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.

Vada Pav - Batata Vada

Vada Pav is a popular street food of Mumbai. You could also call it the Indian Burger. Its basically Batata(potato) Vada(fritter shaped like a ball) sandwiched between the pav (bread). Every time when I'm on vacation to Mumbai, India, I always have a list of food and snacks I must eat . Needless to say, Vada Pav always tops the list. Also you will find it everywhere I guess all across Maharashtra. You could also eat them as is without the bread/pav and then its called Batata Vada or Bonda.  

Ingredients:

•  6-8 medium sized potatoes -Boiled and mashed 
•  1/4 cup onion finely chopped(optional)
•  4-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped (optional)
•  1 inch piece of freshly grated ginger
•  5-6 green chillies finely chopped
•  4-5 fresh curry leaves 
•  2 tbsp Cilantro leaves chopped
•  1 tsp mustard seeds
•  1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
•  2 cups gram flour/chickpea flour/ besan
•  1/2 tsp red chilli powder
•  Salt to taste
•  oil for frying
•  pavs or burger buns.

Preparation:

•  Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves.Next add the onion and saute till golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the green chillies, mashed potatoes, turmeric powder and salt and mix well. Add the cilantro leaves. Allow the Vada mixture to cool. This recipe should make 18-20 Vadas. When the mixture is cold make 18- 20 lemon size balls.
•  Now lets prepare the batter which would be the outer covering for the potato ball . In a bowl combine the besan flour, salt, red chilli water and about 1 cup water and make a thick batter.
•  Heat oil in a deep pan. Now dip the potato balls in the batter and deep fry till they are golden brown. Now you could even serve them as is with green chutney or ketchup. This could be served as an appetizer. This is the Batata Vada.
•  To make a Vada Pav. Slice the pav into half and spread your choice of the chutney (green cilantro chutney, date-tamarind chutney, or hot garlic chutney). Place one Vada between the Pav. Ready to be served. Some also like fried green chillies along with it. Its truly divine. Hope you enjoy this Mumbaiya Vada Pav.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Tis the Season to eat berries.
Strawberries are not only so beautiful to look at but delicious at the same time. They are packed with nutrients. Around this time of the year you'll always find fresh succulent strawberries at your local grocery stores. They are very perishable . Strawberries should not be washed until right before eating or using in a recipe.

1) 1 cup fresh strawberries(diced)
2) 1 ripe banana
3) 1 cup plain yoghurt
4) 1 cup milk
5) 1 tbsp honey
6) 1/2 cup crushed ice

Preparation
1) Combine all the ingredients in a blender.
2) Blend until smooth
3) Serve immediately

Serves 2.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

A Smoothie is a super easy, fast and a healthy beverage. They could also be considered a snack.

Since the Food Pyramid suggests 2 to 4 servings of fruit each day. I believe smoothies are the best way to achieve that. As mothers we are constantly looking for ways to make our kids eat healthy. So I guess smoothies are a blessing for us and they taste so delicious too.

Ingredients

1) 1 ripe Banana

2) 1 cup fresh blueberries

3) 1 cup plain yoghurt

4) 1 cup milk

5) 1/2 cup crushed ice

Preparation

1) Combine all the above mentioned ingredients into a blender.

2) Blend until smooth.

3) Serve immediately.

This recipe serves 2.

Tips:

1) You could use frozen blueberries. Then crushed ice would not be required.

2) You could even add 1 tbsp of honey to this recipe. That would give you the added sweetness.