Cilantro & Mint Risotto

When I was in Rome in June '08, I had the best spinach pasta ever! So, I decided to try it out at home, but with a few variations. I made a cilantro-mint version of it, with easily available ingredients, and I must say, it came out better than I expected.

You need -

1 cup rice (I used regular white rice, but you could use brown rice or the original arborio rice)

1 cup of mint leaves

1 cup of coriander/cilantro leaves

1/2 an onion

2 tsps olive oil

Some garlic salt

1 cheese cube/slice or 1 small cup of Parmesan cheese

5 tbs of white wine

What you have to do -

- Mince the onions and sautee in the olive oil until it turns translucent

- Add some garlic salt and regular salt to taste

- Grind the mint and cilantro into a rough paste and add to the mix on the flame

- After a minute, add the raw rice

- Allow rice to cook and after it's half done, add the white wine

- When the rice is almost done, add the cheese and wait for it to fully cook

- Garnish with freshly chopped mint/cilantro

Serve hot!

Gajar/Carrot Halwa

You need -

6-7 medium sized carrots

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp powdered cardamom

10-12 cashew nuts

5 tsps ghee

What you have to do -

- Grate the carrots and set aside

- On low flame, in a pan, crush and roast the cashew nuts

- Take the nuts out once they're golden brown and then add the carrots (add more ghee if you want it richer)

- Cook carrots until the raw smell goes away

- Once they're soft, add the sugar, powdered cardamom and the milk

- Cook for another 10 minutes and take it down from the flame

- Garnish with the roast cashew nuts

Serve hot with ice cream!

Banana Preserve

A bunch of bananas were rotting on the kitchen top when I decided to try make something of them. It took lesser time than I expected and turned out quite well!

You need -

6 Bananas

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp powdered cardamom

1 pinch of citric acid

What you have to do -

- Chop up the bananas and in a kadai let them get soft

- Add the sugar and wait for everything to turn into pulp

- After about 10 minutes, turn off the flame and wait for it to cool

- Once it cools, use a blender to get a fine paste

- Once again, pour it back into the kadai and cook after adding the powdered cardamom and citric acid

- Take it off the stove after about 5 minutes and store in a bottle for future use

Kill your evening hunger by making these quick choco-banana sandwiches: put the jam and some chocolate syrup between slices of fresh toast and you're good to go!

Chocolate Pancakes

Anu and Joy came over last weekend, and as promised I whipped up some pancakes. Easy to make and very fulfilling as a breakfast, this is ideal for a lazy Sunday morning.

You need -

3 cups maida/flour

3 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 small spoons of baking powder

2 spoons of molten butter

2 spoons of vanilla essence

Some choco chilps or Hershey's chocolate syrup

Honey/more chocolate syrup

What you have to do -

- Mix the maida, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, butter and essence to make a thick batter. It has to have the consistency of dosa batter.

- Add either chocolate syrup or the chips to the batter depending on how chocolatey you want it.

- Heat a wide flat pan with a small amount of butter.

- Pour out the batter evenly, while ensuring that you're maintaining a half centimeter thickness.

- After it cooks for a bit, it will separate from the pan. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side.

- As it cooks, add honey or/and chocolate syrup.

Serve hot with coffee and you're set for a good day ahead!

The Vineyard Brew

Chennai. College. Conversations. Coffee.

It all started over a couple of Vineyard Brews at Coffee?. Through my college days in Chennai, I was a regular at this tiny little coffee shop near home. The place has now moved and isn't as cosy as I remember it being earlier. I'm not even sure they still serve these brews and that's just a pity, because they've got to be the best semi-alcoholic evening drinks I've ever had!

Never the less, here's how you can do it yourself!

You need -

Instant coffee powder

A dark cola (preferably coca cola)

Red wine

Ice cubes

What you have to do -

- In a tall clear glass, put half a spoon of coffee powder (add up to a spoon if you want it strong) and add a very small amount of red wine (as alcoholic as you'd like it)

- Add ice cubes per your preferences

- Tilt the glass at a 45degree angle and slowly pour the cola from the rim of the glass (if you rush this, it fizzes and turns foamy)

Serve with popcorn or other light snacks!

