Ratatouille - Disney Ratatouille Recipe - 450th Post - Spaghetti with Ratatouille Sauce

Ratatouille is a French Dish made popular by the Disney Movie by the same name. The mouse cooking up Michelin rated food is cute to watch, but we should not imagine it beyond that. No seriously would you ever want to eat from a kitchen where there is a mouse present, let alone cook.

Anyways, I have never tasted this dish when we were in US. But is available in restaurants in UK and is a popular option for Vegetarians. 

Last month when Avant Garde Cookies decided to make dish starting with the first letter of your name,  I asked the question to my husband - suggest a dish which starts with 'R'. My little one immediately said - Rat. My husband finished it by saying - Ratatouille. And knew exactly what I wanted to make. But as you guessed, I could not make it that week. But I made it a week later. And one more time after that. And we could not stop making or eating it! It is sooo good.

So what I could not post this to represent my name, I can post it as my 450th post! Well I know it is not a big milestone.. Am eagerly looking forward to my 500th post! Here you go. Recipe video



Ingredients

Tomato Paste 200gm can
Onions 1
Garlic 10-12 pods
Oil 1 tbsp
Water 3/4 cup

Eggplant 1 sliced thinly
Zucchini  1 sliced thinly
Red Pepper 1 sliced thinly

Oil 3 tbsp
Thyme 8-10 sprigs

Salt and Pepper to taste



Method of Preparation

1. You will need a baking tray about 9*12 inches. Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F).

2. Add the tomato paste, chopped onions, chopped garlic, 1 tbsp oil, salt, pepper and water to the tray. Mix everything well and spread it in a layer at the bottom of the tray.

3. Arrange the slices of eggplant, zucchini and pepper one after the other. Repeat till all the veggies are arranged and the tray is covered.

4. Drizzle 3 tbsp oil all over the veggies. You can use a pastry brush to evenly coat the oil too.

5. Separate thyme leaves as much as possible from the sprigs. Small bits are ok, just remove the big sticks. Sprinkle over the veggies. Sprinkle some salt and pepper as well.

6. Cover with a parchment paper (just over the veggies on the inside of the tray).

7. Bake for 45-50 min till the veggies are cooked well and nicely roasted.

Serve as a side or on a bed of couscous, quinoa, rice or pasta!

Lemon Sevai - Lemon Flavoured South Indian Rice Noodles

Sevai is basically South Indian Rice Noodles. Many people enjoy eating Sevai in different ways. Back home it is always Sevai and Mor Kozhambu. But in my husband's family, it is mixed variety sevai. I have already posted recipes for Coconut Sevai, Ulundu Sevai, Sprouts Sevai. This Lemon Sevai is another variation.



You can find the basic recipe for making white plain Sevai here

Ingredients

Sevai (made from 2 cups of rice, recipe here)

Sesame Oil (or any oil) 2 tbsp
Peanuts 2 tbsp
Channa Dal 2 tsp
Split Urad Dal 1 tsp
Curry leaves few
Green Chilli 2-3 chopped
Turmeric 1 tsp
Hing a little

Lemon Juice 2-3 tbsp (as per taste)

Method of Preparation

1. Heat a little oil (preferably sesame oil) in a small pan.

2. Add Peanuts, Channa dal and Urad Dal. Roast till it starts to brown.

3. Add Curry leaves, green chilli, turmeric and hing. Let it sizzle.

4. Add to the cooked sevai along with lemon juice and some salt.

5. Mix everything together. Mix very gently taking care not to mash it. Also, wait for the sevai to cool a little, about 10 min before doing the mixing.

Satay Noodles - Stir fried Noodles in a Peanut Sauce

When I made the Satay Peanut Sauce as a dip a few weeks ago, I knew I will be using this sauce in many other forms. My first thought was to add to Noodles. I was right. It was just perfect. The only thing that I will change to this recipe is to add some crushed Peanuts or may be use some chunky peanut butter sauce instead of creamy. Lip smacking goodness!!



