Tri Coloured Rice

Here is the recipe for the tri coloured Rice I prepared on our Republic Day....

 Tri Coloured Rice I

Ingredients:

Rice                          500gms

Onions                      150 gms  chopped finely

Cabbage                   100 gms shredded finely

Capsicum (Green)     100 gms cut into thin strips

Peas                          100gms

Carrot                       150 gms  grated

Green Chillies             3-4 slit lengthwise

Coriander greens        one bunch chopped fine

Ginger Garlic paste     3 tsps

Cardamoms                6

Cloves                        9

Cinnamon                   3 pieces

Garam Masala powder   3tsps

Salt                              To taste

Oil or Ghee           3 Tbsp

Method:

1. Measure the rice with a cup. Now wash the rice thoroughly in water. Take water equal to one and half times of the rice in a vessel , add one tsp of oil and cook in a pressure cooker. The rice should not be over cooked or sticky.
2. Spread the rice on to a platter and leave for a few minutes till the water content evaporates. The divide it into three equal portions.
3. Similarly divide all the ingredients (including chillies except for vegetables) into three parts.
4. White Rice:   Heat one Tbsp of oil in a pan. Turn the flame to low. Add  one part of the cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Fry for a minute and add one part of green chillies, onions, cabbage and one tsp of ginger garlic paste. Fry till the onions turn pink, add one part of rice, salt (to taste) and one tsp of garam masala powder. Mix well and fry till you hear the rice crackling. Remove and arrange it in the center of a platter in a row.
5. Orange Rice:  Again heat one Tbsp of oil, add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon. Fry for a minute. Add one part of green chillies, one tsp of ginger garlic paste, fry for a minute. Add grated carrot, salt, one tsp of garam masala powder, mix well fry for few minutes. Add one portion of rice mix well, fry till you hear the crackling. Remove from fire and keep aside.
6. Green Rice: Now heat the remaining oil. Add the remaining cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, fry and add chillies and ginger garlic paste. Fry well. Add capsicum and peas and fry for few minutes. Add remaining garam masala powder, salt and rice. Mix well. Remove and keep aside.
7. Fill up a small cup with orange coloured rice. Pack it tightly into the cup by pressing the rice. Invert it onto a serving plate and tap it gently. Now do the same with white rice and finally the green one.
8. Serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens. This can be accompanied by any curry and raita along with salad of your choice

Tri Coloured Rice II

Ingredients:

Rice                          500gms

Onions                      150 gms  chopped finely
Radish                       50 gms grated

Cabbage                   50 gms shredded finely

Cauliflower                50  gms chopped into small florets

Capsicum (Green)     50 gms cut into thin strips

Beans                        50gms  chopped finely

Peas                          100gms

Carrot                       150 gms  grated or chopped finely

Green Chillies             3-4 slit lengthwise

Coriander greens        one bunch chopped fine

Ginger Garlic paste     3 tsps

Cardamoms                6

Cloves                        9

Cinnamon                   3 pieces

Garam Masala powder   3tsps

Salt                              To taste

Oil or Ghee           3 Tbsp

Method:

1. Cook the rice as above and divide it into equal parts. Similarly divide the spices, green chillies, ginger garlic paste into three parts. 
2. White Rice: Heat one Tbsp of oil in a pan. Add one part of cloves, cardamom, cinnamon , ginger garlic paste, green chillies and fry for a minute. Now add onions, radish, cabbage and cauliflower. Cauliflower can be parboiled before using. Add salt and garam masala powder. Fry for few minutes. Add rice, mix well and fry till it crackles. Rermove and arrange it in a plate. 
3. Orange Rice:  Again heat one Tbsp of oil, add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon. Fry for a minute. Add one part of green chillies, one tsp of ginger garlic paste, fry for a minute. Add grated carrot, salt, one tsp of garam masala powder, mix well fry for few minutes. Add one portion of rice mix well, fry till you hear the crackling. Remove from fire and arrange it on one side of the white  rice first placed on the platter.
4. Green Rice:  Heat the remaining oil. Add the spices, fry for a minute. Now add green chillies,ginger garlic paste and fry for few minutes. Add capsicum, peas, beans and fry till the vegetables are cooked. Add salt, garam masala powder and rice. Mix well and fry till it crackles.
5. Place cup fulls of the three on to a platter. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Tri Coloured Rice III

Ingredients:
 Rice         500 gms
Spinach     2 big bunches
Carrot      2 big ones
Radish      2 big ones
Ginger garlic paste   3tsps
Cumin seeds    2 Tbsps
Garam Masala powder    3 tsps
White Pepper powder  To taste

