Vegetarian Schezwuan Hakka Noodles

Vegetarian Hakka Noodles is a favorite indian-chinese dish for any Indian. Long before I came to the US and was exposed to a variety of pasta, hakka noodles were the only pasta I had ever seen, cooked and relished! My mom had taken indian-chinese cooking classes and she had really mastered the art of making delicious hakka noodles and veg manchurian, which me and my brother were really thankful for:) Thanks to her, I mastered the skill too, and as I grew older and started experimenting with sauces and spices myself, I started admiring asian sauces way more than before! One of our all-time favorites is the Schezwuan sauce; I guess I was more fascinated by the way this word was spelt and pronounced; some call it "schezwan", "schezwuan", or "szechuan" (the last one is the correct spelling, but it would be so much easier if they'd make it spell the same way its pronounced!) Anyways, grammar apart, the kick that this spicy and little sweet sauce generates to your food is amazing, and you can add it to your noodles or fried rice to take your cooking to the next level. So here's my recipe of Vegetarian Schezwuan Hakka Noodles. Mixed with julienned veggies and spiced with garlic, ginger, sesame, peanuts, sherry and chilli, this dish of noodles is sure to set you on fire!!

Ready-to-use schezwhuan sauce packets are available in all grocery stores in the asian foods section. I have used it before and though its good, there's nothing like making your own fresh sauce, and as this one is really simple, I've added the recipe below. Sherry adds a nice flavor to the schezwuan sauce, but if you don't have it, don't worry; you can omit it without compromising much. And try using fresh ginger and garlic instead of the ready-made paste, because none of these can come close to the taste of fresh ginger. You can substitute red chilli powder for cayenne pepper.

You can even add some eggs to the noodles, and feel free to add more veggies too to suit your taste. The sauce can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. This plate is on its way to grace the AWED-Chinese Cuisine event over at the Culinary Bazaar!

Ingredients

For Schezwuan Sauce
6 garlic cloves - minced
1/4 cup fresh ginger - peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tspn hot chili oil (just warm some oil and add red pepper flakes or chopped green chillies to it and leave so for 3-4 hours)
2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tspn freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tspn ground cayenne pepper

For Noodles
1 pound Asian Hakka noodles
1 red bell pepper thinlu sliced
4 scallions - sliced diagonally (white and green parts)
1/2 cup red onion - thinly sliced
1/4 cup spring onions - just the greens
2 sp salt (or adjust to taste)
2 tbsp soy sauce

Making the Sauce
Method
Add the garlic and ginger in a food processor; Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, and ground peppers. Puree the sauce to make a smooth paste.

Making the Noodles
Add a splash of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook the noodles as directed on the package. Drain the pasta in a colander, place it in a large bowl, and while still warm, toss with i tbsp oil so that the noodles don't stick to one another.

Now take a wok, add 4 tbsp oil, and saute the chopped onions and bell peppers till they become soft and glazed. Add the scallions and toss well. Add salt and 5-6 tbsp soy sauce (adjust to your taste), then add the prepared schezwuan sauce and turn off the heat. Gently pour the sauce over the noodles while still hot. Garnish with some chopped spring onion greens and serve hot!

Veg Hakka Noodles (Schezwuan) are a delicious Indian-Chinese Meal cooked right at home! To compliment these noodles, try some of the recipes below:

Veg Hot and Sour Soup
Dry Gobi Manchurian
Vegetable Fried Rice
Veg Manchurian Gravy
Spicy Chilli Paneer

Baked Rigatoni Pasta with Homemade Garlic and Basil Marinara Sauce

Pasta is such a staple dinner item in so many homes, it can get kind of challenging to make it interesting! But of course, thanks to hundreds of different types of pasta varieties, and also the packaged sauces that supermarkets horde for you, there are plenty of options to choose from, especially when different people in the same house have different tastes. Like I love penne and rigatoni, but my dear husband settles for nothing but linguine or fettucine. So if I have to feed him something else, I have to package it in a clever and tasty way so he can crib a little but still enjoy his food:) I generally like the sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce for my pasta, but this time I tried making the traditional Italian Marinara sauce at home, just to see if I could compete with Raagu and Bertoli!! It is so simple to make this sauce at home, and you'd save so much money, not to mention the flavor that a fresh Homemade Garlic and Basil Marinara sauce can add to your pasta! I tried the Baked Rigatoni with my homemade sauce; Sprinkled with fresh parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and flavored with fresh herbs and garlic, you just cannot resist this dinner dish!

Ingredients

For the Marinara Sauce
2 cans tomato puree
1 can diced roma tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 large cloves of garlic - minced
2 tbsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 small onion - finely chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
lemon juice - add to taste if necessary
water - add to adjust consistency

Pasta Ingredients
10 oz Rigatoni pasta
1/2 capsicum - finely diced
1 cup mozarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried thyme leaves

Method

Pasta Sauce
Place the olive oil in a small frying pan and warm to medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and cook until onions are slightly tender.

