CHEESY, SAUCY PASTA FOR KIDS

Cheesy-saucy pasta

This is a fast, easy pasta dish cooked under 15 minutes, ideal as lunch or mid-afternoon snack for kids. For adults, you can make changes by adding some roasted veggies, lower the amount of  cheese and you are good to go. I have used tricolor rotini, you can use any kind of pasta your kid likes. I think if you add more color to your food, it looks beautiful on the plate and helps stimulate the taste buds.  After all, it is always a challange to make a kid eat good food :)

INGREDIENTS :-
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1 cup tricolor rotini pasta
3 tbsp roasted red pepper and garlic sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp pasta water


DIRECTIONS :-
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1.  Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to the package instructions. I cooked mine for 8-10 mins.

2.  Ladle some pasta water for later use. Drain the pasta using a colander. Transfer pasta to the mixing bowl.

3.  Add all other ingredients saving some cheese for garnish. Mix properly with a spatula.

Colorful pasta covered with melted cheese

4.  You can see the cheese and butter getting melted with the heat of pasta. You can hear a peculiar sound when you mix the pasta, this sound somehow makes me hungry.

5.  Garnish with the remaining cheese and enjoy the colorful, cheesy and saucy pasta!!!

          I have used the roasted red pepper and garlic sauce as I like its flavor and color, you can use any sauce you like. Also I used mozzarella cheese as it melts beautifully and parmesan has a nice salty bite to it.




          On a cold winter day, this is a perfect bowl for kids. For adults, as I told earlier make some changes and this dish will definitely satisfy your appetite. Buon Appetito!

 

RAVA BESAN VADI

 



Rava-Besan Vadi

"Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!!!" On this auspicious occassion , I thought why not start with something sweet :) The sweet dish I am making today comes from the state of Maharashtra - located on the western part of India.

Black Specks of Cardamom can be seen

Growing up, we had lot of sweet dishes in our house. I learned this from my aai (ie mom - as we call in Marathi). First let me tell you something about her - she is an amazing cook! and as a kid I remember she used to fulfill my wish of every dish I asked for. Even though it was a new recipe, she would make it a point to learn and prepare it for me. Thanks aai!



Rava-Besan Vadi

I love this sweet dish a lot and the best part is if you make a bigger batch, do not worry as it has a good shelf life of around 15-20 days. If you live in a place which has hot climate, I would recommend you to refrigerate it after a couple of days. That way it will stay fresh longer. You need very less number of ingredients for this dish.


Ingredients :-

1 1/2   cup besan (gram flour)
1/2     cup rava
1 3/4   cup sugar
3/4 - 1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom powder
8 (7+1) tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/4 cup slivered almonds + golden raisins (optional)


Directions :-

1.  Heat 7 tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottom deep pan on   medium heat. Add besan and keep sauteing for 8-10 mins. Besan tends to burn quickly so it is necessary to keep a close eye on it and if needed turn down the heat to low-medium. It will start turning golden and give out a delicious smell.

Besan gets roasted in ghee

2.  Once besan is done, transfer it to a plate to cool. Add 1 tbsp ghee to the pan and add rava sauteing for 7-8 mins. on low-medium heat till it turns golden. Transfer it to the plate.


3.  In a deep pan take sugar and add as much water so that sugar gets submerged. Stir it constantly on low-medium heat so the syrup start getting sticky like honey about 8-10 mins.

Sugar syrup starts to bubble and looks foggy

4.  Now add the roasted rava and besan to the syrup. Remove any lumps and keep stirring for about 6-7 mins. or till the mixture starts to thicken and leaves the sides of the pan.


This stage is kind of tricky - you don't want the mixture to be very thick nor very thin. If you have a doubt,  turn off the gas and let the mixture cool for 10 mins., now check again. Because once the mixture cools it tends to thicken little more.
Once you make it, you will get a hang of it.

The final stage of rava-besan vadi

5.  Turn off the gas, add cardamom powder, dried fruits and mix thoroughly. Transfer it to a greased plate to cool down. After about 7-8 mins. cut it into diamonds and leave it till    it cools completely.



Rava-besan vadi are ready to serve!

6.  Once cooled, remove the diamond vadis with a spatula and store them in an airtight container. This recipe makes around 20 pieces.  Enjoy the sweet moments!!!