Middle Eastern Brown Lentil Soup

This is a Middle Eastern style lentil soup. It is very simple to prepare and makes a one dish meal when served with bread or even pita bread. The whole secret of making a great lentil soup is the right amount of lemon juice and cumin powder added during the time of serving. 


Ingredients 
1/2 cup brown lentils or whole masoor dal with the brown skin
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed powder
5 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 medium sized carrot
1 tomato
1/4 stick celery
1 medium white/yellow onion 
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds powder for garnish
3 tablespoon Cilantro/Coriander leaves or Parsley for garnish
salt for taste


Method
Wash the brown lentils well and soak them for 6-8 hours in water. After soaking, wash the lentils with fresh water and keep aside. Chop the onion, tomato and carrot into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan and and chopped garlic, chopped celery and onion. When the onion is transparant add the carrots and the tomato. Mix in coriander seeds powder, 1 teaspoon  cumin seeds powder, turmeric powder and cayenne pepper. Add the lentils and salt. Pressure cook till the lentils are soft. Whisk the lentils till the lentils are mixed with the vegetables. Garnish with lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder and coriander leaves/parsley. Serve hot. 

Yana's Chicken Hawaiian Salad

This is a recipe inspired by the Chicken Hawaiian salad at Yana's Restaurant in Pune. I have very fond memories of going to Yana's with my office colleague and sometimes with my sister. The sizzlers's at Yana's are out of the world and incomparable to any other sizzler joint. 

This is very simple to prepare the salad, but the sweetness of the pineapple and flavor imparted by the two varieties of bell pepper make a great combination with the chicken. Those who don't eat chicken can substitute it with paneer or tofu.

Ingredients 
4 chicken breast pieces
1  cup mayonnaise
1 cup thick yogurt or curds
1 green pepper or capsicum
1 red pepper or capsicum
1 yellow pepper or capsicum
1 pineapple or add as per taste 
salt for taste
pepper for taste
1 tablespoon sugar (only if the pineapple is not sweet)


Method  

 Cook the chicken breast pieces in water added with little salt. Cool down and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. De-seed the peppers and cut them into elongated stripes. Cut the pineapple into small chunks and mix in sugar if the pineapple is not sweet. Mix yogurt and mayonnaise well. Add the cut peppers, pineapple and chicken pieces. Add salt and pepper as per taste. Serve immediately. 

13 Lentil soup

I found 13 lentils bag at my Oroweat Outlet. I bought this as an adventure to try recipes out of the 13 good lentils. The soup tastes yummy and is a great combination with soft bread loaves. Because of the lentils it is quite a heavy soup and can make a hearty lunch or dinner.



Ingredients
1/2 cup of 13 lentils or any lentils on hand
1 medium onion
1 carrot
3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
1 stack of celery
1 medium tomato
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder or red chili powder
1 teaspoon vinegar or as per taste
salt for taste

Method
Wash and soak the lentils for 8-10 hours or overnight. Pressure cook the lentils or cook on a stove top with salt and chopped tomatoes. Add the broth instead of water while cooking the lentils. Heat oilve oil in a pan and add chopped onions. When caramelized, add chopped carrots, celery and garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Add coriander powder, cumin powder and chili powder. Mix well with the vegetables. Add the boiled lentils and get the soup to a boil. Add water if a more liquidish consistency is desired. Check for salt and mix in vinegar. Serve hot with french loaves.

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

My hubby surprised me with dinner at California Cafe on my birthday. It was a nice cozy restaurant and the seafood there was fabulous. We also had butternut squash soup which left a great impression on both of us. It was a very simple recipe with saffron, nutmeg and cinnamon. Butternut squash is rich in beta carotene and eating orange and yellow colored vegetables offers protection against cold and flu.

Today, while the cold winds have been roaring outside, we got butternut squash from Safeway on the way back home and I recreated this soup. It takes around 40 minutes to make this and it is a perfect recipe for the cold winter. The verdict- creamy texture, great flavor, yummy and it goes on the once-to-be-tried-every-week list.