Salt   To taste
Oil /Ghee      3 tbsps

Method:

1. Wash and cook rice as above. Divide it into three equal parts.
2. Wash all the veggies throughly.
3. peel and grate carrot and radish separately. 
4. Chop the spinach and grind it to a thick paste adding a little water.
5. Orange Rice: Now heat oil in a pan. Add one Tbsp cumin, fry for a minute and add carrot, one tsp ginger garlic paste, salt and pepper powder to taste. Mix well and fry for few minutes. Add one portion of rice and one tsp of garam masala powder. Mix well. Fry for few minutes and keep aside.
6. White Rice: Heat one Tbsp oil. Add one Tbsp cumin, fry and add radish, one tsp  ginger garlic paste, salt, pepper powder, mix and fry for some time. Add rice, mix in one tsp garam masala powder  and fry for few more minutes. Keep aside.
7. Green Rice: Heat the remaining oil. Add remaining cumin, fry for a minute. Add ginger garlic paste and fry well. Add spinach paste, salt and pepper powder. Mix and fry well. Add rice, remaining garam masala powder mix well and fry for some more minutes. Remove from fire and keep aside.
8. Now serve hot  all the three rices  as explained above with any curry or raita.

Hope you like them. Please try and leave your comments......

Soups-3

Veggie Soups for health

Here are recipes for some more soups

Carrot N Coriander Soup

Ingredients:
Carrots                        4-5 (big)
Onion                          1(big)
Green Coriander          2 big bunches
Ginger                          1 inch piece
Lemon juice                  1 Tbsp
Butter                           2-3 Tbsps
Pepper powder            To taste
Salt                               To taste

Method:

• Wash carrots thoroughly. Scrub it well. Slice them without peeling
• Slice onions
• Wash the coriander greens thoroughly. Chop a few sprigs finely and keep aside for garnishing.
• Tie the rest of them into a bunch again.
• Wash ginger well and crush it
• Now melt butter in a pan. Add onions, let them turn pink
• Add carrots, stir and fry for five minutes on low flame
• Now add 4-5 cups water or vegetable stock
• Add the ginger and the coriander bunch
• Bring to a boil and boil it for 5-10 minutes
• Cool it, rmove the ginger and coriander and liquidise the rest
• Again heat it till it begins to boil
• Add salt, pepper and lime juice and serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens and a dollop of fresh cream

Mixed Vegetables Soup

Ingredients:
Mixed Vegetables chopped     3 cups
(Carrot, Cabbage, Cauliflower, bottle gourd, Potato chopped into small pieces)
Tomatoes chopped                 1cup
Onion chopped                       1/2 to 1 cup
Ginger grated                          1 Tbsp
Pigeon Pea (Tuvar Dal)            1/2 cup
(cooked well and mashed)
Cinnamon                                1 inch sticks-2
Cardamom                              2-4 pods
Cloves                                    4-5
Butter                                     3 Tbsp
Pepper                                  To taste
Salt                                        To taste

Method:

• Melt butter in a pan, add cardamom, cloves and cinnamon fry for a minute
• Add onions and ginger, fry for 2-3 minutes
• Add tomatoes mix well and fry for few more minutes
• Now add the vegetables, mix well add 3-4 cup of water cover and cook till the vegetables are well cooked
• Add the mashed lentil, bring it a boil
• Cool and liquidise and strain or strain directly using a soup strainer.
• Add slat and pepper. If necessary add water and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer on low flame for a few minutes
• Serve hot 

Coconut Shorba

Ingredients:
Coconut          one
Lemon             one
Mint greens     one  bunch
Curry  leaves    one bunch
Green chillies    2-4
Bay leaf            one
Cloves              2-3
Cardamom        1
Cinnamon          1 
Salt                  To taste
Oil                   2-3 tsps

Method:

• Grate the coconut add two cups  water and grind well till you get a thick milky liquid
• Now heat the oil in a deep pan. Add green chilies chopped into big pieces and fry for two minutes. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom,  bay leaf, curry leaves and mint and fry for a minute
• Add the coconut mixture, bring to a boil on low flame
• Let it boil well for a few minutes, then strain it
  
• Serve hot with a dash of lemon juice and salt to taste
  

Chicken Recipes-2

Here are some more recipes...

