THE UNBAKED MACARONI WITH VEGETABLES

the unbaked macaroni with vegetables

Another one from my childhood. This one was my mom's simple recipe.

It is so difficult today to imagine life without an oven. Just like the computers today in the study and offices, an oven is essential in a well equipped kitchen.

This dish came along in our kitchen very simply and slowly without notice stayed ever since in my heart. These are vegetables cooked in milk and the juices from the vegetables just blend with the milk and the taste is so amazing and is light on the stomach. The macaroni takes the flavour of the vegetables and milk as they are all cooked together.
For many years I did not make it as I thought my kids may not appreciate it the way I do, and that, I would not like. But one day I decided to give it a go. And LO! My children just loved it. So now we share the same childhood memories, only in different time zones.

I love to eat this with white bread slices slathered with butter, broken into pieces with hand, soaking in the juices and gathering the vegetables with them, gobbling it in the most unsophisticated manner.

You can give it an oomph by toasting croutons in the oven and sprinkling them on your plate and using a spoon instead, but I promise you the taste lies in the unsophisticated style.
This one can be prepared in under 15 minutes from the scratch.
Serves 4

THE UNBAKED MACARONI WITH VEGETABLES

Ingredients:
.Potato........................1/2 cup
.French beans..............1/2 cup
.Carrot........................1/2 cup
.Peas...........................1/2 cup
.Snow peas..................1/2 cup
.Ridge gourd................1/2 cup
.Bottle gourd................1/2 cup
.Cauliflower..................1/2 cup
.Elbow macaroni..........1/2 cup(uncooked)
.Milk............................1 cup
.Water..........................1 cup
.Salt..............................to taste
.Cheddar cheese...........1/4th cup, grated
.Black pepper powder..1/2 tsp./ to taste


Method:
.Peel potatoes and dice them into 1/2 inch cubes. Wash and set aside.
.Wash and de-string snow peas and french beans and cut them into 1 inch pieces.
.Peel the bottle gourd and ridge gourd and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.
.Peel and dice carrots into 1 cm cubes.
.Wash the peas. Frozen peas can be used.
.In a pressure cooker put together all the vegetables, elbow macaroni, milk, water, salt, pepper and half the
 cheese.
.Pressure cook them for 5 minutes, after the pressure has built in the cooker. (2 whistle sounds should be
 sufficient to cook the macaroni to al dente.)
.Remove from the pressure cooker into a serving dish or individually into soup bowls. Garnish with the
 remaining cheddar cheese and some black pepper powder.
.Serve piping hot with buttered bread slices.


Note: The gourds in the dish give it a unique flavour.