Homemade Pasta Sauce

Pasta Sauce

I like pasta - always have...T on the other hand had phases of like and not exactly dislike - but something of that sort...more of a disinclination for it...

Our first foray into US had me making pasta at least once a week for a meal, either lunch or dinner...our second stay there - uhuh...not so much...I think this was because this time around T had a lot of travelling to do - and most of his meals out were pastas or sandwiches or pizzas...since as a vegetarian he used to have limited options...so when he was at home I would generally cook Indian meals...this was also the period of my life in which I started learning and experimenting with a lot of new dishes, recipes, ideas...looking to the Internet, friends, family for help.

Nyways after our return back to our homeland we both hankered for a occasional Italian meal { for us that translates to pasta and garlic bread...:-) } and thus began my experimenting into the making of pasta sauce (in US the easy availability and wide range of sauces led me to use the store bought ones), but here I prefer to make my own.

I generally prepare it in a larger quantity and freeze - and find it very convenient to use when required for making pastas as well as pizza ( have also made pizzas at home with ready pizza bread, my next experimentation will be with homemade pizza bread).

Strawberry / Strawberry Apple Jam

Strawberry Apple Jam

While we were in US - our friends there had a share in an organic farm - and during the season would get fresh fruits and vegetables from the farm. I had visited the farm along with them during the peak berry season and we would have fun picking strawberries, blueberries, blackberries...

I think more of it went into my stomach than the basket...:-) and boy was it delish...so yummy, fresh, ripe, sweet...it's so difficult to put into words the pleasure you get while standing under the hot sun in a field amidst the beautiful greenery...and ripe trees...the smell of it all in the air...and the carefree feeling you get when with good friends...and relishing the goodness of fresh fruit...sigh.....miss you guys, A&L ......we had fun...

Nyways enuff with the meandering down memory lane...getting back to the making of strawberry jam....how did the idea come to me...well winter is strawberry season and we got a small box of it from our local fruit vendor...unfortunately they were not too sweet - in fact - you could say they were tart...making it difficult for us to really enjoy it...
So I remembered my friend L ( of the above farm ) - when she would have a surplus of the fruit she would make jam - and get those some jars to can it and store it...she had even passed on some of it to us...

And thus came the idea of using this up by making a jam...if making in large quantities and planning to store for a long time - it requires a proper process and also the canning jars - and pectin which helps in preserving it.

Since I was just making with a small quantity and also for immediate use at home - decided to go the short and easy route...

Cinnamon Cookies & the misadventures in the making...

I guess the title tells it all....but here goes the whole long tale...

Cinnamon Cookies

There was a story which we had heard when we were young, do not remember it properly - but it goes like this - a monkey ( or maybe a kid  who knows ) was given a banana - and asked to split it equally and give it to two children. 
He peeled it and broke it in half - the halves were not equal - so to make it equal - he took a bite from the bigger half...and then he saw that the other half was a bit bigger - so then he bit from that one...and so on...
You can guess how this one ends...lol !!!

My misadventures was sort of like that story - I did follow the recipe as mentioned...but somehow found that my dough was a little dry ...to counter that I added some ghee (Indian clarified butter) - and that made it too soft and moist...so added some maida ( all purpose flour) - and then felt the sweetness was less, so the final batch was rolled in some sugar/cinnamom powder. (Now I am not sure if my story matches the one above...it just somehow bought that one to my mind)

Nyways...I made a batch with every alteration - so have some 5 different varities of the cookies...with just the one dough. :-). 
See below pictures...                                                                                                                                                                                                     

All 5 varities

Different textures of the cookies

Kansar - Sheera with Fada - Broken Wheat pudding - Daliya Sweet Dish

Kansar or Fada Sheera

This month was very hectic - in terms of the no. of visitors we had - generally our home could be likened to a very sleepy village or town - but the past few weeks you could compare it to a bustling metropolis....

I guess, visitors from the fair climes prefer to come when it is a bit cool here for them (winter for us here in Mumbai) - it makes their stay more comfortable - but this year it seemed that everyone we knew - friends & relatives had come at the very same time...

While it was fun to meet up with all - and we had rollicking parties every second day [as much as our creaking bones would allow :-)] - the biggest question was what do I prepare for each one of our visitors...what are their preferences ...likes, dislikes....

Yesterday T's b-i-l was to arrive in Mumbai...so some of his favourite veggies, dhebra, etc were planned ...and for dessert, I decided to make a sheera  from fada - that is broken wheat - or daliya as it is called, the actual name for this dish is Kansar -  pronounced like kasar...I think the 'n' sound is silent...but anyways when I looked up the net - I saw it was spelled as kansar...so that is what I have put up on my title...though I prefer to think of it as fada sheera.

Ok - so coming back to this dish - I have seen while it was being made in A'bad, by our very talented cook B...and read a few different recipes for the same - but I made it slightly differently...and I think it turned out pretty good (so did T's bil ), so I decided to post the recipe.

Amla Murabba

Amla Murubba

This year the winter was pretty severe in all parts of the world...even in India certain parts had very low temperatures and almost snow like conditions.

Mumbai which generally had very mild winters - was also showing signs of unusual weather - colder than norm - but the main problem here was that it was not uniformly cold.....the temperatures kept fluctuating - warm - to pleasant - to cold - to chill...brrr.....

Nyways the above is just so that you know the reason for almost everyone coming down with cold, cough, flu....and the sniffles is the most irritating thing to go thru....
My sister who generally has morning sniffles had come up with a few remedies to take care of it...and so she decided she should share it with me too...and that is how I landed up with a big bag of amla.

Now I have never tried eating amla raw - do not know if you have - but it is very sour ( khatta )....tried to have it like a medicine....buuuuuuuuuut....not too successful...

So then what do you do with the whole bag minus the one I tried to eat.....T came up with one option - it seems when they were young they used to immerse amla in salted water - and after a couple of days eat it - so that was what we did with 2-3 amlas...( it is still soaking ....)
The balance I decided to try and make murabba....went thru the net - got a few different recipes - but generally got the gist of the method and ingredients and proportions ...then set out to make my own...
Murubba makes a very nice accompaniment to any meal...it's sweet sour combination gives a different tang to the taste buds...and so it is greatly appreciated.