Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

My entire family loves lasagna. Many years ago there used to be a fusion restaurant on Mount Road in Chennai which served some great lasagna. It was a very different lasagna with a bread crumb topping and loads of spinach. I like this particular recipe because it uses both white and red sauce, has a ton of veggies and is not cheesy at all. I hope you enjoy making this for your friends and family.


Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Lasagna.

The recipe is split into three parts and I have mentioned the ingredients under each. You can use store bought white sauce if you don't want the hassle of making it at home. It will also save you some time.

Serves: 4 or 2 ( with leftovers )

Preparation time: 1 hour

Baking time: 40 - 45 mins

For the filling:

1 - Zucchini sliced in half moons
1 - 1/2 cups mushrooms sliced
1 red pepper diced
1 eggplant sliced
2 -3 cloves of garlic un peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of salt & peper
1 tsp Italian seasoning mix.

* Preheat oven to 375 F, Place vegetable on a baking tray sprinkle with olive oil, italian herbs, a dash of salt and pepper.

* Bake for 30-40 mins or until roasted completely.

* Remove the skins of the garlic before assembling in the lasagna. You can roast these veggies a day before you make the lasagna to save you time.

White Sauce:

2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups hot milk
Salt & pepper to season
red chili flakes for spice

* Before you start the sauce, place 4 cups of milk in a pan on medium heat.

* In a heavy bottomed vessel, melt the butter and add the flour. Stir until the flour is browned a little.

* Add the milk now a little at a time and keep stirring. If the milk is hot enough the sauce will start thickening immediately. Continue until you have added all the milk. If the sauce does not thicken stir continuously on medium low heat. Sometimes the sauce takes around 30 mins to thicken.

For Assembly:

* Store bought Pizza sauce or Tomato sauce
* White sauce
* Pre-cooked lasagna noodles ( approx 10 ) **See Note
* 1 -2 cups grated parmesan cheese
* Roasted veggies

**Note: I like the lasagna noodles to be cooked before I bake them, as the un-cooked lasagna noodles get to dry and thick. Cook according to package instructions.

* In a rectangular baking dish. First spread a layer of the red sauce. Then add a spoonful of roasted veggies everything except the eggplant slices.

* On this we will then place the lasagna noodles in such a way that the entire surface of the baking dish is covered.

* Next layer with the roasted eggplant slices, and cover with white sauce generously.

* Repeat again with a layer of noodles.

* On top of the noodles, now place both a layer of white and red sauce covered with grated parmesan cheese.

* Bake at 375 for 40-45 mins until the cheese on top has melted, bubbly and browned.

Enjoy your lasagna with a side salad.

Easy Cucumber Carrot Stir Fry

My grand mother is a great cook. She makes any vegetable taste delicious. She has magic in her fingers. She makes this salad type stir-fry very often to go with rotis. I hope you enjoy her recipe. 

Cucumber Carrot Stir Fry 

Time: 15 mins 

Serves: 2 

Ingredients:

* 1 cucumber - peeled and sliced lengthwise

* 1 Carrot - peeled and sliced lengthwise

* 2 green chilies

* 1 tsp olive oil

* 1 tsp mustard 

* 1 tsp jeera ( cumin )

* Salt to taste.

* Dash of Lemon juice

* Cilantro - handful chopped

Recipe:

1. Place a pan on medium heat and add olive oil. Add mustard , once it starts spluttering add the jeera. 

2. Add the cucumber, carrot and green chillies. Make sure all the vegetables are coated with the olive oil. 

3. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 mins or until the cucumber looks transparent. Add salt to taste. 

4. Serve hot with chopped cilantro and a dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Quinoa seasoned with mustard, spices and onions

It's my first Christmas in Portland. I have lived here for 2 1/2 years now and never been in the city during Christmas. It's surprising to see how busy all the shopping malls are. Just today we went to one near our home which is rather small and could not find any parking at all, which is quiet surprising as there is usually lots of parking in the area.

I have been at the shopping malls a lot lately, thanks to my sister who is visiting from India. So when it comes to cooking I don't have the time and patience to cook. Rice is staple food in South India, where I have lived for most part of my life. It is easy to cook and does not require a lot of effort. I have been trying to replace rice with quinoa in a variety of different dishes. My mom makes amazing vagharela quinoa, which means seasoned quinoa. And I made a similar dish just last week, here is the recipe.

Recipe: Quinoa seasoned with mustard, spices and onions

Serves: 2

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced
1 green chili slit lengthwise
1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera
4-5 curry leaves

Spices

1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste.

 1. Wash the quinoa using a sieve and place in a pot with 2 cups of water on medium flame. Let it cook for 7-8 mins. Cook until the water has almost evaporated. Switch the flame off and close the pot and let it sit for 4-5 mins. This makes the Quinoa fluffy.

If you need detailed explanation on how to cook Quinoa, here are some good tips from thekitchn.com which I absolutely love.

2. To the cooled quinoa add all the spices and mix with a fork.

3. In a pan, add olive oil, mustard and jeera. Once the seasoning starts to splutter, add the green chili, curry leaves, onions and chopped garlic. Add a pinch of salt to let the onions cook faster.

4. Next add the quinoa with the spices to the cooked onions. Stir and let the quinoa cook until everything is blended perfectly. This would take 4-5 mins.

5. Garnish with chopped cilantro or spring onions and serve hot.