Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

Cannellonis were something that I had been looking forward to prepare and taste! And finally I did it. I don’t exactly remember how I came across this pasta, probably from food network channel or any TV shows or an internet recipe. Even though the recipe list may scare you, I bet these are not at all difficult to prepare. It is simple and the taste is guaranteed. Preparation takes a bit of time though but not so much as you really would think it would because everything gets cooked so fast apart from the baking time and there is minimal chopping up. Actually I prepared this probably an year ago and prepared again last week, was simply craving for some.

Cannellonis are tube shaped pasta shelled which are filled with any filling of your choice, may it be vegetarian or a pure meataholics delight of saucy minced meat. Here I chose a ricotta and spinach filling which is quite a common combination to go for the filling. I also used a low fat ricotta since I was using quite a lot of it. You can reduce the amount as much as you just wish to have. I just made it twice until now. The first time I made it I made it with mush lesser amount of spinach and ricotta. But the filling was quite less and we got more of lasagne sheets than the filling, but the taste was real good. So the second time I made it, I just increased the amount of cheese and spinach. You may reduce both if you don’t have enough of it or if you wish to have less amount of filling, like to have less spinach or want to use less ricotta, it wont alter the taste much.

Here I have used the lasagne pasta sheets instead of the cannelloni pasta. They are more economical and something that I always used. Unlike other pasta, these pasta comes in layers. The bottom layer consists of the filled shells, followed by tomato sauce on top and white sauce to go over that. I sprinkled with some cheese for that strong flavour. For preparation, I placed the filling on one end of the cooked pasta and rolled it into tube shape by keeping the filling in. I then arranged the rolled pasta into a large baking dish. If your pasta dish doesn’t accommodate in one dish, you can split them into 2 dishes. I then poured the tomato sauce and then poured the white sauce over. Sprinkled with cheese and viola! It’s ready to go.

I m not quite sure how it works with the tube shaped cannelloni though. I don’t know if it has to be pre-cooked before filling. But I have seen uncooked cannelloni sheets being filled with the stuffing and then cooked by pouring the sauce over. The tubes get soft and cooked with the juices from the sauces. Here as you see I have rolled the pasta to form a cannelloni. Instead of that you can make a spinach and ricotta lasagne just by layering the pasta, filling and sauces one after the other. It’s much easier and takes even lesser time. You can check out my lasagne recipe for reference.


Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Serves 4 Adults
Preparation time: 40-50 minutes
Cooking time: 45– 50 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Filling:

Appx. 500g Chopped Spinach (I used the frozen chopped spinach.)
2 ½ cups ricotta (650g) (You may reduce the amount anywhere from 300g-600g)
150g sliced closed cup mushrooms (2 cups)
1 medium size onion sliced (100g,3/4 cup)
2-3 large flake of garlic,sliced
½ tsp dried basil
¼ of a nutmeg grated
½ tsp dried oregano
Salt – to taste
Crushed Black pepper – to taste
1-2 Tbsp Olive oil

Napolitana Sauce (Tomato sauce):
5 large tomatoes, chopped (500g)
2 large flakes of garlic sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium size onion, chopped (100g, ¾ cup)
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar
¾ -1 cup water (Enough to make a thick sauce.)
1 tsp paprika/Kashmiri Chilli powder (Optional - Add only if you want it slightly hot.)
Salt – as required

Bechamel sauce (White sauce):
2 ½ cups- 3 cups (625mls-750mls)- semi skimmed milk or whole milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Olive oil/vegetable oil
2 tbsp plain flour
1 maggi vegetable/chicken bouillon cube (Stock cube)
1 tsp English mustard paste
Salt – as required
1/8 th of a nutmeg grated
Crushed white/black pepper (Optional).

Others:
14 – 16 Lasagne sheets
1/3 – ½ cup grated cheddar (optional)
2-4 Tbsp grated Parmesan

Preparation:


Tomato sauce:
Tomato sauce actually needs slow cooking, so the filling can be made while the sauce is cooking. For the sauce,

1.Heat oil in a saucepan and add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté till onion is really soft and translucent.

2. Add in the chopped tomatoes. Cover and cook on medium heat until the tomato has gone all soft and mushy.

3. Add in the herbs and paprika if using it. Add the required amount of water and cook on low for about 25-30 minutes.

4. Add the sugar and adjust salt.

5. Once the sauce is completely cooled, pour it in a food processor and whizz for few seconds until you get a chunky puree. You may do it in you blender as well; but make sure the sauce has cooled enough before you puree it. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the spinach and ricotta filling.

For the filling:
1. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil. Add in the sliced onions and sauté until soft. Add in the sliced garlic and sauté till soft.

