Sauces - The heart of a recipe

Sauces are the heart of every dish for every cuisine of the world. Getting the sauce right is half way through to getting the perfect recipe. There are 5 basic ‘Mother’ sauces out of which many other variations have been derived all over the world. Sauces are responsible to finish and compliment a dish. The 5 ‘Mother’ sauces are Béchamel (white sauce), Tomato sauce, Espagnole, Hollandaise (similar to mayonnaise) and Velouté.

Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel Sauce is the classic white sauce which is used as the base to make hundreds of other variations. This sauce is liked by all specially kids.

1 tbsp Butter

1 tbsp Maida
1 cup Milk
1 tbsp chopped garlic (optional)

1 bay leaf (optional)

Very small piece Nutmeg (optional, only for flavouring)

Salt & Pepper (for taste)

Melt the butter in a saucepan, sauté the garlic and add the maida and stir until the mixture is well blended. Slowly add the milk and stir continuously until there are no lumps. Now add the bayleaf, nutmeg and keep stirring till the sauce starts to boil and thickens. Add the salt and pepper and remove from the flame. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. This recipe makes about 1 cup béchamel sauce.

Variation – Cheese can be added to this sauce to make mornay sauce (cheese sauce)

Basic Italian Tomato Sauce

Commonly called as the Red sauce and the spicier version called The Arrabbiata sauce literally meaning the angry sauce :P. This sauce tastes absolutely sinful with the perfect blend of flavourful basil and juicy saucy tomatoes. This simple sauce is a perfect hit for any preparation

1 Kg blanched and peeled tomatoes, Diced (chunky sauce) / Pureed (smooth sauce)

2 medium onions, chopped or pureed

5 – 6 cloves garlic, chopped

6 – 10 fresh / dried basil leaves, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp black pepper, ground

1 – 2 tsp chilli flakes

Salt and Sugar (to taste)

Take oil in the kadhai / skillet, Add the onion and sauté it till golden and not dark brown. Add the garlic and keep sautéing. Add the tomatoes and keep cooking till soft.

If you want an absolute smooth sauce, cool the about mixture and puree it in a blender and strain it. Take this again in a  skillet and add the remain ingredients and keep cooking on a low flame till thick or the desired consistency.

Note - Whenever making a tomato based sauce / gravy, cook the tomatoes in oil till soft and then puree them. This prevent the water separation from a sauce and gives it a better texture.



Marinara Sauce


Marinara sauce is just an 'American' modified version of the Italian red sauce. Originally Marinara sauce (as the name suggests contains marine ingredients) contained seafood.


Fresh Basil Pesto

The word ‘Pesto’ has been derived from the word ‘Pestle’ which is Sil – batta in hindi. Pesto means to be ground. This preparation tastes heavenly on pasta, mashed potatoes or as a spread on bread (with some butter creamed along with it).

3 cups fresh Basil leaves

2 tbsp roasted pine nuts / pistachio

2 – 3 cloves Garlic

2 tbsp Olive oil

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

In a food processor, add nuts, basil leaves and garlic. Now slowly add  the oil and keep scraping the sides of the food processor and add the parmesan cheese and blend well. Add the salt and pepper and the pesto is ready to use. This can be frozen upto 2 months.


Sun - dried Tomato Pesto

If you love Sun - dried tomatoes, you will love this one in your pasta or on your bread. Sky is the limit for innovation and experimentation with this one. You are going to love it :D.


1 cup Sun - dried tomatoes (oil drained)
1/4th cup roasted pinenuts / Pistachio / Almond
3 - 4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp dried basil leaves
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper (To taste)


In a food processor, add nuts, sun - dried tomatoes along with the other ingredient leaving oil and cheese. Now slowly add  the oil and keep scraping the sides of the food processor and add the parmesan cheese and blend well. Add the salt and pepper and the pesto is ready to use. This can be frozen upto 2 months.


Aglio e Olio


This recipe is totally meant for garlic indulgers. It is simple and very flavorful. I love this recipe and hope you love it too. (This aint really a sauce but it is a popular dish and with this recipe just toss your favorite pasta and have a good time). 

