Lasagna one of the many Italian delicacies, is my favorite amongst pastas. I have had Lasagna at various places in Mumbai, PopTates, Malad, Pizza by the Bay (erstwhile Pizzeria), Churchgate, JugHeads, Powai, to name a few. Each of these Lasagna tastes yummy, though different. I myself like the one served at Pizza by the Bay.
For a learner like me, preparing Lasagna was a tedious task, and I had messed up the whole kitchen (which eventually I only had to clean). This is a must when you experiment with cooking.
This recipe has the following sub recipe
1. Lasagna sheets
2. Red curry
3. White curry
4. Roasted vegetables
5. Lasagna Layering and baking
2 C All purpose flour, extra for dusting
1 TS Olive oil
1/2 ts Salt
1 TS Mayonnaise
for Red curry
1 Carrot, small to medium size, roughly chopped
4 Tomatoes, roughly chopped
50 gm Paneer ( Gouda Cheese, optional),
100 gm tomato ketchup
2 Onions, medium size, finely chopped
2 to 3 Garlic Cloves, medium to large size, chopped/minced/sliced
1 TS Olive Oil
Salt to taste
White Pepper 1 T
Italian Seasoning 1 T (Optional)
for White curry
85 gm Butter
85 gm All purpose flour (Maida, I used regular wheat flour though)
750 ml Milk
1 ts Salt (to taste)
for Roasted vegetables
1 Aubergine (eggplant, baingan, medium size), sliced
1 Cucumber (medium size), sliced
1 ts Olive oil
for Lasagna Layering and baking
5 to 6 Spinach leaves (fresh, medium to large size)
Salt & Black Pepper for seasoning
1 ts Olive oil
4 to 5 Cheese slices
50 gm Grated Paneer or Cheese
The recipe which I had referred to had eggs in it. I have replaced eggs with eggless mayonnaise. I guess it is basically the binder which we are looking for and so kneading the dough in milk i/o water would also do (its a guess, please do try and let me know if it works).
2 C All purpose flour (preferably maida, though I used regular gehun ka atta a.k.a wheat flour), extra for dusting
1 TS Olive oil (there was no olive oil at home so I used regular cooking oil, can also use melted butter, but double the quantity)
1/2 ts Salt
1 TS Mayonnaise
Sieve the flour & salt in a large bowl/plate and make a well in the center. Add mayonnaise, water (1/2 C) to the flour salt mixture. Gradually draw the flour into water. Keep adding water and mixing the flour till you form a dough. Ensure that you do not end up adding too much water. The dough should be smooth and elastic though but not too soft. Once the dough is ready, drop the oil in the bowl/plate and knead the dough into it.
Set aside the dough for 30 minutes. To avoid drying and scaling on the surface cover the bowl with clean damp cotton cloth or plastic wrap
Divide the dough into 4 to 5 equal portions. Take one portion to roll it into a ball using your plams. Let the other balls/portions be covers under the cloth while you do the next steps. Lightly dust the ball with flour and also the rolling surface. Using a rolling pin (belan, latna) roll it as thin as possible. To avoid sticking to the surface/rolling pin keep dusting intermittently.
The rolled dough sheet can be cut a. to fit the container in which you plan to bake the lasagna or b. 8 x 14cm rectangles. Once cut, lightly dust with flour and keep them covered. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining dough (including the cut-outs)
85 gm Butter
85 gm All purpose flour (Maida, I used regular wheat flour though)
750 ml Milk
1 ts Salt (to taste)
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, then cook for 2 mins. Slowly whisk in milk, then bring to the boil, stirring. Turn down heat, then cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Allow it to cool before using in Lasagna layering.
1 Aubergine (eggplant, baingan, medium size), sliced
1 Cucumber (medium size), sliced
1 ts Olive oil (I used regular cooking oil)
In a frying pan heat the oil and add the eggplant and cucumber to it. Roast it evenly from both sides till it appeared to be charred.
If you have grill at home, I would recommend grilling these vegetables. Brush the slices with oil and grill for several minutes each side until char-grilled, then remove.
Lasagna Sheets
Red Curry
White Curry
Roasted Vegetables
5 to 6 Spinach leaves (fresh, medium to large size)
Salt & Black Pepper for seasoning
1 ts Olive oil
4 to 5 Cheese slices
50 gm Grated Paneer or Cheese
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/ 375 degrees F. Brush the inside of a large baking dish with oil. Pour half of the red curry, cover with lasagna sheets. Next layer with spinach leaves, roasted vegetables. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Layer with cheese slices. Cover with lasagna sheets. Add half of the white curry, spreading it evenly. Cover wit Lasagna sheets. Add the remainder of red sauce and cover it with pasta sheets. Now spread the remainder of white sauce all over making sure you do not see any pasta sheet or its layers poking through. Sprinkle half the grated paneer/ cheese
Bake at 180-190 degree Celsius covered with foil for about 40 to 45 minutes. While covering ensure that the foil does not stick to the cheese layer. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes till the top layer is golden brown. Let it stand for 15 minutes in the oven. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated paneer or cheese and serve with garlic bread
This recipe can also be tried as
- only three layer viz red sauce, pasta sheets, roasted vegetables, pasta sheets and white sauce
- alternate layers of red and white sauce (min 2, max 3) between the pasta sheets
- red sauce, pasta sheets, roasted vegetables, pasta sheets, red sauce, and cheese slices
For a learner like me, preparing Lasagna was a tedious task, and I had messed up the whole kitchen (which eventually I only had to clean). This is a must when you experiment with cooking.
