One Day At A Time

Italian Pastas and Pizzas are globally popular. I love both. For pastas, I like white Béchamel sauce and Alfredo sauce more than the tomato sauce. If you like it too, try this Farfalle or Bow-tie Pasta in a creamy Béchamel Sauce with Spinach. Ingredients: Pasta - 2 cups Milk - 1 1/2 cups Baby Spinach - about 1 cup Butter - 1 1/2 tbsp All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 tbsp (leveled) Garlic - 2 cloves (minced) Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Dry Oregano - 1/2 tsp Nutmeg/Jaiphal - 1/8 tsp Cinnamon/Dalchini - 1/8 tsp (optional) Salt How to cook White Bechamel Sauce Pasta: Cooking Pasta: Heat 5 - 6 cups water in a big pot. When water starts boiling, add pasta and salt. Cook the pasta for 10 - 12 minutes or as per the package instructions. Use any pasta of your choice. I have used bow-tie / farfalle pasta. You could use any other kind. Whole wheat pasta would taste good too. Preparing  Béchamel Sauce : Heat butter in a thick bottom pan. Add all purpose flour to the mel...

Spicy Chicken drumsticks with red hot wings Sauce and zesty orange fragrance. Ingredients: Chicken Drumsticks - 8 Oil preferably Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard - 1 tbsp Spanish Paprika or Chili Powder - 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1 1/2 tsp Butter - 1 tbsp Buffalo Wings Sauce - 2 tbsp Orange Zest - 1 tsp Salt How to bake Buffalo style Chicken: In a mixing bowl or a resealable plastic bag, add oil, vinegar, brown mustard, paprika (for color), cayenne pepper (for heat), black pepper, garlic and herb seasoning and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. I used chicken drumsticks with skin, discard the skin for lesser calories. Coat the chicken drumsticks in this marinade well. Let the chicken marinate for 4 - 5 hours or overnight. Get creative and feel free to add your favorite seasonings as well. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. Use a baking tray with a mesh. Mix the c...

Last month, I had blogged about Chicken Quesadillas with Indian spices . Today's Quesadilla recipe is of mushrooms with Chipotle Seasoning, which vegetarians can also enjoy. Ingredients: Wheat Flour/Atta - about 4 cups Spinach/Palak - about 3 cups Mushrooms - about 500 gm Chipotle Seasoning - 1/2 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Tomatoes - 2 medium Onion - 1 small Green Pepper/Capsicum - about 2 tbsp Jalapenos or Green Chilies - 1 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Lime/Lemon Juice - 1 tsp Pepper Jack Cheese or any other Salt Oil How to prepare Mexican Mushroom Quesadillas: Preparing Spinach Dough: Puree spinach leaves with little salt in a mixer/blender. Add little water if required. In a mixing bowl, add the spinach puree. Add wheat flour, in small amounts till a soft dough is formed. Add 1 tsp oil and knead well. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. If you do not hav...

A Konkani recipe of Masoor Dal (Whole Red Lentils) in a mildly spiced coconut sauce. This protein rich red lentils coconut curry is perfect for both vegetarians and vegans. Ingredients: Whole Red Lentils/Masoor - 1/2 cup Grated Coconut - about 1 cup Medium Chopped Onions - about 2 tbsp Garlic/Lasun - 4 cloves Coriander Seeds/Dhane - 1 1/2 tbsp Dry Red Chilies - 6 Tamarind/Chinch/Chincham - about 1/2 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Masoori Ambat: Wash red lentils with water. Cook lentils and chopped onions in 2 - 3 cups water till lentils turn soft. Add more water if required. Masoor is a brown skinned lentil/pulse which is orange or pink inside. Masoor Dal is available as skin-less red lentils. Roast coriander seeds and red chilies with 1/2 tsp oil in a pan. Roast at low flame until coriander seeds slightly darken and turn aromatic.  Grind coconut, roasted coriander seeds, roasted red chilies, tamarind and turmeric to a fine or slightly coarse ...

Chutney is the most popular Indian condiment served as a side dish with meals or as a dip with snacks. Today's recipe is a dry chutney made of phutane/dalia and coconut.   This dry chutney is also sprinkled on Masala Dosa . Ingredients: Phutane/Dalia/Roasted Chana Dal - 1 cup Dessicated (Dry) Coconut - 1/2 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chillies - 5 Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt How to prepare Dry Phutane Chutney: Wipe the blender/grinder jar completely dry. Blend all the ingredients in a blender/grinder to a fine or slightly coarse powder. Serve dry Chutney with Idli or Dosa with coconut oil.

For our everyday meals, I cook Tawa Roti.  A whole wheat flatbread cooked on a griddle, also called as Chapati or Phulka .   Naan is a leavened, Tandoor (clay oven) cooked Indian flatbread, which we always order in a restaurant.  If you are looking for a yeast free Naan recipe, this Tawa Naan is perfect.. soft and fluffy.  Garlic Naan, Butter Naan are most loved versions of this soft flatbread recipe.

Set Dosa is a South Indian recipe of soft, rice and lentil pancakes. These pancakes are generally served as a set of three small dosas with Coconut Chutney, Sambar and/or veg curry. Ingredients: Idli Rice or Medium Grain Rice - 1 cup Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1/4 cup Fenugreek/Methi Seeds - 1 tsp Thin Parched Rice/Beaten Rice/Pohe - 1/2 cup Salt Oil or Ghee/Clarified Butter   How to prepare Set Dosa: Soak rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds for 6 - 8 hours in water. Wash soaked rice and dal well. Wash parched rice with water. Grind soaked rice, dal and parched rice to a slightly coarse paste. The batter consistency is thick and not runny. Let the batter ferment overnight. You can add 1/4 tsp of baking soda to the batter as well. After fermentation the batter will rise almost to double. Add salt to the batter and mix.   Heat a pan and grease the pan with oil or ghee. Pour a ladle full of batter to form a thick dosa. Do not spread. Flip the dosa when the batt...