Chilled Pasta Salad

Summer bring the best and the worst out of all of us. Think thirsty  parched throats, prickly heat,…and again think tall cool glasses of sherbet, lazy vacation days, at least for school going kids, ice cream, swimming, and of course the season’s best – mangoes! Mango is so rightly called the king of fruits. I am yet to meet a person who does not like this ever so fragrant luscious fruit. Also think chilled salads when you are in no mood to cook your self along with food in a sweltering kitchen. To me, a pasta salad seemed just the answer to a hungry family and a not-ready-to-cook mom, that’s me. Teamed with warm grilled garlic bread, this filling salad left us so happy and content last weekend. I urge you too, do recreate this Indian-Italian piece de resistance in your homes this summer.
What’s good about this dish?

• The meal combines grains(pasta and whole wheat bread), dairy protein (from the curd), fruit and veggies too. Hence it is a complete one pot meal.
• Ripe mangoes and corn add to the vitamin A, B6, C and E levels of the meal, apart from the natural dietary fibre content. 
• A good Potassium content in mangoes makes it a good fruit for people with hypertension. To make the dish more suitable for a hypertensive person, halve the salt used in the recipe.
• Fresh curd is rich in probiotics – the helpful bacteria that are needed for normal functioning and maintenance of stomach and intestines. Fresh curd is also rich in vitamins B and C. Even people with lactose intolerance can usually tolerate curd as the ‘lactose’ sugar is converted to ‘lactic acid’.

Do you need more reasons to try out this fuss-free delicious recipe….
You need

1. Small elbow or bow tie pasta – 250 gm ( I used  half of a 500 gm pack)
2. Sweet corn kernels – 1/2 cup, steamed 
3. Ripe, firm mango (any variety) – finely dice and measure 1 cup.

For the dressing

1. Fresh thick curd, and hung for an hour – 2 cups. Measure the cheese after curd is hung.
2. Onion – very fine minced, 2 tbsp
3. Sugar – 1/2 tsp
4. Black/white pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
5. Salt – 1 heaped tsp
6. Mustard – 1 tsp ( I used ‘Fun foods’ brand - English Mustard)
7. Fresh coriander leaves – finely minced, 2 tbsp
8. Green capsicum (Bell Pepper) – finely minced, 1 tbsp
9. Fresh cream – 2 tbsp (optional, I did not use any)

To assemble

1. Boil pasta for 8-9 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Leave to cool in the colander until dressing is ready.
2. Steam the sweet corn kernels for 2 minutes in the microwave oven.
3. Peel and dice the mango as finely as possible without squishing it!
4. Combine all ingredients for dressing in a mixing bowl. Please do not omit any ingredient ( I did not have capsicum and sorely felt it’s absence). Adding cream is your choice though – it helps to give a smooth mouth feel, but does amp up the calories.
5. Once the dressing is mixed in well, add the cooked pasta, corn, and mangoes and toss well.
6. Chill well before serving. I chilled for an hour before garnishing it with more mango slices and served it up, accompanied with warm, cheesy garlic bread.

Notes

• Can use pineapple when mangoes are not in season.
• Can use other vegetables such as carrots too.
• Can use fresh or dried parsley or other fresh herb seasoning. Pudina / mint, however will be too overpowering a flavour.
• Do not omit any ingredient from the ‘dressing’ list. I did not have green bell pepper (capsicum) at the time of assembling this salad and sorely felt it’s need to perk up the dish!

Dalia khichdi

We returned tired and hungry after an exciting round of Diwali shopping. With just more than half an hour at hand, I had to rustle up a reviving meal for my family. This is what I made. Quick and easy to put together, no exotic ingredients, and healthy comfort food at it's best! Do try it out and let me know how you liked it.

You need

1. Cracked wheat-1 cup (200 gm)
2. Mung dal-1 cup (200gm)
3. Carrot-2 small, chopped-(1/2 cup)
4. Capsicum-1 medium, chopped (1/4 cup)
5. Potato-1 big, chopped (1/4 cup)
6. Large violet brinjal- 1/2 chopped (1 cup)
7. Tomatoes-3/4 kg
8. Asafoetida powder-a pinch
9. Turmeric powder-3/4 tsp
10. Salt-2 tsp
11. Coriander leaves-3 tbsp chopped

For seasoning

1. Oil + ghee-2 tbsp
2. Jeera-1 tsp
3. Whole black pepper- 1tsp
4. Cloves- 7-8
5. Cinnamon-5-7 small sticks
6. green cardamom-3-4

To assemble

1. Choose ripe red tomatoes, wash well and puree in mixer.You could also blanch them, peel skin and then puree.Retaining the skin or peeling it off is personal choice, I have not seen flavour change with either.
2. Wash all other vegetables, dice into even sized pieces.
3. Wash dalia and mung dal together, add three times the volume of water (that makes it 6 cups of water for this recipe), and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil, ghee mixture in a broad kadai/ saucepan.
5. Add in order given, all the ingredients for seasoning.
6. When jeera crackles, and you get a pleasant aroma of spices, it ts time to add hing powder, turmeric powder.
7. Add chopped vegetables toss well and fry for 3 minutes.
8. Add tomato puree and salt.Allow to simmer for atleast 10 minutes until raw smell of tomatoes are gone.
9. When the pressure has released, add the simmering vegetables to the cooked dalia,  mix thoroughly and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
10. Finally add chopped coriander blend in and serve hot.
11. Serve with any raita / salad and papad.

Notes

• You can fry washed wheat + dal in a tsp of ghee for a nice aroma.
• You can add more vegetables like knol khol, peas, sweet potato, onion.
• You can omit tomatoes entirely if you do not prefer the tang, or mix in juice of 1 lemon at the end.
• You can serve this hot topped with a tsp of ghee to kids and omit for those with calorie restrictions.
• Microwaved masala papad is a good accompaniment too.
• Can add more water after mixing the vegetables and cooked dalia.

Now for  the nutri notes

• This is a great one pot meal - combining cereal, pulse, vegetables and dairy allowance if served with raita.
• Eating a cereal and a pulse in the same meal ensures that the amino acids missing in one is complemented by those in the other. This is great for vegetarians since they derive maximum benefit from plant protein by eating in combination like in this recipe.
• Tomatoes, rich in lycopene take pride of place in this dish. Apart from fibre, vitamin A and vitamin C, that you get in tomatoes, the lycopene in tomatoes also is an anti carcinogenic agent.
• Using cracked wheat ensures that the benefits of bran and germ are derived fully. Hence, a high protein content (12gm/100gm), not to mention high fibre as well (1.2-1.4g/100gm).What would interest everyone is also the high niacin and folate levels in cracked wheat makes it an ideal grain for pregnant women, athletes, teenagers and elderly too.
• Carrots used here add to the beta carotene, you get half your daily allowance of Vitamin A by adding 1/4 cup of chopped carrots per person.

Here are the visuals 

chopped vegetables

frying whole spices

simmering vegetables

Mix cooked dalia with vegetables

Serve with raita