Home made Chicken Soup

I loved this one. It's been adapted from various online sources (too many to list here). I doubted how good it would turn out because the ingredients seemed too simplistic. And that is why I kept looking for the "right" recipe to reaffirm my trust in this recipe. My bad. Little did I know that simplistic recipes too have their charm and can surprise!

Ingredients:
1. chicken cubes ripped apart, 1 can
2. 1 carrot, diced
3. 3-4 stalks of celery, minced
4. Chicken broth
5. Chili garlic sauce, 1/2 tsp
6. Salt to taste
7. 1 Bay leaf
8. 1-2 garlic pods, minced
9. 2 Tsp olive oil
10. 1 onion, chopped

Directions:
1. Heat a wok then throw in bay leaf, onion, garlic and stir fry.
2. After 3-4 mins, throw in carrots and celery and cook.
3. When cooked, add in broth, chicken, salt, and chili sauce.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve warm.

Healthy Homemade Vegetable Soup

A figment of my imgination, this recipe is goodness revealed. No sugar, No diary, No gluten. A wholesome and nutritious one pot bowl of comfort.

Ingredients:
1. Carrot, 1, peeled
2. Cauliflower florets, 1/2 of a cauliflower
3. Brocolli head, 1
4. Green onion, 1 bunch, copped
5. Garlic cloves, 2, minced
6. Zuchini, 1, cut up
7. Salt to taste
8. Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
9. Vegetable broth (optional), to desired consistency.
10. Olive oil
11. Celery Stalk, 1, chopped

Directions:
1. In a hot non stick wok, add olive oil, green onions, and garlic.
2. Saute until brown.
3. In a pressure cooker, boil ingredients 1-6 and celery (green onion and garlic from the steps above).
4. Let it cool.
5. Blend in a food processor.
6. Tansfer back to the wok and and salt, pepper and broth.

Serve warm. Garnish with chopped green pepper.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Kutu Ke Pakodi (Buckwheat Flour and Potato Fritters)

Kutu ki pakodi is deep fried fritters and a feast on the days of fasting :-).

It's made of Kutu ka aata or buckwheat flour. It is eaten with yogurt. I love this dish. Since I have been working out more than religiously for the past week, I decided to reward myself with a little bit of oil and salt ;-)
These fritters are eaten after being dipped in flavoured yogurt (Chaach). However some people like to eat it by itself or with some condiment or just ketchup.
This is my Mom's recipe. So far I had only had it in India made by her. It never occured to me that I should also learn the recipe. Then, I moved to North America. My mom sent me some Kutu ka Aata all the way from India as she knew I loved these fritters. So, I then had to call Mom to ask her all about this dish and learn up the recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients for the Fritters:

1. Kutu ka aata (Buckwheat flour)
2. Potatoes, minced
3. Salt
4. Red chili powder
5. Some water.

Ingredients:

1. Mix everything together.

The consistency should be like that of a hard dough.

Directions:

1. Deep fry in batches until they turn brown.

Ingredients for the Yogurt:

1. Yogurt.

2. Red chili powder

3. Salt

4. Water

5. Oil

6. Cumin seeds.

Directions:

1. Whisk yogurt.

2. Add salt.

3. Add water.

4. Add red chili powder.

5. Heat oil and put some cumin seeds in it.

6. Let the cumin change colour, then temper this oil and cumin into the yogurt.

Yam Soup

What's better on a cold winter evening after work then a bowl of home-made warm soup? I love soup as it is healthy and comforting yet tasty. The other day I had some coworkers talk about Yam soup. So far, my grocery has never included Yam. But the conversation intrigued me to try out this vegetable.

Ingredients:
1. 2 Yams, roasted and peeled
2. Onion, 1 large, slices
3. Garlic pods, 4, cut
4. Nutmeg, a pinch
5. Salt
6. Olive oil
7. Pepper

Instructions:
1. Heat a skillet and then ad olive oil.
2. Throw in the onions and sprinkle salt over it.
3. Stir fry for a few minutes then add garlic.
4. Caramelize the onions and lower the heat.
5. Add chopped roasted yam and mash with the back of a ladle.
6. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil.
7. Simmer on low heat for another 10 mins.
8. Let it cool.
9. Blend the liquid to a nice consistency.
10. Transfer it back to the skillet.
11. Add pepper and nutmeg and warm it up.

Serve warm.