Butternut squash

Ingredients
3 cups roughly cubed butter nut squash
1/8th teaspoon cinnamon powder or as desired
1/4 cup tangerine juice or mandarin orange juice or canned tangerine or mandarin orange( I used canned tangerine )
8-10 strands of saffron
2 pinches of nutmeg powder
3 tablespoon thick cream (I used 5 tablespoon reduced fat milk)
2 tablespoon butter
pepper and salt for garnishing

Method
Heat butter in a pan and caramelize the butternut squash till it is light brown on all sides. Don't let it loose its orange colour while caramelizing otherwise the soup may turn brown in color. I cooked it covered it on medium flame for 20 minutes with occasional stirring. Cool it for 10 minutes. Grind it into a smooth paste with the tangerine juice or canned tangerines or mandarin oranges, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, salt and pepper. Add salt carefully as the butternut squash is very flavorful. Add saffron and get the ground paste to a boil. Add thick cream and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Mooli Raita / Radish Salad

I was wondering the other day when I published the Mooli sabzi recipe "Why have I not put the mooli raita recipe yet?". We have this raita every other week and especially in this season when mooli is available in plenty. This raita tastes great as a side dish with spicy sabzis and helps to cool down the pungent flavor of chillies. I also love this as a side dish with alu or mooli parathas.

Ingredients
1 mooli or radish
1/2 cup curd or yogurt
3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
chopped green chillies or red chili powder
salt for taste

Method
Wash and peel the skin off the radish. Grate the radish and apply 1/2 teaspoon salt to it. Keep it aside for 20 minutes. Squeeze the water from the radish. Mix in curd, chopped green chiles/chili powder, chopped corianader leaves. Adjust salt for taste. Serve immediately.

Noodle Soup

This is another of comfort food recipe for the cold-cold winters. We love it as has the enriching nutrients of the vegetables and the great texture of the noodles. I use maggi noodles for this soup, but hakka noodles or rice noodles can also be used. Serve it hot and you have a one course healthy and delish meal ready in minutes. I make these noodles without using the maggi tastemaker masala which is included with the noodles. But if you want an Indian- spicy flavored soup, the tastemaker masala can be added to the soup.

Ingredients

1 cup of prepared noodles (wheat or rice noodles--I use maggi noodles without the masala)
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped vegetables (cabbage, peas, carrot, cauliflower, zucchini, corn kernels)
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
salt and pepper for taste
1 tablespoon oil

Method
Slice the onions thinly. Heat oil in a pan and add the ginger and the sliced onions. Fry till the onions are light brown and well cooked. Add the chopped vegetables and cook covered for 3-4 minutes till the vegetables are soft. Cook uncovered for another 4-5 minutes, so that the vegetables are lightly browned. Add salt and pepper for taste. Mix in the noodles and add 3 cups of water or as desired. Stir in vinegar and soy sauce. Serve hot.

Chana Salad

Last weekend we had a hearty breakfast with my friend V. She had made great sabudana kichidi and this chana salad as a side dish. The tomatoes used in this salad are from their own kitchen garden. They also grow jalapeno and many other herbs like mint and coriander in their garden. My husband loved this salad and it has become a regular at my place. It is very simple to prepare and yet very nutritious.

Ingredients
1/2 cup chana
1 medium onion
1 tomato
lemon juice for taste
salt for taste
2 green chilies

Method
Wash and soak the chana overnight or for around 8 hours in plenty of water. Pressure cook the soaked chana till it is soft but also remains firm. Let it cool down. Chop onion and tomatoes into small pieces. Chop the green chilies finely. Mix the chana with chopped onion, tomato and green chillies. Add salt for taste. Mix in lemon juice just before serving.

Pepper Rasam

Pepper rasam is a great comfort food to have on cold wintery days. It is a great home remedy for colds, fevers and sore throat. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon rasam powder
4-5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
2 tablespoon cooked toor dal (for better consistency)
1 medium tomato chopped
1/4 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1/4 teaspoon pepper powder or as desired
salt for taste

Method
Combine the chopped tomato, toor dal, rasam powder, pepper powder and tamarind. Add 3 cups of water and get the rasam to a boil. Add coriander leaves and salt for taste. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

Roasted Pumpkin and Pepper Soup

I always love to try new soup recipes using a varied variety of vegetables. I tried roasted pumpkin and pepper soup this weekend and it was a great comfort during the cold weather week.

Ingredients
2 cups cubed pumpkin or squash
1/2 cup red pepper (use green pepper or capsicum if red pepper is not on hand)chopped into big pieces
1/4 cup onion chopped into large pieces
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves or parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
salt for taste

Method
Roast the cubed pumpkin, pepper and onions on all sides till they slightly caramelize(or get a lighr brown color). They can be roasted in the oven or on a grill or a tava. Grind with milk, chili powder, cumin powder into a smooth paste. Add the chopped coriander leaves or parsley. Get the soup to a boil and serve hot.

Minestrone Soup

This soup has become a household favorite since quite sometime now. It has all the nutrients needed for a balanced meal. It is not necessary to use all the vegetables listed in the recipe; which ever vegetables available on hand can be used to make this soup.

