Simple Penne Pasta with Mushrooms

With the Lenten season 2015 here, I believe many of you will benefit from some of these simple recipes to be shared on G'Gina's Kitchenette. Many practicing Christians abstain from non-vegetarian food to the extent of eggs and dairy being eliminated from all meals during Lent. These days a lot of people abstain from their favourite foods including chocolates or choice meals. Some even abstain from social networks, etc. While this is admirable, unfortunately I cannot abstain from social networks as most of my work is done online :)!

So for now it is still simple meals and vegetarian food. However I will share some other recipes as well to benefit my readers who are not practicing Lent.

You need:

• 300 gms of penne pasta (I used a whole wheat variety)
• 250 gms of Mushrooms, diced  (you can use any variety, I used smaller button mushrooms)
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Olive oil - cooking variety
• Fresh or dried parsley (1 bunch or 2 tbsp)
• Salt to taste
• Paprika (optional)
• Water to boil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, grated finely

The Make:
Preparation Time: 5 minutes | Cooking Time: 30 minutes| Serves 3-4 adults

1. Bring water to boil in a deep pot or wok and  once on a roll, lower the heat and pop in the pasta. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same wok, drizzle some olive oil and saute the mushrooms for 5 minutes. Pop in the grated garlic and parsley and saute for another 5 minutes. You can also add the paprika and salt at this point.
3. Add in the cooked pasta and toss well. Add in the EVOO and serve hot.

Tuna in Spiced Tomato gravy

Ok no excuses this time! It has been almost a month since my last post. I have been whipping up several exotic creations, some failed and crashed. Although I had mentioned in my last post on G'Gina's Kitchenette's Facebook page of a sweet surprise, that did not happen as it was one of the ones that crashed and burned. The specialist who was to fix my grill and oven has been avoiding the visit due to heavy rains we have been experiencing here. I promise to come back to the sweet delights soon enough!

This one is a Spanish inspiration. With the monsoons coming in, one of my dear readers had suggested some wholesome warm recipe creations. If you love fish, this would definitely be up your alley. If not you can substitute with chicken or eggplant or even whole boiled eggs. Of course the cooking time would be reduced accordingly.

You need:

• 1 kg tuna, preferably skinned, filleted and cut into medium size pieces
• 4-5 medium sized tomatoes,skinned and de-seeded
• 1 large red onion, cut into 4 quarters
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, skinned and crushed
• 2 tbsp red paprika powder
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey (optional)
• 1 red capsicum (habanero ), deseeded and diced
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander (Cilantro) leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, picked and chopped
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 cup drinking water

The Make:

Cooking Time: 40 minutes | Preparation Time : 10 minutes | Serves 6-7

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet/foil and toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer baking sheet to the oven. Cook until the tomatoes are slightly charred, turning occasionally in 20 minutes.

2. Bring it to room temperature and then transfer all the ingredients from the baking sheet/foil to a blender along with the paprika powder, habanero, cilantro, white wine vinegar, honey (optional) and mint. Blend until smooth. Season with salt taking care not to add too much as the tomatoes have already has been seasoned.

3. Next drizzle some of the remaining oil in a claypot or non-stick deep bottomed pot. Rub some salt and pepper on the tuna pieces and lightly saute giving 2 minutes on each side adding the remaining oil as required. Pour in the blended mix to the tuna pieces and cook for no more than 15-20 minutes. Add water as required and bring to boil.

Serve hot with Spanish rice or any other rice of your choice, pasta or flatbread of your choice.

Turkey Roast Delight- A Thanksgiving Special for Christmas!

Seasons Greetings all! Its a season to be jolly...falalalala...lalalala! Hope you have not been too naughty this year! ;)

Thanksgiving is celebrated in various parts of the world. Although we do not celebrate Thanksgiving, Turkey used to feature in our Christmas lunches at home almost every Christmas and I would like to share this attempt at Turkey that I tried my hand in after arriving to India. I must say it was a task as we did not get the prepared Butterball variety. So I actually had a tedious turkey cleaning process last Christmas.

