Preparation Time : 40 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Serving : 8 members
Description
Being bored with the usual creamy and cheesy mac n cheese , I wanted to come up with a good vegetarian version that’s a treat to the eyes and tasty at the same time . Following my version of Mac n cheese recipe , decided to add puréed spinach for a change in colour and the delightful twist for the veggie version . Tasted after mixing in the spinach purée was good but some thing missing and felt was a bit bland . Added boiled sweet corn kernels and it’s sweetness and crunch helped to break the blandness of the popular treat and added a surprising contrast in colour that I didn’t except at all . Baked and was happy with the total out come of the stylish stunning dish but can’t taste it until on the table as all this pains taking experimenting was done for the vegetarian table spread of sauté , fry n bakes first anniversary celebration . There were more than ten dishes on display that day so was confident will end up with some left overs but I managed to get just a tiny bit ( nearly 1/4 teaspoon ) to just nibble around it . These sort of do ahead dishes help you enjoy a lot of me time leaving way for more fun and bonding with others that makes entertaining much more easy . I made sure to repeat this recipe on a relaxed week end so that we at home could enrich our taste buds with my memories of the 1/4 teaspoon of nibble as it brought with it a melange of flavours .
Ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| macaroni | 400 grams |
| butter | 50 grams + to grease + to dot |
| plain flour ( maida ) | 2 tablespoons |
| milk | 500 ml ( 2 cups ) |
| grated cheese | 2 cups ( I use Amul cheese cubes 1 cup grated and 6 Amul cheese slice ) |
| Onion | 1 big chopped |
| Mixed dried herbs rosemary , thyme , dill , oregano and basi | a pinch each |
| Chilli flakes | to taste |
| Green chillies | 2 slit |
| Garlic | 2 flakes crushed |
| Curry masala powder | 1 tablespoon ( coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon + red chilli powder 1/4 teaspoon + cumin powder - a huge pinch + |
| fennel powder | a huge pinch . Mix altogether to get curry masala powder ) |
| Spinach | 2 cups |
| Sweet corn and capsicum chopped | 1/4 cup each ( optional ) |
| Salt | to taste |
| Bread crumbs | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
Method
- Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling water according to packet instructions (different brands may vary in size & cooking times)
Cook washed spinach with salt to taste and little water . Cool completely and blend to a smooth purée and set aside . - melt the butter in a medium non stick sauce pan and add chopped onion , slit green chillies , crushed garlic and fry to translucent . add the flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute over medium-low heat.
- Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth. Add spinach purée and Stir gently until the mixture comes just to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add the 1/2 the grated cheese and 4 cheese slices , stir until melted and smooth.top with a pinch of all the dried mixed herbs , chilli flakes , salt ( be care full with salt as cheese is already salty ) sweet corn and capsicum .
- Add the curry masala powder making sure the sauce colour remains green in colour . Taste and adjust the sauce . The sauce should be in a semi thick gooey flowing consistency .
- Drain the cooked pasta . Pour cheese sauce over the pasta and stir until well coated.remove the slit green chillies . Grease a ceramic baking tray . pour the cheese sauce coated macaroni .
- top with remaining grated cheese . Sprinkle bread crumbs over . Cut the remaining cheese slice ‘s into thin strips . Place it in a criss cross pattern over the grated cheese .
- Dot the top with little butter all around . Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree celsius for 30 minutes . serve hot .
- I like my mac n cheese creamy so I always make sure it’s still gooey with a cheese melted crust .
- Just add more milk to get a gooey saucy mac n cheese