Ingredients

Noodles/Spaghetti 250 gm
Cabbage 1/2 a small one (about 2-3 cups)
Carrots 2 grated
Spring onions - to garnish
Oil and salt to taste

For the sauce
Onions 1
Garlic 4 pods
Ginger 1 inch piece
Peanut butter 1/4 cup
Chilli powder 2 tsp (less for milder version)
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Soy Sauce 2 tbsp
Lemon Juice 2 tbsp
Water 1.5 cups



Method of Preparation

1. Heat some water in a big pot. Bring it to boil. Salt it. Add the Spaghetti (broken to 2-3 pieces). Give it a stir. Cook for 11-13 min (follow package instructions). Drain and keep aside. Work on the rest of the dish while the noodles are cooking.

2. In a wok/pan, heat some oil. When it is hot, add the shredded (I kept it 2-3 inches long) and grated carrots (use big size grater). Saute for a few minutes till it is wilted, but still slighty crunchy. Remove from pan and keep aside.

3. Heat more oil in the pan. Add sliced garlic and ginger.

4. When it sizzles, add the sliced onions. Saute till it turns brown.

5. Add the peanut butter, sugar, salt and chilli powder. Give it a stir.

6. Add 1 cup of water. Mix well. Add the other half cup (or more) if need be. I used 1.5 cups of water. Bring to boil. Switch off.

7. Add soy sauce and lemon juice. Mix. Sauce is ready.

8. Now toss in the cooked noodles. Once mixed, add the cabbage and carrots and mix well. Garnish with spring onions. 

How to make Sevai and coconut sevai

Many of you must remember by posts about how I struggle to make the soft sevai. Sevai and Idiyappam are used synonymously. But they are not actually the same thing. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there are a couple of fundamental differences. Sevai is made with par boiled rice and idiyappam with raw rice. Sevai is ground, cooked/steamed and then squeezed thru the nazhi where as idiyappam is rice made into flour, cooked in boiling water, then squeezed and steamed. In Kerala, idiyappam is served with stew, kurma, kadala curry etc.

Both of these are quite easy to make if you know what you are doing. After all the struggle with making both of them and working with instant noodles etc, I decided it was time to get myself a sevai nazhi. This time I followed the recipe my MIL uses and am glad to say, I ate some super soft and tasty sevai. My little one and husband were all praises for it as well.



Instrument needed - Sevai Nazhi. Sevai Nazhi is the equipment needed for making Sevai. There are hand operated (not standing like this) as well. Those are typically used for making idiyappam and I found those hard to use. This one is super easy to use and the whole squeezing out of the sevai was done in 5-10 minutes.





Ingredients

Idli Rice/Par boiled rice 2 cups
Salt

Method of Preparation

1. Soak rice for a few hours (i just left it overnight).

2. Drain water  and grind into a smooth paste by adding enough water. I did the grinding in my grinder (used for making idli batter). I added about a cup of water. It should be fairly thick like idli batter and not like dosa batter. Add salt and mix well.



3. Grease idli plates. Pour the batter into it and steam for 10 minutes. This is a method that my MIL taught me. Most recipes ask you to stir the batter in a pan to make into a thick consistency, then roll into balls and steam. This method makes it quite easy. No stirring :-)

4. Once the 'idli' is ready, all you have to do is to squeeze it out thru the sevai nazhi (sevai maker). See the equipment photo. You can just turn with hands and may be hold the base with your feet. Better if someone lends you a hand in holding this. It is easier to squeeze sevai if you do it with hot idlis.



5. Take a couple of idlis at a time and work till the whole batch is done. If some batter remains after each go, just pop it back in with the next set of idlis. Another tip - When you think the idlis are ready, take one and squeeze thru. If it is sticky, it means that the idlis need more cooking. If the idlis are over cooked, the sevai will not be soft. So you will have to find the correct timing.



6. You can then serve the sevai as is with some mor kozhambu or moru kari along with pappadam. That is how we eat it at home. In my in laws place, they make variety sevai. Check recipe for Ulundu sevai and moong sprout sevai. I made coconut sevai and mor kozhambu today.



Coconut Sevai



Ingredients

Coconut 1 cup
Peanuts 2 tbsp
Channa Dal 1 tsp
Curry leaves few
Green Chilli 2
Sevai (i used most of what I made from the 2 cups of rice. i saved a little bit as plain sevai)
Oil

Method of Preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add the peanuts and channa dal. When it starts to brown add curry leaves and green chillies.

