Broccoli Ka Shorba - Cream of Broccoli Soup

Broccoli contains several vitamins(high percentage of Vitamin A and Vitamin C) and nutrients that have been proven useful in fighting diseases like cancer and heart problems. Also it is a good source of dietary fiber as well as Calcium. So in short its good for you. This is an appropriate soup for this cold weather.

Ingredients:

•  2 cups Broccoli florets
•  1/4 cup onions chopped
•  2 cloves of garlic chopped
•  2 cups Vegetable stock / water
•  1 cup milk
•  1/4 cup heavy cream
•  2 tablespoon butter
•  Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

•  Heat butter in a pan. Saute the onions and garlic till golden brown.
•  Add the Broccoli florets and saute for about 2-3 minutes.
•  Add the stock and cook covered for about 10 -15 minutes until the broccoli is tender.
•  Now puree in a Blender.
•  Transfer it back to the pan and add milk and stir it well. Let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
•  Season with Salt and pepper and add the heavy cream. Let it simmer for about another 2-3 minutes.
•  Ready to serve. This recipe serves 2.

Besan Rava Ladoos

Wishing Everyone a Happy Diwali and a Prosperous new year.

Ladoos are a favorite around this time of the year. I could'nt decide whether I should make besan or Rava(Sooji) ladoo so ended up making Besan Rava ladoos. I'm also a last minute person (could call myself a queen of procrastination.). Finally made my ladoos before Diwali.I remember as kids preparation for Diwali began ahead of time.You had the Diwali cleaning , Diwali lights, Sweets preparation, buying new clothes and fireworks. You could see beautiful Rangoli at the door steps. Beautiful Diyas....so many beautiful memories.

Here in the States you are thousands of miles away from home. So making these ladoos brings India right into our kitchen. Yeah, I guess I'm getting a bit carried away.

Ingredients:

•  2 cups besan (chickpea )flour
•  1 cup Rava (Semolina)
•  1 cup melted Unsalted butter
•  2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
•  1/4 cup sliced almonds
•  1/2 tsp cardamom powder( freshly ground)
•  Milk if required

Preparation.

1) Heat a pan (thick bottom preferred). Add besan and rava into it. Then add the melted butter.

Now keep on roasting it on a slow flame. The intention is to keep roasting till you no longer get the raw smell of besan.

2) Then take it to a big bowl and add the sugar, almonds and cardamom powder. Mix well.

3) Wait for a few minutes till the mixture cools down a little just enough so that you can make them into ladoos.

4) Now I did add a little milk around 1/4 cup and mixed it well and started making ladoos right away.

Tomato Omelette

Tomato Omelette is basically a breakfast dish in India. But it could also be eaten as an evening snack with tea or coffee. It resembles an omelette so maybe thats how it got its name even though it is an eggless recipe.

Ingredients:

1) 2 cups gram flour (Besan)

2) 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes

3) 1/2 cup finely chopped onion

4) 3-4 green chillies finely chopped

5) Cilantro

6) 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

7) 1/2 tsp red chilli powder

8) salt to taste

9) Water for the batter

10) oil/butter

Preparation:

1) In a bowl add all the above ingredients (1-8) except oil and water.

2) Now gradually add water and make the batter like a pancake or dosa consistency.

3) Heat a Tava (Griddle) and pour a ladleful of batter onto it. Put some oil/butter around the edges of the omelette. Cover and cook. Turn and cook the other side until golden brown.

4) Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

This recipe makes 6 tomato omelettes.

Peanut Butter Cookies.

Peanut Butter is a very healthy food. It helps reduce risks of heart disease. It is a good source of protein, Vitamins B3 and E, Magnesium,Folate and Dietary fiber. It also has a high content of Resveratrol a substance which is shown to have very strong anti-cancer properties.

Knowing how healthy a single ingedient could be I'm curious to use it in as many recipes as I can.

Today's recipe is a super easy one. Its quick and can be made with ingredients available in your pantry.

Best of all this recipe does not require flour.

Ingredients:

1) 1 cup Peanut Butter

2) 1 cup granulated sugar

3) 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

4) 1 egg





Preparation
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) In a bowl cream together Peanut butter, sugar and ginger. Beat the egg. Blend well into the mixture.

3) Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and flatten slightly.

4) Bake for around 10-12 minutes or until the edges are light brown.

5) Cool for around 5 mins. Enjoy them with a glass of milk.