Veg. Fried Rice (Indo-Chinese Recipe)

This is an Indo-Chinese fusion recipe which is very quick and super easy to make

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice (uncooked) - 1 cup
• Water - 2 cups
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Carrots diced into small cubes - ¹/₃ cup
• Green onion (the white bulb) diced into small cubes - ¹/₃ cup
• Green beans cut diagonally - ¹/₃ cup
• Green onion (the greens) cut diagonally - ¹/₄ cup
• Garlic minced - 1 ¹/₂ tsp
• Ginger minced - ³/₄ tsp
• Serrano pepper finely chopped - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Soy sauce - ¹/₂ tsp
• Chilli sauce - 1 tsp
• White vinegar - 1 ¹/₂ tsp
• Salt to taste
• Garnishing
• Green onion greens - 1 tbsp

Method:

• To cook the rice
• Wash & soak the rice for about 30 min
• In a pan add the rice, water, oil and salt; cook on a medium flame for about 10-15 min. (until they are 90% done)
• Drain excess water and set aside
•  In a big pan/wok, heat oil on high flame. The Indo-Chinese cuisine is usually cooked on high flame (begin to end).
• Add garlic, ginger & Serrano pepper and stir for half a minute.
• Add in carrots, green beans and green onion (whites) stirring periodically for 4-5 min.
• Season it with salt.
• Add the green onion (greens), cooked rice, soy sauce, chilli sauce and white vinegar; stir together and cook for a minute.
• Garnish with the reserved green onion greens
• Enjoy!!

Serving Suggstions:
Veg. fried rice is popularly served with veg. manchurian with gravy (recipe coming shortly!)

Spaghetti with garlic and olive oil (Spaghetti aglio e olio)

Spaghetti Aglio e olio in Italian simply means spaghetti with olive oil and garlic.. It is a delight for all garlic lovers and takes very less time to put together! 

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti pasta - ¹/2 lb. 
• Water - to boil spaghetti 
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
• Pine nuts (toasted) - 1 ¹/2 tbsp
• Garlic thinly sliced - 1 ¹/₂ tsp
• Black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Garnishing
• Parsley - 1 tbsp

Method:

• In a big pot, bring water to boil. Add  spaghetti pasta and sprinkle generous amount of salt (remember this is the only chance your pasta gets to absorb the seasoning)
• In a flat pan, add the olive oil and garlic. Let the garlic turn golden brownish (this will help infuse the garlic flavor in the oil) stirring occasionally. 
• Now add the pine nuts and stir it for  about a minute or until the pine nuts turn lightly golden. 
• Now add the cooked pasta and season with salt and pepper. 
• Garnish with parsley and serve hot 
• Enjoy!!

Serving Suggstions:
I like to eat this pasta just as is (yummy garlic..) 

Nonetheless, any breadstick/cheesy toast/Garlic toast/bread will go well with this

Enjoy!!

Spinach Soup

Spinach soup is a very healthy soup that is quick and easy to cook and tastes delicious too. I am sure even people not very fond of spinach would enjoy this.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups roughly chopped spinach
• 1 cup roughly chopped onion
• ¹/₄ cup moong dal (preferably soaked for about an hour)
• ³/₄ tsp chopped garlic
• ³/₄ tsp grated ginger
• 4-5 cups of water
• 1 tsp oil
• ¹/₂ cup milk
• Salt & Pepper to taste
•  For garnishing:
• ¹/₂ cup paneer (cut into small cubes)

Method:

• In a saucepan, heat the oil and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Sauté on medium high heat until the onion turn translucent.
• In a pressure cooker, add the onion mixture from the saucepan, moong dal, spinach and half of the water; season with salt and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• Once the steam has escaped, open the cooker and pureé the mixture in a blender.
• Add the remaining water and season with ground black pepper and cook for a 1-2 minutes.
• Add milk and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Garnishing:
• On a nonstick pan, spray some cooking spray and cook the paneer cubes. 
• Stir continuously so that the paneer cubes are not burnt. I have found that this is the best way to roast the paneer using minimum oil.
• Add the paneer to the soup while serving

Serving suggestions:

Serve with bread-sticks (for healthier version, choose whole wheat bread-sticks)
 
Enjoy!

How to sprout moong

Sprouting the moong (or any pulses for that matter) is very easy, super delicious and extremely healthy. Once you realize how easy it is to do this at home, you'll never buy sprouts at the store, I promise!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole moong

Method:

• In a bowl, wash and soak the moong in hot water. Let it rest overnight (approx 8-10 hours).
• Drain all the water. You will notice that the moong has softened. Now cover the bowl with a lid and let it rest for the remainder of the day in a warm place. 
• Depending on the temperature in the room the sprouting process may take longer. 