2. Add in the sliced mushrooms and cook for about 4 minutes. Add in the chopped spinach, oregano, basil and crushed pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes until the spinach is all well cooked.

3. Grate in the nutmeg and stir well.

4. Turn the heat off and add the ricotta and stir well. Adjust the seasoning and add salt as necessary. Keep the filling aside.

After the filing and the sauce is ready, prepare the béchamel sauce:

1.Heat another saucepan on medium and add oil + butter.

2. Reduce the heat to low, add in flour. Stir continuously for a minute.

3. Take the pan off the heat and milk. Stir continuously using a wire whisk to break up any lumps.

4. Keep the pan back on heat, add the mustard paste and crumbled chicken stock cube. Keep stirring on low-medium heat until the mixture turns thick.

5. Grate in nutmeg and add crushed pepper if using. Stir well.

While the béchamel is cooking you can prepare the pasta.

Cook the lasagne sheets according to the packet instructions and drain the pasta on a clean kitchen towel.

To cook pasta, in a very large saucepan of boiling salted water, add a tablespoon of oil. Add 4-6 sheets of lasagne sheets and stir carefully and continuously, but not vigorously. This will prevent the sheets from sticking to each other. If you find it difficult to handle, you may add 2 sheets at a time and cook. Pick each sheet from the water using tongs and leave to drain on a kitchen towel.

Assembling:




1.Place a cooked lasagne sheet on a clean plate and add 2 heaped tablespoons of filling at the end of shorter side. Roll the pasta carefully keeping the filling in.

2. Place the rolled pasta on an oiled baking dish or a clear pyrex dish or gratin dish.

3. Roll all the pasta in the same manner until all the filling is used up.

4. Keep it in a single layer.

5. Pour the tomato sauce over and spread using a spatula.

6. Pour the white sauce over and lightly spread using spoon. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake @ 180 degrees Celsius for about 45 – 50 minutes or you see golden brown patches all around.

Notes:
1. The pasta can be prepared 24 hours ahead, covered with cling film and refrigerated before baking. Then bake directly from the fridge until you see golden patches all around.

2. For the ease of preparation you may try shop bought nepolitana sauce and white sauce. I have never tried both anyways, since I find it easy to prepare the home made ones.

This is my entry for 'Healing foods-Spinach' hosted by divya of Dilse which was started by Siri of siri-corner.

Pistachio and Raisin Biscotti

Hi,
Hope you all are doing well there. This time I am posting something quite different from my usual posts for you. It’s Biscotti. I have made two kinds; quite similar ones which you will find at the end of this post. I made these delicious fingers couple of weeks back when I was obsessed about baking and just wanted to bake something that was free of fat! When I googled, not many options were there that uses less or no fat and only Biscotti was something that pleased me. Biscottis are just the perfect stuff to dunk in tea, coffee or even milk and are so filling. Unlike cookies, the texture of these finger beauties can be compared to that of rusks; crispy and crunchy and dry. I would say these are the royal cousins of rusks packed with nuts and dried fruits and tastes so yummy. Since it contains no added butter or fat, it is quite low in fat as well; a totally guilt free snack. I already made it twice in few days time. My husband and my little one just loved it. They are not much of cookie fans, but they liked these alot. They always had it with their milk and tea on evenings and I had to push myself to make it again after few days!. The second time I made it, I ran out of pistachio, so substituted them with almonds and added a bit of lemon rind for a change of flavour. We loved the pistachio one much more, and the green specks made them looks so good as well. Biscotti would last much more than you could imagine. You can wrap these up in a clear bag, tie it up with a lovely ribbon and that would make a lovely present for anyone. And my kitchen counter looks so good with biscotti filled jars!Lol..Take a look at the recipe:

Pistachio and Raisin Biscotti
Makes about 20-24 Biscotti.
Recipe Courtesty:www.joyofbaking.com


Ingredients:
½ cup shelled unsalted pistachios
½ cup raisins/dried cranberries/Cherries
2/3 cup fine granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Preparation:

1.In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs at high speed using an electric hand beater for about 5 minutes until you get a thick and pale yellow mousse like mixture. At this point, you should be able to draw a figure “8” using the balloon whisk. Add in vanilla essence and beat until combined.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well using a wire whisk or sieve 2-3 times if there are lumps.

3. Add flour to the early beaten egg and sugar mixture and mix using a large spoon. Add the chopped nuts and raisins and just mix with the spoon.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 175 Degree Celcius.

