Pasta with Poblano Chilies, Corn and Cilantro Cream

October is 'National Pasta Month', so I wanted to post a pasta recipe before the end of the month. Thanks to Usha for her pasta post, without which I wouldn't have known about it.

Last month's Vegetarian Times magazine had a whole spread of pasta dishes that can be made under 30 minutes and are perfect for weeknight dinners. This dish has Mexican flavors with poblanos, corn and cilantro. I used wholewheat penne pasta and the sauce is made with 3Cs -- cilantro, corn and cream. Dish also has ground cumin to emphasize the Mexican flavor.

Shaam Savera (Spinach-Paneer balls in Tomato sauce)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 3

Theme: Side Dishes for Rice/ Roti

Dish: Shaam Savera

I have a rich and decadent restaurant style curry today. It is called 'Shaam-Savera' aka Spinach-paneer koftas in tomato sauce. I ate it once in an Indian restaurant and absolutely loved the dish. I have been looking for the recipe and an opportunity to make it ever since.

We had my mom and sister's family come over for my son's birthday last month and I made this curry along with yesterday's post Aloo-Gobhi, Mughlai parathas and Jeera rice for dinner. It was a restaurant style meal without going to the restaurant :-)

Dry Potato-Cauliflower Curry (Sukhi Aloo-Gobhi Subzi)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 2

Theme: Side Dishes for Rice/ Roti

Dish: Dry Aloo-Gobhi Curry

Today's side dish is with a popular combination of Aloo and Gobhi (potato and cauliflower). If you have watched 'Bend it like Beckham' movie you know how important it is to learn to make Aloo-GoBHI in Punjabi families :-)

There are quite a few different ways of making this curry. This particular recipe is from a Telugu cooking show and the chef said this is dhaba style of making this dish. I never ate in a proper dhaba, so I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the curry, but all I can say is it tastes amazing.

Gongura Paneer (Paneer with Sorrel Spinach)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 1

Theme: Side Dishes for Rice/ Roti

Dish: Gongura Paneer

We are starting our final week of blogging marathon today and my theme for this week is Side dishes for rice and/ or roti. I am one of those people who is always looking for new sides dishes. Old ones bore me and I pin and bookmark any new or interesting recipes.

I'm starting off this week with an interesting curry with Gongura and Paneer. I was piqued by the unusual combination of gongura and paneer -- it is essentially a South meets North dish. I saw this on Vah Chef's site and followed the recipe almost to the T.

Pumpkin Ice Cream (Eggless Recipe)

I don't want to say it loud but it has been a mild fall so far. Temperatures have been warmer than usual and we are occasionally still sporting our summer sandals and half sleeves. But the daylight hours have started to get shorter and the trees are changing into beautiful shades of red, yellow and gold.

This pumpkin ice cream is perfect for this time of the year. Fall flavors with not so fall weather calls for an dessert like this. I tasted my first pumpkin flavored ice cream on one of my recent farm visit with few of my blog buddies. It was a pumpkin-vanilla soft swirl and I loved it. Also my son randomly asked for pumpkin ice cream recently, so I've been looking for a recipe.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

It's that time of the year where everything is flavored with pumpkin pie spice -- pumpkin pie latte, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin scones, breads, cakes and on and on and on. But the price of pumpkin pie spice in the grocery store is way too high and since it has limited use in my kitchen, I never bought it.

But couple of days ago as I was planning to make the Pumpkin ice cream, I needed couple of teaspoons of the pumpkin pie spice and I looked online for the recipe. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand and voila I had my own pumpkin pie spice mix that I can now use in different fall based recipes.

Chocolate Malted Muffins

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 3

Theme: Kid's Delight -- Cooking with Whole grains

Dish: Chocolate Malted Muffins

For the 3rd and final day of this week's blogging marathon, I made these delicious Chocolate Malted Muffins. These go to Kalyani's 'Kid Delight -- Cooking with Whole grains' event (an event started by Valli).

I usually substitute some of the all purpose flour with wholewheat flour and wholewheat pastry flour to add some whole grains and fiber to my bakes. I have also used barley flour in a strawberry cake but this recipe uses 1 cup barley flour and is the main ingredient for this muffin.

Pizza Popcorn

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 2

Theme: Kid's Delight -- Cooking with Whole grains

Dish: Pizza Popcorn

I'm running a little late to post for day 2 of this week's marathon. It has been a busy weekend with back to back Navratri dinners on Friday and Saturday, so couldn't find time to make this dish until today. Luckily I made the pizza spice mix couple of days ago, so all I had to do today was to pop the corn and mix with the spice blend.

Sending this over to Kalyani's Kid's Delight -- Cooking with Whole Grains (an event started by Valli). Popcorn is a whole grain food that is very low in calories and a good source of fiber. But those buttered or artificially flavored popcorn is not the way to go. It is best to pop your own corn and then flavor it as needed.

Oats Khichdi (Oats-Lentil Porridge)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 1

Theme: Kid's Delight -- Cooking with Whole grains

Dish: Oats Khichdi

We are starting a new week of blogging marathon and my theme for theme this week is 'Kid's Delight -- Cooking with Whole grains' being hosted by lovely Kalyani @ the sizzling tastebuds. Kid's Delight event is a brainchild of Valli.

