Category Archives: Easy Recipes

Spaghetti w Tuna Marinara Sauce

spaghetti with tuna sauce

This meal is for those days when you want a fairly nutritious meal but don’t want to work too hard. If you’re really lazy, you could even heat up ready-made pasta sauce, throw in canned pasta, and your sauce is ready in 2 minutes.

The time to cook might look a bit long here, but it’s really about some initial work, and then letting it cook by itself.

Time taken: 20 min
Serves 4

Ingredients

350 gms/ 15 oz spaghetti
1 150gm/ 5oz can tuna in brine, drained
6 big or 8 medium tomatoes
1 onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 tsp dried parsley
½ cup fresh Italian basil leaves
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
2½ tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Method

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Meanwhile, chop up the tomatoes and onion finely. (I like my sauce chunky. If you like it smooth, puree the tomatoes and onion separately)

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the garlic, and the onion after the garlic turns light brown.

Once the onions are light brown, add the tomatoes. Add the salt.

Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, checking occasionally.

Once the water starts boiling, add the spaghetti and cook as per the directions on the pack. Drain.

Once the tomatoes are cooked and mushy, add the wine and allow it to simmer till the sauce is at the desired consistency.

Add the crumbled tuna. Stir and add the basil and parsley.

Remove from heat, serve on top of the spaghetti.

Roasted Bananas

roasted bananas

Summers bring with them a much lower appetite. And also plenty of yummy fruits! The Kerala banana, or nenthra-pazham (നേന്ത്രപഴം), is very high in carbs, therefore very filling. And high carbs is exactly what you are looking for, in the perfect breakfast. Pair it up with a glass of milk, and you’re good to go!

This can also be made with the regular big bananas, although the texture and taste will be completely different.

Time Taken: 10 min
Serves: 1

Ingredients:

2 bananas, halved and sliced vertically
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp crushed nuts – almonds, cashews, walnuts
1 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp salted butter

Method:

Spread the butter on a hot skillet and gently place the banana slices on the pan. Cover and let cook.

Turn when it has browned a bit, and cook on the other side.

Place them in a heap on a plate, sprinkle the nuts and raisins.

Pour the honey on top, and serve hot. Can also add a sprinkling of nutmeg for flavor.

Red Coconut Chutney

red coconut chutney

This chutney is most popular in Kerala homes. They make it quite diluted, and it is usually served warm alongside idlies or dosas. I prefer using Byadige or Kashmiri chilies as they impart a lovely flavor, without making the chutney spicy. If you prefer the burning sensation that chilies bring, Guntur chilies would be your choice.

Time taken: 10 min
Serves 2

Ingredients

½ coconut, grated
3 dried red chilies, broken
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp coconut oil
Salt to taste

Method

Grind the coconut, 2 red chilies and salt together. Add water bit by bit to help with the grinding, until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Heat oil, add the mustard, chili and curry leaves. Pour this on top of the chutney. Serve.
OR
To make it Kerala style, heat oil in a vessel large enough to hold the chutney, and add mustard seeds, chili and curry leaves. Now pour the chutney into this vessel and warm the chutney. Do not boil. Serve warm.

Goes well with idli, rava idliakki roti, neer dosa, and many more!

Homemade Peanut Butter

peanut butter

Peanut butter is such a nutritious spread. Just 2 tablespoons would fulfill 15% of an average adult’s daily protein requirement and 10% of phosphorus and manganese requirements. It is, of course, high in saturated fat in calories too, so it isn’t wise to overdose.

Given it’s popularity, the peanut butters in the market are priced quite insanely. And for what? You’ll find that when you make it at home, it’s going to cost you a small fraction of what you pay in the market. And what’s more, you can avoid the refined sugars and all the free chemicals they dump into it as well. All in 5 minutes of work!

Time taken: 5-10 min (45 min incl roasting peanuts)
Makes 1½ cups

Ingredients

500 grams roasted peanuts (instructions below)
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp honey
1½ tsp groundnut oil

Method

To roast the peanuts, preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F and place raw peanuts on a sheet pan, spreading them out evenly. Bake 30-35 min and allow them to cool.

Now, most recipes suggest removing the peels before you grind. I don’t see why I would want to throw off all the fiber, so I grind them whole, with skin. Peel if you want to.

Warm up the peanuts a bit. This helps them release the oil more effectively while grinding.

Grind to a powder, and then add the salt, honey, and groundnut oil and continue grinding to the consistency you desire.

If you like it chunky, separate a couple of tablespoons of the partially ground peanuts before you add the rest of the ingredients and then stir them in after the grinding is over.

Transfer to an airtight jar. Keeps for up to 2 months.