5. Oil a baking paper and place it on a baking sheet. Place dough in the centre of the baking sheet and roll using the baking paper to form a log of 30 cm length and 9 cm wide. The dough at this stage will be really sticky. So rolling into a log with hands will be a bit messy. Oil the hands if you are handling the dough with hands. (First time I made log by rolling it using hand which was messy. But the second time, I placed the dough in the center of the baking paper, covered the dough with baking paper from one end and rolled slowly to form a log.)

6. Place it in the centre rack of the oven and bake it for 25 minutes or until just firm and slightly golden in colour. Don’t make it really golden; it will be difficult to slice. Remove from the oven and let to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

7. Reduce the oven temperature to 165 Degrees.

8. Transfer the log on to a chopping board and cut into 2 cm slices, on the diagonal (Cut slices in a slanting position). Cut the slices in a sawing motion moving the knife forward and backward for getting a neat slice, rather than crumbled biscotti. Use a serrated knife for the ease of cutting.

9. Place the cut biscottis on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 10 minutes or slightly golden. Let them cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Lemon Scented Almond and Raisin Biscotti
Makes about 20-24 Biscotti.

Similar to those Pistachio Raisin Biscotti are these Lemon Scented Almond and Raisin Biscotti. As I mentioned, the former ones were so very much in demand, So I had to push myself to bake them again. Actually I was overjoyed for getting a chance to bake again and something that everyone would really eat. I have used almonds instead of Pistachios and added a lemon’s rind to the dough. The citrusy smell in the Biscotti was so refreshing. The whole flat had a citrusy aroma when the biscottis were baking in the oven. I would have preferred to add chocolate chunks to the dough rather than raisins, but was sure that my hubby wouldn’t like them when they contain chocolates. Sigh! So I was forced to finish up with raisins. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
½ cup Almonds, chopped
1 large lemon’s rind,grated
½ cup raisins/dried cranberries/Cherries
2/3 cup fine granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Preparation:
1.In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs at high speed using an electric hand beater for about 5 minutes until you get a thick and pale yellow mousse like mixture. At this point, you should be able to draw a figure “8” using whisk. Add in vanilla essence and lemon rind and beat until combined.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well using a wire whisk or sieve 2-3 times if there are lumps.

3. Add flour to the early beaten egg and sugar mixture and mix slowly using a large spoon. Add the chopped nuts and raisins and just mix with the spoon.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 175 Degree Celcius.

5. Oil a baking paper and place it on a baking sheet. Place this dough in the centre of the baking paper and roll using the baking sheet to form a log of 30 cm length and 9 cm wide. The dough at this stage will be really sticky. So rolling into a log with hands will be a bit messy. Oil the hands if you are handling the dough with hands. (First time I made log by rolling it using hand which was messy. But the second time, I placed the dough in the center of the baking paper, covered the dough with baking paper from one end and rolled slowly to form a log.)

6. Place it in the centre rack of the oven and bake it for 25 minutes or until just firm and slightly golden in colour. Don’t make it really golden; it will be difficult to slice. Remove from the oven and let to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

7. Reduce the oven temperature to 165 Degrees.

8. Transfer the log on to a chopping board and cut into 2 cm slices, on the diagonal (Cut slices in a slanting position). Cut the slices in a sawing motion moving the knife forward and backward for getting a neat slice, rather than crumbled biscotti. Use a serrated knife for the ease of cutting.

9. Place the cut biscottis on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 10 minutes or slightly golden. Let them cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Strawberry and Oatmeal Squares

The Great Book of Chocolate

Last couple of weeks all I have been thinking about was baking; baking something that would last quite a long while and something that shouldn’t be eaten to prevent it from getting spoiled. So, I thought of baking some cookies. It will gratify my baking temptation and will last quite long as well. So I Started googling and googling, stumbled upon many scrumptious cookies, but when it come to the ingredients, I would be missing one of a few ingredients. So I approached my all time favourite cooking guide, www.joyofbaking.com for help. I went through the cookies and shortbreads and finally was all set to bake these Bars. Well, again I didn’t have all the ingredients mentioned in the recipe, so I have to adjust myself with the available ingredients. The recipe I followed was that of Raspberry Oatmeal Bars. I didn’t have raspberry Jam, so I ended up using strawberry jam.


I guess the change in the ingredients must have not made a big deal in here. Whatever it is, the result was an awesome cookie full of richness on its own. The Strawberry Oatmeal Bar had three layers- a rich buttery bottom layer layered with sweet strawberry jam and then a crumbled oatmeal crust. The bottom layer was slightly chewy and the crust was crispy. It very well complimented with the sweet Strawberry Jam. But one thing what I would like to put in notice is the sugar level in the bars. May be my strawberry jam was a bit too sweet, the bars were slightly on the sweeter side. So, You may reduce the sugar level slightly if need be, but if you are using tangy jams or preserves like raspberry or blueberry you may use the full amount of sugar as mentioned in the recipe. It’s all up to you, how sweet you like your bars to be.

