Days are flying at its own pace. A lot of ups and downs. In the past couple of days, I have heard a death and illness. Even though it is a part of life, is it something that we can just ignore? We all have to go through phases of illness, that may be like a passing phase but some that go on to become quite serious enough to take away life. We all have to always remember the fact that: "Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned." (Al Qur'an 21:35)
Such reminders are necessary to keep us fixed to where we are, to keep ourselves humble, to remind ourselves that life is but a mirage and we as travellers, need to ensure that we do not get tricked to believe that we are immortals and can live and treat others the way we want. I guess whatever I seem to punch in today is quite hard language as far as a food blog is concerned, but I was just trying to portray the frame of mind I am in... :)
On a lighter note, coming to today's recipe - do not get tricked by the name. It may be called biriyani because we leave the macaroni and masala on a literal dum for the last 10 minutes and likely it gets it's name. Whatever said and done, this is a quick fix meal that you can put together for those lazy days. That is why I love macaroni/ pasta - you don't know what to make for lunch or dinner, then pasta is there to show you the way!!! :)
Vegetable Macaroni Biriyani
Serves 3-4
300 gm macaroni - I used shell shaped
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 large onion, sliced
3 green chillies, slit
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1-1/2 cup mixed vegetables - I used frozen vegetables
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
Method:
Cook the macaroni till al dente. Drain and run through cold water so that the macaroni stays seperate, Keep aside.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Once hot, add the pastes and saute till raw smell goes. Add the onions and chillies with a pinch of salt and saute till well cooked. Add the tomatoes and cook till smashed. Now add the coriander, chilli and turmeric powder and cook till the raw smell is gone. Switch off the flame and allow to cool.
Grind the onion masala with little water to make a paste. Reheat the saucepan, add the ground masala and the mixed vegetables and cook for 5 minutes on low flame. Adjust the salt at this time. Add the cooked macaroni, give it a nice stir till the masala wraps the macaroni completely. Sprinkle the garam masala on top. Close the lid tight and leave it on low flame for 10 minutes for the flavors to mix.
Serve warm!!!