Ginger Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken                750 gms
Onions                  350 gms
Ginger                   150gms
Garlic                      50 gms
Green Chilies          4-5
Coriander greens      one big bunch
Red Chili Powder   2 Tbsp
Soy Sauce              2 Tbsp
China salt                 2tsp
Garam Masala          10 gms
Orange red colour    1/2 tsp
Salt                          To taste
Oil                            150 -200 ml

Method:

• Wash the chicken thoroughly, rub a little slat and keep aside
• Finely chop coriander greens for garnishing
• Chop onions and green chilies into small pieces
• Grind together, onions, green chilies and salt.
• Separately grind the ginger and garlic to a paste
• Now heat oil in a pan. Add the onion paste and fry thoroughly
• Add red chili powder, soy sauce, ginger garlic paste mix well and fry well
• Add the chicken, salt and cook for 15 to twenty minutes on low flame
• Add food colour(mixed in water0. Mix well
• Season with garam masala
• Serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens

Punjabi Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken (leg pieces)     4
Onions                         100 gms
Tomatoes                     100 gms
Ginger Garlic paste        2-3 tsps
Coriander greens           one big bunch
Curds                           1 cup
Chat Masala                 10 gms
Garam Masala             5 gms
Red Chili powder        2 tsps
Salt                              To taste
Orange red colour        a pinch
Oil                               75 ml

Method:

• Wash and clean chicken with water
• Finley chop the onions and tomatoes separately
• Mix together curds, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, red chili powder, food colour and salt
• Now put the chicken legs in the mixture coat them well and let them marinate for an hour or so
• Now heat 50ml of oil in a pan. Fry the chicken pieces well (keep the marinade separately) and keep aside
• Heat the rest of the oil in the pan, add onions and fry till they are almost brown
• Now add the marinade and tomatoes, mix and fry on low flame till the gravy thickens to the required consistency. Adjust salt to taste
  
• Pour this gravy on to a serving plate
• Arrange the chicken pieces
• Serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens

Chicken Recipes - 1

Some of my friends wanted Chicken recipes. I am posting here some from India and from across the world. These are the recipes which I have collected over the years. Since I don't eat any meat, I have not cooked any and cannot add my experiences to these recipes.

Chicken 69

Ingredients:

Chicken  (boneless)   500gms

Ginger Garlic paste    20 gms

Pepper powder         20 gms

Garam Masala           15 to 20 gms

Oil                             150 gms

Salt                            To taste

Coriander greens        one bunch

Method:

• Cut chicken into big pieces.
• Chop the coriander greens finely
  
• Mix together, ginger garlic paste, pepper powder, salt and garam masala powder
• Apply this mixture to the chicken pieces, coating them well and leave them for half an hour
• In a pan place the chicken pieces and add a cup of water. Cook on low flame till done.
• In a separate pan heat oil, add chicken pieces few at a time and fry well
• Place them on a platter, garnish with finely chopped coriander greens
  

 Chicken 65

Ingredients:

Chicken  (boneless)      350gms

Egg                               one

Curds                            1 cup

Corn flour                      100 gms

Refined flour (Maida)     100 gms

Green Chilies                 10-12

Curry leaves                   one big bunch

Ginger Garlic paste          3 tsp

Red chili powder           1 tsp

Garam Masala powder    1/4th tsp

Chinese Salt                    1/4th tsp 

(Mono sodium Glutamate)

Orange Red food colour    a pinch

(mixed in little water)

Salt                                 To taste

Oil                                   For deep fry

Method:          

• Cut chicken into pieces 
  
• Break open the egg and beat it lightly
• In a vessel mix together cornflour, refined flour, red chili powder, china salt, ginger garlic paste. Mix well
• Add the beaten egg and mix well. Add a little water and mix the batter to a little thinner than the dropping consistency
• Add the chicken pieces and mix well so that the pieces are coated with the batter all over. Leave it for at least half an hour
• Now in a pan heat enough oil for frying.
• Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken pieces in it till browned. Leave them on a blotting paper to remove excess oil
  
• Now heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan
• Slit the green chilies length wise and add to the oil. Let them fry for a minute
• Add curry leaves (separated from the sprigs), mix and fry for a minute
• Add curds, red colour, garam masala powder, salt and chicken pieces
• Mix well and fry on low flame till the entire curd dries up. Keep stirring from time to time
• Serve it hot on a platter decorated with cucumber, onion slices and lemon wedges accompanied by tomato sauce
  

Chicken Jaipuri 

Ingredients:

Chicken(boneless)            500gms

Onions                             100 gms

Tomatoes                         75 gms

Ginger                              50 gms

Garlic                               25 gms

Coriander greens              one bunch

Fresh cream                     50 ml  (Malai)

