TOMATO-SPINACH SOUP

Today I am sharing a light nutritious soup which can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. I normally make this soup when we have a heavy meal or just not feeling too well. This soup can be had with crisp toasted slices of bread which can be cut into sticks

INGREDIENTS

Cook together 4 medium sized tomatoes and one bunch of spinach leaves, soup cubes (1-2) I prefer not using a soup cube if a child is going to have this soup.2 Tbsp butter. A little finely chopped cilantro or coriander leaves, about 2 shoots of green onions finely chopped, salt and pepper to taste. I also add a little sugar to balance the taste of the tomatoes but it’s purely optional it depends on the taste a person prefers.

MY AMATEUR ATTEMPT AT PAINTING A TOMATO

METHOD

Put the cooked and cool tomatoes and spinach in a blender and blend, you can strain in or leave it as it is, I prefer not to strain it so as to get all the required fiber.

In a pan take the butter add the white part of the onion and fry till it changes colour don't let it become brown, add in the blended mixer and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring it to a boil .

Your easy and nutritious soup is ready.

Serve it with buttered and toasted bread sticks .

PALAK CHANA-DAL****

Here I have a great vegetable for you which is full of nutrition and easy pizzy to prepare .. Lovely... I love cooking such vegetables which are loaded with goodness and which require minimum efforts to make for those who are not in India this will be easier to prepare with the quality of spinach that is available..

Here in India we have to very careful while cleaning any green vegetables and have to check each leaf for worms or dirt but when you do it its a great vegetable 

PALAK- spinach leaves you can read about the benefits of spinach here

CHANA-DAL split chick peas---  i.e. split Chickpeas without seed-coat. Chana dal is produced by removing the outer layer of Kala chana (black chickpeas) and then splitting the kernel. Although machines can do this, it can be done at home by soaking the whole chickpeas and removing the loose skins by placing the chickpeas between two towels and rubbing with a rolling pin.(info from Wikipedia)

Chana-dal is supposed to have a low glycemic Index and hence good for people with diabetics 

I cook this in my mini pressure cooker, which is a boon ( I do most of my daily vegetable preparations in a cooker ) and It takes less than 15 mins to have the dish piping hot on the table YAY!!! Instant gratification.

INGREDEINTS

2 Bunches spinach

1/2 cup chana dal or split chickpea soaked for about an hour

2 medium onions finely chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 tomato finely chopped

3/4 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp haldi powder or turmeric powder

1/2 tsp dhania-jeera powder (coriander cumin powder)

marble size ball of jaggery

salt to taste

coriander for garnish

METHOD:

Take oil in a pan add garlic let it brown..

Add your onion and stir till soft 

Add your tomatoes and stir till the mixture is soft (you can add salt at this point)

Add the powdered spices , jaggery and stir now add the chana dal and cook for 5 mins

Add the chopped spinach, salt and close the lid of the cooker

let it cook for about4-5 whistles

when cooled add the coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis YUM!!!!

DAILY MEAL

A very simple vege meal consisting of only vegetables  .. In my thali you will find...

CAULIFLOWER and POTATO VEGETABLE WITH COCONUT GRAVY

DRY TENDLI ( Indian Ivy gourd) BHAJI OR VEGETABLE you can read about this vege here

BOILED BEET

CHAPATI

whats not in the picture....
RICE IS A IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LUNCH WHICH WAS MADE WITH DAL OR ANY OTHER PREPARATION MADE WITH COCONUT GRAVY  BUT AS ITS NORMALLY TAKEN AFTER FINISHING OFF WITH THE CHAPATI  OR ROTI ...you wont find it in many of my pictures

you can see the gravy I made for the rice with raw mango in the last picture called as KAIRICHI UDAD METHI...

                                              DRY TENDLI (Indian Ivy gourd ) VEGETABLE

VERY VERY SIMPLE VEG MEAL....

This was a very simple meal that i had yesterday, sometimes its good to have such simple and less elaborate meals it not only helps your system but also helps us think of food in a new light .


NEERPHANAS(type of Jackfruit) PHODI

SPICY VEGETABLE PULAO

BOONDI RAITA

What is your idea of a detoxing and a simple meal , pls share it with me and all our friends who would love to get great ideas in making a simple but nutritious thali (plate) of food.

KHICHDI.....

For many, KHICHDI is comfort food. I wont say its comfort food for me ,for me its quick food something that I make when I am busy, just come home from a hectic shopping trip, or when I just don’t feel like cooking my everyday elaborate food of rice,dal,vegetable,salad and chapatti.