Coming up with kid approved whole grain dishes was not easy as I thought it would be. My kids are a little picky and I have blogged about most of the whole grain dishes that they eat. So coming up with new ones was a good exercise for the brain. I cook/ bake with brown rice, quinoa, wholewheat flour etc., and they eat most of what I serve.

Sweet Potato-Chickpea Burger

This is one of the simplest veggie burger I've ever made. It is hearty, delicious and is not mushy or crumbly like many other homemade veggie burgers. I saw Tricia Yearwood make these on her show 'Trisha's Southern Kitchen' on Food Network. I knew right away that I had to make these.

Roasting the sweet potato makes it take much better than just boiling. This roasted sweet potato is mashed along with chickpeas, flour and breadcrumbs to make the burgers. It is flavored with some red chili powder, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Feel free to to add some spices, like ground cumin or coriander or herbs to add more flavor and taste. But I thought they tasted great just as is.

Vegetarian Paprikash with Dumplings for #Food of the World

For this month's #Food of the World event, we are visiting Hungary. I have heard a lot of Hungarian food, but never really tasted or made it myself. Like most other European countries, traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, bread, dairy products and cheese.
Hungarians are especially passionate about their meat stews, casseroles, steaks and so on. Hungarian Goulash is very popular and I've seen it being made on TV many times and in fact a vegetarian version of it was my first choice to make for today. Goulash is a stew or a soup made with meat, paprika, caraway, vegetables and potatoes or various tiny dumplings or pasta simmered with the meat.

Other famous Hungarian stews include paprikas (a paprika stew simmered in thick creamy paprika gray) and porhoit and so on. Different kinds of noodles and dumplings, potatoes and rice are commonly served as side dishes.

Dishes to make for 9 days during Dasara (Navrathri Dishes)

Navratri

Devi Navratulu/ Dasara starts today and I wanted to share the list of dishes that are made on each day during the 9 day celebrations. I heard that a particular dish is made on each day, but I didn't know the details. Thanks to my cousin, now I have the list and I'm going to share it with you.

Day/ Thithi	Ammavari Avatharam	Prasadam
Day 1/ Padyami	Sailaputri	Katte Pongali
Day 2/ Vidiya	Brahmacharini	Pulihora
Day 3/ Tadiya	Chandraghanta	Kobbari Annam
Day 4/ Chavithi	Kushmanda	Garelu
Day 5/ Panchami	Skandamatha	Perugannam
Day 6/ Shashti	Katyayani	Kesaribath
Day 7/ Sapthami	Kalaratri	Sakannam
Day 8/ Ashtami	Maha Gouri	Belam Payasam
Day 9/ Navami	Siddhidhatri	Kshirannamu (Paalannam)

Wish you all a very Happy Navrathri. 

Pumpkin Raisin Bagels for #BreadBakers

It's time for this month's #BreadBakers event and the theme is very apt for this time of the year, 'Hearty Fall Breads'. Our host for the month is Wendy who blogs at 'A Day in the life on the farm'. She asked us what reminds us of fall and I immediately thought of Pumpkin and then made these 'Pumpkin-Raisin Bagels'.

Talking of pumpkins, my pumpkin milk shake post from last year got published in 'The Pumpkin Spice' handbook. I was so excited to see the glossy full size picture of the milkshake in an actual book. Publishers were kind enough to send a complementary copy and it is filled with nothing but pumpkin recipes.

Apple Ricotta Cake

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 2/ Day 3

Theme: Food52 Contest Recipes from here

Dish: Apple Ricotta Cake

I'm ending this week's marathon on a sweet note with this Apple Ricotta Cake from Food52. We went apple picking couple of weeks back and I had quite a few apples left. I also had some ricotta cheese that needed to be used up in the fridge. So I looked for recipes with apples and ricotta in Food52 and found this delicious cake recipe which happens to be the 'Best recipe with Fresh Ricotta' contest winner.

This recipe uses only 1 apple and doesn't really taste like an 'apple' cake. I'm not a big apple fan so that is totally fine with me, but if you are looking for an apple cake that tastes like an apple pie (or more apple'y'), then this is not for you.

Paneer Bhurji (Scrambled Paneer/ Indian Cottage Cheese)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 2/ Day 2

Theme: Food52 Contest Recipes from here

Dish: Paneer Bhurji

Today's winning recipe from Food52 is an easy to make Paneer bhurji. This recipe is a Wildcard contest winner and it sure tastes like a winner and can be whipped up in no time.

I have made scrambled tofu but never tried scrambles paneer even though I've seen the recipe many times on various blogs. This recipe for paneer bhurji has veggies and spices to make it more substantial and is a great breakfast dish that can be made even on a weekday.