Cumin seeds                     1/2 tsp  (Jeera)

Fennel seeds                     1/2 tsp  (Saunf)

Turmeric powder               1/2 tsp

Garam Masala   powder    1/2 tsp

Red chili powder              1 tsp

Salt                                   To taste

Oil                                    75 to 100 gms

Method:

• Wash and clean the chicken
• Chop tomatoes finely and keep aside
  
• Grind together, chopped onion, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, cumin, fennel, turmeric, red chili powder.
• Now divide the masala (spices) paste into two parts. Apply one half to the chicken, coating the pieces well. Leave them for half an hour to marinate
• Now in a pan heat oil, add the spices paste kept separately. Fry well on low flame taking care to keep on stirring it so that it does not get burned. Fry till you can see that the oil separates from the spice paste
  
• Add garam masala powder. Mix well
• Add chicken pieces, salt and cover it. Cook on low flame. 
• Cook till the chicken is almost done. Now add finely chopped tomato. Mix well and fry for another five minutes or so
• Serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens with steamed Rice or Rotis
  

Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken                     500 gms

Onions                       100 gms

Tomatoes                   250 gms

Ginger Garlic paste     3 tsp

Green Chilies             5

Coriander greens        one bunch

Lemon                        one

Cashew nuts               50gms

Poppy seeds               25 gms

(Khus Khus-Hindi/ Gasa Gasaalu-Telugu)

Sunflower Seeds         25 gms

(Chironji -Hindi/Saara Pappu -Telugu)

Red Chilies                 6-8

Kasuri Methi               1tsp

(dried Fenugreek leaves)

Garam Masala Powder    2 tsp

Orange Red food colour   a   pinch

(mixed in little water)

Salt                                 To taste

Curds                              1 cup

Butter                              100gms

Oil                                    75 ml

Method:

• Clean chicken in water, squeeze out the water, cut into pieces
• In a vessel, put the pieces, add salt, lemon juice, garam masala (1 tsp), ginger garlic paste (1 tsp). Mix well so that the pieces are coated well. Marinate for an hour or so
• Chop tomatoes. 
• Finely chop onions
• In a vessel, take tomatoes, half of onions, red chilies, garam masala (1tsp), salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook well. Cool and grind them to a paste
• Grind to a paste, Cashew nuts, khus khus, Sun flower seeds and a little water
• In a pan heat oil, add chopped onions (remaining), fry till golden in colour
• Add ginger garlic paste, fry till it loses its raw smell
• Now add the first  paste (tomatoes and others)  little by little, mix well and fry till the oil separates.
• Add the second  paste (cashew nuts and others. Fry well
• Add chicken pieces mix well so that the gravy covers the pieces. Now cook it on low flame
• When the chicken is cooked, add green chilies (slit length wise), orange red colour, butter, kasuri Methi and cook for few more minutes.
• Serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens
• This goes well with  steamed Rice, Rotis or Pulao
  

Chili Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

Tender Chicken       500gms

Onions                     100 gms

Ginger Garlic paste   25 gms

Red Chilies             10-12

Cumin  seeds           1 tsp

Cloves                     5-6

Tamarind pulp         1 tbsp

Salt                        To taste

Oil                         50 ml

Method:

• Finely chop onions
• Grind together red chilies, ginger garlic paste, cumin, cloves and half of chopped onion to a paste
• Heat oil in a pan, add remaining onions till pink in colour
• Add the masala (spice) paste fry for few minutes
• Now cut chicken into pieces, and add it to the pan along with salt. Mix well, cover and cook on low flame
• When chicken is done add tamarind pulp mix and cook for few minutes
• Serve hot with steamed Rice or Rotis
  

Soups-2

Soups-Green n Healthy

Here are some recipes using green vegetables...But before that some tips:

• Use fresh greens. They should be green, healthy and not infested with bugs or insects.
• Clean the greens thoroughly to remove dirt etc.
• Better to separate the leaves or sprigs form the bunch and wash it thoroughly under running water.
• While cooking them, cover the vessel with lid.