Batata Vada (Deep Fried Potato )

1. 4-5 potatoes, boiled, peeled, mashed.
2. Garlic pods, crushed
3. Green chili, crushed
4. Salt to taste
5. Chopped fresh coriander leaves, a small bunch
6. Oil for deep frying
7. Chick pea flour (Besan)
8. Red chili powder
9. Lemon juice or amchoor powder
10. Heeng, a pinch
11. Sodium bi carbonate
12. Green onion, chopped
13. Fresh Curry leaves, 2-3 springs
14. Turmeric powder, 1 tsp

Instructions:
1.Heat oil in a non stick wok.
2. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
3. Add garlic, green onion, chili, curry leaves and saute.
4. Add potatoes, salt, turmeric powder, coriander leaves, lemon juice and cook mix well.
5. Add some fresh green chili on top. Set aside to cool. Make small balls of this potato when cooled.
6. Make a batter of besan, heeng, sodium bicarb, red chili powder (1/4 tsp), salt and water.
7. Dip the potato balls in this batter.
8. Deep fry.


Serve hot with Dhania ki Chutney and Chai.
Serve with buns and call it Vada Pav (a popular Maharashtrian street food)

Tossed Vegetable Salad

I find this the most guilt free and enjoyable meals. Be it main course, side, or appi - Salad will never leave you feeling wrong. I am still learning when it comes to salad recipes but whatever I make now seems to please Mr. Hubby. This recipe is a basic salad with store bought dressing. You can choose to make the dressing at home. I find the store bought ones very convenient and lasting. I am very fond of Balsamic Vinegar for health reasons and because it gives my salad just the right kick of sourness.

1. Broken pieces of romano lettuce.
2. Fresh tomato wedges
3. 1 cucumber,cut into bite size pieces (whatever shape to like)
4. Red onion, finely chopped
5. Balsamic vinegar dressing

Instructions:
1. Throw it all together.
2. Toss.


Voila. A fresh salad is ready. Check out more salad recipes here.

What do you add to your salad to make it different?

Indian Style Perogies

Perogy is a stuffed dumpling. The frozen variants are an easy to cook snack. This is an Indian style Perogy recipe: Perogies with caramelized onions in a melange of Indian spices and infused with a flavoured oil.

Ingredients:
1. Mustard seeds, 1 tsp
2. Cumin seeds, 1 tsp
3. Heeng, a pinch
4. Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder, 1 tsp
6. Cumin powder, 1 tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Onion, half, minced
9. Garlic, 2 pods, linched
10. 1 thai chili, minced.
11. Oil
12. 10 frozen cheese and potato perogies, blanched.

Instructions:
1. Heat a wok and add oil.
2. Crackle mustard seeds in this oil and then add cumin seeds.
3. When the cumin sizzle, add heeng and turmeric powder.
4. Add onion, chili, garlic and saute until the onions turn golden brown.
5. Add coriander powder and cumin powder and blanched perogies.
5. Cook on medium high heat for 5 mins, adD salt and mix flipping the perogies until they turn golden on each side.

Serve warm with a side of sour cream.
Perfect for Breakfast.

Dahi Bhalla/Vada (Lentil dumpings in Flavoured Yogurt Sauce)

My post on Tamarind Chutney was a prelude to this recipe as well as one upcoming post.

Dahi Bhalla or Dahi Vada is a popular North Indian snack known as Chaat or street food. I learned how to make Dahi Vada by my mom. It was one of the first things I learned to cook. Today, I made this after some twenty years and it still turned out perfect! *Blushes*

1. 1 cup urad dal (while lentils)
2. Heeng
3. Salt
4. Thai chili, 1
5. Yogurt
6. Tamarind Chutney
7. Cumin powder (optional)
8. Sev (store bought, optional)
9. Chaat masala (optional)
10. Sugar

Instructions:
1. Soak the urad dal overnight.
2. Strain the water and grind the lentil in a food processor with thai chili, heeng, and salt. This will give you a batter.
3. Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel. Drop portions of the batter the hot oil with a spoon.
4. Fry until the drops turn golden brown. This will give you lentil dumplings.
5. Transfer the fried lentil dumplings to a pot with salted water.
6. Sqeeze the water out of the dumplings and set aside.
7. Whisk yogurt and add sugar, red chili powder, and cumin powder to it.
9. Pour this yogurt over the dumplings.
10. Garnish topped with tamarind chutney, sev, chaat masala.
11. Refrigerate for a few hours.

Serve chilled.

Beet soup

Isn't it easy to get bored in the mundane routine of life and also tired of the usual home cooked stuff? How often can you go out to try a new cuisine or do you ever have enough dishes on your cooking list to keep a variety indefinitely going?