2. When it sizzles, add coconut and saute till it changes colour slightly.

3. Add to the cooled sevai and give it a good mix.

Serve as is or with some mor kozhambu





Linking this to South Indian Cooking - Event by Anu, Hosted by Sangee

Vegetable Lo Mein/Noodles

We are big fans of Indo Chinese food. I always look forward to eating some when we go to restaurants. Since I started blogging, the whole going to the restaurant has lost its charm. Do check out the Gobi Manchurian and Vegetable Fried Rice recipes in my blog.



Ingredients

Spaghetti 1/4kg (I had a 1kg packet and used 1/4 of it)
Vegetables
               I used 3 carrots, 1 cup of Shredded cabbage, 1/2 cup peas and 1 onion sliced. I would have liked to use peppers and some scallions. Did not have any.
Soy Sauce 2 tsp
Chilli Sauce 1 tbsp
Ginger 1 inch piece sliced
Garlic 4 pods sliced

Oil and Salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. Heat water in a pot and cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the packet.

2. In a pan, heat oil till it is smoking. Add the onions, ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute.

3. Add the rest of the vegetables. Saute for 4 minutes.

4. Add the soy sauce and chilli sauce. Mix and cook for another minute.

5. Add some salt and the cooked noodles. Toss well. Garnish with scallions if using.

Sprouted Moong Sevai

I had some sprouts left after making another dish and decided to make Sprouted Moong Sevai.



Ingredients

Sevai 1 cup
Moong Sprouts 1 cup
Onion 1/2 finely chopped
Tomato 1 finely chopped
green chillies 2
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Prepare sevai as normal. Today, we were making breakfast in a jiffy. So I just used Rice Noodles.

2. Heat oil in pan and add the mustard seeds. When it sputters, add the jeera, turmeric and hing.

3. When it sizzles add the onion. When it starts to brown, add tomoto and chillies

4. Cook till tomatoes are done and add the moong sprouts and salt. Cook for a little bit by sprinkling water. The sprouts can be cooked as per your taste.

5. Mix with sevai and enjoy!

It came out very good. Our son loved it!! Great way to get kids eat healthy.

Ulundu Sevai

Have you read the story of my attempt to make idiyappam? Do read it. Now I equipped myself with a new device (one which rotates in the hand), courtesy my friend who came back from her India trip. The story was slightly better cause I managed without husband at home. But I still struggled. I found it difficult to hold as it was hot and also slippery.

For many, the words sevai and idiyappam are synonymous. Technically they are not the same. To begin with I differentiate them as Idiyappam being a kerala dish and sevai being a tamil dish. That is also not true. Sevai though not made by malayalees, idiyappam I have learnt many tamilians make. So coming to some actual differences. Idiappam is made of Raw rice and Sevai with Boiled rice. Idiappam - you make a dough, press and then steam into idli plates. Sevai - you make dough, steam and then press ready to eat. Not sure if many of you will agree with me. Let me know what you think.

I am not going to describe how to make sevai. Just a small post describing how to make Ullundu sevai. This is a variety like making Lemon sevai, coconut sevai etc. It is a new recipe to me that I learnt from my mother in law. To be honest I am not a big fan of this. But my husband loves this soooo much. His mom always makes a batch of this whenever she makes variety sevai. Luckily for me there will always be 4-5 varieties of sevai, I can get away with eating just a little bit of this. My son also liked this when I made it.



Ingredients

Whole Urad Dal 1 cup
Green chillies 2
mustard 1 tsp
hing
salt
oil

Method of Preparation

1. Soak the Urad dal for an hour.

2. Drain and grind into a course paste with salt and green chillies.

3. Make balls of it and steam in idli plates for 8-10 minutes. Crumble and keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard. When it sputters, add the hing and crumbled urad.

5. Saute for a few minutes till it cooks a bit. Make sure it does not become really hard.

6. Mix with sevai and enjoy!!

Vegetable Maggi

Maggi for some of you might just be a easy to prepare go to dish on a lazy day. I share a love for it that I cannot put in words. Its not the taste of it. There is this whole process of eating it and the memories.

As kids we were not allowed to eat Maggi. My parents used to believe that it has far too many preservatives and processed food is not good for us. Try telling that to kids these days. We eat so much stuff that is far worse than a small packet of Maggi.

