Pumpkin Carrot soup

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Pumpkin	1 cup	Cubed
Carrot	1 medium	Cubed
Onion	1 medium	Sliced
Ginger	1” inch piece
Garlic	3-4 cloves
Olive oil	2 tbsp	You can use any oil of your choice
Water	As required
Vegetable stock	1 cup
Pumpkin	1 cup	Cubed

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger, garlic and saute till garlic starts leaving its fragrance. Add onions and saute for a minute more.

  

Add the carrots and saute once. Add the pumpkin and saute. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water or vegetable stock and cook covered till carrots and pumpkin gets cooked.

               

Turn off the heat and cool. Grind it to a smooth paste. Add vegetable stock and adjust thickness using some water if required, add salt and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. 

Serve hot with pepper if required.

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Coconut milk

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Coconut	1 cup
Water	As required	Preferably warm

Method:

Grind coconut with little water and strain it using a strainer or cotton cloth. Use the strained coconut and add little more water and grind again. Strain. Continue the process till the water starts tasting bland / is tasteless. 

Use the coconut milk in sweets, stew, and various other recipes.

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Palak Puri

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
For Puree
Palak leaves	1 cup	Cleaned
Green chili	1 medium
Ginger	1 piece
Water	To cook
For Dough
Wheat flour	1 cup
Salt	To taste
Oil	For deep frying

Method:

Blanch the palak leaves and puree with ginger, green chili, water as required. Don't add too much water. Mix the puree, salt and wheat flour and knead it to a soft dough. Roll into puri's and fry it in oil. 

                    

                    

Serve hot with vegetable stew, curd...

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Vegetable stew

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Oil	2 tbsp
Coconut milk	1/2 cup
Water	As required
Onion	1 medium	Sliced
Green chilies	2 medium	Slit
Sugar	½ tsp
Salt	To taste
French beans	5-6	Julienned
Baby carrots	2	Julienned
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Channa dal	1 tsp
Mustard	1 tsp
Jeera	1 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add channa dal. Once it starts changing color, add mustard, jeera, curry leaves, onions, green chilies, a pinch of salt and saute till onions are translucent.

Add beans and carrots and 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 cup of water and cook covered till vegetables are soft. 

Add the coconut milk, sugar, adjust salt and bring it to a boil. 

Serve hot with puri, roti, rice....

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Blanching and pureeing

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Palak leaves	1 small bunch	Chopped
Water	To cook
Salt	To cook

Method:

Heat water with some rock salt in a tumbler. Once it starts boiling, add the chopped palak leaves, turn off the heat and keep it covered for 5-10 minutes.

Strain the palak leaves and run cold water through it. Grind it in a blender to a smooth paste. The paste is known as puree and the process is known as blanching.

Tips:

The leaves can be blended with ginger, garlic, onion, green chili etc.. depending on your requirement.

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Palak Rice

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Oil	2 tbsp
Green chili	1 medium
Ginger	1 small piece
Palak leaves	1 cup
Jeera	1 tsp
Water	As required	For grinding
Onion	1 medium	Chopped
Salt	To taste
Cooked rice	1 cup
Garlic	2-3 cloves	Crushed and chopped finely
Lime juice	1/2 tsp

Method:

Heat water with salt in a bowl and bring it to a boil. Add the chopped palak leaves. Switch off the flame and let the leaves cook for 5 minutes. Drain and run cold water through it. Grind it with green chili and ginger to a smooth paste. Set it aside. 

                 

                 

Heat oil in a kadai. Add crushed garlic. Saute it till it turns light brown. Add jeera, onion and saute till onions turn translucent. Add the ground palak paste, salt to taste and bring it a boil. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Switch off the heat. Sprinkle lime juice and mix well.

                     

                     

Serve hot with curd.

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Alasande kalu huli / Cowpea sambar

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Oil	2 tbsp
Hing	¼ tsp
Dried red chilies	2 broken
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Mustard	1 tsp
Water	As required	For cooking
Methi leaves	1 cup	Cleaned and chopped
Alasandi / Cowpea	¼ cup	Washed and soaked ( if cold water soak for 2 hours, if hot water soak for 10-15 mins)
Salt	To taste
Sambar powder	2-3 tsp
Jaggery	1 tbsp
Tomato	1 medium	Chopped
Masoor dal / toor dal	2-3 tbsp
Turmeric	¼ tsp
Onion	1 medium	Sliced thinly
Garlic	2-3 cloves	Crushed and chopped finely

Method:

Wash dal and pressure cook with chopped tomatoes for 2-3 whistles. Pressure cook soaked cow-pea for  2-3 whistles. Set it aside to cool. Once cooled, mash tomato and dal mixture well.

                  

Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard. Once it starts popping, add hing, curry leaves and broken red chilies and saute for a second. Add garlic, onions and saute for minute. Add methi leaves, turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp of salt and saute. Add 1 tbsp of water and cook covered till the methi leaves are soft.

                  

                  

Add the cooked cow-pea, mashed dal mixture and mix well.

                  

Add sambar powder, adjust salt, water, jaggery and mix well. Bring it to a boil and simmer till the raw smell of masala is gone.

                  

Serve hot with rice.

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