Spinach (Palak) Soup

Ingredients:
Spinach (Plalak)    one big bunch/1-2 cups (chopped)
Onion   1
Garlic flakes   5-6
Milk   1 cup
Refined flour (Maida)    2 Tbsps
Pepper (black) powder   1/2 tsp-1 tsp
Sugar  1 tsp
Salt To taste
Oil    1Tbsp to 1and1/2 Tbsps
or
Butter 2 to 2 -1/2 Tbsp

Method:

• Clean spinach thoroughly
• Chop finely spinach, onion and garlic, separately
• Heat oil or melt butter in a thick bottomed deep vessel Add onion and garlic. Fry till the onion turns golden colour
• Now add chopped spinach and fry till it is cooked or becomes soft
• Add refined flour and fry till it loses its raw taste/smell
• Now add one and half cup water, mix well. Add salt sugar and pepper powder, mix well. Cook for few minutes
• Cool and liquidise the mixture
• Add one cup of water and milk
• Mix well and heat it. Bring to a boil
• Serve hot with a dollop of cream or grated cheese

Spinach N Lentil Soup (Palak Dal Soup)

Ingredients:
Spinach (Palak)  one big bunch/1-2 cups (chopped)
Pegeon pea (Tuvar/Masoor Dal)    }
or                                                  } 1/2 cup
Split green gram (dhuli Moong dal) }
Tomatoes       3
Onion            1 (big)
Garlic flakes   5-6
Milk               1 cup
Red chilly powder  1/2 tsp-1 tsp
Sugar    1 tsp
Salt      To taste

Method:

• Clean spinach thoroughly
• Chop finely spinach, onion, tomatoes and garlic separately
• Add 5 -7 cups of water to the chopped vegetables and lentil
• Cook in a pressure cooker
• Churn/mash it well with churn stick or liquidize it.
• Mix well and heat it. Add red chilly powder, salt and milk. Bring to a boil.
• Serve hot with a dollop of cream or grated cheese or finely chopped coriander greens..

Mint (Pudina) Soup

Ingredients:
Mint leaves         1 big bunch
Green chilly         1
Ginger                 1/2 inch piece
Vinegar               1/2 Tbsp
Butter                 1 Tbsp
Pepper powder  1/2 tsp
Salt                    To taste

Method:

• Grate or grind ginger to a paste.
• Similarly, grind together, pepper powder and green chilly to a fine paste
• Separate Mint leaves, wash and grind to a paste.
• Heat butter in a pan, add ginger paste. Fry for a minute or two.
• Add water, chilly paste, salt, pepper chilly paste and vinegar. Mix well and bring to a boil
• Add the mint paste. Cook for a few minutes.
• Serve hot.

Spring Onion (Pyaz patta) Soup

Ingredients:
Spring Onions     1 bunch
Onion                 1 medium sized
Potato grated      2-3 Tbsps
Grated Cheese    2 Tbsps
Thick cream        3-4 Tbsps
Butter                 2 tbsps
Sugar                 1 tsp
Pepper powder   To taste
Salt                    To taste

Method:

• Wash and clean the spring onions thoroughly
• Chop them finely. Keep one - two table spoons of the finely chopped greens of the spring onion separately for garnishing
• Chop onion finely
• Melt butter in a deep but heavy bottomed vessel
• Add onions and fry till they turn pink in colour
• Now add grated potato, spring onion, mix well and fry for few minutes
• Add a cup of water, salt, pepper, cover with lid and cook for five minutes on low flame
• Remove from fire cool and then liquidise
• Again heat this along with 2 cups of water till it begins to boil
• Serve Hot garnished with spring onion greens and grated cheese

Soups -Hot N Spicy

Soups are served at the beginning of the meal. They introduce the food that follows during the coarse of the meal. They are splendid starters, appetizers, nourishing and good for health. They help in filling us in between meals, or good for young, old and convalescing. They can also help the dieting people. In fact sometimes soups themselves can a meal in themselves.

Hot spicy steaming soups in chilly winters can be invigorating and cold and sweet soups during hot summer months are always welcome.

Soups can be served in family dinners or on special occasions like parties. So any time is soup time.

There are many varieties of soups like thin clear soups or creamy thick, hot, cold. etc. Usually thin soups are to be served with heavy meals and thick soups with light meals.

Garnishing soups just before serving not only enhances its aesthetic appeal but it will also add to the taste.

Here I am sharing some of the recipes I have...

Some Tips: Before starting on the recipes, here are some tips in general.

