Cold (Spiced) Blueberry Soup

Serves 2
Ready in 20 minutes (plus at least 3-4 hours of refrigeration time)

Ingredients

• Fresh Blueberries - 1 cup
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Sour Cream - 1/4 cup
• Honey - 4 tbsp 
• Ginger - 1 tsp (grated)
• Cinnamon stick - 1 whole
• Cardamom - 2
• Corn Starch - 1 tbsp
• Fresh Cream - 1/4 cup

Directions:

• In a thick bottomed saucepan add the blueberries, water, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, ginger and honey and bring it to boil over medium flame stirring occasionally. 

• Simmer and let it boil for 2-3 minutes till most of the blueberries have burst. 

• Remove the cardamoms and cinnamon stick and puree the  the whole thing in a blender. until smooth. Use a fine mesh/sieve and pour the mixture through it, back into the pan. Strain and discard any solids.

• Whisk the cornstarch into the milk and add it to this mix in the pan, stirring continuously. Bring it to boil and simmer till the mixture thickens slightly (that is about a minute).

• Switch off the flame. Add the cream and let it cool for a few minutes minutes and transfer it to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours

• Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream, mix well and transfer to individual bowls for serving. Garnish with a little fresh cream and a few blueberries on top and serve chilled. 

Carrot & Tomato Soup

Soups are my family's all time favorite and I keep looking for new/unique soup recipes but this one is a fairly common and a simple one which can be prepared with minimal ingredients and loved by most soup lovers. I am a non-vegetarian so usually use chicken stock for all my soup recipes but you can always use vegetable stock or even plain water (but you compromise on the taste a bit) if you do not have any stock available with you.

Serves 2-3

Ready in 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 medium sized (chopped)
• Carrot - 1 medium sized (chopped into small cubes)
• Tomatoes - 3 medium sized (chopped)
• Garlic Cloves - 2-3 (chopped or grated)
• Fresh Basil leaves - 3-4
• Chicken/vegetable stock - 2 cups*
• Freshly ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil - 1-2 tbsp

*Add chicken or vegetable stock depending on weather you want a non-veg or a veg soup.

Directions:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the onions, garlic and carrots and saute till the onions become translucent. 

• Add the tomatoes and saute for about 4-5 minutes.

• Add the vegetable/chicken stock and the basil leaves. Add salt and pepper and bring the mixture to boil. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for approx. 10 - 15 minutes or till the carrots are tender. 

• Remove the lid and let the mixture cool for a few minutes. Blend in a blender and then pour it back into the pan and add cream. Switch off the flame. Adjust salt.

• Transfer to individual bowls, add some cream on top for garnishing and serve hot with bread/croutons.

Oats and Broken Wheat Idli

I usually have a tough time getting my toddler son to eat chapattis and paranthas. All he wants to eat is rice, ramen and spaghetti for it is easier for him to gulp those down than to chew on the chapattis. He does not like broken wheat porride, khichdi etc. I have tried many tricks to make him eat some wheat but almost everything has failed, so I was quite excited about trying out this instant idli recipe that a friend posted on her blog a few days ago. It uses oats and broken wheat as main ingredients, which I thought would be good for my little one and good for the family as it is healthy and nutritious. I finally made the idlis this morning and they turned out pretty well. (the pic has not turned out very well and I really need to work on my photography skills :)) I mashed the idlies and mixed them with dal and gave it to my son and he just loved them. (I wonder if he realized it was not rice, but something else)...He made my day today....so HERE* is the recipe for all of you who want to try different things for your little ones or for yourself too...Thanks Jeyashri for this wonderful recipe :)

*In order to make it easier for my little one to eat, I blended everything in a blender (and not just oats) . Also, I cooked the carrots too as my little one is still not very comfortable with raw veggies...:) Happy Cooking!!