This recipe has the following sub recipe
1. Lasagna sheets
2. Red curry
3. White curry
4. Roasted vegetables
5. Lasagna Layering and baking
Ingredients
for Lasagna sheets2 C All purpose flour, extra for dusting
1 TS Olive oil
1/2 ts Salt
1 TS Mayonnaise
for Red curry
1 Carrot, small to medium size, roughly chopped
4 Tomatoes, roughly chopped
50 gm Paneer ( Gouda Cheese, optional),
100 gm tomato ketchup
2 Onions, medium size, finely chopped
2 to 3 Garlic Cloves, medium to large size, chopped/minced/sliced
1 TS Olive Oil
Salt to taste
White Pepper 1 T
Italian Seasoning 1 T (Optional)
for White curry
85 gm Butter
85 gm All purpose flour (Maida, I used regular wheat flour though)
750 ml Milk
1 ts Salt (to taste)
for Roasted vegetables
1 Aubergine (eggplant, baingan, medium size), sliced
1 Cucumber (medium size), sliced
1 ts Olive oil
for Lasagna Layering and baking
5 to 6 Spinach leaves (fresh, medium to large size)
Salt & Black Pepper for seasoning
1 ts Olive oil
4 to 5 Cheese slices
50 gm Grated Paneer or Cheese
1. Lasagna Sheets
2 C All purpose flour (preferably maida, though I used regular gehun ka atta a.k.a wheat flour), extra for dusting
1 TS Olive oil (there was no olive oil at home so I used regular cooking oil, can also use melted butter, but double the quantity)
1/2 ts Salt
1 TS Mayonnaise
Sieve the flour & salt in a large bowl/plate and make a well in the center. Add mayonnaise, water (1/2 C) to the flour salt mixture. Gradually draw the flour into water. Keep adding water and mixing the flour till you form a dough. Ensure that you do not end up adding too much water. The dough should be smooth and elastic though but not too soft. Once the dough is ready, drop the oil in the bowl/plate and knead the dough into it.
Set aside the dough for 30 minutes. To avoid drying and scaling on the surface cover the bowl with clean damp cotton cloth or plastic wrap
Divide the dough into 4 to 5 equal portions. Take one portion to roll it into a ball using your plams. Let the other balls/portions be covers under the cloth while you do the next steps. Lightly dust the ball with flour and also the rolling surface. Using a rolling pin (belan, latna) roll it as thin as possible. To avoid sticking to the surface/rolling pin keep dusting intermittently.
The rolled dough sheet can be cut a. to fit the container in which you plan to bake the lasagna or b. 8 x 14cm rectangles. Once cut, lightly dust with flour and keep them covered. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining dough (including the cut-outs)
2. Red Curry
It can also be termed as Red Sauce. The ingredients are
1 Carrot, small to medium size, roughly chopped
4 Tomatoes, roughly chopped
50 gm Paneer ( Gouda Cheese, optional),
50 gm Paneer ( Gouda Cheese, optional),
100 gm tomato ketchup
2 Onions, medium size, finely chopped
2 to 3 Garlic Cloves, medium to large size, chopped/minced/sliced
1 TS Olive Oil (I used regular cooking oil)
Salt to taste
White Pepper 1 T
Italian Seasoning 1 T (Optional)
White Pepper 1 T
Italian Seasoning 1 T (Optional)
Heat the oil in a sauce pan. Add onions, and garlic to it. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes with intermittent stirring. Add carrot, paneer and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat till the carrots are softened and onions turned translucent. Add the tomatoes to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato ketchup. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, Cook it covered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. A thick red curry is what we are looking to get at. Allow it to cool before using in Lasagna layering.
In the curry, you can also include vegetables like bell pepper (Green, red, yellow etc), broccoli and season it with nutmeg (jaiphal) powder.
In the curry, you can also include vegetables like bell pepper (Green, red, yellow etc), broccoli and season it with nutmeg (jaiphal) powder.
3. White Curry
85 gm All purpose flour (Maida, I used regular wheat flour though)
750 ml Milk
1 ts Salt (to taste)
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, then cook for 2 mins. Slowly whisk in milk, then bring to the boil, stirring. Turn down heat, then cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Allow it to cool before using in Lasagna layering.
4. Roasted Vegetables
1 Cucumber (medium size), sliced
1 ts Olive oil (I used regular cooking oil)
In a frying pan heat the oil and add the eggplant and cucumber to it. Roast it evenly from both sides till it appeared to be charred.
If you have grill at home, I would recommend grilling these vegetables. Brush the slices with oil and grill for several minutes each side until char-grilled, then remove.
5. Lasagna Layering and Baking
Red Curry
White Curry
Roasted Vegetables
5 to 6 Spinach leaves (fresh, medium to large size)
Salt & Black Pepper for seasoning
1 ts Olive oil
4 to 5 Cheese slices
50 gm Grated Paneer or Cheese
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/ 375 degrees F. Brush the inside of a large baking dish with oil. Pour half of the red curry, cover with lasagna sheets. Next layer with spinach leaves, roasted vegetables. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Layer with cheese slices. Cover with lasagna sheets. Add half of the white curry, spreading it evenly. Cover wit Lasagna sheets. Add the remainder of red sauce and cover it with pasta sheets. Now spread the remainder of white sauce all over making sure you do not see any pasta sheet or its layers poking through. Sprinkle half the grated paneer/ cheese
Bake at 180-190 degree Celsius covered with foil for about 40 to 45 minutes. While covering ensure that the foil does not stick to the cheese layer. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes till the top layer is golden brown. Let it stand for 15 minutes in the oven. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated paneer or cheese and serve with garlic bread
This recipe can also be tried as
- only three layer viz red sauce, pasta sheets, roasted vegetables, pasta sheets and white sauce
- alternate layers of red and white sauce (min 2, max 3) between the pasta sheets
- red sauce, pasta sheets, roasted vegetables, pasta sheets, red sauce, and cheese slices
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