Ravioli is basically an Italian dish which is very popular all over the world. Ravioli are a type of dumpling composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough. They are usually served with a pasta sauce on the side or served in a soup bowl filled with sauce and ravioli dipped in it.
Different ingredients are used as filling and for sauce. Most common ingredients are spinach, ricotta cheese and squash. Some new flavors and tastes are also experimented. For example, I came across spinach cheese ravioli with pumpkin sauce (Times of India) and Jackfruit ravioli with chilli cardamom emulsion (Deccan Chronicle)!
I requested Doreen Gillespie to contribute this recipe. It is a real fusion of ingredients, flavors and tastes!! She has done a great job making the ravioli, photographed all the details and documented the whole stuff!
Doreen's recipe follows in her own words! Try it and enjoy!!
When I make pasta, I enjoy experimenting with different flours, seasoning, and vegetables in the pasta dough both for nutrition and for flavor, so I rarely make it the same way twice. I encourage you to experiment, too! Many people make pasta with a basic white flour (maida), eggs and salt. But I always use a base of semolina flour, made from durum wheat. Instead of 100% semolina, however, I use 50% semolina and make up the balance with various other flours. I suggest that at least some of the other flours contain gluten (wheat, oat, barley etc.). I have also experimented with acorn flour, chickpea flour (besan), and millet flour. In the US grocery stores carry Bob's Red Mill products, so they should have the semolina. The semolina found in India is likely not from durum wheat, so it may not yield as firm pasta as ideal, but feel free to try it.
I use eggs in my pasta, but you can substitute water for the eggs. The texture will be different, and the dough will be a little more fragile than I prefer for ravioli, but the pasta will still be tasty!
For this pasta, I blended fresh kale into the eggs for a very fine puree. The kale makes the pasta a brilliant green and also adds nutrition and flavor. Spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, chard, or other greens could be used similarly. If you use mustard greens, expect that they may impart a stronger flavor than the other greens.
I have made ravioli with many different fillings, and I have recently been experimenting with using ajwain leaves. Ajwain (
Trachyspermum ammi) is grown easily in the USA, though I have not gotten it to flower and produce the more commonly used seeds in Western Washington State. I grow it outside from April through October, then bring plants inside for the winter. The plants can be started from cuttings extremely easily. Ajwain is also known as Indian oregano, Cuban oregano and Spanish oregano. The variety common in India (and grown in the US) has large succulent leaves that can grow to up to 2 - 3 inches. A small-leaved variety is also available in the US, frequently known by the same names and sharing a similar flavor. Ajwain can be grown outside when temperatures are above 45 degrees F and grown indoors year-round. When grown outside, it does best when not grown in full sun.
For this recipe, I based my filling on a recipe for thuvaiyal from this following site.
http://www.tastyappetite.net/2011/11/karpooravalli-ajwain-leaves-thuvaiyal.html?m=1
You can use the basic thuvaiyal as the filling, but I added winter squash and paneer for a richer flavor.
Pasta dough:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup semolina flour (durum)
- 1/2 cup atta
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 2 eggs (or about 3/8cup water)
- 8 large lacinato kale leaves, stripped off the stalks (palak or any greens)
- 1tsp. salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin (jeera)
Directions:
- Mix the flours, salt and cumin powder.
- In a blender, puree kale into eggs (or water), see the picture below.
- Mix liquid puree into the dry mixture, using hands to thoroughly mix into a dough.
- If necessary, add only enough additional water to fully moisten all the flour. Knead the dough to fully mix, but it may not be smooth. The dough should be stiff. If it is too moist, it will be difficult to roll through a pasta machine, but slightly more moisture is needed if rolling out with a rolling pin.
- Wrap dough in plastic or place in a covered dish and set aside (refrigerator or room temperature) for at least one hour. This will ensure even moisture distribution and result in a smoother dough.
Filling:
Make thuvaiyal recipe below (modified from original recipe on website mentioned above.)
Ingredients:
- 15 large (2 inch wide or larger ajwain leaves. (about 100gm total)
- 2 tsp. oil
- 1/4 cup urad dal
- 1Tbsp. coriander seeds (sabud dhaniya)
- 3/4 tsp cumin (jeera seeds)
- 1 dry red chili
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp turmeric powder
- 2 Tbsp jiggery
- 1/4 tsp methi-mustard powder
- Salt to taste
- 3/4 cup peeled and cubed winter squash (sugar pumpkin, butternut, kabocha etc.)
- 1/2 cup paneer (about 100gm)
Directions:
- Wash the fresh ajwain leaves
- Heat oil in a fry pan.
- Roast urad dal to golden color, set aside.
- Add ajwain leaves to the hot pan and sauté for about three minutes; set aside. The leaves will not completely wilt or look cooked.
- Add coriander seeds, cumin, red chili and garlic to the hot pan.
- Roast until seeds start to change color, then add ginger, tamarind paste and jiggery.
- Stir and cook for about one minute; allow to cool.
- In a blender, finely blend all cooked ingredients to a smooth mixture.
- Add methi-mustard powder, hing and salt to taste.
- Steam or roast squash until tender.
- Blend paneer and squash with ajwain mixture until smooth.
Making Ravioli:
To make the ravioli, the pasta needs to be rolled thin. Pictured is an example of a simple pasta machine, which rolls the dough between two cylinders.
This is certainly the easiest way to roll out pasta, but rolling pins also work with more effort. I roll my dough to about 1/16 inch thick, approximately 1.5mm. For rolling out the dough, whether by machine or by a rolling pin, I cut thin slices off the chunk of dough.
If you are rolling with a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 12 inch wide and 16 inch long piece. It can be slightly thicker than roti. Fold and roll again. Repeat the process thrice. Cut into 10 inch by 12 inch sheets.
I show two options here for making ravioli. The simplest way is to place filling onto a full sheet.
I then moisten spaces between the piles (use water) and place a top sheet over the filling. Press the top sheet on to the lower sheet, pushing tightly to seal with your hand.
Ravioli can be cut apart with a knife -- I show here a tool that seals and cuts the ravioli leaving an interesting crimping texture at the same time.
The second option uses a press that may be sold in the US, as a calzone press, empanada press or dough press. In India, a kajjikaya/gujjia press can be used similarly. The bottom edge of the press cuts the dough.
The circle of dough is then placed on top of the press, filled, then sealed by folding and closing the press. Moistening the edges with water before closing the press will make a stronger seal.
Cooking Ravioli:
To cook the ravioli, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. With fresh pasta, it takes only about three minutes to cook, unless the pasta is much thicker than recommended above. Add the made pasta and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain off and serve hot along with sauces.
Final dish:
Three sauces are pictured here. At the bottom left is a commercial traditional Italian tomato sauce. At the bottom right is a commercial pumpkin pasta sauce, diluted 1:1 with drained fresh yogurt. At the top is a homemade shiso pesto diluted into 1:1 mixture of commercial alfredo sauce and drained fresh yogurt.
