Cucumber Avocado No-Cook Soup

Cucumber Avocado No-Cook Soup

Here's a quick, easy and healthy lunch option perfect for hot days when you don't want to spend time near your cooking range.

Here's how I make this Cucumber Avocado No-Cook Soup:

1 English cucumber - peeled and roughly chopped (if using other variety of cucumbers please deseed)
1 ripe avocado - scooped and roughly chopped
2 tbsp. plain yogurt
1/2 to 1 cup water
1 lemon - juiced
Seasonings - salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, other seasoning mix or herbs of choice (I have used Costco brand no salt seasoning mix in above pic)

Blend the cucumber, avocado, yogurt, water and lemon juice till smooth. Adjust water to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or chill for upto 1 hour. Top with red pepper flakes, herbs and seasoning mix of choice and serve with some crackers or chips.

Dumplings and vegetables soup

Dumplings and Vegetables Soup

A recent edition of Relish food magazine that comes with our newspaper had a recipe for chicken and dumplings soup. I based this soup on that, but of course made it vegetarian. Spices and veggies can be modified to suit your taste as this is a very versatile recipe. I went for a Mexican flavor for the soup.

Here's how I made Dumplings and Vegetables Soup:

Heat 2 tsp olive oil. Saute handful of onions till softened, about 5 to 7 mins on medium heat. Add finely minced garlic (1 clove) and cook 2 mins. Add veggies - I have used frozen Trader Joe's Veg Medley and frozen chopped spinach. Cook till thawed. Add 3 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup salsa, 1 tsp cumin pwd, 1/4 tsp paprika, little salt and sugar to taste.

For the dumplings - take 1/2 cup Bisquick mix. Add handful of finely chopped or grated veggies - I have used finely chopped colored peppers and grated carrots. Add 1 tbsp shredded cheese if desired - I have used Mexican cheese blend. Add little seasonings to taste - I used salt, pepper and cumin pwd. Add about 2 tbsp milk, little by little, and mix till it comes together like dough.

Add the dumplings mix, spoonful at a time, to the soup. Cook uncovered for 10 mins on medium heat, stirring once in a while. Then cover and cook on low for 10 mins. Add more broth or water as needed to get desired consistency. I kept the soup quite thick, not runny.

Serve this soup hot/warm. We enjoyed it with some quesadillas.

Chickpea Minestrone

Chickpea Minestrone

This recipe is adapted from the Vegetarian Times magazine. It was really easy to put together and made for a very satisfying warm bowl of comfort during this winter season.

Here's how I made Chickpea Minestrone:

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 cup mixed frozen veggies (I used Trader Joes vegetable melange)
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup small pasta (I used whole grain shell pasta)
Seasonings - 1 tsp salt or to taste, pinch of sugar, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp dried sage, 1/2 tsp dried basil
Garnish - red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a pot and saute the onions on medium heat for 5 mins or until soft. Add the garlic and saute 2-3 mins. Add the frozen mixed veggies and frozen spinach. Save 1/4 cup each of the tomatoes and chickpeas. Add the rest to the pot along with the broth and the seasonings.

Blend the reserved tomatoes and chickpeas roughly and add to the pot. Mix well and bring to a boil. Then add the pasta and cook for 10 mins stirring occasionally. Add more broth or water if needed to get consistency desired

Serve hot garnished with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese if desired.

This bowl of Chickpea Minestrone goes to the MLLA # 79 event at Lisa's Kitchen. This event was started by Susan.

Hash Brown Potato and Veggie Soup

Hash Brown Potato and Veggie Soup

Shredded hash brown potatoes are a staple breakfast item in my home. So when I came across this hash brown soup recipe in a recent issue of Relish magazine, I was intrigued. The idea of enjoying the same comforting breakfast flavors in a warm soup for lunch on a cold, windy day appealed to me very much. So I adapted the original recipe to incorporate the veggies and spices I use to make the breakfast version.

Here's how I made Hash Brown Potato and Veggie Soup:

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan.

Add handful of chopped onions, green bell pepper and zucchini and 2 cups shredded hash brown potatoes. Saute for 5 mins stirring occasionally.

Then add 2 cups vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil on medium heat.

In the meanwhile, whisk 1 tsp plain flour in 1/2 cup milk till smooth.

Add this to the soup keeping heat on low/medium low. Season with 1 tsp salt. 1/2 tsp black pepper pwd, 1 tsp seasoning mix of choice (I used Kirkland brand No Salt Seasoning Mix) and little red pepper flakes. Stir well and boil till slightly thickened.

