Angel Hair Pasta

This is my experiment with pasta – I like to make pasta without using tomato sauces. This pasta is generally bursting with flavor – I put in marinated artichokes, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and roasted bell peppers. I do not add any seasoning – not even salt. Try it some time, and please let me know how you like it. It is really very quick to make, only takes 10 minutes or so.

Ingredients:

1. Marinated artichokes – 2 tbsp
   
2. Sun dried tomatoes – 1 tbsp
   
3. Capers – 2 tsp
   
4. Olives – 10 or so, deseeded and sliced
   
5. Roasted bell pepper – golden or red, you decide
   
6. Angel Hair Pasta
   
7. Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
   
8. Parsley for garnishing.
   

Method:

1. Cook the angel hair pasta as per package instructions. Drain, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and set aside.
   
2. In a wok, add the remaining olive oil and heat. Add all ingredients except pasta and parsley.
   
3. Once all the vegetables have blended, remove from heat, and mix well with the pasta.
   
4. Garnish with parsley.
   

Serve hot with bread, minestrone soup and fresh crisp green salad.

Gobi Manchurian

This is a popular starter/appetizer in most Indian-Chinese restaurants, and it is already heavily Indianized. It is my husband's favorite appetizer, and when we were in the US this was a really difficult dish to get hold off. We were very surprised to see that something which is considered a very "Chinese" dish in India, was never to be found in any Chinese restaurant anywhere in the world.

Once, on my husband's birthday, to make him happy, I tried to make this dish. It turned out so well that it has now become what my sister calls "my signature dish". Our friends ask me to make it whenever they visit, and when I recently met a friend of mine that I hadn't seen for three years, he asked me, "Do you still make that yummy Manchurian?"

My brother-in-law asked me to post this recipe, along with my secret ingredient. I have to say that just like in the Kungfu Panda movie, there really is no secret ingredient. It is actually quite an easy, if time consuming, appetizer to make.

Caution: This is definitely high calorie and high fat.

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium head Cauliflower
   
2. Green Onions – 1 bunch, finely chopped
   
3. Ginger – about 2 inches, finely grated.
   
4. Garlic – about 6-7 pods, finely minced
   
5. Cornflour – 1 cup
   
6. Cornstarch – 1 tbsp
   
7. Soy sauce – to taste (I use about 2-3 tsp)
   
8. Sweet and Sour Sauce – to taste (I use about 2 tbsp)
   
9. 4-5 Jalapenos (adjust to heat tolerance), finely chopped.
   
10. Salt, to taste
    
11. Red Chili powder, to taste
    
12. Oil, for deep frying.
    
13. Water, for making batter
    

Method:

1. Chop the cauliflower into medium size florets. Soak in some warm salted water for 15-20 minutes and keep aside.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix the cornflour, cornstarch, red chili powder, salt and add enough water to make a batter. The batter should be just thin enough to coat the cauliflower florets without dripping.
   
3. Heat the oil in a wok. If you drop a small ball of batter in the oil it should rise to the surface immediately.
   
4. Dip the florets in the batter and deep fry until golden brown – adjust the heat so that the florets are evenly brown.
   
5. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a dish lined with kitchen napkins (to absorb the oil).
   

   
   

   Gravy:
   

   1. In a wok, add 1 tbsp of oil.
      
   2. When hot, add ginger, garlic and stir fry until a faint aroma arises.
      
   3. Add jalapenos and stir fry until the edges are brown.
      
   4. Add chopped green onion and fry until the green parts wilt.
      
   5. Add soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce and mix well.
      
   6. Add the fried cauliflower florets and mix well, heat through.
      

Serve with something cold to drink!