This is the first of my Christmas recipes for this year. Hope you enjoy making them. My guests certainly enjoyed the meal I whipped up for them last year.

Mummy's cooking always woos us and her Turkey lunches for Christmas is greatly missed..sigh! After moving to India, I don't think she has had the chance to make us her famous Christmas meal although whatever she makes is amazing!

I had made an elaborate Christmas dinner last year that I seriously had no time to reach out for my cam nor click the Turkey in its full form although it would have been worth it after the immense effort I went through in making this bird. I do hope I get a chance to post the Turkey picture in whole the next time I roast one. So please excuse me this time.

To make this delightful Turkey meal,

You need:

For the Turkey roasting:

• 3 kgs of Turkey (Butterball usually has a conversion of lbs to number of servings, however after much research, I came up with a 1:2 ratio, so 3 kgs of turkey would serve 6-7 adults. Necessity is a mother of invention would rightly apply in this case)
• Olive oil or melted butter
• 1 large shallot
• 1 leek stem finely diced (optional)
• 2-3 carrots, half diced for stuffing and rest for topping (when served)
• 1 bunch of celery
• 1 half boiled potato, quartered (optional)
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley
• Sprigs of thyme or rosemary (you can also use a combination of both)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp of paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

* Mum would usually not add the celery, rosemary or thyme but I added it for extra flavour.

The make:

Preparation Time: overnight + 1 hour | Cooking Time: 3-3.5 hours | Serves 6-7 adults

Tip:Remember to defrost the turkey overnight or the morning of as it does take time to bring it to room temperature. While doing so some tips to remember, let the turkey defrost in the packing/plastic in the refrigerator (not freezer) on a separate pan overnight so the juices would be confined to the pan. Do not immerse in hot water to speed up the process as the skin would pull away. If you are defrosting it the morning of, then you can leave it to defrost outside, just make sure you keep it the pan itself and cover with a net or a foil sheet to avoid contamination. Clean the turkey as if you were cleaning chicken and remove any left over feathers or stubs. In case of stubborn stubs like I found in the one I got last Christmas, use a new scrubber (which you can discard after use to light scrub the stubs out and/or pick out with previous washed and sterilised tweezers or just use a new pair of tweezers). Pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the spare parts such as the neck and giblets(heart, liver, gizzard) to make stock for the stuffing.

1. Marinate the turkey with the juice of half a lemon both on the inside and oil. Next rub on some of  the olive oil or butter  and some pepper and salt both on the inside and out.
2. Preheat the oven to 215○C (approx 400○F).
3. Stuff the inside of the turkey with the carrots, tops and bottom of the celery, sprig of thyme and a sprig of rosemary, half of the shallot - peeled and quartered, diced bunch of parsley, half of the carrots diced, the potato and leek. Add a ball of foil paper in the body cavity to prevent the stuffing from falling out. Next carefully tie the legs of the turkey with a kitchen string (avoid colored string or any other strings other than the ones used for roasting as you may end up like Bridget Jones with a coloured turkey bottom or maybe in whole!). You can also use metal skewers to close up the turkey cavity.
4. Stuff the turkey neck with some parsley and rosemary sprigs and close it up with string and thin skewers. Make sure to fasten the turkey wings with a string around the body.
5. Rub more butter or olive oil on the outside of the turkey with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper and/or paprika.
6. Now depending on the type of oven you use, flip the turkey on its breast side first or the roasting  rack with a roasting tray at the bottom of the rack to retain the juices that drip from the turkey. The idea behind this is to ensure that the turkey breast retains the juices of the turkey and is succulent. Add sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary to the outside of the turkey as well for extra flavour.
7. Now cook the turkey on a high 215○C (approx 400○F) for the first half hour. For the next two hours, reduce it to 200○C and for the last hour at 180○C. You can flip the bird on its back on a high of 250○C for about 3-5 minutes, in case you want the breast side slightly more brown. You can either monitor the temperature of the turkey using a meat thermometer or just use a butter knife to insert into the breast, the juices should be clear and not pinkish. Once you take out the turkey from the oven, wait about 10-15 minutes before you carve the meat.
8. Serve on a bed of cleaned romaine lettuce with remaining diced carrots, rosemary/thyme sprig and with choicest rolls or spiced rice of your choice! Serve with Turkey Stuffing and Gravy! Enjoy!