Now add the tomato puree and the diced tomatoes, add 1/2 cup water and allow to cook. for 5 minutes so the tomato pieces get almost mashed and tender. Then add the dried basil and oregano leaves, salt, sugar and more water if needed, then cover and let it simmer on medium-flame till all flavors are mixed well.

Once cooked, remove from flame and allow to cool a little. If you like a smoother texture, you can blend this mixture after it has cooled down to form a puree. I like a chunky texture, so I left it as it is.

Baked Rigatoni
Take the Rigatoni and cook it according to package instructions.

Take 1 tbsp olive oil and heat it. Add the chopped capsicum to it and cook until slightly tender.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a square or rectangular glass baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the cooked pasta in the dish, top it with the sauted capsicum, then gently pour the marinara sauce over it. Add the parmesan and mozzarella cheese to it. Sprinkle some more dried basil and thyme leaves on the top if you like.

now bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, until the pasta and sauce is cooked well and the cheese begins to melt. Change the setting to Broil and cook for another 2 mins, just so the cheese on the top gets a little golden in color.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a little. Serve the hot Baked Rigatoni Pasta with a side salad or garlic bread for a delicious Italian Meal! This goes to Mathy's JFI-Garlic event!!

Similar Recipes:
Fettucini Alfredo with Basil
Spagetti with garlic and Cilantro
Ravioli in Saffron and Cream Sauce

Asian-style Spaghetti with Garlic and Cilantro

Pasta or Noodles are the most-favored quick-fix meals in a lot of families. But the recipes we use can tend to get fairly monotonous, and we start craving for a change of taste pretty soon! A few variations would be choosing different styles of pasta, changing the sauces, and adding thai or asian spices to it. But I had tried almost all possible variations, and it was time to try something new, a fusion between the cuisines I enjoyed, a hand at pairing up some unique flavors! So I decided to combine two of my favorite dishes, the Veg Hakka noodles and the Garlic Spaghetti Pasta. I too the basic pasta, and instead of opting for tomato-basil or cream sauce, I went for the soy sauce to make these asian-style noodles. Fo the flavor, I used garlic and Cilantro, a pretty unique blend to noodles, but try it before you feel it's not a good choice! I aslo added some sweet chilli sauce for the thai influence, basic veggies and some chopped green onions. The result, a totally scintillating plate of noodles, with all the right balance of flavors, set off by the unique taste of cilantro and the fresh smell of garlic. Even the soy-sauce glazed onions and capsicums added to the inviting look! Try it, you will surely love it!:)

Ingredients
1 packet spaghetti noodles
5-6 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, and some more for garnish
5-6 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilly sauce (Maggi)
2 tbsp regular ketchup
salt and black pepper - to taste
1 cup chopped capsicum - long slices
1 cup chopped red onions - long slices
2 tbsp chopped green onions
2 tbsp crushed peanuts (optional)
2 tbsp oil

Method
Boil and cook the spaghetti in water with 1 tbsp oil as instructed on the packet.

Take a non-stick pan, add 2 tbsp oil and add the chopped garlic, onions and capsicum. When they turn caramelzed and have a glaze, add the soy sauce and salt. cover with a lid and cook for 5-7 mins on medium-low flame. Then add the Maggi sweet chilli sauce and ketchup, and throw in the crushed peanuts and the chopped cilantro. Mix well, add the chopped green onions, leaving some for garnish.

Take a serving bowl and transfer the cooked pasta/noodles into it. Add the prepared veggie sauce onto the noodles and toss a little to combine. Finally, garnish with the remaining chopped green onions and a bunch of fresh cilantro leaves, and serve hot!

Similar recipes:
Vegetarian Pad Thai
Fettucini Alfredo with Basil and Rosemary
Vegetable Lasagna with Pesto and Parmesan Cheese

Stuffed Ravioli in Saffron and Cream Sauce

My favorite cuisine after Indian is definitely Italian. I love the use of cheese, herbs and spices that their dishes contain. And raviolis are my personal favorites on any Italian menu. As a cook, I always try to combine flavors that I think go well with each other, irrespective of their origin, and that's how most of the fusion dishes are created. So when my husband asked me to make Ravioli for dinner, I tried to combine the traditional Italian ingredients with a touch of Indian-ism to the sauce, creating this Ravioli stuffed with Pesto sauce and ricotta cheese topped with a sauce made from saffron, cream and tomatoes!

I'm sending these Stuffed Ravioli's to Dhivya's JFI-Saffron event this month.

