Drumsticks leaves soup and palak soup

Soups are the most healthiest and easiest option when you really want to shed those extra flab. There are many kinds of soups which you can try.  Noodles, eggs, veggies, greens, millet, grains. The list is endless. 

I make soup as one pot meal, try to add whole grains, oats or broken wheat. Just a little. 

Ingredients

Drumsticks leaves a handful
Carrot 1
Beetroot a small piece
Onion 1
Green chana a handful
Tomato 2
Beans a few
Ragi and kodo millet a handful
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt as required
Black pepper powder crushed

Method 

* Wash and chop drumsticks leaves
* Peel and chop beetroot, carrot and onion
* Chop beans
*Pour oil in a heated thick bottomed pan, add onion and saute, add tomato, quickly give a toss, add rest of the veggies and chopped drumsticks leaves.
* Cook for a while add water, and a handful of ragi and kodo millet, salt and cook for 2 to 3 whistles. 
*Once done serve in bowl add crushed pepper and enjoy the soup with bread toast. 

Variations

Moong dal a handful
Palak a bunch
Tomato 1 chopped
Pepper and salt

In a pressure pan cook moong dal by adding 2 cups of water, add chopped tomato and salt. cook for two whistles. In another pan pour a little oil quickly saute chopped palak and add palak to moong dal, mix in add crushed pepper and enjoy.

Ven pongal with gojju

 

Happy pongal/sankranthi.

It's a harvest festival celebrated in the southern states of India.
I have made two variations of pongal, sweet pongal consists of ghee,rice, moong dal, jaggery and crushed cardamom.

The other venpongal consists of rice, moong dal, roasted jeera, crushed pepper, ginger and ghee roasted cashews.

Paruppu vada has channa, tuvar, moong, urad dal,ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, fennel seeds,hing, onion shoots and palak. It's crunchy and crispy.

https://jayanthisindianrecipes.blogspot.com/2018/10/sweet-pongal-sarkkarai-pongal.html?m=0

https://jayanthisindianrecipes.blogspot.com/2014/10/paruppu-vada-and-rasa-vada.html?m=0

Ven pongal

A delicious and simple breakfast on a Saturday morning. Pongal is a delicious dish prepared in many Tamil Brahmin homes as a breakfast dish. Its a whole dish with lentil and rice and freshly ground spices. 

Ven Pongal

Ingredients

Rice - 1/2 cup
moong dal - 1/4 cup
ginger Julian - 1/2 tsp
pepper corns - 1 tsp
jeera - 2 tsp
hing - 1/2 tsp
broken cashew nuts - 2 tsp
curry leaves - a few
ghee - 2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

*In a bowl add raw rice and lentil together wash and pressure cook by adding salt and ginger. Now add 4 cups of water.

* In a small pan fry pepper, jeera  till the aroma releases and ground to a coarse powder.  

* In the same pan pour ghee and fry cashew nuts and curry leaves till golden brown.

Open the pressure cooker add ground spices and hing powder, mi well now add golden brown cashew nuts and curry leaves. Serve hot with Gojju.

Tomato onion gojju

Ingredients

Tomato - 2
onion - 1
green chilly - 2
ginger - a large piece

For frying
oil - 2 tsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
channa dal - 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash and chop onion and tomato, green chilly and ginger into fine pieces. In a heated kadai pour oil add mustard seed, urad dal, and channa dal. Let mustard crackle. Now add all chopped vegetables and mi well, Allow the onion and tomato cook well. Now add two cups of water and boil till the gojju thickens. Serve as a side dish for Ven pongal.

Variation : You can add brinjal to this dish but make sure the brinjal is cooked well.   

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Mashed potatoes , mustard green subzi and mixed vegetables.

Lunch should be very light after a week full of birthday celebrations and new year eves party. 

Potato with crushed pepper and salt

Mustard greens, turmeric and peas subzi

Mixed vegetables

Pudina, strawberry water.

Blissful.

