This is a recipe inspired by a Jami Oliver recipe I tried many years ago. Easy to make and delicious it is great if you have people coming over as you can prepare it in advance.
Chilli Cheese Pasta Bake Ingredients
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
3 tins of tomatoes
large handful of basil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
400 g of dried pasta
4 handfuls of grated parmesan
3 balls of mozerella
Method
In a deep pan fry off the chopped onion, garlic and chilli in some olive oil until the onions have softened.
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Next add the tomatoes along with a splash of water. Simmer for 15 minutes then liquidise in a food processor
Add salt, pepper, basil leaves and the vinegar to the sauce.
Boil your pasta according to the instructions. Drain the pasta and mix in half of the tomato sauce.
Add a layer of the pasta to a medium baking dish followed by a layer of sliced mozzarella and tomato sauce and Parmesan. Keep adding the layers until everything is in the tray and cook at about 200 degrees for 15 minutes.
This is without doubt my favourite Indian dish. You rarely find it on the menu at your standard ‘Curry House’ but go to India and it is served everywhere. It’s rich and creamy taste is wonderful served on it’s ow with just some naan or roti and some plain rice.
The secret to the great taste is to slow cook the dal over several hours to allow it’s flavour to release and combine with the other ingredients. Makhan means butter in Punjabi. This is a rich dish so best not eaten too often but it tastes out of this world.
Please, give this recipe a go one day, you won’t regret it.
Dal Makhini Recipe Ingredients
1kg of black lentils
200 grams of channa dal
100 grams of Ginger paste
1 1/2 tins of tomato puree
50grams of red chilli powder (more for colour than heat)
100 ml of vegetable oil
500 grams of butter
500 grams of cream
5 grams of Kasuri methi powder
100 grams of Ghee
Salt to taste
Method:
It is important to soak the dal in water over night as this will help loosen it up and make the cooking time shorter.
First Place the two types of dal into a bowl with a little water and a couple of teaspoons of salt. Rub together for a few minutes then wash the dal with clean water several times. This both cleans the dal and removes any starch. Add the dal to a large pot with enough water to cover ans bring to the boil. After boiling for 5 minutes drain and set the dal aside.
In the large pot add the oil and when hot fry off the ginger paste for 2 minutes. Next add the chilli powder and the tomato puree. Stir in and simmer for several minutes. Next add the daal to the pot along with the ghee, some salt and the butter. Bring to a very low simmer and cook for at least 5 hours (yes that was a 5!).
Just before serving stir in the methi powder and cream and serve hot.
Having selected a few plants to over winter a few weeks ago i trimmed them back to help them preserve their energy over the cold months and moved them inside to keep them away from the very cold temperatures.
Unfortunately we ran out of heating oil for about 1 week just before Christmas and as a result it was very cold in the house as outdoor temperatures dropped as low as -12 degrees.
So far I have not seen any new growth on these over wintering chilli plants and they have all developed worrying looking hallow stems. I do hope the plants arenot dead.
I have been here before in previous years thinking the plants are dead, only for them to suddenly burst back into life. For now i’ll try and keep the plants warm and watered and hope for the best. Fingers crossed!
Has anyone else out there noticed this hallow stem in their over wintering plants? How are your plants doing?
