangle
Before you make the sheets keep ready your filling. Here I am using a Indian curry for the filling  because my today's recipe is a fusion. so let's check the filling.
INGREDIENTS:-----
Paneer  --- 200 gms

Onion --- 2 medium
ginger ---- 1 inch piece
Garlic ----- 4 cloves
Tomato ---- 4 medium
Green chilies ---- 3 no.
Red chilli powder --- 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder ---- 1/2 tea sp
Garam masala powder --- 1 tea sp
Cashew nuts --- 20- 25
Cream --- 3/4 tab sp
Milk ---- 1/2
Oil ---- 3 tab sp
Salt to taste
METHOD:---
1. Peal onions and cut in to cubes heat 1 tea sp oil in a pan and fry onions till soft, peel and chop ginger,peel and remove seeds and chop tomato and add garlic, tomato,ginger, green chilies to onions and make a smooth paste.
2. Soak cashew nuts in milk for 1/2 hour and grind in to smooth paste and keep a side.
3. Now cut the paneer in to 1 inch pieces and fry in hot oil in a medium heat till light brown remove from oil and leave a side(drop paneer in warm water in a bowl and keep a side this keep paneer soft ).
4. Now heat oil (or you can use ghee for this curry) in a pan add onion paste and stir till oil starts separating from the onion paste.
5. And then add red chili powder ,turmeric powder, garam masala powder, saute for 2 min. then add cashew nut paste and stir for 3 more min then add 1/2 cup water and salt to taste mix well and bring to a full boil and let it cook in a very slow flame till gravy becomes thick(here you can add if you like to add any dry fruits like cashew,almonds and risins, fri them in ghee till light brown and add them to gravy.).
Finally add fried paneer pieces and cream mix well and leave in alow flame for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and garnish shahi paneer with chopped coriander leaves and cream.
Now lets start filling this Shahi paneer in Ravioli sheets.
1. Brush the pasta sheets with water.
2. Take paneer piece from the curry and place each paneer piece on to pasta sheet.
3. Leave about half  inch in between each paneer piece.
4. Take a second sheet of pasta and lay it over the ravioli.
5. Now cut out ravioli in to individual squares and press the edges to secure the filling in side the pasta.
6. Now boil water with a little salt and add the stuffed ravioli to boiling water till they float this will take about 5 to 6 minutes
7. Remove ravioli from boiling water and serve with shahi paneer gravy.
This is my fifth recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page

Risotto With Palk And Moong Dal

Like Indians in some regions of Italy they like to have rice in the first course of the meal. Riso - rice which they use in their cooking are round short grain rice. Most of this Italian rice is high in starch. They cook rice with broth in to a creamy texture and this broth may be a chicken or meat or vegetable broth. Normally risotto contains Parmesan cheese ,butter and onion this is the common way they cook rice. In some recipes they use some white or red wine  to rice before they add broth. The traditional texture of the Risotto should be creamy and fairly fluid not watery. Risotto can be made using vegetables, meat, fish and a different types of cheese. Here my todays recipe is fusion with Indian ingredients. I  have a small cup of arborio rice in my pantry, I totally for got about this rice and was searching for shell pasta I found this one, got this risotto idea for my theme. Made little changes to my plan and included this risotto, since this is a fusion I didn't use cheese, gave a flavor of Indian spices so let's check the recipe.. INGREDIENTS:---
Arborio rice or any short grain rice --- 1 cup
Palak (spinach) ---  1 cup finely chopped
Moong dal  --- 1/2 cup
Butter ---  1 tab sp
Cumin seeds --- 1 tea sp
Mustard seeds --- 1/2 tea sp
Onion --- 1 small chopped
Green chillies --- 2 chopped (optional)
Garlic --- 3 cloves finely chopped
Stock or water --- 2 cups
Salt to taste
METHOD:----
1. Heat butter in a pan add mustard seeds, cumin seed, chopped garlic, chopped onion, chopped green chilli fry till onion turns in to soft but that should not change the color.
2. Add rice and give good stir to cover the fat on rice to avoid sticking the rice together.
3. Then add chopped palak (spinach) and fry for a while.
4. Now keep the heat in low and add 1/4 cup stock, stir slowly cook till rice absorb the stock.
5. Then add Moong dal to the rice mixture and 1/4 cup more stock stir and cook till the stock absorb
4. Continue to add stock 1/4 cup at a time stirring slowly and letting the rice absorb the stock.
5. By the time you finish the stock you can see the rice and dal in cooked and risotto will turn in to a creamy texture the rice is slightly firm in the center.
6. Season with salt stirr well and serve.
If you feel like your risotto is thick then add some more stock or water till it turns in to a creamy texture but I like my risotto little thick
That's it Risotto in Indian style is ready to serve.
 In India it's difficult to get Arborio rice or any other Italian rice so you can use any short grain rice that is rich in starch. But I am not sure you get a original risotto taste.
If you like to add cheese the add grated cheese on top of the risotto and serve. I don't like chees much so I didn't add that is totally your choice.
This is my fourth recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page