Take off heat, stir in 1 tsp yogurt.

Serve hot/warm, garnished with green onions, red bell peppers, grated cheese and more red pepper flakes.

I enjoyed this soup with a bowl of salad.

This Hash Brown Potato and Veggie Soup goes to the DIO - Soups and Salads event at Cooks Joy.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I made Pumpkin bread and was left with over 1/2 can of pumpkin puree. After searching online, settled on making Pumpkin Soup. This is a very quick and easy recipe, ideal for chilly nights.

Here's how I made Spicy Pumpkin Soup:

Heat 2 tsp olive oil and sauté 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped onions in it for 5 mins. Add 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper and continue sautéing another 5 mins. Add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (chopped). Cook another 5 mins. Then add about 1 to 1.5 cups of the pumpkin puree. Add about 1 cup vegetable broth and the following seasonings to taste - salt, pepper, red chili flakes and Kirkland brand no salt seasoning mix. Add 1 wedge of Laughing Cow cheese of choice (I used Creamy Swiss). Stir well, breaking down the cheese wedge as you stir. Once it starts simmering, take off heat. Let cool, then blend to smooth puree.

Before serving, heat thoroughly and adjust consistency by adding more broth if needed.

Roasted Red Pepper - Carrot Soup

I tried this soup from a recent issue of Vegetarian Times and found it quite delicious, kinda like the roasted red pepper tomato soup from Trader Joes. BTW, any leftovers would make a good base for a pasta sauce as I posted here.

Heres how I made it:

• Roast one large red bell pepper at 350F for 1 hour, turning occassionally until the skin is wrinkled and blackened all over.
• Place it in a bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and keep for 10 mins to steam.
• Then rub off the skin and seeds.
• In the meanwhile, heat some olive oil. Saute 1/4 cup onions until softened and one or two cloves minced garlic and saute another 2 mins.
• Add diced carrots (abt 1/2 cup), 1 bayleaf, salt, pepper, cumin pwd, coriander pwd and curry pwd.
• Add 1 cup broth, cover and simmer for 1/2 hour till carrots soften.
• Cool slightly and blend with the roasted pepper.
• Pour back into the pot and heat thru. Check and adjust seasonings. Squeeze in some lemon juice and garnish with finely chopped parsley.

This Roasted Red Pepper - Carrot Soup goes to the Show Me Your Soup event at Divya's Dil Se.

I've already posted a Veggie Noodle Soup for this event.

Here are some of my other favorite soups, all going to Divya's event:

Broccoli Soup
Beans Soup
Minestrone Soup
Quinoa Soup

Veggie Noodle Soup

This is a heart-warming, tongue-tickling soup, great for cold winter nights or any time you want to revive your spirits. Here's how I made it:

Heat some olive oil, saute onions and finely chopped carrots till softened, about 5 mins. Add some minced garlic and saute 2-3 mins.  Add desired quantity of vegetable broth. Add noodles of choice (I used rice noodles in the above picture). Add frozen peas, salt and pepper. Cook till noodles are done. At this point, if desired, you can add some tomato juice or leftover soup on hand. In the picture I have used some Trader Joe's Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper soup that I wanted to finish off. Add some chopped tomatoes. Check and adjust seasonings. In addition to the salt & pepper, I added some masala I had leftover from a Maggi noodles packet (I usually have this left over since I use only half of it when making Maggi noodles for my daughter). Any other seasonings like Mrs. Dash would also work well here.

Serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley.

This Veggie Noodle Soup goes to the Show Me Your Soup at Divya's Dil Se.

Broccoli Soup with Potato-Sesame Triangles

After the heavy Thanksgiving meal, we decided to go light the next day...with this quick Broccoli Soup and Potato-Sesame Triangles. Besides, the snow had finally melted and we were eager to get some shopping done for our Mumbai trip.

Here's how I made the Broccoli Soup:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup broccoli heads

2 cloves of garlic - minced

1 tsp plain flour

1 cup water/vegetable broth

1/2 cup milk

Few springs of cilantro and/or few spinach leaves

Seasonings - salt, pepper, Italian seasoning (optional), pinch of sugar, lemon juice

Heat the oil and saute the onions until softened, abt 5 mins. Add the garlic and broccoli and saute 5 mins on medium low until broccoli turns bright green. Add the flour and cook 2 mins. Add the water/broth. Cover and cook for abt 15 mins. Take off heat and add the cilantro/spinach. Cool and blend. Then pour it back into the pot, add the milk and the seasonings. Simmer gently until hot.