I learnt the art of making Khichdi from my mother who loves this food item and is always on her list of “to be made things” when she is alone with no one else to eat at home. She loves to have it with a dollop of ghee and a cup full of curd, but I have my Khichdi with papad.

Easy to put together and digest as well, it is also a commonly fed food to very young kids, so as to incorporate rice and dal at one go. Usually kids are given plain Khichdi sans the spices and chili.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Rice
½ cup moong dal (yellow)
Here you can vary the proportion of moong dal; some prefer to have more moong dal too.
I added vegetable to increase the nutritional value, which may not be always added.
I added one carrot grated and a few French beans..
1tbsp cumin-coriander powder.
1 tsp turmeric powder.
1 tsp sugar
1tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander and grated coconut for garnish

Tempering.

Oil
Mustard seeds,
Cumin seeds,
1 tsp asafetida
2 green chilies chopped
Curry leaves.

METHOD

Wash and keep the rice and moong dal mixture separately
In a kadai take oil and add the ingredients for tempering one at a time
Then add the vegetables and stir fry.
Add the rest of the ingredients and the rice and moong dal mixture
Add 31/2 cups water, water should be more than double the quantity of rice and moong dal together.
The final consistence should not be dry but a bit sticky.
Cook on medium flame for about 20 mins keeping an eye to see that it does not stick to the bottom.
Serve hot with ghee, papad or curds.

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!

MASOOR TONAK.......

This is a typical goan recipe which we call as “TONAK” you can change the main ingredient with the same masala and procedure and the name changes. The taste remains almost the same.
Here I a writing about the veg tonak which can be made tasty and ‘non-veg’ by adding some prawns to it.
INGREDIENTS.

2 cups Masoor (whole not dal)
3 medium sized onions
11/2 cup grated coconut
2 medium sized potatoes cut into cubes (large)
2tsp Garam masala powder
1sp red chili powder
1 tsp dhania jeera powder.
Large marble sized tamarind ball
Salt to taste.

METHOD

Soak masoor in 4 cups water for about 2-3 hours.
Finely chop 2 onions and slice the third onion
Peel and cut potatoes into cubes.
Drain water from the masoor and mix with potatoes
Pressure cook for 1 whistle (be careful as the masoor cooks quickly and may get mashed)
You can cook it without the pressure cooker too but this takes a bit longer.
Take a kadai, heat and add oil
Add the sliced onions, when the oil is hot. Stir till the onions turn brown
Now add the grated coconut, fry till they become nice and brown.
Grind this mixture with the marble sized tamarind.
Take a pan, heat and add oil to it.
Add the finely chopped onions and stir fry don’t let them turn brown.
Add all the masalas and stir
Now add the cooked masoor and potatoes
Add salt and let it cook for sometime.
Finally add the ground coconut and onion paste.
Let it boil for some more time
A tasty masoor masala is ready.


THIS IS A RECIPE FOR MY FRIEND 'NUPUR' from onehotstove.

SABUDANA THALIPETH....

One more week for the A to Z of Indian vegetables…
How fast the week passes and by the time it starts I feel there is a lot of time for me to think up of something for the letter of the week. And by the time I think and cook it and put it on the net it’s almost the weekend and then I have to do a rush rush job.
But whatever, I enjoy this event; it keeps my mind alive with ideas for the week. When the week began I thought of so many items which start with the letter S and which I had not blogged about, but finally I could manage to prepare only two and that too at the very end of the week and that’s today.


SABUDANA THALEPETH

INGREDIENTS

½ cup sabudana or sago washed and soaked for 3-4 hours.
3 potatoes boiled and mashed
½ cup peanuts roasted and powdered
Coriander leaves finely chopped
1 tsp cumin powder or whole cumin
1 tbsp rice flour.
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp haldi powder.
Sugar to taste
Lemon juice 1 tsp

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients and also add a little oil for keeping it together.
This mixture is quite sticky and takes some time to spread on the griddle or tava
Heat your tava till it’s real hot.
Rub oil all over
Take a ball made of the mixture and spread with your fingers, you can dip your fingers in oil or even water. You have to pat it to make it stick to the tava.
Let it turn brown pour a little ghee on the sides and turn.
Let it cook on the other side too.
Serve hot with sauce or green chutney.


You need a lot of patience for making these thalipeth as they stick to your fingers, then tend to stick to the griddle and they will break (if not carefully handled) when you remove them on to a plate.So i suggest slide them on to your plate and do not take them up like a normal thalipeth.

NACHNI ROTI......