Polenta Upma

Polenta is a golden yellow cornmeal, It is a staple food of the North Italy. Normally this traditional Italian staple makes a good combination with meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and mushroom is my choice with polenta.Traditionally polenta is cooked with water in to a creamy paste texture. Some times after boiling it may be deep fried or baked usually they make this fried version with leftover polenta. Coming to today's recipe Upma is a favorite South Indian break fast. Since my theme for this BM is cooking Italian in to Indian. Today I am going to mix the South Indian spices with traditional Italian staple food so here is my recipe for the day.. INGREDIENTS:---
Polenta --- 1 cup
Onion --- 1 medium chopped
Green chillies --- 2 chopped
Ginger ---   1 inch piece chopped
Curry leaves --- 1 spring
Oil  ---- 1 tab sp
Mustard seeds --- 1/4 tea sp
Channa dal -- 1 tea sp
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 tea sp
Water   --- 2 1/2 cups
Ghee --- 1 tab sp optional
Salt to taste
METHOD:--
1. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds let them popup then add channa dal, cumin seeds, fry for a while.
2. Now add chopped onion, curry leaves, chopped ginger, chopped green chillies and fry till onion turn in to transparent. (here you can add chopped vegetables like carrot, beans, green peas, potato, broccoli if you like.)
3. In the mean while boil 2 &1/2 cups water on the other side.
4. Add polenta to the onion mixture fry for 1 second then add boiling water salt to taste give a good stir cover and cook in a low flame for 5 minutes.
5. Now open and add ghee mix well and again cover and cook till done this will take another 4 minutes.
Now Polenta Upma is ready to serve.
I served this Polenta Upma with garlic stir fried vegetables for this you need..
Broccoli --- 1 small cut in to small flowers
Carrot --  1 big cut in to bite size pieces
Garlic -- 3 cloves crushed
Olive oil --- 1 tea sp
Salt to taste
Pepper powder
Boil water with little salt and broccoli set a side for 5 minutes and Strain water and leave a side.
Heat oil in a pan add crushed garlic, carrot pieces, broccoli, salt and pepper give a good stir and remove from heat and serve.
This is my third recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page

Bruschetta With Channa Masala

Bruschetta is an antipasto from Italy means a snack which is served before meal as a starter. It consists of a bread roasted and rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and freshly chopped vegetables, meat and cheese. In some regions of Italy bruschetta is served with out topping, only with  the first product of olive oil. So this one is totally a traditional Italian snack. Now I am going to give it an Indian touch, so lets check the traditional Italian snack in to Indian style.
INGREDIENTS:---
channa (chick peas) --- 1 cup
Onion  ---- 1 chopped
Tomato --- 1 chopped
Ginger  --- 1/2 tea sp chopped
Garlic  --- 1/2 tea sp chopped
Red chilli powder -- 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 tea sp
Garam masala powder --- 1/2 tea sp
Chat masala powder -- 1/4 tea sp
Salt  --- 1 tea sp or according to your taste.
Oil  ---  1 tab sp (you can use olive oil for this)
Coriander leaves ---  1 tab sp chopped
Cumin seeds -- 1teasp
Garlic cloves  --- 3
Olive oil --- 1 tab sp
Onion --- 1 tab sp finely chopped
Baguette or any other Italian bread slices

