Spinach and Garlic soup

Soups are the mainstay of our daily dinners. As is commonly believed dinner has to be the lightest meal of the day. However that is the only meal when the family eats together. To keep this meal interesting is a mothers nightmare. My experiments and variations are tried out at this meal.It should be the time when i need my creative juices to flow, but alas after a long tiring day , its the flash in the pan ideas that strike me.This started as one such experiment, but turned out edible. So all is well!

1 cup of coarsely pureed boiled spinach, 1 tbsp of wholewhaet flour, 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste.Heat oil and lightly fry garlic, add spinach puree and boil. Mix the flour and milk to a smooth paste. Add to the spinach. Add 1 cup water and salt and pepper to taste. Stir on slow flame till well blended.
Serve with crusty bread, croutons or soup sticks.

Vegetable and Ginger soup.

Monsoons is the time for hot and filling soups. Mumbai rains are are erratic. Sometimes its a soothing drizzle and another time it will be the most violent downpour for hours on end. This soup helps get by those dark, cold and depressing days.

4 cups of stock ( veg, chicken) sliced carrots, spring onion, cabbage, finely sliced new ginger, 2 cloves of garlic crushed. Salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of sugar. 1 cup of puffed rice ( optional).
Boil the stock add in the ginger and let it simmer, then add carrots and cook till half done. Add the spring onions and cabbage and take off the stove. To give a dramatic twist to the soup, fry puffed rice ( Kurmura, lahiya) in a tsp of oil till crisp. Add to the soup directly into every soup bowl after the soup has been served. The sizzle sure lifts up the spirits. Serve with garlic bread.Enjoy.

Chicken Makhanwala

A universal favourite , this non spicy, rich dish is the most popular party dish in North Indian households. this dish is not for those who are counting their calories.


500 gms boneless chicken, 1 cup dahi ( yoghurt), 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste, onion paste, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tbsp cashenut paste, 1 cup tomato puree, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder, 2 green cardamoms powdered. A tbsp of fresh cream / clotted cream ( malai) .

Marinate the chicken in the dahi and 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste for 1 hour . Heat butter add in the 1 tbsp balance ginger garlic paste. Fry for a min on low flame, add the onion paste. pick out the chicken pieces and add to the onion paste. Fry till the chicken turns opaque, add the marinade and dry it out. Add the tomato puree, salt, red chilli, garam masala, and cardamom, cover and cook till chicken is almost done. Mix the cashew paste with 1/2 cup water , belnd and add to the chicken. Cover n cook till the butter starts separating from the edges. Just before serving add a dollop of fresh cream.

This tastes best with crisp thick rotis or jeera rice.

Steamed Chilli Chicken.

With more and more calorie conscious people looking for main entree options , steamed food is the order of the day. My steamer is a constant at my side when cooking light dinners. Fish, Chicken, veggies, momos I love the no fuss procedure.Here is a tasty chicken chilli with the least possible oil.You can cook it without oil as well.

500 gms boneless chicken, 1 egg white, 2 tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp each of finely chopped garlic, ginger and crushed dry red chillies. salt to taste. Mix the egg white , salt and cornflour, add boneless chicken cut into bite size pieces. Cover and keep for 30 mins. Steam for 4 mins on max in a microwave
With a fork separate the chicken pieces which would have coagulated into a lump. Heat a tsp of oil, fry the ginger and then the garlic. add red chilli and 1 cup water. Add in salt and the chicken. stir till the water dries up a bit.
Serve with steamed rice, fried rice, noodles, rotis or bread.

Bread Upma

Stale bread makes a great base for a quick breakfast dish. Sometimes I need to use fresh bread, but it turns out best with day old bread.

4 slices of bread,1 Chopped onion, 1 green chili sliced, 4-5 curry leaves,1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp haldi, a generous pinch of sugar, salt to taste, grated coconut and coriander for garnishing,Break bread into small pieces , sprinkle salt, sugar, haldi on it.Mix well. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, green chilli, curry leaves and onion. Saute onion till light brown, add the bread mixture. Mix well, sprinkle 2-3 tbsp of water to moisten the bread pieces. Cover and cook.

Curd Rice

 How often do you have the kids groaning about eating? 'I am tooo tired to eat', ' cant eat, braces hurting', ' not feeling like any dinner', 'canker sores , cant eat' Innumerable excuses and problems. One answer 'Curd Rice' , its nutritious, light, easy to cook and digest. Since the rice is squishy and soft , its over in a few gulps. This was also a staple in our packed lunches for picnics.Mum's simple recipe was to temper the semi liquid milky rice preparation and by afternoon the curd would have set the rice well. That way it would not get sour and would not be too dry.