Palak Chana Dal (Spinach & Split Bengal Gram Curry)

Serves - 3-4
Preparation time - 10 mins
Cooking time - 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Chana Dal (Split Bengal Gram) - 100 gm 
• Palak (Spinach) - 1/2 cup **
• Onion (finely chopped) - 1 medium sized
• Tomato Puree - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 1 tsp (grated)
• Garlic - 1 tsp (grated)
• Cooking Oil - 2 tbsp
• Water - 2-3 cups*
• Spices
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Mango Powder (Amchur) - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt according to your taste

* Quantity of water will depend on the consistency of curry that you want. If you want a somewhat dry curry, add less water, and if you want a thinner curry, add more water.
** I used frozen but you can use fresh spinach as well. 

Directions:

• In a pressure cooker, saute the onion, ginger and garlic till the onions become transparent.

• Add the spinach and saute for a couple of minutes.

• Add the spices and saute for 2-3 minitues

• Add tomato pure, saute for a couple of minutes.

• Add chana dal and water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for about 10 minutes or till the dal is tender. Pressure cook over low flame. ***

• Serve hot with Chapati or Rice. 

***Pressure cook on a high flame till the first whistle. Lower the flame after that and cook over low flame. 

Creamy Macaroni Bake (with Vegetables, Tofu and Ham)

Serves: 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10+10 minutes

Ingredients:

• Macaroni - 1 cup  (boiled and strained)
• Cream - 1/4 cup
• Tomatoes - 2 (medium)
• Ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Garlic (grated) - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Cheddar Cheese (Grated) - 1/2 cup
• Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup (panko)
• Tofu - 1/2 cup
• Ham - 1/2 cup (finely sliced)
• Finely chopped vegetables of your choice. I used green beans and corn. 

Directions:

• Heat Oil in a pan and add garlic and turmeric and saute for a minute or two. 

• Add tomatoes, vegetables, ham and tofu. Add salt and pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes and cover the pan with a lid and simmer for about 3-4 minutes. 

• Add macaroni, cream and cheese and saute for 2-3 minutes. 

• Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, sprinkle breadcrumbs and a little grated cheese over it and bake for about 10-15 minutes (till you get a light brown crusty top) 

• Creamy macaroni bake is now ready. Serve hot :)

Green Veggies Fried Rice (Yasai Chahan)

Serves - 2
Preparation time - 5-7 minutes
Cooking time - 5-7 minutes*

* Provided your rice is already ready. I prefer using rice from a day before. 

Ingredients:

• Cooked Rice - 2 cups
• Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp
• Black Pepper - 1/2 tbsp
• Soy Sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Eggs - 2
• Salt to taste
• Vegetables (finely chopped)
• Spring Onions - 2
• Cabbage - 1/2 cup
• Celery - 1/4 cup
• Lettuce - 1/2 cup
• Green beans - 1/4 cup 

Directions:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the green veggies and saute for 4-5 minutes.

• In a bowl, take two eggs and whisk them properly. Add salt and pepper and then add this to the veggies in the pan.

• Add the cooked rice to this and mix well. Make sure your eggs are still runny (and not properly cooked) when you add the rice. This will ensure that the rice are evenly coated with the egg. 

• Once the rice are properly mixed, add the soy sauce and mix it thoroughly  Saute for a couple of minutes. 

• Add salt and pepper as per your taste. Serve hot. 

Notes:

• You can use any oil instead of sesame oil but the kind of flavor that sesame oil imparts to chahan is unbeatable. 

Dahi Baingan (Egg Plant in Yogurt Gravy)

Serves - 2
Preparation time - 5 min
Cooking time - 10-15 min

Ingredients:

• Egg Plant - 4-5 (Diced into 1 inch pieces)
• Yogurt - 1 cup 
• Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger Powder (Soonth) - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel Powder - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
• Cooking oil - 3-4 tbsp

Directions:

• Heat Oil in a pan and add Asafoetida. Add the egg plant and saute till the egg plant turns golden brown.

• Add ginger powder, fennel powder, red chili powder, sugar and mix well. Add yogurt mixed with salt and stir again. Saute for about 5 minutes or till most of the yogurt gravy is  absorbed by the egg plant. 

• Egg plant in yogurt gravy  is now done. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with Parantha or Roti.