Drumsticks in Spinach Gravy

A nutrition enriched dish that is excellent for children and adults alike. Drumsticks, also known as the wonder stick is a great blood purifier and useful in strengthening bones. It is also good for pregnant women as it helps in any pre or post delivery complications. It also helps ease any chest congestion,  coughs and sore throat. Inhaling the steam off water in which drumsticks have been boiled in helps relieve asthma and lung problems.

I made this dish along with Lamb curry and served it with rice. I must say that although it was on-the-fly, the combination was amazingly in sync with each other.

Drumsticks in Spinach Gravy served over rice

To make this super simple dish,

You need:

• 12 drumsticks, each stick chopped into 3 pieces
• 2-3 bunches of green spinach, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic and 1" ginger crushed to a paste
• 1 large shallot finely diced
• 2 green peppers chopped
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp of dry mango powder or 1 cup of tomato puree
• 1 tbsp of paprika powder
• 1 tsp of white pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 cup of filtered water
• Salt to taste

The make:

Preparation Time: 10 -20minutes| Cooking Time: 30 minutes| Serves 4 adults

1. Soak the drumsticks and spinach in some vinegar, salt and turmeric powder and allow to stand for 10-20 minutes. Rinse well and strain. 
2. Heat the oil in  a deep bottomed non-stick skillet on a high temperature. Lower the heat and toss in the shallot and the green peppers and saute till the onions turn translucent.
3. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute for 1 minute.
4. Next add the paprika, white pepper and salt and saute for a minute. 
5. Add the tomato puree and  and spinach. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. 
6. Add lemon juice, water and drumsticks. Stir well and cover and cook for 15 minutes.
7. Uncover and check if the drumsticks are cooked well. If not, additionally cook for another 5-10 minutes.
8. Serve hot with rice or pasta as desired. Bon Appetit

Baked Rohu fish with toasted veggies in fish sauce

Rohu or Rohi is a fish that belongs to the carp family Cyprinidae commonly found in rivers and freshwater lakes in and around South East Asia and South Asia. It is also commonly used in Northern India, Pakistan and Iraq. This fish was introduced to me once I was on a special diet using ayurvedic medication which allow use of freshwater fish in the diet. However the recipe is an original as I wanted to explore how best to use this fish besides the traditional keralite preparation and also because we  do not use much coconut in our diet these days. I am certain that if you are a fish lover that you would definitely enjoy this preparation. I have to admit that while I was a bit skeptical that Anup would not enjoy this make, he and my little one definitely loved this preparation to bits.

Baked Rohu with Toasted Veggies in Fish Sauce

You need:

• 1.5 kg Rohu fish, cleaned and cut into fish steak sizes (you can leave some of the skin on and remove it later before serving)
• 3-4 carrots, diced finely lengthwise
• 1-2 bunches of green spinach, chopped finely
• 12 cloves of garlic, crushed and diced
• 2" ginger, sliced finely
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp of worcestershire sauce(optional)
• 1-2 tsp of chili flakes
• 1 tbsp of paprika powder or you can use Kashmiri Chili Powder
• 1-2 tsp of pepper powder (optional)
• 3-4 green chilis chopped finely (I used the less spicy version - little fatter than Kerala green chilies but less fatter than the ones you get for making bajiyyas). Each green chili can bediced into 3-4 thin slices
• 2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
• 1-2 tbsp of Olive oil or EVOO
• Rock Salt to taste
• Aluminium foil as required

The make:

Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking Time: 40-45 minutes | Serves 6 adults

1. Marinate the fish steaks with salt, paprika powder, pepper (optional) and ginger garlic paste and set aside. The longer you leave it, the better as experienced.
2. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes on a high about 210ºC
3. Take a baking dish of a size enough to spread the fish steaks without overlapping and add 1/4 full of filtered water. 

