Any Italian meal is incomplete without pasta. Pasta has gain a lot of popularity over the years, kids especially love pastas. Pasta comes in variety of shapes and sizes! In today's recipe I have used Penne Pasta.  I prefer pastas with light sauce and veggies compared to pastas loaded with sauce and cheeses.  Pesto is a favorite condiment at our house, it is very much versatile and can be used on pizzas, pasta, sandwiches, on roasted or mashed potatoes, eggs and more! Ingredients for Pasta 5 cup cooked penne pasta or your favorite pasta 1/3 cup chopped broccoli 1/3 cup chopped zucchini 10-12 grape or cherry tomatoes halved if too big 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil 3 tbs prepared basil pesto(recipe below) or store bought Salt and Pepper for taste Grated Parmesan cheese(optional) Crushed red pepper(optional) Method For Pasta Boil Pasta according to package instruction. I had leftover cooked pasta in the refrigerator hence used that.  Add a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan on med...

 The idea for this post came from one of my dear friend. She one day asked me what kind of green leafy vegetables you make. I said to her that I make quite a few. She suggested why don't I post pictures and names of the leafy vegetables that we get here in US. I liked her idea and started writing this post. Just a note that I have mentioned only the ones that I have used in my kitchen. There are plenty of leafy greens out there to try! In marathi we call all leafy greens as पालेभाज्या. My mom makes variety of greens but living in US we might not get all of them as in India. I shop for groceries in a Korean store but they carry all Indian vegetable variety plus all other Indian groceries.  I tried some new leafy greens and tried to make Indian/Marathi style recipes. I have listed names of few greens that I normally cook with. Swiss Chard Young Radish Mustard Greens or Sarson/सरसों का साग  Red Shen Choy/लाल माठ  Gongura/Sour Leaf/आंबाडी Spinach/Palak Methi/Fenugreek Le...

 Mushrooms are low in calories and sugar and packed with nutrition. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants along with vitamin D. Mushrooms are super food for vegetarians as they can be replaced with meat. They do come in lot of variety like crimini, white button mushrooms, portabello, shitake, oyster and lot more.  Frankly speaking I had never eaten mushrooms growing up in India. I was introduced to them when I came here to US, though my husband devours it as he has been eating them since childhood and so does my elder son. Me and my younger son  not a big fan but we can eat them.  Today's recipe is matar mushroom magic. I have added paneer to this recipe as paneer makes everything special :) and plus I can pick and eat more paneer than mushroom 😉😀 Just a note that I got my mushrooms from Costco so they were huge. Ingredients 8 large or 1 regular sized packet white mushrooms 1 small onion chopped  1 small tomato chopped 1/2 inch ginger grated...

North Indian cuisine is very popular all over the world. Punjabi cuisine is very rich and flavorful.   Amritsar is a city in Northern part of India in the state of Punjab. I guess this dal originated here and hence the name Amritsari dal. But it is also called as Langarwali dal. This dal is usually cooked and served in Gurudwaras for langar.  Doesn't matter what you call, it tastes delicious.  Authentically this dal is made with whole urad dal(same dal used to make dal makhani or maa ki dal) and chana dal but I made it with chilkewali urad dal and chana dal. Recipe is quite simple and it is made in Insta Pot so it's even quicker! Ingredients 1/2 cup chilkewali urad dal(aslo known as urad dal with skin) 1/4 cup chana dal 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste   1 small onion chopped 1 small tomato chopped 2 tsp coriander powder 1/4 tsp garam masala Salt and chili powder as per taste 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/4 tsp amchur powder 1 tbsp ghee/clarified butter 1/2 tsp cumin...

 Raita is a very traditional condiment in any Indian meal. Typical Indian meal consists of a vegetable curry, dal, roti, rice and raita. Raita is typically made with yogurt and some kind of raw or cooked vegetable like cucumber, carrot, cabbage, spinach, beets and many more, possibilites are endless 😃.  There was some spinach left over in fridge and thought I should use it up before it goes bad so made this raita. It actually tasted pretty good, hope you all will like it! Ingredients 2 cup tightly packed chopped spinach 1 cup Yogurt 1/2 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp red chili powder 1/4 tsp cumin powder Salt as per taste 1 tsp oil For Tempering 1 tsp oil 1/4 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 tsp cumin Pinch of asafoetida 1 red dried chili Method Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add chopped spinach and saute just until wilted,  keep aside and let it cool. Whisk yogurt until smooth and add sauteed spinach. Add all the spices, red chili powder, cumin powder, sugar and salt. Mix and keep aside....

 Saag Paneer is a traditional Punjabi delicacy that is eaten in winter. The reason behind eating sarson ka saag in winter is very simple, it helps keep our body warm plus it is packed with micronutrients and antioxidants. Traditionally it is made with mixture of sarson(which is called as mustard greens), spinach and bathua(another winter leafy vegetable) but living in the US it is hard to find bathua, at least I have never seen it in the store where I shop. So adjustments had to made to enjoy this beautiful delicacy by using whatever greens I can find.  Greens that are used in today's recipe is mustard greens(the star ingredient), methi leaves and spinach. But I think you can also add any greens that is available like green swiss chard, collard greens. Let's get started! Ingredients 1 bunch mustard greens 1 small bunch spinach or 5 oz prewashed baby spinach 1/2 bunch methi leaves or a handful of methi 1 green chili 5 garlic cloves roughly chopped 1 inch ginger roughly chopped ...

 As the name suggests it's a panini with classic ingredients like basil, tomato and mozzarella. These three items are like match made in heaven! They taste oh so good together. Crispy panini with ooey gooey mozzarella and fresh basil is a quick fix lunch or dinner option.  Ingredients(Makes 4) 4 ciabatta rolls 1 tomato sliced 1 small red onion sliced Basil leaves as required 4 tbsp basil pesto(store bought or homemade ) 4 tsp hot and sweet Pepper Jelly(I got it from Trader Joe's)  Balsamic Vinegrette (Recipe below) 8 oz Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Crushed red pepper flakes as required(optional) Balsamic Vinaigrette 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp dijon mustard 1 tsp honey Salt and Pepper for seasoning  Mix all the ingredients for vinaigrette and it's ready.  Method Drizzle ciabatta rolls with olive oil and lightly toast them on both sides on panini maker. Arrange lightly toasted ciabatta rolls on  a cutting board for assembling the s...