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!!

Instant Khaman

Khaman is a quick and easy healthy Gujarati (the western state of India) dish which can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish to the main course.

Ingredients:

• ¹/₂ cup Besan (chickpea flour)
• ³/₄ tbsp Semolina/Sooji/Rawa
• ¹/₄ tsp Citric acid (nimbu ka phool)
• ³/₄ tbsp Sugar
• ¹/₂ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Oil
• ¹/₂ cup Water
• 1 tsp Ginger+green chilli (I use serrano pepper) paste
• ¹/₈ tsp Haldi (turmeric powder)
• ³/₄ tsp Fruit salt (I use eno-lemon flavor; you can get this at any Indian grocery stores)
• For the glaze:
• ¹/₂ tsp Sesame seeds
• ¹/₂ tsp Mustard seeds
• 1¹/₂ tsp Oil
• ¹/₃ cup Water
• 1 Serrano pepper - cut horizontally into ¹/₂ inch thick pieces
• Finely chopped cilantro
• Grated coconut

Method:

• This recipe requires to be steam-cooked. Now, those of you who are not familiar with steam-cooking, it is a process of cooking with the heat from the steam wherein the food being cooked gets direct contact of ONLY the steam and not the boiling water. This is very important. To know more about this process, this article in wikipedia gives a decent description. Now, if you don't have a steam-cooker like I do, there is no need to worry, we can always improvise! What you'd basically need is a big pot with a lid, a plate with at least 1/2 inch wall (something like this) that is smaller in diameter than the pot so that it can be placed into the pot and a steamer rack like this one or a bowl of sorts which will elevate the plate above the boiling water so that the bottom of the plate comes in contact only with the steam. I have always used all stainless-steel utensils for the steamer so I wouldn't be able to vouch for other materials like glass/bamboo... But if you do, please leave me the details in a comment below!  
• Please note, my ingredients are for a plate that is 6¹/₂ inches in diameter and about ¹/₂ an inch deep; so if the size of your plate varies drastically, alter the quantities proportionately!
• In your pot, place the steamer rack with enough water so that it stays below the level of your steamer rack. Put this pot on high heat and make sure to cover it
• In a bowl, mix besan, sooji, nimbu ka phool, sugar and salt together (sift the besan if it has lumps)
• Add oil & water and whisk it until you get smooth consistency (make sure you don't have any lumps in the mixture)
• Stir in the ginger+green chilli paste and haldi
• Spray your plate with some non-stick cooking spray or just coat it with a few drops of oil
• Once your water has started to boil, add the fruit salt to your mixture and mix well. You will notice that the mixture rises.
• Pour the mixture in your plate and place it in the pot. Be careful not to get burnt by the steam.. Reduce the heat while placing the plate in your pot, cover the lid and increase the heat back to high again
• Cook for 10-12 minutes. To check, you can reduce the heat, remove the lid (ensure you don't tilt the lid while removing or else you'll have water droplets in your khaman!) and insert a knife in the middle of the khaman. If it comes out clean, your khaman has cooked completely. Take the plate out of the pot.
• For the glaze:
• In a small saucepan, heat the sesame seeds until they crack; take them out into a bowl
• In the same saucepan, heat the mustard seeds until they crack; take them out in a bowl
• Again, in the same saucepan, heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, turn off the heat and add water and serrano pepper
• Cut the khaman in the plate horizontally and vertically to form square pieces of your desired size (I prefer them to be of 1 to 1¹/₂ inch in length)
• Sprinkle the cracked sesame and mustard seeds. Using a spoon or a shallow ladle, pour the oil+pepper+water combination to cover all the pieces 
• Garnish with cilantro and grated coconut
• To remove the khaman pieces from the plate, use a stainless steel spatula and insert it where you've formed cuts and push it forward so you have a few pieces on your spatula. Once you've removed the first couple of pieces, it is fairly simple to remove the others; follow the same process

Serving suggestion:

Serve with cilantro peanut dip

Enjoy!!

Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• Baguette
• 2 cup Tomatoes - pulp removed and medium diced
• ¹/₃ cup basil leaves - rolled and cut horizontally into thin stripes 
• ¹/₂ cup finely diced onion
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (and some extra to brush on the bread)
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method:

• In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, basil leaves, onion and olive oil. Season with salt & pepper. If you don't like the taste of raw onion, feel free to omit it... This recipe tastes equally amazing without the onions too!
• Let this mixture marinade for about 20-25 minutes (this helps infuse the flavor of olive oil, salt and pepper into the veggies)
• Preheat the oven to 350 F
• Cut the baguette into slices diagonally (at a 45 degree angle) about ¹/₂ to ³/₄ inches thick
• Lay the slices onto a baking sheet (single layer)
• Brush them with olive oil, sprinkle some salt and spread about a pinch of minced garlic
• Bake them for about 5 minutes (or until your desired crispiness)
• On each slice, spread about a tablespoonful tomato mixture and serve! If you are having a party over, you can also leave the slices separately on a plate and the tomato mixture in a bowl and allow your guests to help themselves!

Enjoy!!