Baking tray with 1/4 full water

4. Carefully line the baking tray with foil without tearing. It helps not to have long nails while doing this and tuck the sides in carefully to the baking tray. Ensure there is no water spillage on the foil, if not start again.

5. Drizzle some olive oil on the foil and do not bother to evenly spread as you may tear the foil and nevertheless, this fish usually returns some good fats/oil in the cooking process. I would always suggest getting a 1.5 kg of Rohu fish as it has good oil residue and also the meat is more tender than its lesser weighted partners.

6. Place the marinated fish steaks on the foil and drizzle the soya sauce, worcestershire sauce, chili flakes on all the pieces. Add the ginger and garlic over all the fish steaks.

Marinated Rohu steaks with ginger, garlic and chili flakes on top

7. Next top the fish steaks with spinach and  carrot sticks and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle a dash of salt (taking care not to add too much as the fish juice would return with some salt as well). Top with slit green chilies.

Topped with spinach leaves

Rohu fish steaks topped with carrot sticks

8. Cover with foil without tucking in the sides. This will ensure that the fish cook evenly without drying and will allow for some steam to release moderately.

Cover with foil

9. Lower the heat of the oven to 200ºC (medium heat) and carefully place the baking tray to avoid the water from seeping or spilling from below the foil or  through the sides.


10. Bake for about 25 minutes and you can lower the heat and take of the top foil to check on the fish and turn over if you like. I did not as my oven has heat both on the top and below of the oven. It is especially not required since you have covered the fish with the foil. Return the foil back to the top and turn the flame back to 200ºC and cook for another 20 minutes. Once cooked, allow it to rest in the oven for at least 5-10 minutes. Check if cooked or if you need any additional minutes. 40 minutes should suffice in my opinion.

Baked Rohu ready

10. Take the fish steaks out carefully with a flat spatula on to the serving dish with the veggies on top. You will find a nice clear fish stock at the bottom, you can take the sauce onto a gravy bowl and serve separately.


Serve hot with hot rolls or rice!

Baked Rohu with Veggies in Fish Sauce and  Rice

Lamb Curry

Off late I have made a couple of recipes using Lamb. This interest came about as I was avoiding chicken for several months due to health reasons and as per the Ayurvedic doctor's advice for alternate meat options. I have also opted for dry mango powder (again the Ayurvedic's advice - avoiding tomatoes for a while). I got a good produce of lamb from the vendor. I am not too keen of boneless meat unless it is a good cut of steak otherwise I am known to enjoy the boned meat esp. the marrow. The marrow bone otherwise known as the whistle in my home has been a cause of many a sibling argument :)

Lamb Curry for the soul -  comfort food!

This recipe was inspired by my taste buds one afternoon and is quite simple as I wanted to have some comfort food that afternoon. These are the times one really misses one's mum. I thought of her all the while when I planned to make this dish, to making it and whilst eating it as well :) No wonder it turned out so well.

You have two options to cook this curry, one is through slow cooking which is preferred however if you do not have a slow cooker, you can also opt for the pressure cooker.

You need:

• 800 gms of Lamb cut into medium pieces
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp of finely sliced ginger
• 1 tbsp finely diced garlic
• 1 large shallot finely diced
• 2-3 green chilies slit length wise and chopped in half
• 1 stem of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp of dry mango powder/amchur powder (or 1 large tomato diced)
• 1 tbsp of Garam Masala
• 1 tbsp of Kashmiri Chili Powder (or Paprika Powder)
• 1 cup of thick Coconut milk (first milk only) (or 1 tbsp of corn flour or corn starch diluted well with 2-3 tbsp of water) *optional
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp of Meat Masala powder (optional in case you are using my Homemade Garam Masala)
• 1 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2-3 tbsp of water

The Make:

Cooking Time : 60 minutes | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Serves 6-7 adults

As I mentioned, this curry can be made using a slow cooking process, however I will describe the easier process. 