Ingredients
Vegetables (choose from carrot, potato, cauliflower, beans, peas, corn, spinach)
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon Maggi tomato ketchup or any other ketchup
2 tomatoes
5 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro) or chopped parsley (whichever desired)
1/2 cup cooked pasta (I use whole wheat pasta)
1/2 cup garbanzo beans or kabuli chana (or any other beans desired) soaked for 5-6 hours in water
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
parmesan cheese (optional)
salt for taste
1 teaspoon oil

Method

Chop all the vegetables, onion, tomatoes and celery. Heat a teaspoon of oil and fry the onion and celery for 4-5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and 2-3 cups of water and cook for 30-40 minutes till the vegetables and garbanzo beans are soft. Add the tomato paste and ketchup, pasta, parsley, chili powder. Get the soup to a boil till the tomato paste has integrated well in the soup. Add salt for taste. To serve, keep a slice of bread (preferably hard crust bread baked in oven for 10-15 minutes) in a bowl. Pour the soup into the bowl and top it with parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is one of the hearty and healthy dishes during winters. I also use carrot to thicken it instead of cornflour. It is a great remedy for cold or flu. I generally serve it with toasted bread and it makes a good late evening snack. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
3 tomatoes or 3 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup roughly chopped carrot
1 teaspoon butter (optional)
2 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
1/2 cup corn kernels or peas (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt
pepper

Method
Chop the tomatoes and carrots and boil them for around 10-15 minutes till soft. If you are using tomato paste then boil the carrots only. Boil or microwave the peas or the corn kernels with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water, till soft. Puree the tomato and the carrot. Put the puree in a pan and add the peas or the corn kernels. Add water as per desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper as per taste. Get the soup to a boil. Add milk or heavy cream and give it a good stir. Season with butter and serve hot.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

I usually toast the pumpkin seeds and we eat it as a snack. These seeds can also be sprinkled on salads. This is another of my grand mom's recipes. My grand mom would always ask the vegetable vendor to keep pumpkin seeds and she would purchase them when ever we went to shop for vegetables. She would say that these seeds have a lot of nutritions in them and many people are not aware about it. Check here for the nutritional value of pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients
pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter
pepper powder as desired
salt as per taste

Method
Wash the pumpkin seeds well and dry them on kitchen towel. Heat ghee in a pan and add the pumpkin seeds. Roast the seeds on a low flame till they are roasted as desired. Then sprinkle pepper powder and salt. Store the roasted seeds in a airtight container and it remains good for two weeks.

Corn Soup

This is the one of my favorite winter soups. It has all my favorite vegetables and especially the yummy flavor of corn. This recipe goes to the event Iftar Moments Hijri 1431 hosted by Umm. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups sweet corn
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon onion
1/4 cup carrot and peas
1 egg
pepper for taste
salt for taste

Method

Boil the corn till soft. Grind the 1 1/2 cup corn with onion into a smooth paste. Cook the carrot and peas. Add the carrot, the remaining 1/2 cup corn and peas to the soup and get it to a boil. Separate the egg white and beat it well. Add this to the soup and stir it well to form thin strands of the egg white. Cook for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. Stir soup well and serve hot.

Tips: If you want chicken corn soup, you can add shredded chicken to the soup and use chicken stock instead of water.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Thai Forest Curry

I love Thai food as they use a lot of vegetables and lemon grass. One of my friend had invited us some weeks back and made excellent Thai curry with chicken and vegetables. Upon asking, she gave me this Thai curry paste which she had used to prepare the curry.
Some time back after shopping at the Mountain View Farmer's market we went to Amrin Thai restaurant for lunch. We tried the forest curry and it tasted similar to the curry paste which my friend had given me. I also loved this curry because it didn't have coconut (which is a major source of fat in Konkani cooking and we try to avoid the excess use of coconut in our day-to-day cuisine). It also was very spicy and I thought it would make a great dish for people suffering from cold, cough or sore throat. The next week, I bought Shiitake mushrooms and lemon grass from the farmer's market and tried to make this curry just like it had tasted at Amrin Thai. I am not sure if I used all the correct ingredients used in Thai curry, but it turned out to be great.