METHOD:---

1.Soak chick peas in enough water for over night.
2. Heat 1 tab sp oil add cumin seeds fry for a while then add chopped onions fry till onion becomes soft.
3. Now add chopped tomato, chopped ginger, chopped garlic give a good stir.
4. Then add salt to taste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, give a good stir and cook till tomato turns in to soft.
5. Then add soaked channa, garam masala, chopped coriander leaves, 1/2 cup water mix well cover and cook till chick peas become soft.
If you would like to do this process in a pressure cooker then do the all process in a pressure pan after you add channa cover and cook till two whistles.
6. Check if the chick peas are cooked then switch off the heat and set a side.
Now channa masala is ready for topping
Let's assemble  the bruschetta
7. Brush some olive oil on baguette or bread slices and roast them on a grill or on a pan or you can grill in a oven also but grill the bread slices till they turn in to nice golden color.
8. Remove the bread slices from grill rub garlic on each bread slice and place the bread slice on a serving plate top with channa masala and sprinkle with finely chopped onion. This topping you have to do just before you serve other wise the bread may get soggy or you can serve the topping in bowl separately with a spoon, so that your guests will serve the topping by themselves over the bread. 
You can sprinkle some chopped tomato and coriander leaves with chopped onion.
This is my second recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page

Spaghetti With Kerala Stew (Spaghetti With Coconut Sauce)

This months Blogging Marathon is little more exited for me because Valli included few new themes in this month which are my favorites like Indian thali and Italian in to Indian style.  Italian is one of my favorite cuisine, specialy the ingredients what they use in this cuisine are very less, most of the dishes they finish with in four to five ingredients (this I am talking about the original recipes here my recipe are fusion).Pasta is one of the most popular ingredient, more then 650 types of pastas are there. Pasta is a traditional staple food also. In Italian cuisine normaly pasta is served with a pasta sauce which contains tomato, onion and herbs some times with meat. And some times this pasta is simply served with pesto sauce also. My today recipe is a fusion with Indian and Italian which is a theme for Blogging Marathon. So both the cuisines are my favorite cuisines. When I first saw this theme in Marathon page got  this idea of mixing Italian with totally SouthIndian Kerala flavors and first came to my mind is Vegetable stew we usualy make a side dish for Idiyappam or Aappam this contains coconut milk. In my view coconut milk and pasta will make a good combination and it worked out  very well. The dish came out so delicious and pasta bleanded with coconut milk . For me this dish is just wonderful. So hope you also like my creation... IINGREDIENTS:---

Mixed vegetables -- 1 cup cut in to cubes ( Carrot, beans, green peas, potato I used only this if you have cauliflower can add that also)

Onion --- 1 big sliced
Green chillies --- 2 slit
Curry leaves --- 10
Oil -- 1 tab sp (coconut oil is the best choice can use sunflower oil or olive oil also choise is yours.)
Cinamon --- 1 inch piece broken
Clove s --- 4
Cardamom -- 3
Black pepper corns -- 6
Garlic cloves ---- 4 crushed
Ginger --- 1/2 inch piece crushed
Salt --- 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder --- 1 pinch
Thin coconut milk -- 1 cup
Thick coconut milk --- 1/2 cup
Spaghetti --- 1 pak ( the spaghetti pack which I used is 250 gms that serves for 4 people)
Oil ----- 1 tea sp
Salt --- 2 teasp

