For aaloo, for basil

Method:
Take the couscous (or lapsi) in a shallow bowl, pour enough just-boiled water to cover it, and let it sit. Chop the olives, and the cherry tomatoes into halves. Also chop the spring onions and parsley fine. When the couscous has absorbed all the water and swollen up and looks dry, break it with the help of a fork, clearing lumps if any, so that you get an even, powdery mass. Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley, spring onions, lemon juice, paprika (or pepper), salt and olive oil, mixing well, breaking any lumps.

Nigella's Linguine with fresh Pesto and Beans

Almost every afternoon, Re and I stare wistfully, sometimes in awe, at Nigella Lawson in Nigella's Kitchen. We watch her transforming the mundane into the seductive. Her lazy, effortless way of cooking is something that I am trying to adopt, although I definitely don't sound as convincing when I say, "When I am in the kitchen, I'm happy", yet.



Pasta was always a favourite for Re, ever since I saw a strand of spaghetti making its way from my plate to Re's mouth at nine months. It was made in a tomato-based sauce with bell peppers, mushrooms, and aubergine, and he picked out the yellow and red bits and ate them too.

He's ready for world cuisine, I thought to myself. Nigella's Linguine with pesto, potatoes and beans, however, is a green pasta with oodles of texture and hidden beans. Not only is it an exciting break from regular red pastas, it also offers us an option to white, cheesy sauce. Off I went shopping, and set up a play date with the screechy girl next door, who for once called me auntie, instead of Lalita, and said at the end of the meal, "I really like this. I really like you!"

Re signed off with an impersonation of Nigella, eating the linguine with both hands, sinking it into his teeth as if it were dental floss, and pulling it on either side. It was classic. I love you, Nigella.

Here's how it's made

Ingredients:
250 g linguine
A medium sized bunch of basil (or two packets from the supermarket)
Parmesan (100 g)
Extra Virgin Olive oilu00a0-- one tablespoon
Two medium sized potatoes
100 gm French beans, destringed (around 15-20 beanstalks) and halved (or whole, if small)
Four cloves of garlic
Salt to taste

Method:
(Pesto sauce) Blend the basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil to a coarse mixture with a little salt. You can add some of the pasta stock (water in which pasta has been boiled) to the blend to make a good puree.

(Pasta) Chop the potatoes and add them to a large pot of water and bring to boil, adding a little salt. When the potatoes are half done, add the linguine to the same pot, mixing well. Five minutes later, add the beans (whole, preferably) to the mixture, mixing well to ensure the potatoes, the pasta and potatoes are evenly cooked.

When the beans are cooked to a crunch, switch off and drain the pasta. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl and mix the pesto with it. (You can use some of the pasta boiling water to the pesto to give it a better consistency).

Mix the pasta with the pesto well with a large fork. You will notice that the potatoes would crumble in, adding further texture to the pesto sauce and ensuring you get an even mix.

Tzatziki

At nine months, I would wonder whether Re was ready for adult food. Then, at a house party, I served up Tzatziki as one of the dips on a platter with lavash and soup sticks. Initially, Re began to dip in, using a soup stick. Then, as he realised that none of us were really noticing him, he decided to abandon the soupstick and dig into the Tzatziki with his fingers. Soon he was wearing a mask of dip, and my guests stared at him open-mouthed.



"Is he ready to eat dips?" someone asked, tentatively. He bloody well was. The Tzatziki was the first sign that Re found baby-food and its mushy, gooey avatars disrespectful to his sensibilities. He was ready for the real thing.

Dips are a great way to legitimise frequent snacking. All you need are some crackers, lavash or baguette slices, pav or carrot and cucumber sticks, a bowl of Tsatsiki or Hummus or Guacamole, and you can dig in any number of times a day.

Here's how it's made

Ingredients:
Two small cucumbers (or one large one), grated
One medium tub (400 g) of dahi
One small bunch of dill (3-4 stalks) with the stalks removed
Juice of one lemon
One tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
One small teaspoon of paprika (you can also use pepper)
One teaspoon of honey (optional)
Salt to taste

Method:
Hang the curd till all the water drains off. Set aside. Grate the cucumber, add some salt to it and set aside. The salt will exude all the water from the cucumber which you can then squeeze dry and set aside. In a bowl, mix the curd, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, and honey. Add olive oil and more salt if required and mix well.

Read Lalita's other culinary exploits with her son on https://mommygolightly.wordpress.com

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