• You can cook the vegetables in a pressure cooker, to save time, fuel and nutrients.
• Generally vegetable stock or stock is used instead of water. It will be more tasty and nutritious.
• The water in which rice, dals/legumes or chana (chick pea) etc, has been cooked can be used instead of throwing it away.
• Similarly, the peels of the vegetables which are usually discarded can be boiled in sufficient water, strained and used as stock.
• All this can be stored in refrigerator and used when needed. But the fresher the better.
• To thicken the soup, refined flour made into white sauce can be added. Corn flour is also usually added. For Chinese soups only corn flour is added if the soup has to be thick.
• For soups cooked in Indian style, daals or legumes cooked and mashed can be added. This will be more filling nutritious and healthy.
• Rice flour can be added. One advantage with rice four is that it blends well with soups made in any style, as it has no taste at all. Also rice flour is much healthier, as it is not as fine as refined flour or corn flour. So I prefer rice flour.
• Curds (hung) can be added to give taste and thickness depending upon the ingredients and style of cooking of the soups.
• If you want your soup to be fibrous, add grated carrot or radish(mooli) or finely sliced/chopped onions, cabbage etc.
• Soups can be garnished, with a dollop of fresh cream, butter,grated cheese or bread croutons. Fried Bhendi rings can also be added instead of bread croutons.
• Bread sticks, Fried vadias or papads can also be served along.
• Finely chopped, parsley, mint or cilantro (dhania), curry leaves, spring onion greens can be used for garnishing depending upon the soup..
• You can use peanuts, cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts etc sliced and fried in butter or ghee (clarified butter) for garnishing.
• For those who like it sweet, raisins, dried figs (anjeer) etc can be chopped and added. Pomegranate seeds can also be added.
• You can add , roasted or fried pumpkin seeds, Chironji, melon seeds etc too.
• Pepper powder is usually added to give the soups a spicy taste. But you can add finely grounded powders of coriander, cumin, fennel, carom seeds etc either raw or roasted. Experiment with each spice or a combination of spices. Similarly, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, dried ginger etc can also be used.

Tomato Soup I

Ingredients:

Tomatoes 6
Carrot 1 (big)
Onion 1 (big)
Garlic 5-6 pods
Mint fistful or 1/2 cup
Refined flour (Maida)  2 Tbsps
Cinnamon 2 one inch pieces
Cloves-4-5
Milk 1 cup
Sugar 1-2 tsps
Salt to taste
Pepper powder to taste
Oil  or butter 1-2Tbsp

Method:

• Chop tomatoes, onions and garlic finely but separately. Chop finely or grate the carrot.
• Heat 2 tbsps oil in a deep pan. Add cinnamon and cloves. Fry for a minute or two in colour.
• Now add tomatoes and carrot along with mint leaves. Add salt, sugar, pepper powder and half cup of water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are well cooked or become soft. Let it cool.
• Liquidise the vegetables. Strain it and keep aside.
• In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, keep it on a low flame.Actually if you can use butter it gives a good taste. But when using butter just melt it. Don't heat it for long.
• Add refined flour (maida) and keep stirring it to avoid burning. This takes at least five minutes or so.
• Fry till it gives of a nice smell. Add milk slowly, a small quantity at a time and keep on stirring so that no lumps are formed. Keep on stirring. Cook this until it thickens to your liking. This is known as White Sauce.
• Now add two/three cups of water to the strained vegetable soup, add the white sauce and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Heat it again and bring it to a boil and until it reaches the desired consistency.
• Serve hot garnished with a dollop of cream or croutons.

Tomato Soup II

Ingredients:

Tomatoes chopped finely 2-3 cups
Bottle gourd chopped finely 1 cup
Onions chopped finely 1/2 cup
Ginger grated 1 tsp
Garlic grated 1 tsp
Corn flour 2 tbsp
Cinnamon 2' piece
Black pepper to taste
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste

Method:

• Take the tomatoes, gourd, onions, ginger, garlic and cinnamon in a vessel. Add 1-2 cups water.
• Cook them till they are well cooked. Cool it and mash the vegetables well.
• Now sieve/strain the cooked mixture. To this add 2-3 cups of waterand heat it on a low fire.
• Make a paste of corn flour with little water. Add this to the soup, stirring thorougly.
• Bring it to boil. Add salt, sugar and pepper powder. Boil till it reaches the required consistency.
• Serve hot with a dollop of cream.

Tomata Shorba

Ingredients:

Tomatoes 500gms
Mint leaves one bunch
Coriander greens one bunch
Lemon juice of 1/2 of a lemon
Black pepper 10-15 gms
Cloves 4-5
Red chillies (dried) 2 (optional)
Bay leaf one
Kasoori Methi 2 tsp
Sugar 1tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

• Clean the tomatoes, and the greens thoroughly.
• Chop the tomatoes finely. Chop the greens too. Crush cloves and black pepper.
• Now take the chopped tomatoes in a vessel, add three-four glasses of water, sugar and salt.
• In a muslin cloth take the crushed black pepper, mint, three fourths of coriander greens, Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves), bay leaf and red chillies. Tie it into a bundle. Place this in the vessel and cook until the tomatoes soften.
• Remove the bundle. Mash the tomato pieces with a wooden spoon. Strain it and retain the liquid.
• Boil for a few minutes.
• Serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander greens and a dash of lemon juice (optional)

So please try these and let me know. I have loads of soup recipes. But I could not key in all at one go. I will be sharing some more next time. Since this is winter time every where, I hope you enjoy these hot and spicy soups.