1/2 Cup Garlic
1/4th Cup finely chopped Parsley
4 - 6 tbsp Olive oil
1 - 2 tsp Red paprika
1/4th to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese / cheese of your choice ( as per taste preferance )
Salt (To taste)

The first step is to keep the boiled pasta ready aside before you start making the aglio e olio. Take the Olive oil in a wok or a Kadhai and add the garlic. Saute it till cooked but not brown (low flame). Add the paprika and parsley and salt. Add the pasta and just top with parmesan / cheese and just enjoy this delicacy.


Rosa Sauce


This is a very easy sauce. It is a sauce liked by most people as it has a touch of creaminess, cheesyness, and the tangy touch of tomato. Writing this I can actually roll the flavors on my tongue. :P :P Enjoy this one. 

1 Cup Bechamel Sauce with cheese (Mornay Sauce)
1 Cup Italian Red Sauce

Just mix these sauces and toss ur pasta. You are ready to go. :D



Basil Cream Sauce


This sauce has a punch of basil and the smoothness of the cream. It is a blend of Basil Pesto and Bechamel sauce (with or without cheese)

1 1/2 Cup Bechamel Sauce
1/4th Cup Basil Pesto

Just Blend the two and top it on any of your favorite pasta.


Vodka Sauce


1/2 Cup Vodka
1 tsp red paprika
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 large clove Garlic
1 tsp chopped Parsley
2 tsp chopped Basil
4 - 5 Red Tomatoes (1/2 diced and 1/2 pureed)
1/2 cup processed cheese (prefer britannia)
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)

Keep the Red paprika in vodka for about an hour before starting. Heat Olive oil in a wok, add garlic, Parsley, Basil and add the vodka mixture and simmer for about 5 minutes. and add the tomatoes and simmer till the tomatoes are cooked.Your Sauce is ready. :D Have a high time.


 








 

Fresh Eggless Pasta Dough

Whenever we think of Italian food, the first thing that comes to most minds in ‘PASTA’ and ‘PIZZA’. Italian food is not only about the two. It is much beyond pizzas and pastas. Only amongst pasta, there are about 500 different shapes of pastas. The most commonly used dry pasta amongst us are Penne, Fusilli, Spaghetti, Spiral, Bow, Fettuccine, Lasagne (Sheet). There is a variant called fresh pasta which is healthier. These are the pasta which is made with a dough and freshly boiled and used. The common recipes are Ravioli, Cannelloni, Lasagne, Gnocchi.  They taste really nice and better than the dry pastas and trust me once you try this, you family and friends are going to love it.

Fresh Pasta Dough
This pasta dough can be used for making different types of pastas - Ravioli , cannelloni, Lasagne sheets, Tortellini etc. I will describe its usage and different shapes as we proceed.

Ingredients

1 cup All purpose flour ( Maida )

1 cup Semolina ( Rava / Sooji )

2 tbsp Olive oil / Refined oil

1 cup Warm water

Salt – To taste

Method

Take maida and rava on the working surface (you can take it directly on the platform). Make a well in the centre of the heap. Add salt and oil in the well. Knead the dough with warm water and wrap the dough in a cling film and let it rest for 15 minutes

Note – The dough has to be tight and not very lose.

The Italian beginning....

 We Indians have this great talent to make everything ‘OURS’. We can Indianize every cuisine and give it a touch of Indianness and I completely love this. As Indians we love to EAT, from street foods of various states to the small udipi restaurants in the streets of Mumbai ( I so love shiv sagar.. :D I am feeling superrrrr hungry ) to the theme restaurants to the famous fine dining restaurants. I can eat anywhere and everywhere and I bet nothing tastes better than the chaat outside Kala Niketan (Juhu). I completely forget who I have come with and get hooked on to eating each and everything that he makes. When I was a kid, I never liked roti sabzi and dal chawal. I always wanted mom to make something different. There was something I completely loved to eat and that was ‘ Pasta’. I so loved the way my mom made pasta. It was a favourite amongst all my friends, my neighbours and just everyone. I so loved it. It was a not an exact Italian style pasta but a simple pasta with a lot of veggies in a mix of Béchamel ( its a term for white sauce, chefs hate to call it ‘white sauce’ ) and Arrabbiata sauce ( a spicy red sauce, ‘Arrabbiata’ literally means Angry). I have my best memories with Italian food and so i have decided that I will first write a complete guide to Italian food. Please await my next post. It will be here very soon. :D

About me...