Serving suggestions:

Can be eaten raw incorporating it in green salad 
Can also be served in cooked  form

Enjoy!!

Gujarati Kadhi

Gujarati Kadhi is a very light gravy-based sweet n sour dish popularly served with Khichadi

Ingredients:

• ¹/₃ cup yogurt (curd/dahi)
• 1¹/₃ cup water
• 5 tsp besan (chickpea flour)
• ¹/₂ tsp grated ginger
• ³/₄ tsp finely chopped serrano pepper 
• 1 tsp ghee/butter
• ¹/₂ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 6-8 curry leaves
• ¹/₄ tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 3 whole cloves
• 3-4 small pieces of cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp cilantro

Method:

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the yogurt and water. 
• Add the besan and whisk again - ensure no lumps remain
• Add ginger, serrano pepper, sugar and salt; set it aside.
• In a tadka-pan, at a medium heat, add the ghee (or butter) and cumin seeds; wait until they crack. While the cumin seeds are cracking, add the cloves and cinnamon stick pieces. This will help your cloves crack as well before you add the tadka to the yogurt mixture.
• Switch off the heat and add  curry leaves and asafoetida; add this tadka immediately to the prepared yogurt mixture.
• Cook the mixture on a medium-high heat for a few minutes. Take the pan off the heat when the mixture comes to a boil. Cover with a lid.
• After a couple of minutes, mix in the cilantro and cover the lid back again.

Serving Suggestions:

Kadhi is traditionally served with Khichadi
Can also be served with rice/roti/pulav/etc.

Enjoy!

Cooked Moong Sprouts

Cooked moong sprouts is a very quick and healthy recipe that can be eaten as breakfast/side dish

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sprouted moong
• 1 cup water
• ¹/₂ tsp oil
• ¹/₂ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp finely chopped serrano pepper (~1 medium serrano pepper)
• ¹/₈ tsp asafetida (hing)
• ¹/₄ tsp turmeric (haldi)
• Salt to taste
• ¹/₂ tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp chopped cilantro for garnishing

Method:

• In a pan, add oil, cumin seeds and cook on medium high heat until the cumin seeds crack; reduce the heat to low and add asafetida, ginger garlic paste and serrano pepper, mix together
• Add the sprouted moong and water. Mix together and increase the heat to medium high and cook covered for about 5-7 minutes stirring intermittently. You need to cook until your sprouts are tender. If they are not cooked, and all the water has evaporated, add some more water and continue to cook them covered. If your sprouts have cooked and you still have surplus water in the pan, remove the lid and cook on high heat to allow the water to evaporate quickly. 
• Switch off the heat and add the lime juice and cilantro. Mix well.

Serving Suggestions:

If serving for breakfast, it goes well with Khakhra
If serving as a side dish, can be served with any curry+roti combination

Enjoy!!

Lentil Spinach Soup (दाल पालक सूप)

Lentil Spinach Soup is super easy and incredibly healthy soup... Just try it once, you'll sink into the amazingness, I promise!!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion (~ ¹/₃ cup) sliced onions
• 1¹/₂ tsp (3-4 cloves) roughly minced garlic
• 1 tsp roughly minced ginger
• 3 medium tomatoes (~2¹/₂ cups) roughly chopped
• ³/₄ cup soaked lentils (masoor dal)
• 2 cup water - to be added for pressure cook
• 1 cup water - to be added later
• ²/₃ cup milk
• 1¹/₃ cup chopped spinach
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp red chilli powder (depending on your preference)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ¹/₂ tsp olive oil (you can substitute other oil if necessary)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt to taste

Method:

• In a pressure cooker, add the oil, ginger, garlic and onion and saute for ~2 minutes
• Add the soaked lentils, tomatoes and water; pressure cook for ~ 4 whistles (you probably will need to adjust the number of whistles depending on your cooker)
• Once the cooker has cooled down, puree it in a blender
• I did not strain it to retain the fiber content and believe me since it has cooked so well, you will not feel any fiber while eating!
• Now, take the puree out in a large pan, add spinach, cilantro, red chilli powder, ground black pepper, ground cumin and salt. Mix well and heat over medium high heat for a minute.
• Add milk (you don't need to use cream... I used 2% fat milk) and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Serve hot..!

Serving suggestions:

• Serve with breadsticks/toast

Enjoy!!