It's a fulfilling experience when you play with different textures, colours and tastes.

Mashed potatoes

Ingredients

Medium sized potatoes 2
Crushed pepper 1/4 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp

Method

Wash and cut potatoes into halves, steam it for 3 whistles in pressure cooker. When it reach room temperature, peel off the potatoes and use a fork to crumble it. Add crushed pepper and salt. Mix well, add a little butter if you like the buttery taste, a teaspoon of milk is also optional.

Mustard greens with raw turmeric and peas

Ingredients

Raw turmeric a small piece
Mustard greens a bunch
Green peas a handful
Coconut oil a teaspoon
Jeera a little
Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp
Ginger a tiny piece grated

Method

*wash, chop mustard greens
*peel and chop raw turmeric
*use fresh green peas.

*In a heated kadai pour oil, jeera, let it splutter, add turmeric and peas, allow it to cook by adding a little salt. Once tender add mustard greens, cook in medium flame till its  crunchy. Adjust salt and add red chilli powder. Serve hot as a side dish with phulkas.

Mixed vegetables

A few vegetables like carrot, bell pepper, corn, green peas, potatoes, were sautéed in peanut oil. A little salt and pepper used a seasoning.

Detox water

Ingredients

Water 500 ml

Pudina /mint a few stalks

Strawberries a few cut into halves 

 In a bowl or bottle add 500 ml water, a few fresh pudina stalk, strawberries cut into halves. Leave it for a few hours, and drink it, you can add more water if you like. It remains fresh for a day. Cut new strawberries and add after 24 hours. Pudina remains fresh for 2 to 3 days. It helps you detox your body. 

Peas pulav

We had guests for lunch today and I thought of making something different from the usual lunch.

I have harvested a bunch of onion shoots and other greens, which I used in paneer koftas, palak parathas, green peas pulav and parippu vada.

Peas pulav

Basmathi rice 1 cups

Green peas 2 cups

Onion 1

Clove 2

Bay leaves 2

Green onion shoots a few

Jeera a teaspoon

Ghee 1 teaspoon

Method

*Wash and keep aside basmathi rice for half an hour. Cook it by adding 5 to 6 cups of water till rice is cooked well and grains are not touching each other.

Drain starchy water(ganji) spread cooked rice in a tray.

*saute onion till translucent.

* pour ghee in kadai add jeera, clove and bay leaf once it splutter add onion cook till translucent, add shelled peas, cook for a while. Add salt.

*Now add basmathi rice and gently mix in. Allow the mild flavours to release. Off stove serve hot with raitha.

Drumsticks leaves and flowers fritters

Evening snack for Aru.

Bread toast filled with a slice cheese.

One tomato roasted in griddle with crushed pepper and salt.

Drumsticks leaves, flowers and potato fritters.

It's something which will give her enough energy for 3 to 4 hours. After college snack should be interesting and nutritious for teens.

Drumsticks leaves, flowers and potato fritters
Ingredients

Potato 1/2 grated
Drumsticks leaves and flowers a handful
Coriander leaves a few
Green chilli 1/2
Turmeric a pinch
Red chilli powder a little
Salt as required
Ginger a small piece grated
Besan 1/2 cup
Garam masala a little
Butter a small piece
Sunflower oil for shallow frying

Tips

Use fresh greens, you can substitute with palak, green amaranth or malabar spinach.

Drumsticks leaves, flowers and potato fritters
Method

*Wash, chop drumsticks leaves and flowers.

*Grate potato and ginger

*In a bowl add besan, drumsticks leaves, grated potato and ginger, butter, dry masalas, salt and gently mix in.

*Don't add water, there is enough moisture in leaves and potato.

*In a pan pour just enough oil, once its medium hot take a small portion from the prepared mixture, flatten it and shallow fry.

*let the fritters become golden crust, fry both sides by flipping them.

*use a kitchen napkin, place the prepared fritters, let it absorb any excess oil.

*serve with hari chutney. It's yum!