We enjoyed this soup with Potato-Sesame Triangles that I think I had noted down from a cookbook by Nita Mehta.

4 slices of bread (I used multi-grain) - crusts removed and cut into triangles

1 cup boiled, peeled and mashed potato

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozarella and cheddar)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tsp sesame seeds

Mix the potatoes, cheese and seasonings. Spread desired amount on one side of each bread triangle. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Cook this side on a non-stick pan with a drop of oil. Press gently with back of spatula to ensure the potato mix sticks to the bread. While this side is cooking, cover the other side with the potato mix and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Flip over to cook the reverse side.

Enjoy warm, makes a good accompaniment to soups.

This Broccoli Soup goes to the Healing Foods - Broccoli event at Spice Mantra. This event was started by Siri.

 

Also sending this Broccoli Soup with Potato-Sesame Triangles to the Souper Event at Kahakai Kitchen.

Kidney Beans Soup with Tortilla Crisps

The Kidney Beans Soup recipe is adapted from Tarla Dalal's food magazine.

Here's how I made it:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup onions - finely chopped

1/2 cup tomatoes - finely chopped

1 15.5oz can of kidney beans - drained & rinsed

1 clove garlic - finely chopped

1 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp cumin pwd

1 tsp lemon juice

few drops of Tabasco sauce per taste

For garnish - finely chopped green onions & cilantro, sour cream, avocado pieces

Heat the oil and fry the onions till softened and beginning to brown. Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook few minutes on medium low heat. Add the kidney beans, salt, sugar, cumin pwd and about 1 cup water. Boil for 5 mins till the kidney beans get soft. Take off heat and cool. Then blend half of the soup and mix it back with the rest. This gives it a good consistency. Check and adjust seasonings, heat the soup once more, add the lemon juice and hot sauce as desired. Serve hot garnished with the chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, a dollop of sour cream and avocado pieces.

This Kidney Beans Soup goes to the BSI - Kidney Beans event at Sandhya's Kitchen.

This event was started by My Bizzy Kitchen.

I served this Kidney Bean  Soup with Tortilla Crisps. I had some Whole Wheat Tortillas lying around for 2 weeks and neither my hubby nor my daughter seemed to like their taste very much. So I decided to turn them into these crisps to go with the soup. I spread some shredded Mexican style cheese on the tortillas and baked them in a pre-heated 400 F oven for 5 mins., then garnished with some chopped cilantro. Thats it...tasty, whole wheat tortilla crisps are ready. They were over in a jiffy...need I say more! You could also serve them with salsa.

Minestrone Soup & Bruschetta

This made for a delighful weeknight meal last week. I was trying to use up some of the fridge and pantry supplies and come up with a meal that worked for all of us & this hit the spot just right.

Here's how I made the Minestrone Soup:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 c. diced sweet onion

1 small red potato - diced

2 cloves garlic - minced

1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots mix

1/4 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 cup canned red beans (drained & rinsed)

4 tomatoes - diced (or use 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes)

3 c. vegetable broth

1 c. small pasta ( I used multi-colored shell pasta)

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt or to taste

Freshly crushed pepper to taste

Few drops of hot sauce if desired

Heat the oil. Saute the onions for 5-7 mins on medium heat. Add the potatoes and saute another 5 mins. Add the garlic and stir 2 mins. Add the frozen veggies. Stir 5 mins. Then add the tomatoes, veg. broth, pasta and beans. Cover and cook 10 - 12 mins. Then add all the seasonings. Adjust consistency by adding some water/broth if desired. Heat through and serve hot.

Here's how I made the Bruschetta to go with the soup:

4 slices sourdough bread

4 tomatoes (I used Campari tomatoes) - finely chopped and deseeded

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp EVOO

Combine all ingredients from tomatoes to EVOO. Let stand 10 mins. Then simmer on low heat for 20 - 30 mins. till all the tomato juice evaporated and sauce thickens.

To make the bruschetta, spread the cooled sauce on toasted bread slices, top with some shredded cheese and toast in a toaster oven for 5 mins.

Quinoa Veggie Soup

This soup is also from an issue of the Vegetarian Times. I have been browsing and trying out a lot of their recipes recently. Here's how I made it:

1/2 cup onion - diced (the original recipe had red onion but I used sweet onion as thats what I had on hand)
1 cup veg. broth
1/4 cup quinoa
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
1/2 cup chopped spinach - fresh or frozen (I used frozen)
1/2 cup chopped mixed veggies (again I used a frozen mix)

Coat a saucepan with cooking spray. Heat on medium. Saute the onions for 5 mins till soft. Add the broth and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Add the quinoa. Cover and simmer on medium for 10 to 15 mins. Then stir in the canned tomatoes, spinach and veggies. Simmer another 10 mins. Season with salt and pepper. I also added a dash of Tabasco hot sauce.