Ingredients
8-10 Shiitake mushrooms
2 cups chopped vegetables (choose or mix and match from pumpkin, brocoli, beans, carrot, baby corn)
1/2 capsicum
2 tablespoon long sliced bamboo shoots
3-4 strands of coriander or cilantro leaves
6-7 very thin slices of ginger
2 tablespoon lemon grass chopped in rings
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon red curry paste or as per taste
pepper powder for taste
3 byadgi or kashmiri chilies
1/2 teaspoon tamarind concentrate or as per taste
salt for taste
1 teaspoon oil

Method

Soak the red chilies in water for 20 minutes. Slit the chilies and remove the seeds and grind it into a very fine paste with 1 cup of water. Add another cup of water to this paste and add ginger, pepper powder, garlic cloves and lemon grass root and boil it for 20 minutes. Discard the garlic cloves. Add red curry paste, tamarind juice. Slice the capsicum and fry it on all sides in one teaspoon of oil. Add the capsicum, bamboo shoots, mushroom and vegetables and boil till soft. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Pumpkin and Corn Soup

This is an awesome soup for cold and windy winter days. I use both the pumpkin flowers (if available) and pumpkin to make this soup. I also add tomato to balance the sweet taste of the pumpkin. This soup is a great source of beta carotenes (vitamin A) and it helps to protect and provide immunity against cold and cough. Both my husband and myself love to have this on a cold evening after coming home from work.

Ingredients
1 cup cubed pumpkin
1/2 cup cooked corn kernel
1 tomato chopped
2 inch piece of carrot
1 teaspoon cumin powder
pepper for taste
salt for taste

Method
Boil or pressure cook the vegetables in one to one and half cup of water till the vegetables are soft. Blend the vegetables with cumin powder and pepper. Add desired quantity of water and corn to pureed vegetables and get the soup to a boil. Season with salt and serve hot.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Marinated Onion rings in ginger

I made this salad long time back in the mid 90's when I was in school. I don't remember exactly where I read about this recipe. I guess I read it in the newspaper or in some magazine which my mother subscribed. My mother works for a Bank and I had the full freedom to use the kitchen in the afternoons. I would make this and I and my sister would have it as a snack with roti's. It goes well with tandoori's and naans. I prefer the red onions as they give a distinct beautiful color to the salad.

Ingredients
1 red onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon grated coconut
1 teaspoon sugar
salt for taste

Method
Peel the onion and chop it into thin rings. Separate the onion rings. Sprinkle lemon juice and grated ginger on these onion rings and mix well so that all the rings are well coated with lemon juice and ginger pieces.


Marinate these rings for 2-3 hours. Discard the marinate and remove as many ginger pieces as you can from the salad. Sprinkle salt, sugar, grated coconut and mix well. Serve with tandoori or chappati.

Preparation time: 10 minutes excluding the marination time
Serves: 2 -3

Carrot Salad / Carrot Koshimbiri

Carrot koshimbir is a konkani salad. It can be made with yogurt or without it. Carrots are a rich source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C potassium among other nutrients. This salad should be served as soon as it is prepared as carrot loses its nutrition if kept exposed for a long time. It can also become watery as carrot or any other vegetable loses water when salt is added to it. Also we buy carrots and radish from our local farmers market and they taste sweeter and tastier than those available at the regular grocery store. This same salad can also be prepared by replacing carrot with radish or mooli or beetroot. Coconut is used for garnishing if lemon juice is used. I usually avoid using coconut due to the fat contents present in it, but traditionally it is used as a garnish. I am sending this to roundup organized by Suma and Siri.

Ingredients
2 medium sized carrots
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 lemon juice or 1/2 cup curd
1 tablespoon grated coconut (if lemon juice is used)
1 tablespoon coriander leaves or cilantro for garnishing
1/2 teaspoon sugar or as per taste
1 chili finely chopped
salt for taste


Method
Grate the carrot. In a seasoning pan add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add green chili and remove from heat. Add this to the carrot. Mix in sugar, salt, curd or lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with Coriander leaves and coconut .


Another day, I found yellow beet root at the farmers market. I half-boiled it and grated it and added it along with the carrot. So, the beetroot was a little cooked, but still had its crunchy texture. The yellow-orange salad looks yummy too!!.



Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Squash and Vegetable Soup

Last week I made soup from summer squash and other vegetables. My husband loves vegetables and I make lot of soups and salads. This is a light soup and can also be had as a light dinner.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash, pattypan squash)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 handful peas
1 tomato chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1/4 tablespoon sugar
salt
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
pepper for taste

Method
Boil squash, tomato, peas and carrot till well cooked. Mash the vegetables so that some of them are mashed. This will help to thicken the soup. I blend it for around 5-10 seconds using a hand blender. Fry onion in 1/2 tablespoon oil till transparent. Add this to the vegetables. Fry flour in rest of the oil till light brown in color. Cool the flour and mix well in 1/2 cup cold water so that no lumps are formed. Mix the white sauce in the soup, add salt, sugar, coriander leaves and pepper and heat it on a low flame for 20 minutes. Serve hot with soup sticks or bread. I served it with vegetable wheat thins.

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Serves: 2