Anyways, as we grew older we started asking them to make an exception once in a while. My brother and I used to make it together. It was an event for us. We used to run to the nearby store (shiva dev bakery - which used to sell all bakery items and everything else under the sun) and get ourselves 2 packets of maggi. Then we used to make the maggi - just plain version by boiling water and adding all ingredients. My version was the drier one and my brother used to make it with a little soupy consistency.

Then comes the sharing part. 2 plates are ready to transfer the piping hot maggi. We used to compare and make sure we both got the exact same share, adjusting the portions to match. Then we start eating it. Half way thru, the sharing starts again. This time, it is a different kind of sharing. 'Do you want some of mine?? take it, i am ok'. We never finish a packet, but every time we go thru this process.

When Chandri and I got married, I realized that he also likes Maggi. I was surprised. He is one of those guys who loves freshly prepared stuff. Yet to find out why he likes it. I am guessing it is because of the vegetables that I sneak in.

Ingredients

Maggi 2 packets

Onion 1 big finely chopped

Mixed vegetables 3 cups. I heat my frozen vegetables in the microwave for 15 min.

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Oil

Salt

For Tempering

Musturd 1tsp

Jeera 1 tsp

Clove 2

Star Anise 2

Cinnamon 1 inch stick

Saunf (perun jeerakam) 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Hing - little

finely chopped green chillies, ginger and curry leaves

cashews 10

channa dal 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Heat 3 cups of water in a pot and add a tsp of oil to it. Bring it to boil. Add the maggi packets to it. and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water. Wash the maggi with a little cold water and keep. Make sure the maggi is ready only just before it is ready to be put in masala mix below. Otherwise it will be come quite dry.

2. In the meanwhile, heat oil in a Pan and add the musturd. When it sputters, add channa dal and cashews.

3. When it is slightly browned, add the Jeera, Clove, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Saunf

4. When it sizzles, add the cut green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, Turmeric Powder and Hing.

5. Saute for a few seconds and add the onions.

6. Once the onions are slightly browned, add the mixed vegetables, Maggi masala, chilli powder and salt and cook for some time. Garnish it with a bunch of chopped mint (I did not have any this time).

7. Add the Maggi prepared in Step 1 to this and stir well. Yummy Maggi is ready to be served

Idiyappam

Idiyappam is a typical Kerala Breakfast. There is a reason I tried making Idiyappam today. We used to buy the Dried Chinese Rice Noodles (which you can soak in boiling water for just 2 min). That used to be our way of eating Sevai. Used to make all different varieties like lemon, coconut etc. And if we fancied Idiyappam, we just used to eat that with Kurma.

Husband dear usually is very adjusting when it comes to food. Almost always says the food is good. And almost always forgets that I have made that dish before. (This blog is going to come handy for that! I have proof that I made it before). Anyways, when it comes to Rice Noodles, he insists that he does not like the Instant version.

When my mother in law was visiting, I insisted that this one makes good sevai. Since we did not have a seva nazhi, she agreed to try it. She used to make so many varieties of sevai that we conveniently forgot that this is not the real deal. When she went back to India, she declared - when I come next time, I am going to bring a Seva Nazhi. I am glad she said that. I have changed my mind about this issue. I will somehow procure a Seva Nazhi.

For Idiyappam, there is hand nazhi available. But my mom used to make it with the one used for making omapodi.

When I made this, it tasted so good. Only problem was, it was very difficult to press it down. I had to recruit my husband to help. There are a couple of things I forgot to do. That could be the reason it was difficult to press. More on this later :-)

Ingredients

Rice Flour 2 cups

Salt

Coconut

oil

Method of Preparation

1. Dry Roast the rice flour. (I forgot to do this).

2. Boil 2 cups of water in a pot and switch off gas.

3. Add salt and 2 teaspoons of oil to the water ( I forgot oil)

4. Add the rice flour to the boiling water and stir.

5. Transfer to another vessel and kneed with hand to make dough

6. Grease idli plates and add some coconut to each plate

7. Grease the Nazhi

8. Take a small portion of the dough in the Nazhi and press into the idli plates. When I found it difficult to do it, I recruited my husband to help. Remember that it is easier to press down when the dough is warm

9. Steam in a cooker for about 8-10 minutes.

10. Serve with curry of choice. Goes well with Kurma or Stew