Category: THE HEALTHIER CHOICE

Broccoli Almond soup

Posting after a long break……. Today I made some Broccoli soup with almonds. Tasted yumm and creamy. The colour too was beautiful.

Ingredients

Broccoli – 1 cup (florets)

Almond paste -3 to 4.(Soak almonds and make a paste adding a little milk say about three table spoons

Milk Cream – 1 table spoon

Onions – 2

Baking soda – 1/4 spoon.

Garlic cloves – 3 to 4

Milk – 1.5 cups

Water – 1 cup

pepper – 1/2 spoon(coarsely ground)

Salt as per taste.

Cornflour – 1/2 spoon

Water – 1 cup.

Method:

In a saucepan boil a cup of water. Put off the flame and then add the baking soda and the broccoli bits. Blanch them and then strain them.

Roast the onions and garlic cloves over direct flame or put them on a pan and dry roast on high flame .

Chop them randomly and then when it’s at room temperature blend them along with The blanched broccoli, almonds,milk,cornflour.

Transfer it to a saucepan and then boil the mixture for about 5 to 6 minutes to get the desired consistency. Add salt as per taste and mix well.

Enjoy it as is or with some cream freshly ground pepper.

namithaskitchen

No sugar Pumpkin Mawa Burfi

My first try to make Pumpkin Burfi.

Wanted to try something which is sweet in itself so that I can avoid using added sugar. Added Mawa for binding and a little ghee.Delicious and flavourful!

Ingredients:

1,5 cups of grated Pumpkin

200 grams Mawa/khoya

Cardamom-1/4 spoon

Ghee-3-4 table spoons

Nuts of your choice-2 table spoons

Method: Grate the peeled pumpkin.

If you are using ready to use mawa or store bought mawa then thaw it and crumble it.

In a pan add a table spoon of ghee and roast the crumbled mawa till it changes colour and also turns into a ball.It will take about 7 minutes.

Now keep the mawa aside.

In the same pan add another table spoon of ghee and roast the pumpkin till you get a sweet aroma. It will take about 5 to 6 minutes.

Now mix the pumpkin and the mawa and on low flame keep moving your hands until they blend together.

Once it forms a dough like consistency switch off the flame.

Add the remaining ghee and cardamom powder and some nuts.

Transfer it to a ghee smeared tin or plate preferably a rectangular or square one so that you get neat cuts.

Now garnish some nuts on the top and press lightly with the help of a spatula.

Refrigerate for about 2-3 hours and then cut them with the help of a knife into neat

bits.

Pl note:

I have used home made mawa.

You can knead 2 cups of Milk powder with cold milk to a dough preferably firm dough adding a little ghee.

Steam the dough for 5-6 minutes and when cool you can use it.

namithaskitchen

Mixed Veggie curry

Ingredients:

Chopped veggies – 1 cup

( beans,baby corn,mushrooms,peas, carrots,paneer and

Tri colored

Cashew nuts-8-10 soaked

Onions-2 medium or 1 big.

Tomato-1 chopped

Milk-3/4 cup

Ginger-1/4 pc

Garlic cloves-6-8

Green chillies-3-4 slit

Red chilli pdr-1 spn(preferable kasuri methi as it gives colour.

Turmeric-1/4 spn

Sugar 1 to 2 pinches

Lemon juice- 1/2 spn

Salt to taste

Kasuri methi-1/2 spn

Method:

Take a pan and add a little ghee/ oil and stir fry the veggies one by one. Carrots and beans take a while so put them first and then the peas, corn, mushroom n paneer. Add in salt and also 1/2 spn lemon juice for retaining the colour n crispness of the veggies.

Chop into 4 big bits and in a small seasoning pan add a drop of oil/ghee n dry roast the onion with the peel.

Now remove the peel and keep aside. Follow the same procedure for the chopped tomatoes,ginger, garlic and green chillies and then blend all this with little milk along with the cashew nuts and in a kadai add a spoonful of ghee and roast the masala until its cooked and then add milk as per requirement.Add in the stir fried veggies into the masala and cook for about 3 mins.Take the kasuri methi in your pams and rub it between you palms and add it to the curry. Mix well and the dish is ready.

You may garnish with roasted garlic and a small chunk of butter or cream depending on your preference.

Goes well with rotis.

namithaskitchen

Fruity salad

This fruity salad is a healthy one preferably prepared just before having it.

Tossed in a few segments of Pink Pomelo which were sweet sour and crunchy. To give sweet and tangy effect added some juicy pomegranate seeds, sliced cucumber,onion chopped finely and sliced tomato.

I prefer making this salad every time I want to clear the veggies in the refrigerator. Colourful, healthy and satisfying as well.

Ingredients:

Pink Pomelo – 4-5 segments

Cucumber – 1 sliced

Tomato – 1 Big one sliced

Onion – 1 Medium sized sliced finely

Pomegranate seeds – 2 table spoons

Flax seeds – 1 table spoon roasted and coarsely ground

Green chilli – 1 sliced

Black Pepper – as per taste

Salt – as per taste.

Method:

In a bowl add in the segments of Pomelo, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, finely sliced onion, green chillies sliced and salt and pepper as per ones taste. Toss them together and just before serving sprinkle the ground flax seeds.

namithaskitchen

Olive Fried Rice

I normally prepare fried rice with Jasmine rice and add in a lot of veggies. Today tried it with the red rice which I usually use for salads and Khichidi for their nutty flavour and high nutritional value.

It was worth the try. We all loved the blend of the olives with the cooked red rice. I hope you all will make some and share your experience…

Ingredients:

Red Rice – 1 cup cooked.

Olive oil – 2 table spoons

Olives – 6 to 8 chopped

Pepper powder – 1/4 spoon

lemon juice – 1 tea spoon

Onions – 2 sliced finely

Ginger – quarter inch ginger ( sliced finely)

Garlic – 5-6 cloves chopped

Green chilli – 1 finely chopped

Spring Onions- 1 handful chopped

Soya sauce – 1.5 t spoons

Chilli garlic sauce -1 spoon

Apple Cider Vinegar-1 spoon

Paprika -1 small spoon

Salt as per taste (Please note that the sauces used above have salt in it so please add the salt bearing this in mind)

Method: In a pan take some oil and then sauté the ginger and garlic followed by green chillies, olives and the onions.

Now add in the pepper, salt, chilli garlic sauce, soya sauce, vinegar and paprika. Sauté for a few seconds on a high flame and toss in the cooked red rice and lemon juice.Mix well and sauté for another 3 to 4 mins.

The aroma of the fried rice fills the kitchen making you want to have it immediately. Garnish with more black olives if you wish and the dish is ready.

namithaskitchen

Sweet Potatoes with Veggies and Salad.

I love sweet potatoes. They make a filling meal when cooked on its own or with veggies and salads.

I love to try the different varieties but love the orange one the most for its texture and sweet taste.

Today tried cooking them for about ten minutes in water on closed lid and then cut them into two and made a cut and filled it with sliced mushrooms and ground pepper and baked them in the microwave oven for about 7 to 10 mins.

Sprinkled some ground pepper and salt.

Enjoy them with salad.

Tastes yummy too.

namithaskitchen