Hello! My name is Neha Deepak Shah and I would like to welcome one and all to my blog. I have finally taken the first step towards a year long desire of writing a blog. This is the first time ever that I am attempting to write something like this (trying to do on a regular). I belong to the jazzling city of Mumbai. I am 21 years old (as of today, 04/10/11) and I am currently working in Dabur ltd as a Food Scientist (amazed?? I know this sounds quite geeky but I a’int that geeky). Please don’t picture me as an old person with long white hair and an insanely geeky brain in a white lab coat holding a test tube amidst a lab disaster. I am anything but that. I am a completely normal person with a normal IQ but with an extreme love for cooking. I love changes and most of the time I hate routines. BTW I am a food technologist and there is a reason why I am a ‘HAPPY’ one. Most of the people I ever knew around me were not happy with their jobs. I knew one thing from the very beginning that I would professionally chose to be someone I would love being all my life and not someone who I would not be the best at. (and I knew I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE food).

Ever since I was a child, food was something that always fascinated me. I loved to watch my mom make cakes (About 15 yrs ago not many people knew how to makes cakes at home). I used to love to try my hands on making chocolates and messing the entire place and sitting under my mom’s work table with little sister to just lick the bowl of melted chocolate. I always have been a fast learner and I learnt my basics by observing mom and learning from her. I always have had a habit of extended study. If I saw mom make chocolate, I would go and gather all the information possible on the numerous ways to make chocolate and make it a point to try them out. I have had a lot of failure attemts as well L. I was in Class 8 and we had to opt for our hobbies out of computers, Pottery and Cookery. I opted for Cookery. We were only 15 people out of the batch of 250 who opted for cookery and most of the people opted for computers. I loved my hobby and started taking it more seriously. When I was in class 11, I had this wierd ‘Chaska’ for a long time. I started making a dish each day and Trishla and Kartu mama were my Guinea pigs. They actually ate whatever I made however bad it was. :D . Very soon I realised I did not want to be an Engineer or a Biotechnologist nd tht I only wanted to be a FOOD TECHNOLOGIST (I wanted to be a chef actually but ppl around said you would waste ur potential and that girls can’t be chefs which I completely deny). I have dedicated all my life to food.. It destresses me.. It makes me feel good... After a long day at work cooking makes me feel very relaxed.. I only realised this since I have been staying away from home. I only realised I could cook well when I started cooking food on a regular and that prompted me to give MASTERCHEF INDIA SEASON 2 a shot. I used to cook food for a couple of my friends and they thought I should go. I registered myself for the show and actually started sharpening my skills on various cuisines. Masterchef India was a very amazing experience. I completely loved every moment. I met 49 different people with different professions..different skills and completely different personalities.. I have learnt a lot from each person. Most of the people there were quite experienced and older to me. Somewhere in my heart I wish that experience didn’t end. I wanted to go far in the show and really win it. J Its OK and I know Masterchef India provoked me to write this blog.

I wanted people to know that Cooking is EASY and FUN. This blog is dedicated to all those who have even the smallest amount of passion for cooking. I want to share the enormous experience and knowledge that I possess regarding different cuisines with my dear readers by posting the recipes of all kinds of cuisines from the most common to the most unorthodox. It will be my heartiest and unremitting endeavour to make this blog as vibrant, unique and interactive as possible.

 I would like to share all my fav recipes and cuisines on this blog. Please do write to me on nehadeepakshah@yahoo.com for any suggestions or changes that have to be implemented for the better. I would love to hear from you. I hope you enjoy this page. Thank you. J