Ingredients
1 packet of ravioli sheets
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4th cup Pesto sauce (or see recipe below)
1/2 cup blanched spinach - chopped (you cna use mushrooms or any other veggies for stuffing)
1/2 cup tomatoes - cut
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp egg wash or cornflour mixed with water - to seal the raviolis
2 tsp saffron
4 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup plain whole milk
2 tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper powder
chives or basil - chopped for garnish

Method

Pesto Sauce: Take 2 cups of fresh basil leaves. Add them to a mixer, add some salt, black pepper powder, fresh garlic cloves(3-4 buds) and a tiny splash of lemon juice(optional). Also add 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese. Now keep adding a tbsp of pure olive oil slowly while blending the mixture. When its half crushed, add some pine nuts to it, and blend again to form a thick yet spreadable pesto paste. keep adding EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)as required.

Ravioli: Boil the tomatoes for 4-5 mins or until tender, then blend to for a tomato puree. Fresh tomatoes give a distinct flavor to the sauce, so try avoiding ready-made puree if possible. Add some butter to a pan, then add the tomato puree and saute for some time. Whisk the whipping cream with the parmesan cheese in a separate bowl to form a thick mixture. Now add this to the tomato puree and blend well. Add plain milk if you think the sauce is too thick. Season it with salt and black pepper according to your taste. Maintain low-to-medium flame throughout the process and keep stirring continuously in the same direction.

Take 1 tbsp milk in a small cup, warm it in a microwave, and add the saffron strands to this. Crush the strands within the milk to induce the saffron color and flavor. Keep rubbing between your fingers to extract the maximum color. Now add this to the sauce, remove from flame and mix well to get a beautiful reddish-orange color. Keep the sauce aside while you make the raviolis.

Mix the ricotta cheese, spinach and pesto sauce in a bowl, and add salt to taste. Now take the ravioli sheets and cut them into desired small shapes using a cutter or knife. Brush the surface of each sheet with cornflour mixture or egg-wash. Now take a spoonful of the filling and set it in the center of the sheet. Roll the sheet over the filling, or place another sheet on the top and press along the edges gently with your fingers, sealing the ravioli. Start with pressing around the stuffing and proceed to the periphery to remove air pockets which could burst open the ravioli when you cook it. Now take a pan and cook the raviolis as intructed on the packet. Generally, it is cooked in boiling water for 5-6 mins, or until it starts to float on the top of the water.

Layer the cooked ravioli in a dish, then top it with a generous coating of the sauce. garnish with chopped basil or chives and serve hot. Indulge into the rich and fragrant flavor of saffron and cheese!!

Fettuccini Alfredo with Basil and Rosemary

Pasta is similar to noodles, except that it is now available in a variety of shapes, sizes and flavors. Italian by origin, pasta is something that is loved and cherished in every household in US. It also generally involves a quick and easy preparation, coming to your rescue when you need a healthy and filling meal in as little time as possible. Supermarket aisles are full of different kinds of pasta like Penne, bow-tie, spagetti, fettuccini, fusili, tortiglioni, tripoline, pruntalette and more! Its interesting to know the names and the shapes:) and now, considering the health awareness among people, they also sell whole wheat pasta! Fettuccini is my favourite, and I've always loved the smell of basil and rosemary. One another ingredient that I cannot have my pasta witout, is pine nuts! They look like tiny watermelon seeds, and taste great when roasted. So here's my recipe for Fettuccini in Alfredo Sauce with Basil, Rosemary, Pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes!

Ingredients
1/2 packet of whole wheat pasta - fettuccini
4 tbsp alfredo sauce (I use Classico's) - to make your own sauce, check recipe below
4 tbsp marinara sauce
3 tbsp sun dried tomatoes (optional)
3 garlic cloves - chopped finely
1/2 cup capsicum - chopped finely
1/2 cup onions - chopped finely
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper - to taste
2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
a fistful of pine nuts (optional)
2 tsp basil herbs
1 tsp rosemary herbs (optional)

For Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 garlic cloves - minced
2 cups heavy cream or whole milk
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Method
For the Alfredo Sauce, Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, cream/milk, white pepper and bring mixture to a simmer. Keep stirring continuously so it does not stick at the bottom. Add the parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until it has thickened and is smooth. When sauce has thickened add the mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth. Remember to keep stirring constantly.

Take a large pan and fill it with water. Add the pasta to it, and 1 tbsp oil and cook partially covered until the pasta is soft and done.

In a saucepan, add the olive oil and saute the garlic, onions and capsicums for about 2 mins. Then fry the pine nuts for a few seconds, and add the alfredo and marinara sauces.

Add salt, pepper, red chilli powder and sun-dried tomatoes and mix everything together.

Take out the pasta in a serving bowl, pour the sauce over it and toss the noodles so they are coated in the sauce evenly. Sprinkle the basil and rosemary herbs and toss lightly. Serve the garlic Fettucine Alfredo with salad or Garlic Bread! Who needs Olive Garden or Pasta Pomedoro anymore!! As this is something I am always comfortable making, this pasta bowl is on its way to the Tried-Tested-and-True Recipe Roundup!

Similar Recipes
Baked Rigatoni in Marinara Sauce
Asian-Style Sphagetti with Garlic and Cilantro