Strawberry and Oatmeal Squares
Recipe adapted from: www.Joyofbaking.com

Ingredients:
Oatmeal Base:
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup plain granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (Maida)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats, divided
Filling:
1 cup Strawberry jam or preserves (homemade or store bought)

Preparation:1.Preheat oven to 175 degrees C and place rack in center of oven. Butter (or use a non stick cooking spray) a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) pan. Set aside.

For the Oatmeal Base:
1. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes).

2. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix using a wooden or steel spoon until well combined.

4. Stir in 1 3/4 cup of the rolled oats. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.

5. Spread the strawberry jam (preserves) over the oatmeal base.The jam will be just enough to form a thin coating over the base.

6. To the remaining dough add the remaining 1/4 cup of rolled oats.

7. Crumble this mixture evenly over the top of the strawberry jam. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Let it cool completely and then cut into squares. Makes about 16 - 2 inch squares.

These are best if made the day before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes:
1. Make sure you cut the bars once they are well cooled, else it will be difficult to cut them since jam will be too soft and wobbly and you wont get perfect squares. Let the jam cool and set, bofore slicing.
2. Since I dint not have a 9 x 9 Pan, I used a 9 x 12 glass pyrex dish,but filled accordingly almost 3/4 of the pan.

Rogan Josh (A North Indian Mutton Curry)

Rogan josh is a very popular North Indian curry dish that goes very well with naan, be it butter naan , plain naan or even coriander and garlic infused naan. I thought it was well paired with garlic and coriander naan we get here in the super markets. The curry was slightly towards the spicier side due to the addition of chilli powder and whole chillies. I have used Kashmiri Chilli powder here which is mildly spiced, to suit my family’s palette. So if you are using the regular chillies, you may reduce them as your per taste.



I adapted this recipe from a book (Futura Pressure Cooker Book) and followed the ingredients and measurements as such, but halving the amount. The curry was good and went well with naans. I served this curry for our friends when they came over. “The curry is tasty and it has a North Indian flavour”, was the response of my friend who visited me that day. I have tried few versions of Rogan josh before and so far this recipe is the best. Normally before cooking any food, I do a bit of research and compare few recipes to see if they are all same or some-what same. When I researched on the net for this recipe, I found out all of them are more or less the same, so followed the recipe in the book as such. I thought it tasted quite different from the Rogan Josh that we get in many restaurants. Well, you don’t get a Rogan josh that tastes the same in all restaurants!!!Every restaurant has their own unique taste for all the curries that is so very different from other restaurants; but the same name!!This curry is also quite similar to the recipe of Madhur Jeffrey, but she uses powdered spices instead of the whole ones. The list of ingredients might seem like a never ending story, but believe me, it's easy.


Ingredients:
½ Tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ Tbsp poppy seeds
8 almonds
2 brown cardamoms
½ tsp peppercorns

2 cloves
2 Tbsp freshly grated coconut
1-3 Whole dry Kashmiri Chillies (Soaked in 1/3 cups of hot water for 15 minutes,water drained and reserved)
10g ginger (1 cm thick piece)
4 large flakes of garlic
A large pinch of grated nutmeg
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
1 cm piece of cinnamon
3 green cardamoms crushed
1 medium (135g) onion grated
1 medium tomato (100g) chopped
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ Tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) Curd, beaten (I used low fat Greek yogurt)

600g-650g Mutton shoulder cut into 4 cm pieces
¾ cup water
½ tsp garam masala
salt- as required
Ingredients:
1.In a pan roast together coriander, cumin and poppy seeds, almonds, brown cardamoms, pepper corns, cloves and coconut for a couple of minutes on medium heat.

2. Grind this to smooth paste along with ginger, garlic, nutmeg and soaked chillies, adding from time to time a little water (1/3 cup) in which chillies were soaked.

3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add bay leaf, cinnamon and green cardamoms. Stir for few seconds. Add onion and stir fry till golden brown. Add ground paste, chopped tomatoes, turmeric and chilli powders. Stir.

4. Add 1 Tablespoon curd. Stir fry until curd is well blended (approximately ½ minute). Add remaining curd in the same way, a tablespoon at a time, till all curd is used. Stir fry until oil shows separately. (about 3 minutes).

5. Add mutton and salt. Stir fry mutton until slightly browned and has become slightly firm. Add water and stir.

6. Close the pressure cooker and bring to full pressure on high heat. Reduce heat and cook till done. It may take anywhere from 10-25 minutes depending on the size of mutton pieces and the type of pressure cooker.

