Desi Shells

This is one of my favs. Something that my mom would cook for me and now I do 'em for my kids. My lil son loved it...no doubts about it..Come'on it is macroni shells. Would any kid say no to it. I bet not. So he gets the yummy shells and I get to cook it in desi style. Two happy people and one happy meal :) Now for the recipe.

Ingredients:


Macroni shells - as needed
Tomatoes - 2
Onion - 1
Capsicum/Bell pepper - 1/2
Salt - as needed
Coriander leaves - to garnish
A dash of lemon juice.

Cook the shells as per the instructions in the box. Remember to always put the shells into the water after it comes to a boil and do not make them mushy soft. They need to stay a lil in shape when taken out of water. I add a drop of the oil to the water so that the shells do not stick to each other and also shock them up with some running cold water as soon as I take them off the stove to drain.

For the masala, in a pan add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add onions. Add salt to cook onions fast. Now wait till they turn translucent and then add the tomatoes and capsicum. Cook till they all merge together to form one dry curry...and it gets difficult to separate tomatoes and onions visually. Add the cooked shells to this curry and mix it well. Garnish with some coriander leaves and add a dash of lemon juice to it. You can add green peas, corn if you like to this Desi shells.