Method:--

1. In a wide pan dissolve 1 tea sp salt in 2 ltrs water and start boiling, bring to a full boil add 1 teasp oil mix well.
2.  Gradually immerse spaghetti in to the boiling water and continue cooking for ten minutes. stirring occasionally. Do not over cook, ten minutes is more then enough to cook spaghetti.
3. Drain the hot water from the cooked spaghetti and rinse in fresh cold water.
4. Take few drops of oil and apply on spaghetti so that won't stick together, leave it a side.
5. In a preassur cooker heat 1 tab oil then add clove, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper corns, curry leaves let them fry for a while and add sliced onion, green chillies, crushed garlic, crushed ginger fry till onion turns in to transparent.
6. Now add mixed vegetables, turmeric powder, Salt to taste give a good stir add 1/4 cup water and thin coconut milk stir well, cover with lid and cook for 2 whistles
If you are using a normal pan (not a preassur cooker) then all the process is same but cook till the vegetable are cooked this will take 10 to 15 minutes time in a low heat.
7. Switch off the heat and let it sit for some time to release the preasure then open the lid.
8.Again bring the pan on to the stove top in a low heat add thick coconut milk stir well and bring to full boil. After you add coconut milk keep on stirring other wise some times coconut milk will be curdle so keep on stirring and keep the heat on low heat
9.Cook till the souse become thick and gravy looks creamy the switch off the heat, let it sit for a while and serve
10.Serving suggestions with spaghetti --- roll cooked spaghetti with a fork and place it in the middle of the plate pour the mixed vegetable stew over the spaghetti roll and serve warm.
Enjoy this Italian in to Indian combination . We really enjoyed this spicy delicious spaghetti in a new flavor with coconut milk and vegetables.
 This is my first recipe for Blogging Marathon 15 th edition in the theme of Cook Italian in Indian style and lets check the Marathon page

Senagapappu Saggubiyyam Payasam with a Simple Lunch Thali

Some times insted of curry, Sambar, rasam and rice I feel like having different flavord rice with a pickle and some side snacks like bajji, masala vada, pakodi . This menu makes a different satisfaction. I made this simple thali for Srirama navami. Now it is the season ending for Amla so insted of making normal Pulihora, I made Usiri annam (usirikaya Pulihora). I replace vada with onion pakoda. Got bored with Paramannam, chekkara pongal so made this different payasam with Sago and chenna dal (saggu biyyam and senagapappu) and I made Panakam and Butter milk (majjiga, neermore) also. Hope you all like my thali
Let's check what I served in this Simple Lunch Thali
1. Senagapappu saggubiyyam payasam.
2. Usiri annam (usirikaya pulihora)
3. Ven pongal(kattepongali)
4. Daddojanam (curd rice)
5. Onion Pakodi (ullipaya pakodilu)
6. Lemon Pickle (nimmakaya pachadi)

Pongali, Daddojanam & Onion Pakodi (ullipaya pakodilu)

Usiri annam & Senaga pappu Saggubiyyam payasam

INGREDIENTS:---
Saggubiyyam (sabudana) --- 1 cup
Senagapappu (split chick peas, channa dal) -- 1/2 cup
Grated jaggery --  1 cup
Milk ---   2 cups
Cashew nuts --  10
Raisins ----  10
Ghee  ---  1 tab
Cardamom powder  --- 1 tea sp
METHOD :--
1. Soak channa dal in water for 1/2 an hour and pressure cook till 2 whistles.
2. Soak sabudana in water for 2 hous and cook in 2 cups of water till soft.
3.Strain cooked chana dal if any water is left.
4.In this chana dal water soak grated jaggery for 10 minutes and strain, set a side.
5. Heat ghee in a pan fry cashews and raisins remove and set a side.
6. In a heavy bottom pan boil jaggery water bring to a full boil and cook for 8 minutes.
7. Now add cooked channa dal, cooked sabudana with liquid, keep the heat in low flame and let it cook for 8 more minutes keep stirring in between. 
8. After 8 minutes switch off the heat and add milk (boil the milk and let it cool If you add hot milk some times milk will get curdle. so cool the milk and then add to payasam.)
9. Give a good stir to combine every thing add fried cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom powder mix well and serve.
I wanted my payasam little thick like paramannam(pudding) so I used 1 cup milk. But in ingredients I gave 2 cups milk this makes little thin payasam consistence so check your like and adjust milk. Insted of jaggery can use sugsr also but I like jaggery taste so choice is yours
Hope you all enjoy this payasam please bear with my payasam picture will post  nice picture in few days.
This is going to my dear friend Sri Valli's Indian Thali Mela