7. Remove cooker from heat and allow to cool naturally. Sprinkle the garam masala and stir. Serve hot with naan. You may try the curry with chappathi, rice or other breads.

Date and Coconut Fritters

Date fritters is quite a common evening snack. Similar to our kerala’s favourite Ethakka Porichathu/Pazham porichathu /Plantain fritters, delicious fritters can be made using dates as well. Here is a slightly different version of date fritters. Date is pitted, mashed and is then mixed with freshly scraped coconut. This recipe is taken from ‘Vanitha cookbook’. Since I am an ardent fan of coconut I have increased (doubled) the amount of coconut in the recipe. Original recipe calls for ¼ cup of coconut. Apart from this coconutty version of date fritters, scrumptious date fritters can also be made by pitting the dates and replacing the stone by nuts like almonds and cashew nuts. No mashing or mixing is involved there. It’s simply yum and one of my all time favourites. My mom makes these kind of fritters mainly during Ramadan, for Iftar.

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted dates
½ cup freshly grated coconut
½ cup plain flour
½ cup water
¼ tsp salt
Oil for deep frying (vegetable or coconut)

Preparation:
1. Mash the pitted dates using a fork or a potato masher, or simply using hand until
pulpy.

2. Add coconut and mix well until well combined. Make small lemon size balls from the date mixture and flatten them using the palm in the shape of patties or flat cutlets. Make them as small or big as you wish.Keep them aside.

3.To make the batter, add salt to the flour and mix well. Add water and mix using a spoon or a strong baloon whisk to get a thick consistency batter. Make sure the batter is free from lumbs.

4. Heat a wok half filled with oil. When hot enough, dip the date patties in the batter and deep fry in the oil till golden. (Dont over heat the oil, just do the frying part on medium heat.)Serve with hot tea.

Ghee Rice with Vegetables

Ghee rice with vegetables is something that I tried sometime back. It is the regular ghee rice that we make, but I tweaked in some veggies to make it slightly healthy. It goes well with the Mutton Buhari I posted earlier. In many families, especially children (and sometimes adults), are very reluctant when it comes to eating vegetables. The best ways to make them eat vegetables are adding some vegetables to their favourite dish. If for little ones, try chopping them fine. This rice can simply served with curd, pickle and pappad as well.


Ingredients:
3 cups Basmati rice
6 Cups water (Refer notes)
½ cup chopped onion (3/4 of a medium size onion)
1 cup diced carrot (1 medium size)
1 cup beans cut into small rings
½ Tbsp Cumin seeds (Jeerakam)
6 cardamoms
7 cloves
2-3 small pieces of cinnamon sticks
3-7 Tbsp Vegetable oil (See notes)
1 Heaped Tbsp Clarified butter/ Desi Ghee (See notes)
Salt – as required

Preparation:
1.Wash the rice in several times to remove the starch, place it in a colander to remove all the water.

2. In a large, heavy base non-stick saucepan heat vegetable oil and ghee. When hot, add sliced onion and sauté just until soft and translucent. (Don’t let the onions turn golden or brown since it will effect the colour and flavour of the rice).

3. Add in the cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon sticks and sauté for a brief time, just until the aroma comes out.

4. Add in the chopped vegetables (Make sure it is completely moisture free; else use the kitchen towel to remove the excess moisture) and sauté for five minutes until the vegetables are coated in flavour infused oil.

5. Add in the rice and stir fry for another 5 minutes.

6. Add boiling water and salt and mix well. Let it boil in HIGH HEAT until almost all the water is evaporated. Stir a couple of times in between.

7. When you see no more water at the bottom of the saucepan, Close the lid tightly and cook on VERY LOW heat for 10-15 minutes or till done.

Notes:
1. You may use all ghee instead of mixing oil and ghee. You may use as little as you may wish or increase the amount. Normally in ghee rice, quite lot of ghee is added to bring that delicious aroma. But when it comes to the healthy thoughts, I always substitute a major portion with vegetable or coconut oil. In this recipe I have used a heaped tablespoon of ghee and 3 table spoon of vegetable oil. I have used very much less than what is required.

2. In step 4, you can add vegetables along with rice and sauté for a good 8-10minutes on medium heat until all the rice and vegetables are coated with oil.

3. Another important thing to note is if you are planning to soak the rice, wash the rice well until you get clear water, and the starch is all washed out. Soak it for ½ - 1 hour. Use 1 ½ cup of water for 1 cup of rice if you are soaking the rice. So for this recipe you will need 4 ½ cups of water.