Instead of the spinach I used swiss chard to make lasagna for dinner today.I loved the flavor and taste of this lasagna. It received a big thumbs up from our in house food critic, my daughter. She wanted me to post it today in my blog. This lasagna happens to be very light and less cheesy. Maybe that is why we all went for seconds.  If you would like your kids to have swiss chard, maybe lasagna is a good way.

Gadgets:

Frying Pan
Spatula
Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring Spoon and Cup
Lasagna Tray

Ingredients:

Makes 12 pieces

Lasagna No Boil Sheets - 1 1/2 boxes
Ricotta Cheese - 24 tbsps
Marinara Sauce - 2 bottles
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
Onions - 2
Swiss Chard - 2 bundles
Garlic - 4
Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Cheese - (4 cheese Italian blend Cello from Costco) - 2 cups

Preparation:

1. Slice onions and finely shred the swiss chard. Heat olive oil in the pan. Add onions allow the onions to get cooked. Add salt and swiss chard. Cook until the swiss chard gets tender. Add minced garlic and pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Allow to cool.

2. Set the oven to 375 degrees F.

3. Pour some marinara sauce in the lasagna pan, just enough to roughly cover the bottom ( 1/2 cup or so). Layer the no boil lasagna sheets. Add the swiss chard mix evenly on top. Spoon in 12 tbsp of ricotta evenly so that each portion gets a tbsp. Lightly flatten the ricotta. Pour some marinara sauce and sprinkle some cheese.

4. Repeat step 3 again.  Place one more layer of lasagna sheets. Add marinara sauce and the rest of the cheese evenly. Sprinkle garlic powder ( 1/2 tsp or so)

5. Cover with the aluminum foil and place in the over for 35 minutes. At the end of the 35 minutes, remove the foil and allow for the lasagna to bake for 10 minutes, until all the cheese has melted.

6. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Had no clue that days have passed before I posted in my blog. Flu is a mean thing that takes away all the thrill from the holidays. Well, I am recovering and I wanted to post the spicy mooli paratha that I made for dinner. There are many ways to making this paratha. The cooked version, and the uncooked version. I prefer to make the cooked version. I like it because,  it saves me from having a mess when it comes to assembling the paratha. The mooli or radish tends to secrete a lot of water and the addition of salt does not help it either. A very effective way to handle this problem is to cook the moli and allow all the water to disappear and have a dry filling. I love the taste of this paratha and love to share it here.

Gadgets:

Bowls

Box Grater

Knife

Cutting board

Peeler

Pan

Spatula

Measuring Cup and Spoon

Ingredients:

Stuffing:

Radish/ Mooli - 4 ( makes 4 cups of grated radish)

Cilantro - 2 tbps chopped

Salt

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp ( adjust as per taste)

Coriander Powder - 2 tsps

Lemon Juice - a dash

Oil - 2 tbsp plus extra for making paratha

Roti Dough - 8 portions of golf ball sized dough

Preparation:

1. Peel the skin off the the radish and grate it in a box grater. (Note: I prefer this over the food processor  grater, because it keeps the radish crisp). 

2. Heat the pan with some oil. Add the raddish and start to cook it. The quantity will shrink. At that time, add the spices, salt, lemon juice mix well and cook until all water disappears. ( Note: I like to make the filling a little spicy).

3. Add cilantro as garnish and allow for it to cool.

4. Take the dough, roll and flatten it to 5 inch circle. Place the cooled filling inside, wrap the dough around the filling.

5. Roll it out into an 8 or 9 inch paratha. Heat the iron griddle to medium high.

6. Cook the paratha on both sides, add oil on both size and serve it hot with raita or fresh yogurt.