"Wheat Penne (Pasta)~Veggie Raita" ... Mumbai is facing heat and raitas are a welcome sight ... for today's lunch, a simple cooling raita (salad with curds) with veggies and a dash of coarsely powdered black pepper ... Yumz ...
** Pasta is something I very rarely prepare in my home, for that matter all Italian dishes always somehow take a backseat. I always purchase small packs of macroni, penne, pasta, Hakka noodles etc. with full enthusiasm all ready to prepare them but somehow always forget to do so when at home and remember only when I see some post or any of my friends mention the same. Similar is the case with Chinese recipes, it is not that I am not fond of them, though in my heart I am a typical konkani amchi girl that loves saraswat food the best. But yes, I do love any tasty food and would love to relish them too. Cakes and bread are my favorite while noodles fall in next. My friends keep telling me I should blog them, as they are the in thing now, being kids favorite, Well I am slowly starting to, so here is my first penne pasta recipe, which I have added to my raita. I do know many will lift their nose up saying, this is not done, you have not made it the Italian style, I will for sure but first let me get the feel of it, let me eat it to know if it suits my tummy and then rest will follow. It is almost over 3 decades since I ate this so, for now I prepared simple raita and yes, I will surely try to implement it into my own amchi dishes too, for all that you know it may taste spicy and yumz.
** This is a simple raita that you can serve as side dish with any other dish of your choice and enjoy with your family and friends. Summer season is slowly creeping in and in Mumbai the heat is already soaring high making it difficult to relish food and body craves for coolants all the time. Raitas are a must in my home almost all round the year specially so during summer. The cold raita with some veggies add on taste simply awesome in summer. This dish is usually prepared with mayonnaise I believe, which I was reluctant to try out as 3 decades back when I had tasted mayonnaise in sandwich I had not developed a taste for it, after which I never attempted to try it out again. But, I have decided to do so again, to check out and see if over the years things have changed, who knows I may like it now too, in which case you will be seeing more posts along with it. Till then enjoy this simple raitas as for now and I assure you that many more different combos of raita will be posted this summer in my blog, so keep logging in often into my blog too for delicious dishes and please do try them out and leave in a feedback, it will help me do more.
** Here is the recipe for "Wheat Penne (Pasta)~Veggie Raita" … My Style ...
** This is a simple normal raita prepared in most homes with simple veggies and beaten curd with spices and I have maintained the same here. The only change I made was I did not add in chopped green chillies which I normally do, instead I added on freshly crushed black pepper powder. I wanted to add in a few red chilly flakes too, but I did not have it ready and I was getting late to prepare them freshly, so dropped the idea for next time, you may add it on, I am sure it will taste great.
** Boil about 4 cups of water to boiling point, add in a large pinch of salt and then add in about 20-25 penne pasta into it after washing it under running water. I used wheat penne pasta, you may use any that is available to you, even macroni can be used. Cook on boiling water till almost done. Do not overcook, when it turns soft remove and drain off the water and rinse it under running water to arrest further cooking and to retain it as it is. Keep this ready aside.
** Wash one large sized cucumber and cut it into small sized pieces retaining the skin. Here I have kept the skin on as in my home we love the crunch of it, but you can peel off the skin and use the same too. Now peel off the skin of one large or 2 medium sized onions and cut them also into small pieces. Similarly peel off the skin of one large sized carrot and cut it also into small squares. Put the carrots in a glassware bowl, sprinkle some water and microwave it for 2 minutes, remove and let cool.
** Note : You can either steam the carrots or cook them in a pan too. The need here is to slightly cook them as they are cut into small cubes. But in case you do not want to do so you can grate and add them on too, but they will not look good on this particular salad when you add on the pasta.
** Beat 2 cups of thick skimmed milk curds, I used homemade, you can use any, even curd prepared with milk with fat content too, it is individual choice. Put this in a wide bowl, add in the carrots, onions and cucumber pieces and mix well. Add in the cooked penne pasta also and give a toss. Finally add in salt to taste, 2 tsp of coarsely crushed black papper powder, handful of finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well. If the curds are sweet and not sour, you can add in freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon to it. Again, addition of a pinch of hing/asafoetida powder is a matter of choice, though I have added it. Keep this in the refrigerator to chill for about 2 hours and it is ready.
** "Wheat Penne (Pasta)~Veggie Raita" is done and ready to be served. This raita tastes best when served chilled. You can relish this a bowl full and forgo lunch too in case you want to go light, as it is quite filling. You can serve it as a salad like I did along with other dishes in thali too, it tastes awesome. Though as I mentioned above it is prepared with mayonnaise, I have yet to try it out again, as I did not much like the taste of it when I tasted it about 3 decades back. But, yes I am going to do so again and will share it when I do so. Try this simple Raita and enjoy it with your family and friends, they are sure to like it, as it is summer time and raitas are a welcome in every home.
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.
** I am happy to inform you that I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" which is over and year old, with about 19K strong members. It is a pleasure to inform that you will find in the group many more recipes posted by our expert members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….
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