KNEADED NACHNI FLOUR

PUFFED UP ROTI

NACHNI or Ragi is a very nutritious .This is usually given in a form of porridge to very young kids.
This is a simple roti which is seen consumed by people in Maharashtra.
Villagers usually have it for their dinner, which consists of this roti and a spicy vegetable. Its filling, has lots of fiber and very good for health, for the whole family and most important for a common man it’s very reasonable too. You can say that it’s a poor mans meal.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups nachni flour
1 cup wheat flour
Salt a little
Water for kneading (use of warm water is preferred)

METHOD:

Knead together the above ingredients and keep covered for about ½ hour.
Roll out the roti and let it puff on the gas stove as shown in the picture.
Eat it with spicy vegetable.

This is my entry for nupurs " A TO Z of vegetables "

TOMATO SOUP WITH A LITTLE TWIST.....

TOMATOES!!!!!!
I feel tomatoes are really very cute, don’t they look cute???
I need a lot of tomatoes in my day to day cooking, tomatoes are very healthy and are used extensively in salads in India which is called “ koshambir” in Marathi.

tomatoes used for making the soup

Tomatoes are good source of vitamin C, beta carotene, folate and potassium.

[TOMATOES THAT HAVE A CRIMSON GENE- MAKING THEM A DEEP RED COLOUR-- CONTAIN MORE LYCOPENE THAN PALER TOMATOES. VINE-RIPENED TOMATOES HAVE MORE LYCOPENE THAN THOSE THAT ARE PICKED EARLY AND ALLOWED TO RIPEN OFF THE VINE.]

I have painted this picture just for the post

[lycopene is in the skin of tomatoes, also if you are making tomato sauce leave the skin on. Also, lycopene is fat soluble, so cooking tomatoes with a little oil, increases absorption.]

tomato soup looks a bit yellow because of the red pumpkin used to make the soup but this is called as the TOMATO SOUP because of the large no of tomatoes in it.

Tomato soup with a difference….

INGREDIENTS

6 mediums sized tomatoes.
100 Gms red pumpkin
1 small carrot
One onion
Salt, pepper, sugar to taste
You can add a soup cube which is optional

METHOD

Cook together tomatoes, carrots, red pumpkin and onion in a cooker
When cool blend in a liquidizer or blender.
Strain through a strain
Boil on medium flame {it will become a bit thick due to the presence of red pumpkin in the soup} but you can make it thinner by adding water.
Add salt, sugar and pepper as per taste
Soup will be ready

This soup is very healthy and nutritious I usually make it with a pulao or if someone in the house is not feeling too well and has lost his appetite. This soup gives the required nutrition; you can serve it with bread crotons.

This is also my entry for "JIHVA FOR TOMATOES"

MULYAPANNACHI BHAJI(radish leaves vegetable)

A VERY SIMPLE VEGETABLE WITH MINIMUM SPICES


INGREDIENTS:

2 bundles radish leaves
1 cup grated coconut
½ cup soaked toovar dal
2 green chilies
one onion finely chopped
1 tsp jaggery
salt to taste.



METHOD:

Take oil in a pan and add the finely chopped onion and chilies
Stir for sometime and add the soaked toovar dal.
Let it cook for about 5 mins , then add the finely chopped leaves of radish.
Do not add water, the radish leaves will cook in its own moisture.
When it is almost ready add gul or jaggery and grated coconutlet it cook for sometime then add salt and stir
Close for sometime and cook.
Its ready to serve.


IN GOA ALL LEAFY VEGETABLES ARE MOSTLY COOKED VERY SIMPLY WITH THE MINIMUM OF SPICES SO AS TO RETAIN THE ORIGINAL FLAVOURS OF THE VEGETABLE.

LAL MATHACHE BHAJI......

LAL MATHACHI BHAJI

We call the red leafy vegetable as lal math it is like the leafy green chawli vegetable .

This is a vegetable like all the other leafy vegetables full of fiber and nutrients .
It’s my hubby’s favorite vegetable and when in season makes its appearance at least once a week.



FINELY CHOPPED LAL MATHACHE BHAJI

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED FOR MAKING THE VEGETABLE.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups finely chopped lal math
2 small onions finely chopped
2 green chilies chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil.
{this is a very simple bhaji and hence you can add a little coconut oil to enhance its taste as the calories through other ingredients is almost nil}
salt and sugar to taste {sugar should be a little about ½ tsp}
½ cup coconut grated for garnishing.

METHOD.

The method requires just a couple of lines its so simple.
Take coconut oil in a hot pan
Put in the onion and make them soft not brown
Add the chopped vegetable and the green chilies
Do not add water
Stir , you will see that the vegetable leaves a lot of water.
Let the vegetable cook in its own water.
After it is cooked add salt and sugar
Add grated coconut for garnish.

