Like Lasagne...........lovely!!!

Amit and I lovvvveee Italian food, so i keep trying my hand at it often nowadays, whenever i taste anything in a restaurant, I try to make it at home.....so today i experimented....and it was successful....well otherwise i wouldnt be talking or writing bout it!!! Hehhe.....

Recipe serves 2 to 3

For the main course

2 handful of rice
750 gms beans
1 lemon
2 tbspn of sugar
Salt to taste
2 boild eggs
1 slice cheese
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 ½ tbspn butter
2 tomatoes finely chopped
½ tbspn Oil


For the side dish

1 onion finely chopped
½ tbspn Oil
mustard seeds
Chilly powder
Turmeric powder
A handful of rajma or any other chavli (dont know a better name!!hehhe)
½ cup Water
Salt to taste
Pinch of hing
Sugar to taste (optional)
Ginger garlic paste



For the side dish,soak the rajma or chavli for an hour in water, after they are soaked, cook them in pressure cooker till they are soft . Keep aside. heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds,once they sputter, add hing, turmeri c powder, ginger garlic paste & onion. Fry till light brown, add cooked rajma / chavli and water. Add salt, sugar & chilly powder. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep aside.

For the main course, cook the potato, beans & rice in a pressure cooker. Add salt to taste in each and every item before you set them to cook in the pressure cooker except for potato. Keep aside once cooked.

Take the boiled eggs, peel the skin, seperate the yellow yoke from the white, cut the white in long strips, keep aside.

Peel the cooked potato, smash it finely, add 1 tbspn of butter and yellow yoke of egg, blend properly, add black pepper & salt , mix well, keep aside.

Heat oil in pan add chopped tomatoes, let it cook for a minute, add salt, ½ tbspn. Of sugar, add oregano & black pepper. Let it cook for 2 minutes. Keep aside.Make a nice syrup of remaining sugar & lemon juice,keep aside.
Now, take a nice pan, take the remaining butter and spread it on the surface of the pan, even the side of the pan, so that when you cook the ingredients they dont burn. Now plant half of the whole quantity of cooked rice in the pan, spread it properly, on the rice, put the beans, again spread evenly, add the remaining rice, ad dthe strips of egg, then the tomato curry we prepared earlier, add the potato- butter- egg paste , for the topping plant cheese slice, you may cut strips of the cheese before planting it. Sprinkle oregano & black pepper. Cover it. Put it on a low flame for about 6 to 7 minutes.
Your layered lasagne like recipe is ready, it may be not authentic italian lasagne...but it tastes awesome.
Sprinkle some sugar lemon syrup before serving. Savour it with rajma / chavli we prepared earlier, while its hot n fresh!!

Bambaiyya Bhel!!!!

When I shifted to Chennai 5 months back, one thing i started missing was mumbai food!!! Paani Puri, Bhel Puri, Sev batata Puri, Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav and the list is endless!! And I tried tasting the chat items in Chennai but to my dismay that was no where close to what Mumbai offers. So I decided that I will try some at home, why not! Maybe the taste will not be as greeeeeaattt as we get on Mumbai streets, but it will surely be better than what is sold in chennai ....dont mind!

Recipe serves 2 to 3

1 packet Bhel mix
2 to 3 finely chopped onions (depending on size)
½ finely chopped raw mango
1 to 2 potatoes (depending on size)
½ a handful of tamarind
½ a handful of jaggery or 2 tbspn of sugar
3 finely chopped green chillies
Yellow thin sev for garnishing
Finely chopped coriander for garnishing

Cook the potatoes properly, they should be really soft- ready to be smashed, smash them finely and keep aside.
For the sweet n sour chutney , soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water for about half hour, after its nice soft, crush it with your hand while it is still in water , and the water becomes dark brown like the tamrind, remove the tamrind from the water and add jaggery or sugar in the water, blend it well till it mixes properly, you may heat it to fasten the process. Once done keep aside.
For the Bhel now, take a medium size vessel, pour the bhel mix in it, add chopped onions, smashed potatoes, chopped raw mango and chopped green chillies and mix properly. Now add the tamarind chutney prepared earlier and again mix well, till all the ingredients blend nicley, garnish with chopped coriander & sev.Serve immediately. Isnt it simple....and i bet its tastes very close to bambaiya bhel!!!heehhhehehehe.....
You can make a green chillies chutney instead of the chopped chillies, but i prefer to have the chillies crushed so i dont make the chutney.