1. Marinate the cleaned lamb pieces with ginger-garlic paste, amchur powder, salt and Garam Masala for at least 15 minutes - 1 hour. As with any meat marinating process, the longer the better (just make sure if its longer, you cover it properly and store in the fridge for up to 3-4 hours).
2. Pressure cook the marinated lamb pieces for 35-40 minutes. It takes at least 3 whistles on high and 1 on low heat. Try not to overcook it. 
3. In a large deep bottomed skillet, heat the oil, splutter the mustard seeds and add the curry leaves. Toss in the shallot and diced ginger and garlic and saute till translucent on medium heat.
4. Add the green chilies and saute for about a minute. Next add the Chili Powder and Meat Masala and mix well for about a minute. Add 2-3 tbsp of water to avoid the masala sticking to the bottom and allow to reach almost a  boil. Then lower the heat.
5. Give the contents of the pressure cooker a good stir and then transfer the contents to the skillet and mix well and allow it to reach a boil which would take about 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Note: Choose if you want to add the entire stock of the lamb. If you would like to leave some behind as you had initially added too much water, then make sure you stir well before you transfer the contents. To avoid this choice, do not add too much water to the pressure cooker whilst cooking. Try the 1:1.5 ratio.
6. This next step is optional. You can add either Coconut milk extract or Cornstarch mixed in water to get a thicker gravy. However, what I did was add half a cup of coconut milk and then I topped it with corn starch. It turned out well. However I know there are people who do not consume Coconut Milk or Corn starch in which case you can end with step 5. 
7. Lower the heat, and add the corn starch dilute and mix well. Allow it to reach a boil on medium heat. Then lower the heat and add the coconut milk extract and stir well and allow to warm. Turn off the heat and serve hot with your choice of rice, bread or Appams and your favourite greens on the side. My recipe on Spinach and Drumsticks gravy will follow soon.

Bon Appetit! Enjoy!

Lamb Curry served with Rice and Spinach and drumsticks gravy

Lamb Curry!

Lamb curry served with Rice

Mummy's Roasted Chicken with a twist

Mummy's Roasted Chicken has always been my personal favourite. Although initially when I made this at home 'A' would not like it at all as it would not get roasted properly or would turn out dry. I realise that I should have placed a foil covering the chicken as well as my cooking range was as old as I was and had lost it full capacity. However this cooking range has been a prized possession and has seen us through some great dinner parties and feasts at home. I finally gave in and 'A' bought me a brand new cooking range on my birthday. I have tried a different type of Chicken Roast recently which I will post very soon.

Roasted Chicken

I am posting this for a dear friend Savina Gois who plans on roasting one of my variants of roast chicken (with BBQ Sauce and Pepper marinade) for her loved ones this weekend. Hope to receive her pictures soon so as to share them with you.

Mum usually makes hers with Red Chili Powder, all spice (Indian) powder (Garam Masala), Salt and Lemon juice. I added a few new variants and it turned out good. In fact, 'A' particularly enjoyed this one as it turned out to be nice and juicy and well-done. The one thing that I missed was to take pictures of the chicken once cut. It was quite late into the night and we were really hungry. Hope to get you shots of this the next time the Chicken visits my oven :)

You need:

• 1 kg whole Fresh Chicken (Skin-on) or Frozen Chicken (Skin on) *You can take out the skin later, it is just to retain the juiciness of the chicken during the cooking process. My vendor did not provide the Fresh Chicken with skin on, so I had to source a new vendor.
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup of mustard (I used my Homemade variety of mustard)
• 2 tbsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp of paprika
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp of rock salt or kosher salt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp of butter or oil

Method:

Cooking Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour | Preparation Time: 20 minutes | Serves 4-6 adults

1. Clean the chicken and with your knife make short cuts in the thighs, wings, breast and back of the chicken. 
2. In a bowl mix the pepper, garlic paste, paprika, salt, honey and mustard. Marinate the chicken with the mixed ingredients and allow it to rest for at least 2 hours. You can leave it longer.
3. For the Apple Cider, you could also add it to the marinade mix. However I did not want the apple cider to overpower the other ingredients, so what I did was during the cooking process, I inserted a sachet made of foil containing the vinegar in the chicken so the vinegar could slowly release during the cooking process. The sachet had a tiny opening about the size of a mustard seed. 
4. Line a baking tray with foil and dab some butter or oil on the base. Carefully place the chicken onto the tray. If your oven does not have upper heating, then cover with a foil (no need to tuck the sides into the tray).
5. Preheat the oven on a high (about 250◦C) for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium (about 215◦C) and place the chicken into the oven and leave it to cook for 40-45 minutes.

