Broccoli Soup

 

Thoroughly enjoying Broccoli soups these days...

• Add butter/ghee/oil to a pot or cooker and few pieces of garlic, half onion chopped
• Saute few mins, then add chunks of poosani/zucchini/potato/crushed almonds
• If needed pressure cook the above based on the veggies u used so far
• Then blanch broccoli chunk and add to the above pot with water
• Open cook 5mins and then hand blend with electric blender
• Add one cup milk, pepper, boil few mins
• Yummy Green Soup is ready!

Hand Blender Soups

 

Recently got hooked on to my hand blender soups! One pot, no oil, no ghee recipe!

• Add 2 spoons toor daal to pressure cooker,turmeric,1 spoon salt,4 cups water,dont cook yet
• Add to the above big chunks of medium onion, 2 tomatoes, 1 carrot
• Add 3 other veggies if you have - red bell pepper, pumpkin, poosanikkai, squash, zuchinni
• Pressure cook, and in 15mins open and hand blend using the electric blender
• Boil 5mins, turn off with pepper powder and cilantro topping!
• Yummy Yummy Soup is ready!!!

Traditional Okra Soup (Alt. Cauliflower)

 

Winter days...enjoying soup atleast 3 days a week..so wanted to share these recipes in my blog...

• Pressure cook a spoon or 2 spoons of toor dhaal and one medium sized tomato, turmeric
• Blend it well with hand blender
• Add 2 spoons ghee to a pot, saute sliced onions and one g.chilli
• Add cinnamon stick, pepper, saunf if you like..in above saute
• Once onions are tender add the veggie you like, add one cup water, half spoon salt
• Cook few mins and then add the dhaal water
• Cook few mins, turn off with pepper powder and cilantro toppings!
• Veggies Options - Beets or Cauliflower or Okra - one of these!

Squash Rice (Opo Squash / Lauki / Sorrakkai)

• Soak one cup extra long grain rice
• Add oil/ghee to a big pan
• Add mustard, jeera, saunf..whatever to your liking
• Add sliced onions, tomatoes, slit green chillies, curry leaves
• Add grated ginger, garlic
• Saute well and then add big diced squash, 1.5 spoons salt
• Add 2.5 cups water, let is boil, then add the soaked rice
• Close lid, cook for 15 to 25mins
• Top it with cilantro and crushed roasted peanuts.
• Yum Yum Lauki Rice is ready!

Vegetable Biryani (No Coconut Milk)

•  Add to a bowl...4 spoons curd, little chilli powder, turmeric powder, little garam masala powder, 1.5 spoons salt
• Mix well and add chopped mint and cilantro
• Add 3 to 4 veggies, today's trial is on Baby Corn, Tofu and Mushroom.
• Mix all well and marinate in fridge for atleast few hours
• Soak 1 cup extra long basmati rice in water
• Then in a big non stick pan, add ghee, onion, tomato..saute 2 mins
• Grind ginger, garlic, 3 green chillies and add to the pan
• Saute well and then add the marinated gravy along with veggies
• Saute 5mins, then add the soaked rice without the water
• Add 1.5 cups water if there is already lot of water in the gravy, otherwise add little more
• Close lid, cook for 15 to 25mins
• Yum Yum Biryani is ready! Add roasted Cashews or croutons if you like!

Restaurant style kulambu ( pavakkai/karela/egg/eggplant/okra)

 

After a long time, got a new recipe for kulambu kind of gravy. Thanks to my walking buddy! I wish I had learnt it early in my cooking career :-)

• Add oil to tava, season with mustard, urad, methi, pepper, jeera/cumin
• Add diced onions, garlic and one tomato, saute well
• Add kulambu veggie...eggplant or karela or bindhi
• In a mixie jar - add little onion, one small tomato, jeera/cumin, pepper, big jeera (saunf), few curry leaves, little cilantro, 4 cashews - Raw grind all of them together
• Add the paste to the saute pan above, along with sambar powder and dhania powder
• Add water, salt for the gravy and let all the masalas boil well
• Add tamarind water and cook few more minutes
• Add tiny jaggery and cook for a min and turn off
• Goes well with Rice, dosas, idlis, adai.
• Tempted to try making egg kulambu this style!!!!

Dahi vada / Dahi bread (French/Sour Baguette)

 

Recently in summer I learnt a quick recipe from my Austin friend and I never thought it would taste this yummy :-) Here we go

• Buy a sour baguette or french baguette, slice it at the store itself
• In a tava, add oil, mustard, asafoetida, curry leaves - seasoning is ready
• In a bowl mix the seasoning, with lots of curd and salt as per taste
• In a mixie jar, grind tiny coconut, ginger, one or 2 green chillies
• Add to the curd, mix well, add water and make it like running consistency
• Pour half of the liquid to the bread and in an hour pour the rest half
• Top it with cilantro and serve...super yummy dahi vada taste with less efforts!