Homemade Orecchiette with Roasted Tomato Sauce (Caribbean style Tomato Choka)

Before you go ahead to read today's post, I would recommend have a look at yesterday's post - a step-by-step recipe on how to make fresh egg pasta. 

How to make Fresh Egg Pasta (Step-by-Step Recipe) + Orecchiette, the easy way

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”  Federico Fellini

..and I wanted to make some of my own pasta for a really long time, though a box of dried penne, spaghetti or farfalle is a beloved staple in my pantry. I love them so much that every time I watch a food or travel-based show based on Italy, I imagine myself rolling out a sheet of dough and making long pasta ribbons out of it. Such was my craziness!

After reading quite a few blog posts on the internet and flipping through Mark Bittman's book - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian cover to cover, last weekend I ventured into the kitchen to make atleast two kinds of fresh pasta. By the end of the day I was super thrilled with the fantastic results. Here I am sharing the first batch of pasta I made - Orecchiette, the easy way.

Enjoy!

{Amma's Recipes} - Tangy Green Tomato Chutney Recipe

Amma's recipes is one such column on this blog, which is very close to my heart. These are the recipes which my mother perfected over many many years and reflects how awesome a cook she is. It is also fun to just photograph once in a while, without thinking about what and how to make a recipe, worrying whether it would turn out well or not. She Cooks, I Photograph. That is the deal. :-) If you guys have any questions, do drop in a line or comment. My mom will be more than happy to answer all of them.

A meal must always be given the respect it deserves. My mother made sure we did exactly that when we were young. She taught us the value of money, value of having good people around and how to be street-smart in this hard, competitive world. Rather than just saying, she always followed her heart and did things the right way. Will you ever be wrong?, I always tease her. :-)

Chilled Cucumber Salad With Garlic

It all started while I was reading Andrea Nguyen's interview in Monica Bhide's brilliant ebook - "In Conversation with Exceptional Women." If you crazy passionate about food and wish to know more about some of the best food writers of this generation, I highly recommend to read the book.

Stuffed Okra (Bhindi) with Indian Cottage Cheese (Paneer) in Tomato Gravy Recipe

 
My favorite vegetable is Okra i.e ladies finger or bhindi as we call here in India. Many of my friends tease me for my cravings to this supposedly a "slimy vegetable". But, I say any vegetable if cooked properly will taste fabulous and Okra is no exception. Today's recipe is one such fantastic variation (If I may say so) which I learnt from my mom. It is as simple as: stuffing okra with grated paneer, pan frying it until slightly charred and then dunking into a tomato gravy. This dish goes well with rotis and rice. Try it, am sure it will enter your favorite list too!.

Enjoy..