Oats Butterscotch Cookies

After a few month's break the Home Baker's challenge has regrouped again this month, big thanks to Rafeeda @ The Big Sweet Tooth for taking the initiative and getting the group active again. Our theme for this month is 'Baking with Oats' and she gave some yummy bakes to choose from.
I made these very addictive Oats & Butterscotch cookies. I had the butterscotch chips in the pantry for a while begging to be used and they went straight into these cookies and tasted amazing. Recipe is right from the back of the wrapper which of course I never looked at until I read Rafeeda's recipe :-)

I'm always looking for people to share any goodies I make, so luckily I was meeting some of my blog buddies couple of days ago and these cookies were just perfect to bring along for them. They all loved them and even my chocolate loving son liked them a lot.

Arugula & Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Food52 Contest Recipes from here

Dish: Arugula & Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

We are starting a new week of blogging marathon and my theme is to cook from 'Food52 Recipe Contest winners'. I didn't really know about Food52 until I signed up for this and now it has vecome my go-to site to look for for new recipes.

So for people like me you are new to Food52, here's a little backstory: 'It was started by 2 foodies Amanda & Merrill to bring cooks together from all over to exchange recipes and ideas and to support each other in the kitchen. Food52 means you cook food for 52 weeks of the year'.

Salsa Picante

This is one of the condiments that I wanted to post for the mega marathon-condiment week, but didn't know which country to put it under. So I'm posting it today for 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge'.
Salsa is a condiment made with tomatoes, onions, peppers and other ingredients. 'Picante' is a Spanish adjective meaning 'piquant', derived from the word 'picar' which means to sting, referring to the feeling caused on the tongue.

I usually make fresh salsas, the ones that are basically chopped and mixed together. This one is cooked till the veggies are tender and the sauce is thickened.

Eggplant with Yogurt sauce (Dahi Baingan)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 1/ Day 3

Theme: Eggplant Dishes from here

Dish: Dahi Baingan

After 2 International eggplant dishes (Imam Biyildi and Eggplant Parmesan), I made an Indian dish for the final day. It was really tough picking dishes from Valli's list because I have already posted some of them on the blog and there are quite a few that I really wanted to try.

This is supposed to be Dahi Baingan from the list. This dish is made in Orissa and West Bengal. But this recipe is not the traditional way of preparing it. From what I have seen, traditionally eggplants are marinated in spices and deep fried, then cooked in a yogurt sauce.

Eggplant Parmesan for 1

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 1/ Day 2

Theme: Eggplant Dishes from here

Dish: Eggplant Parmesan

Today I have one of my most favorite non-Indian eggplant dish, Eggplant Parmesan. Fried breaded eggplant slices layered with cheese and marinara sauce makes this dish rich and calorie dense. I've eaten it a couple of times in restaurants and many times at buffet style parties.

I have already posted a lighter version of eggplant parm with roasted eggplant and creamed spinach. Today's recipe has all the components of the traditional Eggplant parmesan but is lighter on calories and it makes just 1 serving. So now I don't have to make wait for a special occasion or party to make this dish, I can make it whenever I feel like it.

Imam Biyildi (Turkish Stuffed Eggplant)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 1/ Day 1

Theme: Eggplant Dishes from here

Dish: Imam Biyaldi

We are back to our regular 3 days a week blogging this month. My theme for this week is 'Eggplant Dishes' and if you follow my blog you know my love for eggplant and there is no way I would miss this theme. Valli gave us a list of eggplant dishes to choose from, so for the next 3 days I will be posting 3 eggplant dishes from around the world.

The baby and the big eggplants you see in the below pictures were picked fresh from the farm and the long Japanese eggplants are from my backyard garden. All these fresh eggplants were a great inspiration to cook for this theme.

Muvva Vankaya Kura (Baby Eggplant Curry)

I'm always looking for new eggplant recipes and when I find a new recipe, I try to make as soon as I can :-) This muvva vankaya (muvva=pearl vankaya=eggplant) curry recipe is from a Telugu cooking show that I duly noted down in my recipe diary. Valli already made the same dish few months back.

We rarely get really small baby eggplants here, so it took me a while to get to this recipe. But luckily my mom found some beautiful baby eggplants at the Indian grocery a month back and I made this curry right away (so it has been sitting in the drafts for  while :-)).

Buffet on Table-Recap

Can't believe September flew right by and the BM group successfully completed yet another mega marathon. 'Buffet on Table' with different themes each week was very interesting. What I'll miss more than trying out all these international dishes is waiting to see what the other marathoners have cooked up for the day. 

Here's a recap of 'Buffet on Table':

Week 1: International Combo Dishes

Week 2: Indian States

Week 3: International Condiments

Week 4: International Breakfasts

Week 5: Bloggers Choice -- Preserving Summer Bounty

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56.

An InLinkz Link-up

Cucumber Tomato Sandwich with Hummus (for World Vegetarian Day)

Today is World Vegetarian Day, thanks to Mir for telling the group about this. After the month long mega marathon, I have quite a few posts in the drafts that need to be posted. So today seemed to be the best day to post one of them.

This sandwich recipe is made with Cuban bread, hummus and harissa that I made for the mega marathon. I also had some cucumber and tomatoes from my garden and I added them on top for a colorful sandwich. Serve with a soup and you have yourself a filling meal.