27.3.13

Greek Inspired Meatless Monday : Pasta with Yogurt and Mushroom-Fenegreek Fritters

Pasta with yogurt is what we had for dinner last night. and we LOVED it. it was so delicious and went so well with the mushroom-fenugreek fritters that i had made to go with it. both the preparations were inspired by Greek recipes from the book The Glorious Foods of Greece ~ Diane Kochilas that i had picked up from the local library last Saturday. The recipes that inspired our meal were
Wild Mushroom Fritters Seasoned with Cumin from Masari in Rhodes.


Just to adapt to our food habits I slightly modified both the recipes and the result was DELICIOUS. I had ever imagined that i'll sing such praise for a  non-cheesy pasta-dish. but this one was so good that i had to share...   

First the recipe of Pasta with Yogurt .....

ingredients
1/2 cup split red lentil (masoor dal)

5 celery stalks, finely chopped

15 organic baby carrots, halved length-wise

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach

1/2 teaspoon salt
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1 cup Small Penne Pasta
1/3 cup Greek Yogurt
salt to taste
............................................................................
4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 small onions, sliced length-wise
1/2 medium sized green bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks 1/2 inch long
1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks 1 inch long
10 kalamata olives, sliced lengthwise into 8 parts
salt to taste

what i did
  • i pressure cooked the first 5 ingredients in 3 1/2 cups water, strained out the solid from the cooked dal and kept 1 1/3 cups of the lentil water aside.
  • next i added the lentil water to a large saucepan, added 3 more cups of water to it, salted it heavily and brought the liquid to boil. then added the pasta in the boiling water and let it cook till almost all the water had evaporated.(we like our pasta a little overcooked. you can adjust the extra water depending on how cooked you like your pasta.)
  • once pasta was done i transferred it to the serving bowl, added the Greek Yogurt and mixed it with the pasta.
  • next in a large pan i heated the oil. added the onions, peppers and olives in it, seasoned them with salt and simmered and cooked the onions and peppers for 30 minutes.then switched of the heat and topped the prepared pasta with the cooked peppers, olives and caramelized onion and snapped ... 
and then with some mushroom-fenugreek fritters...

Recipe of the Mushroom-fenugreek fritters..

ingredients
1 1/2  tablespoons olive oil 
3 cups chopped white snow button mushrooms
1/3 cup frozen chopped fenugreek
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water plus more if required
oil to fry

what i did
  • i heated the oil in an iron skillet over medium heat, cooked the mushrooms in it until they wilted. then switched off the heat and let them cool.
  • next i microved the frozen fengreek along with 1/8 cup water for 6 minutes, drained off the water completely and kept aside.
  • finally i combined the remaining ingredients (except the oil for frying) to form a thick batter, added the mushrooms and fengreek in it, then heated about 1 inch of olive oil in a large pan and when the oil was hot, dropped 3-4 tablespoons  of the batter in the heated oil,  and fried it until the batter turned golden brown... 

served along with the pasta, we liked these hot !

I had actually cooked a little extra so that i could pack it for Mr MN's lunch. but we liked it enough to finish to all between the two of us  :-D 

Happy Cooking and expect more Greek inspired recipes soon.

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11 comments:

  1. Those fritters sound great.. Havent tried that combination.

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    Replies
    1. thanks for dropping by Sumee. and those fritters are really good.

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  2. haven't tried pasta with yogurt..but sounds delicious with a new flavour...
    Also these fritters sounds tasty!
    thanks for sharing with the event...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by Amila. Pasta with yogurt was actually delicious.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. ooo all those onions look great! Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays! love it! Really appreciate you stopping by my blog! I’m trying to keep in better touch with my linkers/readers… If you already follow me, please let me know I will find your blog on Bloglovin (I’m transferring my follows there)if you don’t follow in any way, would you consider following via GFC or other method?
    http://www.nap-timecreations.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Emily, Thanks for dropping by. I follow you through GFC.

      Delete
  5. Hi Tanu,
    Your Greek Pasta dish looks fantastic and we are going to just love it! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen
    A New Follower

    ReplyDelete
  6. Delicious pasta Tanu, thanks for sharing with Hearth and Soul blog hop.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. It was nice having you here. Have a good day.

Take care and come back soon.
Best, Tanusree

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