The classic curd rice , Thair Sadam ( tamil) , Dahi Bhaat ( Marathi) Taakka Sheeth ( Konkani)
This works out best with rice that has been overcooked. So lets begin with the cooked rice

2 cups of overcooked rice( if using leftover rice, just add 1/4 cup water and cover and cook for 5 mins)
1 1/2 cups yoghurt
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp grated ginger
2 dried red chillies broken
a pinch of mustard seeds, asafoetida,
5-6 curry leaves
salt to taste
1/2 cup milk ( optional)

cool the rice. Mix in the yoghurt, milk, salt .Heat oil , when hot , add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and red chillies. Add to the rice and mix well. You can add finely chopped cucumber and chill in in the summers.
In winter add the curd-rice mixture to the hot oil tempering and stir gently on a very slow flame ( This variation is courtesy Kala).
The konkani's like to make the yoghurt-milk ratio 50:50 which is my favourite.
Enjoyed best with Pappad ( roasted or fried udad dal pappads, or roasted red chilli pappads, smeared with a little coconut oil) , stuffed green chillies , lemon pickle.

Hearty Oats Soup

Another one dish meal for a tiring day.
This soup combines the nutrition of vegetables, oats and chicken sausage. A filling meal in itself , very easy to make. More vegetables can be added and substituted. Prawns, fish can be substituted for the sausage. Perfect as supper after a long tiring day.

Ingredients
1. medium onion sliced and browned
1. chopped carrot
8-10 french beans, roughly chopped
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp green coriander
1 cube vegetable / chicken stock
2 tbsp oats (plain breakfast variety)
1 chicken sausage sliced
1 tsp oil

Heat oil, fry garlic and corriander add corrots and beans, saute, add stock cube and 2 cups water and oats. Cover and cook for 2 mins.Add in the sliced sausage and the sliced browned onion.add salt n pepper to taste.

Serve with garlic bread, or on its own.

BON APPETIT!

Minty Peas and Potato Soup

A smooth soup with a twist.
1/2 cup green peas, 1 small potato peeled and chopped, 1 onion chopped, 4 pods garlic chopped, 1/2 cup mint leaves ( pudina), 1 tbsp wholewheat flour, 1 tsp cumin powder, a dash of pepper, salt to taste, 1 tsp oil,1 cup water.

Fry the onions, garlic, potatoes till potatoes are soft. Add peas, mint , pepper and cumin powder. cook for 2 mins. Sprinkle flour ,mix well, add water, cover and cook for 3 mins. Cool, strain and set aside this cooking liquid, puree the peas, potato mixture and strain again , adding the cooking liquid set aside. Add salt to taste. heat evenly on a low flame. Serve with a tbsp of thick whipped yoghurt ( dahi)

Onion-Coconut Masala

Onion-Coconut Masala paste:
1 onion sliced
2 tblsp dry coconut ( gari)
4 laung (cloves)
1 inch Cinnamon (dalchini)
4-5 kashmiri red chillies
4-5 cloves of garlic

heat 2 tsp oil and add the cloves, dalchini and red chillies to it . Add onion and fry on low heat till light brown.

Add the grated coconut to it and fry till you get a good aroma.

Wet grind the paste and use in the ussal.

Roti Upma

Leftover rotis can be turned into a tasty breakfast . Just like the leftover rice pulao, just some chopped onion, a green chili and green coriander garnish, and you have a hot breakfast.

1 Chopped onion, 1 green chili sliced, 4-5 curry leaves, coriander for garnishing, 2 tbsp oil.
3 rotis finely chopped/ crumbled.Add 1/2 tsp each of salt, sugar and haldi. Mix well.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, chilies and onion.Brown the onion, add roti crumble. Mix well, sprinkle 4-5 tbsp water and cover. Cook on low heat for 2 mins. Serve hot with coriander , coconut and a twist of lime.

Katt

Katt is a spicy curry made of red chillies, garlic , onions and coconut.This is served with Ussal , Missal for the extra bite it gives. This can be dangerous for someone not used to spice. Do remember to serve yoghurt with this, so that the stomach is not upset.

Onion-Garlic masala 2 tbsp, tamarind paste 2 tsp, jaggery - a small lump, oil 1 tbsp, 4 curry leaves, red chili powder 2 tsp,1/4 tsp mustard seeds, salt to taste, coriander.

Mix the masala with 1 cup water. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chili powder. Quickly add in the masala dissolved in water. Add tamarind paste, salt, jaggery. Cook till it comes to a boil. garnish with coriander and serve with lime.

Ussal

Ussal is a spicy gravy made with sprouted legumes. One can use pulses like green gram ( moong), black eyed beans(lobia/chawli), chick peas(channa), moth beans(moth, matki), horsegram(Kulith) and whole red lentils ( masoor). Ussal is uaually eaten with Pav ( buns) or as a Missal.

