OOdles of Noodles!!!

My kids like all children who return from school chant the same mantra....we are hungry...we are hungry....we are hungry.... but are not satiated with whatever you give....sandwich?  naaa... chips and dip??  naaa...  chicken nuggets??  naaa.... I am running out of options here, and my light bulb just refuses to go on today!!!!  

                             I let the kids be for a minute, they turned on the TV which kept them going for awhile.  I opened the refrigerator to get some milk out to make myself a cuppa... my eyes fell on a box of cooked spaghetti.....my light bulb started flickering....hey...why not make a veggie noodle dish???  Better yet, why not something Indo Chinese... Veggie Hakka Noodle?  I turned around and took a look at the stove and saw the tava/frying pan resting on my stove top... and another improv idea popped into my head....hey why not Tava Hakka Noodles???!!  

                                                         So, done!!!  Decided!!!  Tava Hakka Noodles it is!!!  this is a combination of the good old  Hakka noodles and the Shanghai Dan Dan Noodles.  So, let us get cracking shall we??! 

                     I am going to take you through the recipes as I moved along in my kitchen!!!

 Heat up a large Tava/ griddle.  Add 1 tbsp of oil to the hot pan.  Once the oil shimmers in the pan....

 add the following in the clockwise direction.....

1/4 purple/red onion, sliced -- saute well; 3cloves of garlic, minced -- saute well until browned; 1" ginger, grated -- saute well; add 1/2 cup grated carrots and 1/2 cup of broccoli slaw -- saute well until the veggies are glazed over.  All this on a medium high flame!!

Add the following spices -- follow the pictures in  anti clockwise direction...

Salt to taste ; cracked pepper about 1/2 tsp ; scallions -- only the white part .. for the mild onion flavor; 1/2 --  1 tbsp soy sauce; saute all this well for a minute or two. 

Add 2 cups of cooked spaghetti! 

And toss the noodles well to incorporate the veggies and spices into the noodles!!

Add couple tablespoons of white vinegar to the dish!  Toss well again!!!  

Spread the noodles on the tava...which comes very handy for the crust formation!!  Spread as evenly as you can and let it sizzle for couple minutes on medium high heat, let it form the crust, toss and repeat it around thrice or until you are satisfied with the crunchiness of the noodles!! 

serve the noodles, piping hot   garnished with green part of scallions, minced! 

tastes great even at room temperature!!  light bulb moment!!!  great as a lunch box option also!!!!  Yippppeeeee!!

Winter soul warmer!!!!

Winter Warmer Soup.... AKA Tamatar Shorba AKA Tomato Soup!!  

It is finally COLD out here!!!! Really really cold or at least feels like it. I just put my groceries away, wish had done it during the day, when the sun was out and when it did not look this dismal!!! Well.... Calls for planing which has eluded me off late...I kinda scurry around, rush around but get things done and call myself an "impromptu" person!!! With the same spirit....I am going to whip up something that has been on my mind all evening, actually ever since I set my eyes on my friend's post on face book about having soups.... She is having soups every day this week... Not a bad idea eh? But I cannot go through soups the whole week, a whole set of 7 days...but I thought, hey,  why not just for tonight?! So this is my winter warmer series of comfort foods...you see, winter did start everywhere but here in MN... We have been having almost spring like weather....so it kinda started this week, with the wind gusts, wind chills, wind swept flurries et al!!!!  

                                                                         Coming back to my friend's post.... all her friends have penned down their favorite soups and I don't think I saw any mention of good old tomato soup!!!!  Also, might have not had its name penned on the roll of honor as it could very well pass for an everyday soup!!  sigh!!  But, it is my absolute "go to" dish when I want to have soups as comfort food!!!  The others, I enjoy as a dish on their own.  But, tomato soup is in its league of its own, and I enjoy different forms of it as well....when blended with coconut milk and is fondly had as Saar in Maharashtra; Tomato rasam in Madras; Mysore Rasam in Krnataka, my own Gujarathi version -- Lal dal soup, my friend K's tomato bisque (to die for!) or cream of tomato in restaurants in India!!!   These were just to name a few!!    

                                      Mulligatawny or Mallagu thanni soup is considered as India's national soup....but hey, wonder whose idea was that... when you open a restaurant menu in India, the soup that takes the coveted top spot is the "cream of tomato" which also happens to be the most popular, and widely ordered soup!!  

                                So, here it is folks, a desi style, soul warming, tongue tingling, full bodied yet... absolutely low fat, please, by all means to make it well rounded and wholesome, go ahead and fatten it up with heavy whipping cream or butter or coconut milk!!  The choice is all yours and endless!!!  Let me also know what you did, so others who read this might benefit too!!!  

You will need:

1 tomato, chopped; 1 small onion, chopped, 1 small carrot, peeled and diced; 1/4 green bell pepper, diced, for flavor; 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp each of cumin powder, cayenne pepper powder; 1/4 tsp pepper powder, 1 tbsp all purpose flour and the star ingredient....5 oz of tomato paste.

Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp of room temperature butter and 1 tbsp of canola oil.

Add cumin powder, mix well and add 1 tbsp of flour and whisk well.  You are making a roux here, a mixture of flour and fat (here butter and oil), usually in a 1:1 ratio.  Here, more fat is used, which works fine.  Stir fast so you do not burn the roux.  A roux is used to thicken soups, stews, sauces.  

Add the following ingredients in the numerical order given above, and saute after each addition... garlic, onion, saute well, carrots, tomatoes and finally the green bell pepper.

Add the base ingredients:  cayenne pepper powder, pepper powder, salt, tomato paste, and saute well!

When all the ingredients look pulpy and well blended, add 24 fluid ounce of water. Mix well and bring to a gentle simmer.

Transfer the mixture into the blender and puree the mixture into a smooth puree. It should have this bright saffron hue to it and is ok if it is chunky!!  Chunky soup = rustic soup!!!!  Or if you desire a smooth soup, then go ahead and strain it. But if you have a good quality blender...this step can be avoided!!!

Tamatar shorba simmering in different stages.  Let it come to a rolling boil for 5 minutes and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Add a pat of butter if desired at the end, just before turning the heat off, to give a silken texture to the soup.  

I served the soup with garlic pannetini, is excellent with additional ground black pepper and served with a toasted lentil wafer.  A perfect soul warmer this winter season!!!  Enjoy huddling with a warm bowl of soup by the fireplace this season!!!  Happy eatings!!