Please leave your comments, so that I can improve myself .

The Palm Shoot

Sorry folks. I wanted to share with you so many things especially this festive season. But Alas! I had some problem with loading my pictures.  So I just could not post any thing. Anyway now that I have got it settled(so I think) hopefully, here I am again......

I just wanted to share something with you all. This is unique to Andhra Pradesh, my State. Any guesses? I don't think you can guess it unless known to you earlier.

These are young palm shoots.

The palm fruit is black in colour with a thick outer shell. It contains three fruits which are soft fleshy and contain water. The tender fruits are available during summer. The soft flesh and the water inside are great sources to beat the hot Indian Summers. In fact the water of the fruit is of great help in cases of sunstroke. The fruit is nutritious too. Toddy is made out of these fruits by fermenting them. Palm jaggery is another product.

But once harvested from the tree, the fruits should be consumed as early as possible, or else they become very hard and don't digest easily. But once the fruit start maturing, they are left on the trees till fully done. Just before the rains, they are harvested and planted in the fields covered by the mud. By the time the rainy season is well advanced we have these shoots emerging from the fruits. These shoots are then separated from the seed and either steamed or roasted on coals or dry palm leaves and timber. I love the ones which are roasted than the ones which are steamed. These are very tasty.

Now here you can see them bundled and teid with dried palm leaf ready for marketing. These palm trees are found in many places of Andhra, but mainly in the coastal areas.

 

You can see the brown covering they have on them.

 

 

Here I have split one length wise. This how they look. The thin stick like thing  known as Chandamama -the moon or Dongaadu -the thief , has to be removed from the shoots before eating. This is not edible. But why is this called as moon or thief I don't have any clue. Now the top portion near to roots is very tasty. This shoot is quite fibrous and a bit heavy on digestion.

 

But I just love them. Every year when the monsoon sets in after the dry summer spells, I think of these palm shoots and eagerly wait for them. As the winter sets in, these start arriving in the market. 

They make a great snack and are healthy too being natural...

So do write your comments...

Season for Radish

Radish known as Mooli in Hindi and Mullangi in Telugu is a root vegetable which is edible. They come in a variety of colours like white, red, light pink and so on and also vary in shape; round, elongated etc. Raw radishes are crispy and crunchy and taste varies from sweet to pungent pepper like taste. They are rich in Ascorbic acid, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, calcium, copper Vitmain-B6 and riboflavin etc.

Radishes can be eaten raw as in salads or cooked as curry by themselves or in combination with other vegetables. In India radishes are used in salads, curries or in some other dishes. The greens are also edible. Both the radish and the greens are supposed to be good for kidneys, constipation, skin , good blood purifiers and helps women in menstrual related disorders. So today I am going to share with you some of the recipes of radish and radish greens ...

First let us look at the radish and its greens...

Below are the stalks of the greens. As long as they are not too hard or fibrous, they can also be used in the dishes.

These are the greens below....

Chopped greens along with the stalks...


Now for the recipes...

1. Simple Curry

Ingredients:
Radish 1 (big long one)
Green chillies 1-2
Black gram 1tsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 sprigs
Oil 1 Tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt To taste

Method:

1. Wash the radish thoroughly. Peel it and chop it into match stick size or finger sized pieces or slice it or grate it.
2. Separate the curry leaves from the stems.
3. Slit green chillies length wise. But if you want it to be more spicy, either chop it finely or just grind it coarsely.
4. If the radish is too pungent sprinkle a little salt, leave it aside for 10-20 minutes. Squeeze out the water and wash it with clean water, But this process is not required if you have grated it.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Add black gram fry for a minute, add mustard, cumin, fry for a minute. Add green chillies, turmeric and curry leaves.
6. Now add radish fry for five minutes or so, or until it is cooked.
7. If grated, it will take a minute or so to get cooked; so dont fry for long.
8. Add salt and add a little sugar, mix well serve hot with steamed rice.
9. You can add 1-2 Tbsp sour curds and get a different taste.
10. You can sprinkle lemon juice also to balance the pungent taste.