Missal is a mixture of the gravy (Ussal) + boiled spiced potatoes (aalu sabzi) + Poha ( chura) + chopped onions+ namkeen mixture. Adding dahi is optional. Here is the recipe for Ussal ( the gravy)

1 cup dry pulses like ( matki/moth, moong, kulith ( horsegram), white peas/ mutter, black mutter, black eyed beans ( lobia/ chawli)), soaked overnight and sprouted (gives 3-4 cups)


Ingredients:
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp rai
1 onion, diced
5-6 fresh curry leaves
Onion-Coconut Masala paste or 2 tsp garam masala & 2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder mixed with 1/4th cup water
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp jaggery ( gud)
salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
Method:
1. Heat oil and saute the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions.
2. Add the sprouts, turmeric, masala paste and salt and saute for a couple of minutes.
3. Add 5-6 cups of water (or enough to make a curry of your desired consistency) and bring the curry to a boil. Simmer till the sprouts are tender .
4. Add the tamarind and jaggery and simmer for a few minutes more.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning for the balance of salt, sweet and sour flavors.

Serve hot with rotis or bread with chopped onion and a lime slice on the side.

Missal served with a savoury crips mix ( Chivda) , Poha , aaloo sabzi, onion and lemon. You can add a small bowl of Katt for the very adventerous.

Ukad

An easy traditional breakfast dish.A variation of the upma , it uses rice flour instead of semolina. Also the process is different from the upma.

1 cup sour buttermilk, 3/4th cup rice flour, 1 cup water, 2 tbsp oil, 4-5 curry leaves,1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai), 1/2 tsp haldi ( turmeric), a pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp of crushed garlic & green chilli, 2 tbs corriander ( cilantro) , 2 tbsp dessicated coconut.
Mix together the buttermilk and water, add the garlic and green chillies , 1 tbsp each of corriander and coconut. season with salt to taste. Gradually add in the rice flour whisking it all the while.
In a pan heat 2 tbsp oil, add mustard, asafoetida, curry leaves and haldi. Slowly pour in the buttermilk mixture , stirring all the while . Cover and cook for 5 mins , till the mixture dries up.
Serve garnished with the rest of the corriander and coconut.

Corn Pulao

Left over rice lends itself very well to quick fix meal. A little chopped onion, a green chiili , a dash of spice and a twist of lime, and you have a lip smacking dish. A roasted papad is all one needs to make a meal out of this.
This one uses corn as an additional ingredient and a lovely exotic star anise to bring it a fragrant touch.


1 cup leftover rice, 1 chopped onion, 1/2 cup fresh corn, 1 green chilli slit, 2 blades of star anise ( badiyan), corriander ( cilantro) to garnish, salt to taste, 1 tbsp oil.
Heat oil, add star anise, green chilli, onion. Saute till onion is soft and light brown. Add corn and salt, cover and cook for 3 mins. Add rice. Check salt cover and cook for 1 minute.
Serve!

Gujarati garam masala

The Gujarati Garam Masala slightly differes from the Maharashtraian or the Punjabi Garam Masalas.

Lightly roast 4 tbsp dhania ( corriander ) seeds, 1 tbsp cumin ( jeera) , 1 tsp cloves, 1/2 stick of cinnamon, 1 tsp peppercorns and 2 bay leaves. Roast till it gives off a nutty aroma.
Cool and powder. Store in an airtight container. Use in gujarati dishes such as stuffed baingan (brinjals,aubergines) / bhindi ( okra, lady fingers) , potato gravy, sprouts etc.

BLT - Classic Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sandwich.

Half the fun in a sandwich is in the bread. Now with a variety of bread available , have fun with experimenting with different combination of fillings.Toasted, grilled, or just plain , a sandwich is most versatile snack. It makes its appearance at the most sophisticated high teas and in kids' snack boxes.


All you need is bacon ( to be fried crisp or just warmed) , sliced tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise. My additions cheese and mustard.
Spread out the mayonnaise on both inner surfaces of the bread, spread out some mustard on one side. Layer it with the bacon, place cheese on it ( never place cheese directly onto bread as it tends to stick to the bread and can be annoyingly sticky when eaten). Top with tomatoes and lettuce. I shred the lettuce and spread it over the tomatoes.
Voila. Ready to pack for school.

Tomato Saar - Tomato soup with a desi flavour

In many sarawsat homes an aperitif is also used as a accompaniment to rice. A kokum kadi , is drunk as an apertif , as a digestive or with steamed rice. Similarly the tomato saar serves as soup or as an accompaniment to steamed rice or curd ( yoghurt) rice. The tomatoes are usually left in their mashed form if used with rice. I preferred to strain them in this recipe.

4 firm ripe tomatoes, quartered , de seeded and cooked.
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, a generous pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, 1 tsp of sugar , chopped corriander ( cilantro). salt to taste.
Cool the cooked tomato, puree, strain. Add 2 cups water.
In a saucepan , heat oil. Add cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves and red chilli powder.
Add the tomato liquid and boil for 5 minutes. Serve as a soup or with steamed rice.
As a soup can be served with a spoonful of coconut milk , or yoghurt, buttermilk
Or plain , garnished with cilantro ( corriander)
Or as a tangy companion to curd rice ( yoghurt).