Cherry Cheesecake

Makes 6 slices

Inspired by Nigella Lawson, I tried this out at home - and I'm proud to say that it was a success. Overall, it works out to be expensive - but makes every paisa spent completely worth the while! This is the non-bake variety of cheesecake.

You need -

200gms Philadelphia/Danish Cream Cheese

90gms of digestive biscuits

50gms of butter (unsalted preferred)

40gms of icing sugar/powdered sugar

175mls of Amul fresh cream

A fresh lemon

Vanilla essence

A bottle of fruit preserve - I chose St. Dalfour's Black Cherry preserve

What you have to do -

- Beat the fresh cream into a thick mixture and set aside in a bowl

- Put the icing/powdered sugar, a dash of lime, vanilla essence and the cream cheese into a bowl and beat it up until it's consistent and fluffy

- Put the biscuits and butter in a blender until you get a coarse mix for the base

- Butter a flat medium-deep bowl and press the base on to it evenly

- Mix the fresh cream mix with the second mix until you get an even consistency

- Pour the fresh batter over the base evenly and then put away in the fridge for a few hours

- Place on a plate and pour our generous portions of cherry preserve on top of the cake just before serving

Serve cold and don't count the calories!

Aloo Jeera

Serves two.

I love the flavor of ginger and coriander. Typically, you wouldn't make this side dish with these ingredients. But, I do. Feel free to make without.

You need -

4 small-medium sized potatoes

Some red chili powder, garam masala, asafoetida, salt to taste

Cumin seeds for garnishing

Freshly chopped ginger and coriander

What you have to do -

- Pressure cook/Microwave the potatoes until they're soft enough to be eaten directly

- In a kadai, heat some oil and add the cumin seeds, asafoetida and chopped ginger

- Once it turns dark brown, add the chopped pieces of soft potatoes

- Allow the oil to coat each piece gently - do not add more than a total of 2 tsps of oil unless you want it crunchy

- Mix the salt, garam masala and chili powder in a spoon of water and then sprinkle on to the potatoes

- Mix it up well and cook for another 3-4 minutes while ensuring that no one side burns

- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander for an interesting flavor

Serve with -

- Rotis & dal

- Rasam & rice

Coconut Laddu

Makes 12 balls.

I had some left over coconut after I was done making Kozhakattais. So. I decided to quickly try my hand at coconut barfi. That didn't work out very well, so I was left with coconut balls. Trust me, they taste as good - just look different!

You need -

1 large cup of shaved coconut

3 tb spoons milk

2 spoons sugar (more if you want it sweeter)

6 pieces of ground cardamom

Some ghee

What you have to do -

- Fry the shaved coconut in one spoon of ghee until it gets crispy

- In a kadai, boil the milk along with the sugar, a spoon of ghee and the ground cardamom

- Add the fried coconut shavings and sautee until it's hard

- Make small balls and put away in the fridge until you have to serve it

Bread-Jam & Milk

Serves one.

My mother would make this for me when I would return from school ravenously hungry. It's fuss-free, fast, filling and delicious!

You need -

2 slices of bread

1 glass of milk

Jam of your choice (I prefer the fruit preserves by St Dalfour)

Vanilla essence (optional)

What you have to do -

- Make jam sandwiches and then chop it up into small cubes

- Heat some milk until it's warm enough to drink and then add a drop of vanilla essence

- Put the sandwich cubes in a bowl and pour the milk over it

Spoon it up and you won't be hungry anymore!

Spaghetti

Serves two.

This turned out to be surprisingly easy to make and is quite fulfilling as a dinner.

You need -

Good quality wheat spaghetti

2 tomatoes

1 onion

1 bell pepper/capsicum

Some oregano/basil seasoning, salt to taste

Some olive oil

Chili flakes, cheese (optional, be recommended)

What you have to do -

- Boil a portion of the spaghetti in hot water until it turns soft - be careful not to break the strands

- Make a paste of the onions in a blender

- In a kadai, let the paste turn golden brown by heating in a small tsp of olive oil

- Similarly, make a paste of the tomatoes and add to the mix

- Once it's cooked adequately, add the capsicum (chopped lengthwise)

- Add salt and the oregano

- Add the soft spaghetti and let it cook together for 4-5 minutes

- Add chili flakes (if you want it spice) and Parmesan cheese (use regular cheese slices if you want it to melt fast)

Serve hot!

Serve with -

Garlic bread & salads