2. Radish Green Gram Curry

Ingredients:
Radish 1 (big long one)
Green Gram (soaked) 2 Tbsp
Fresh Coconut grated 1/4-1/2 cup
Green chillies 1
Garlic finely chopped/ground to a paste 1-2 pods
Black gram 1tsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 sprigs
Oil 1 Tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp

Salt To taste

Method:

1. Grate the radish or chop into match stick sized/finger sized pieces.
2. Chop or slit or grind the green chillies.
3. Soak the green gram (split and cleaned-husked) for one -two hours. It gets soft quickly unlike all other lentils. But sometimes when we don't have even that time. Just add enough water and boil it until the lentil gets soft but not too sticky or mashed up. Immediately remove the water and let it remain for a few minutes till all the remaining moisture evaporates.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Add black gram fry for a minute, add mustard, cumin, fry for a minute. Add green chillies, turmeric, garlic and curry leaves.
5. Now add radish fry for five minutes or so, or until it is cooked.
6. Add the soaked green gram.
7. Add salt and add a little sugar,grated coconut, mix well and serve hot with steamed rice.
8. You can sprinkle lemon juice .

3. Radish-Onion curry

Ingredients:
Radish 1 (big long one)Onion 1 big one
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 sprigs
Oil 1 Tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp

Salt To taste

Method:

1. Grate the radish or chop into match stick sized or into small pieces.
2. Chop or slit or grind the green chillies.
3. Chop the onion finely
4. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, cumin, fry for a minute. Add green chillies, turmeric, garlic and curry leaves.
5. Now add the onion fry till they turn pink.
6. Now add radish fry for five minutes or so, or until it is cooked.
7. Add salt and add a little sugar, mix well and serve hot with steamed rice.
8. You can sprinkle lemon juice .

4. Radish Carrot Curry

Ingredients:
Radish 1 big one
Carrot 1 big one
Green chillies 1
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Cumin 1tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 sprigs
Oil 1 Tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt To taste

Method:

1. Clean radish and carrots thoroughly. Peel and grate.
2. Slit green chilly length wise
3. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves. Fry for a minute or so.
4. Now add the vegetables. Mix well.
5. Add salt and sugar and a dash of lemon jiuce.
6. Serve hot with steamed rice.

5. Radish-Onion-Tomato Curry

Ingredients:
Radish 1 big one
Onion 1 big one
Tomato 1 big one
Green chillies 1
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Cumin 1tsp
Turmeric 1/4th tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 sprigs
Coriander greens (Cilantro) finely chopped 1 Tbsp
Garam Masala powder 1/2 tsp
Oil 1 Tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt To taste

Method:

1. Finely chop onions, radish and tomatoes separately
2. Slit green chilly length wise
3. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, curry leaves. Fry for a minute or so.
4. Now add onions, fry till they turn pink add radish and tomatoes. Mix well.
5. Add salt and sugar cover and cook for 5 minutes or till done .
6. Sprinkle garam masala powder and garnish with finely chopped coriander greens
7. Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatis or rotis or any bread.

6. Radish -Radish Greens

Ingredients:
Radish 1 big one with its leaves
Onion 1 big one
Tomatoes 1 big one
Cumin 1-2 tsp
Mustard 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
Aam choor (dry mango powder) 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder 1/2 tsp

Oil 1- 1,1/2Tbsp

Jaggery  grated  2tsp or more if you want it a bit sweet

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Clean the radish and greens thoroughly. Chop the radish, stalk of the greens and greens separately but finely. The part of the stalk(base) of the greens if too hard or fibrous can be discarded. But other wise retain the stalks as they are crunchy and tasty.
2. Chop onions and tomatoes separately but finely.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin, turmeric fry and ginger garlic paste. Fry till it loses its raw taste. Now add onions. Fry till they turn pink.
4. Add the radish , tomatoes mix and fry. Add salt mix, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Now add the stalks(chopped). Mix and fry for two three minutes.
6. Add jaggery and aam choor powder. Adjust slat.
7. Finally add the greens. Mix well. Fry for a minute.
8. Add garam masala powder.
9. Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatis.
   

Note:

• The greens need not be cooked for long. They are crispy and tasty. This should be cooked just before eating and served immediately. But those who don't like that can cook till soft.
• Basically this is supposed to be cooked in traditional Iron kadai (wok). This helps in absorbing the iron and gets into our system on eating.
• The greens as well as radish is believed to be good for women.
• The curry can be cooked without radish; thats is with all the rest of ingredients. But add more greens.
• The greens don't keep for long. So its better to remove the greens and cook immediately.