It has been several months since I have made the Indian style bake dish that my Dubai cousin’s live-in cook, Gangaram used to make the best. It’s a simple combination of sweet-ish cheesy white sauce and mix veggies baked together under a lovely blanket of cheese and melting butter.
Last night, my cousin/roommate Shaily suggested making this bake dish sometime this week for dinner. I got excited and said “why wait?! Let’s make it tomorrow!” So today evening, as soon as I came home after a nice walk, I quickly whipped up this bake dish for a warm, relaxing and fulfilling dinner.
Indian Style Bake Dish
For the veggie mix:
2 – onions, chopped and sauteed in a 2 tbsp oil
1 cup – green peas
3 medium – carrots, chopped
1 cup – frozen corn kernels
2 cups – french beans, cut into 1″ pieces
1) Boil about 4 cups of water in a sauce pan with 1 tsp salt and add in all the vegetables except onions. Cook until they are completely tender. Drain out the water and set aside.
For the Cheesy White Sauce:
3 tbsp – butter or oil (I used oil)
3 tbsp (heaped) – plain flour
3 cups – milk
1 small tin (113 g) – cheddar cheese, roughly cubed (use Amul cheese or Kraft blue tin cheese — I used Kraft)
1 – green chili, finely chopped
salt, pepper, sugar and crushed red pepper to taste
For the Topping:
1 small tin (113 g) – cheddar cheese, grated
Green bell pepper and tomato slices
2 tbsp – butter (try to use Amul butter)
1) Heat the oil/butter in a saucepan. Add in the flour and cook until it’s lightly browned. Slowly add in the milk whisking the mixture continuously to avoid forming lumps. Let it simmer till thickened.
2) Add in the cheese, sauteed onions, boiled veggies and green chili and stir until the cheese melts. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and crushed red pepper.
3) Pour this mixture into a lightly greased glass baking dish. Cover the top generously with grated cheese and arrange the pepper and tomato slices decoratively. Scatter dots of butter on the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it in a preheated oven (400 degree F/200 degree C) for about 20 minutes until the cheese melts and the top browns slightly.
4) Squiggle some ketchup if desired.
5) Dig in and relish the richness of this dish.
6) And oh, don’t forget to workout next morning! 🙂
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