CRANBERRY SAUCE

I have been trying out various side dishes and condiments with Thanksgiving in mind. Lately, I've been trying out cranberry sauce recipes. If you follow my blog, you know my dear sweet Hubby is a "purist" when it comes to a lot of foods. Actually, that just means he is very picky eater and doesn't like a lot of "extras" in what he eats. This simple cranberry sauce really fills that bill; he loves it and has asked me to stock up on cranberries for the freezer, with this recipe in mind.
Three Simple Ingredients:
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pineapple juice (or orange juice)
Wash and sort the berries, and put all ingredients into a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to a medium simmer and cook the berries (stirring berries about once a minute) for 20 minutes. When they first start to boil, the berries will actually pop, so cover the boiling berries with a splatter screen to reduce any mess.

If you like whole berry cranberry sauce, just pour it into a bowl and chill for a few hours For  Picky-picky Hubby, I press the sauce through a strainer to remove the berry skins. Sauce will thicken as it cools.NOTE: I am not usually a cranberry sauce fan, but I found this to be excellent.

UPDATE: Since I posted this, I've discovered that using half white sugar and half brown sugar is a fantastic addition.

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Mini Shell Pasta With Tomato Basil Sauce

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Mini shell pasta is a big favorite at home. They take very little to cook compared to bigger types of pasta and ideal for kids. Earlier I had cooked mini shells with indian spices and it had come out very well and this time I prepared the sauce with tomato and lot of herbs like parsley and basil with some veggies. The flavors get absorbed very well by these mini shells. If you like pasta I am sure you would enjoy this too.

I got inspired to cook this tomato basil sauce from Sunita of Collaborative Curry where she used for her capellini pasta. I modified it slightly to suit my taste. Thank you Sunitha for the wonderful recipe you shared.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pasta shells
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup bell pepper (red n green color)
• 3/4 cup diced mushroom
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 2 green chilli
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmeson cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste

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Cooking Procedure:

Add a little salt and oil to boiling water,let it boil for 30 sec then add the shell pasta (adding oil prevents the pasta to stick to each other).Let it cook till tender and drain the water and run under cold water for a 1 minute then drain again and keep the pasta aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic, chopped onions and saute for a min then add bell pepper and stir for 1 min. Now add mushrooms, cover and let it cook for 1 min then add tomato puree,chopped parsley and dried basil. Stir and cook in a medium flame for 5 min. Then add tomato sauce,salt and pepper and mix nicely.

Now add pasta to it and stir to blend it nicely. Let it cook for 2 min, switch off the flame, add the grated cheese and stir nicely and serve hot.

I am sending this pasta to Nupur's BB#8-One Dish Meals
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Tags: mini shell pasta, tomato, mushroom, basil, parsley, tomato basil sauce

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Easy and Tasty Mushroom Biryani

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Biryani is a delicious Indian rice dish which is often reserved for very special occasions such as weddings, parties, or festive occasions. For biriyani long grain rice (Basmati) is used. Ghee(clarified butter) is used to give it a nice rich flavor. Traditionally it has a lengthy preparation, normally rice and veggies are cooked 70 % separately and then cooked together for the remaining 30% in oven or stove on minimum flame. The purpose of this procedure is to infuse the flavors within the rice.

But sometimes I prefer to make it the easier way with minimum risk. To get the flavors into the rice I cook the biryani and let it sit for 5 hours before serving. This will ensure all the spices infuse the rice.

Biryani is a perfect one pot meal for all occasions .

Ingredients:

For cooking rice

• 2 cups basmati rice (soaked for 1 hr)
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cloves
• 1 fist of mint leaves
• 1 tsp oil
• 5 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt

To marinate veggies

• 2 cup mushrooms(cut to half if big mushroom)
• 1/2 cup small cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup beans
• 1/2 cup diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1/4 cup peas
• 2 green chilles
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For Biryani

• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cloves
• 6-7 black pepper
• 1/2 tsp jeera
• 2 cardamom (peeled and crushed)
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup curd
• 1/4 cup chopped cashew
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp ghee

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Step 1 - Cooking the rice

Wash and soak the rice with 6-7 cups water for 1 hour.After one hr drain the water completely and keep aside.

In a rice cooker bowl 5 cups of water when it starts boiling add cloves,bay leaf,cinnamon stick,mint leaves,oil and salt to it.Now add the soaked rice to it.And mix nicely and let it cook.Once it cooks take the lid off and slowly stir it to seperate the rice grains.

Step 2 - Marinating the Veggies and Mushrooms

In a big bowl mix all the vegetables expect mushrooms with 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste,1/4 tsp turmeric powder,1/4 cup mint leaves and 1/8 cup colantro and 1 tsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder. Cover and let it sit for 30 min.

In another bowl take mushrooms and mix it with the remaining 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste,1/4 tsp turmeric powder,1/4 cup mint leaves and 1/8 cup colantro and 1 tsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder. Cover and let it sit for 30 min.

Step 3 - Preparing the Biryani

Heat oil and ghee in a pan,add all the whole spices mentioned for biriyani and once cumin seed splutter add the cashew and after 1 min add the onions and let it fry till it it turns golden brown, then add chilli powder and coriander powder and then add the tomatoes and saute for a min.

Then add the marinated veggies and let it cook, once it cook 2/3 rd add the mushrooms with salt to taste. Let it cook till all veggies become tender. Now add the curd and cook in low flame let the gravy thicken.

Once all water evaporates add the cooked rice and mix softly and cover and let sit on low flame for 10 min. Stir occasionally every 3 min and your mushroom biriyani is ready. Serve with raitha

Note:

1. If you using pressure cooker to cook rice add 3 cups of water to 2 cups rice.
   
   
2. Soak rice for 1 hr before starting cooking,to save time while boiling the water begin the marination process for the veggies.
   
   
3. If you are planning to make biryani for a party, to get better taste, prepare the biryani on previous day, once it cool refridgerate it and next day just warm it before serving. This will taste better because all the spices will infuse the rice.This will also give u lot of free time before the party.
   
   
4. If you want the biryani to be more spicy you can adjust the chilli powder according to your convenience.

I am sending this yummy biryani to CMT- Rice hosted by Priya started by Jagruti.

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Tags: Biryani, Mushroom, Vegetable Biryani, Easy Recipe, Rice Recipe

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