6. 

   Marinated chicken flipped over

   

   Marinated Chicken on its back

   Remember I mentioned that I had not covered the chicken with foil, so I had to physically flip the chicken over. Always lower the heat if you attempt to do something like this. You can flip the chicken over after the first 25 minutes. Do not forget to turn the heat back up after flipping it over.
7. Once the 45 minutes is up, use a skewer to check if the chicken is cooked well. If not leave it on for another 10-15 minutes.  Dress with lemon juice or leave it on the side in case of those who do not prefer it with lemon juice. You can also try it with my Homemade BBQ Sauce. This is not a very spicy dish, so kids love it!
8. Serve with some warm bread or pita bread or flavoured rice. You can also set up a nice side salad. I will have some tried and successful salad recipes to follow shortly. Bon Appetit! I assure you that your loved one with thank you for this meal.

Tangy Three Pea (Black Eyed Peas, Cowpeas and Pigeon-Pea) in Sofrito (Spanish Tomato sauce)

It has been a while since my last post. This is because I am on vacation and also because I have been experimenting with some of my older recipes in a modern light and with a few new adventurous recipes inspired by some of my favourite popular chefs. That will follow in posts to come. I have had quite a few requests for international vegetarian cuisine. Today I have for you a Spanish inspired dish that I served with white long grained rice and brown rice. You can also accompany it with Spanish Rice.

Tangy Three Pea in Sofrito served with Rice

I chose the Black Eyed Pea, CowPea and Split Pigeon Pea as I thought it would make for a very good combination and I was right it did! Black Eyed Pea is commonly made over New Year's. It is said to ward of 'Bad Eye' and helps kick start the New Year on a clean slate!

You need:

• 2 bell peppers - finely diced
• 2 cups Homemade Tomato puree or 1 cup crushed tomatoes *Note if using commercial tomato puree, you can add just one can
• 2 cups Black Eyed Peas
• 2 cups Cowpeas or Red Lobia
• 11/2 cups Split Pigeon-Pea or Toor Dal
• 1 tbsp ground pepper 
• 1 tbsp paprika (optional - additional 1 tbsp if you like it spicy)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 large onions diced small
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup vegetable stock (or beef or chicken stock. You can also add  2 cups of sliced chorizo if you are opting for the non-veg option)
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional - 1 tsp Asafoetida powder
• 1 bunch cilantro finely diced
• 1-2 dried red chilies

The make:

Preparation time: 8 hrs, Cooking Time: 1 hour, Serves 4-6 adults

Last stir in



Showing off my 3-pea magic



1. Clean and soak the Black Eyed Peas and Cowpeas overnight with at least 2-3 cups more water than the quantity of peas. Drain off before use.
2. Make a sofrito of the tomato puree, bell peppers, paprika, garlic and salt. Sofrito is a basic tomato sauce that is used commonly all over Spain. I have not mentioned this separately in another recipe as I did not make the traditional one made with crushed tomatoes this time. I basically used my Homemade Tomato Puree along with the above mentioned ingredients. To make the Sofrito, heat 1 tbsp of Olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the bell peppers and saute for another 5 mins. Lower the heat to avoid the veggies from burning and add the tomato puree or crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and paprika. Saute for another 5-10 minutes. Set aside
3. Cook the peas in a deep bottomed pot or pressure cook for 10-15 minutes with Asafoetida(optional) and ground pepper.
4. Saute the dried red chilis in Olive Oil for a minute and add the sofrito. Add the cooked peas to the sofrito and top with cilantro. Serve hot with Spanish Rice or white long grain rice.

Served up!