SORRY I JUST FORGOT TO TAKE THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE READY VEGETABLE.

MOTHERS FAVORITE RECIPE-VATANA GOLEE.

Vatanyache golee or usal is a gravy dish with green peas.
This is my mother’s specialty she loves making this vegetable ever since I remember. She makes it at least once a week even now. Whether the peas are in season or not do not matter to her ,she buys frozen peas and does this dish regularly.
Regarding me I seem to have some block in my brain as regards to this dish , I make it rarely although its an extremely simple and delicious dish, secondly every time I make it I seem to forget how I had made it and have to call up my mother to take the recipe. That’s what I did today morning I called her up as soon as the menu for the day was fixed and got the recipe from her with her usual comment “ what’s wrong why do you always forget the recipe for this simple vegetable when you make can cook unusual and much more complicated recipes” now!!!! What am I supposed to tell her or for that matter anyone else.
So now, the next alternatives were to blog about it and have the recipe written and photographed for ever….
Do you agree with me?


INGREDIENTS:

3 cups green peas
1 cup grated coconut
½ tsp pepper corns
marble size piece of jaggery
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp hing or asafoetida
1 tsp haldi powder
oil for bagar


METHOD

Take a pan, add oil when hot put mustard seeds and hing
Add haldi powder and the green peas.
Add water and salt and let them cook till soft.
Grind together coconut, peppercorns ,jaggery and chili powder .
Add this ground mixture to the cooked green peas
Let it cook .
Serve with rotis or chapattis.

KHATKHATE......

KHATKHATE is a very special vegetable preparation for goan hindu GSB(gaud saraswat brahmin ) families. This dish is usually prepared for weddings,pujas and during many other festivals . It has lots and lots of vegetables and hence its always made in a large quantity and shared with others .It becomes a one dish meal and can be eaten on its own without any accomplishments.

during earlier times when freezing facilities where not available khatkhate was one way for the lady of the house to finish off her leftover uncooked/raw vegetables and this was prepared atleast once a week.
i think the problem of finishing off the leftovers gave birth to such a wonderful recipe.

This vegetable preparation is extremely filling,nutritious and tasty.

The essential vegetables are RED PUMPKIN AND RADISH

The rest of the vegetables are optional . i will be giving you the list of vegetables that i use .

do not add brinjal and lady finger as these are slimy and will spoil the texture of the vegetable

recipe will follow.

SORRY FRIENDS FOR THE DELAY....
posting the recipe for this dish just got postponed so here i am writing the recipe

Cooking khatkhate is a bit complicated or should I say a many step process so let me give it to you in steps

STEP 1

Chop vegetables like yellow pumpkin, radish, cucumber, carrots, arbi, corn, and every other vegetable you have in your fridge other than karela, bhendi, brinjals or capsicum (this gives a different flavour which does not go well with khatkhate). Chop them into big cubes.
Cook fast cooking vegetables like pumpkin, cabbage, or cauliflower in a big kadai and cook the rest of the vegetables which take a longer time to cook in a cooker. Also cook the below Tovar dal and peanut mixture in the cooker, off course in a separate vessel.

STEP 2

Soak ½ cup Tovar dal and ½ cup peanuts for about 2 hours.

STEP 3

Grind together 1 cup grated coconut
3 red hot chilies (dry)
1 tsp haldi powder
Marble size tamarind
Marble size Jaggery

FOR THE FINAL ASSEMBLY

Mix all the vegetables, peanut and Tovar dal together
Add the ground coconut paste.
Add salt to taste.
You have to take trepala or teephal as we call it in goa; teephal is a small fruit which has a peculiar smell. it has to be added to this at the end to bring out its flavour.

You get this nice saffron colour to the khatkhate; you can also use Kashmiri chili powder to get the desired colour.

Khatkhate is ready to be relished…

BRINJAL PHODE....

Today I am going to tell you about a side dish or you can say accomplishment without which the veg thali is incomplete in a goan home.

BRINJAL PHODE

ING:
One big brinjal
Chili powder, haldi powder, dhania jeera powder
I have not written the exact proportion as it is per taste
But for one big brinjal around 500 gms I use ….
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp haldi powder
2 tsp dhania jeera powder.
Rice flour for dusting.
And salt to taste

METHOD:

Cut brinjal into 1 cm thickness roundels
Rub on chilli powder, haldi powder and dhania jeera powder
Coat the pieces with rice flour
Shallow fry these brinjal slices like you fry fish you can cover it while cooking
Turn when done on one side and cook till completely done on the other.

THESE PHODES CAN BE DONE WITH POTATO, RAW BANANA, SWEET POTATO AND EVEN WITH PUMPKIN.