I am constantly running out of ideas. Stretching out and experimenting with new things keeps me involved. Cooking something I have never before is fun and exciting. It keeps the kitchen as well as the appetite alive.

Last year, I discovered tarot root. This year, I found beet. Beet is one of those vegetables that has never been a part of our groceries. With it's deep blood red color, this vegetable intrigued me. I've been looking around for how I could play with this vegetable. I have found answers through people/blogs - juice, salad, and soup. Beets are loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. The greens have a higher content of iron compared to spinach. They are also an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium, and iron.

Having had no past experience with beet, I decided to play it safe. I was warned of the hard texture of this veggie and wasn't so sure how it would taste so I decided to boil the beets and puree them into a soup. I am a soup lover.

Adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1. Chicken or Vegetable broth
2. 1 onion, chopped
3. 3 spoons olive oil
4. Salt
5. Pepper
6. Rice vinegar (substitute with rice wine)
7. 1 mashed potato to counter the bitterness of beet.
8. 2 beets, boiled and chopped
9. Few cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
10. 1 spoon brown sugar (I used jaggery)
11. Green onion for garnishing
12. Sour cream for garnishing
13. Freshly ground black pepper
14. 2 tablespoons tomato paste. This is not necessary but I threw it in just because I love tomatoes!

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet.
2. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until golden
3. Add the mashed potato, tomato paste, and beet.
4. Cook until tender.
5. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Keep stirring occasionally.
6. Add vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar.
7. Cover and cook on low heat for about 25 minutes. Allow the vegetables to soften.
8. Cool and set aside.
9. In a food processor, blend to a liquid.
10. Heat again
11. Garnish with sour cream and green onion.


Serve hot with garlic bread.

Verdict: Healthy, looks great, but we discovered that beet is not our favorite!

Falafel

Falafel is popular vegetarian snack in the Middle Eastern countries. Vendors sell it on the streets as fast food. As a main dish, it is served as a sandwich, stuffed in pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and tahini. As an appetizer, it is served on a salad, or with hummus and tahini.

Ingredients:
1. 1 can chickpeas
2. 4-5 spoons all purpose flour
3. 2-3 tbspns fresh coriander leaves, chopped
4. 1 medium sized onion
5. 1 teaspoon paprika
6. 2-3 teaspoons salt
7. 1 teaspoon coriander powder
8. 1-2 teaspoon cumin seeds
9. 1-2 tbspns garlic, minced
10. 1 tbspn ginger, minced
11. 1 litre olive oil for frying

Instructions
1. Mix ingredients 1-10 in a blender or food processor and blend until a thick paste is formed.
2. Form small balls of the paste and fry in hot oil until brown.

Serve with Tahini or hummus. Garnish as desired!

Gobi manchurian (Cauliflower Fritters in spicy sweet and sour sauce)

Indo-Chinese is my favorite. Playing around with traditional and non tradition ingredients is fun. I love Indo-Chinese dishes, it is easy to cook and tastes simply superb. Gobi Manchurian falls into this category. It serves as an appetizer and also a side dish. These kinds of dishes are found only in Indian restaurants.

No preparation required.

Serves 6.

Ingredients:
1 big Gobhi (Cauliflower)
3/4 cup Flour (Maida)
1 tbsp Corn Flour
Salt to taste (about 2 tsp)
2 Chopped green chili
11/2 tbsp Garlic Paste
11/2 tbsp Ginger Paste
1 cup finely Chopped Onions
Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2-3 tbsp Tomato paste
2 tbsp Oil
1/2 tbsp red chili pate

Directions:

1. For the fritters:
   
1. Make a paste of maida, corn flour and salt using water.
   
2. Take a tsp. of ginger and garlic paste, add it to the paste.
3. Dip the Gobi (cauliflower) florets in the paste and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
2. For the sauce:
1. Heat oil in another pan and add the left ginger & garlic paste, red chili paste, chopped onions and green chili to it.
   
2. Now mix soy sauce and tomato paste to it.
3. Add the fried Gobi to the sauce and mix well. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot.

I am sending this over to the JFI Cauliflower event.
http://www.paajaka.com/2009/02/announcing-jfi-cauliflower.html

Tomato soup

No preparation required.

Fresh homemade tomato soup, nothing like it. Ideal when tomatoes are in season and plentiful. It can also be prepared with vegetable stock.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
2. 1 cup chopped onion
3. 2 cloves garlic, minced
4. 1 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
5. 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
6. 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
9. 4 drops hot pepper sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat.
2. Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.
3. Stir in tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.