Since this soup is not very liquidy due to the addition of quinoa and veggies, it made for a good lunchbox item for me. It was a good & delicious change from the usual canned soups (Amy's organic ones that I often carry to work) and leftover lunches I have. The flavor somehow got enhanced when I had it for lunch. It struck me that this was the first time I actually cooked something specially for my lunchbox!

The Quinoa Veggie soup goes to the Soup 'n Juice event at Mom's Recipes.



Updating this post to send it to the CWF - WG - Quinoa event at Priya's Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

This recipe is from the Jan. 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times. The combination of cauliflower with apple and curry pwd caught my attention and I decided to give it a try. And I'm glad I did. We all loved the slightly sweet - sour - spicy flavor of this soup.

Here's how I made it:

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

1 medium tart apple (I used Granny Smith) - peeled cored and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic - finely chopped

1/2 of a cauliflower head - chopped

2 cups veg. broth

2 tsp curry pwd

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil. Saute the onions for 5-7 mins on medium high. Add the apple, garlic & curry pwd. Cook 2 mins. Add the cauliflower and veg. broth. Bring to a simmer. Then cover and cook on medium heat for 20 mins. Cool another 20 mins. Blend till smooth. Reheat and season with salt & pepper.

This Curried Cauliflower Soup goes to the Soup 'n Juice event at Mom's Recipes.

Vegetable & dal soup with roasted peppers sandwich

This made for a warm and hearty meal on a recent weekend.

Vegetable & Dal Soup -

1/2 cup moong dal - washed & soaked for 1 hr.
1 onion - chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
1 carrot - chopped
1 tsp cumin pwd.
1 tsp coriander pwd
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 cup milk

I prepared this in my pressure pan. First heat the oil, saute the onions, then add the tomatoes & carrots. Saute another few mins. Add the dal, cumin & coriander pwd. Add about 2 cups of water, close the lid & cook for 2 whistles. After the pressure cools down, open the lid. Blend with a hand blender or in a mixer when slightly cool. After this you can sieve it for a smoother soup, but I did not as the soup was pretty smooth for my taste and I love a little bit of fiber in it. Return the soup to the pressure pan, add salt, pepper and the milk. Bring to a gentle boil. Serve hot.

Roasted Peppers Sandwich -

2 cups colored peppers - chopped. I used a mix of red, orange, yellow & green
4-6 slices of bread - I used whole wheat sourdough from Trader Joes
Salt & Pepper to taste
To slater over the bread you can use - butter, hummus, cream cheese or this zuke-a-mole like I did.

I roasted the peppers in a non-stick pan on the stove top with a drop or 2 or olive oil. Added salt & pepper. And heaped them on to slices of toasted bread slathered with the zuke-a-mole. This sandwich went very well with the soup.

Zucchini - Corn Quesadilla & Tortilla Soup

Quesadilla, the Mexican restaurant staple, is a hot favorite dinner item in our home. I have posted a bell pepper quesadilla before. This time, the quesadilla is stuffed with a mix of zucchini, corn & black beans. This is my favorite kind. Here's how I made it:

2 zucchinis - washed and chopped into bite-size pieces

1 medium onion - chopped

1 cup frozen corn

1 can black beans - drained & rinsed

1 heaped tsp cumin pwd

1 heaped tsp coriander pwd

Salt to taste

Tabasco hot sauce to taste

1 tsp olive or veg. oil

Tortillas - I use Multi-Grain ones

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Saute the onions till transluscent. Add the zucchini & saute on medium high for 5 mins. Zucchini does not take long to cook, especially when thinly sliced. Add the corn, black beans, salt, cumin and coriander pwds and tabasco sauce. Mix well and heat through. I keep my veggie mix quite mild for my daughter and when stuffing in the tortillas, I add an extra few drops of the Tabasco sauce for hubby & myself.

To make the quesadilla, fold the tortilla into half. Spoon 2-3 tbsp of the veggie mix on the lower half. Add extra hot sauce at this stage. Top with shredded cheese & cover with the top half. The restaurant version of quesadillas is usually oozing with cheese, but I like to go light on this. I add just a bit, enough to act as a binder when the tortilla is folded over and cooked.

Roast both sides on a pan. You can use a few drops of oil, but I like to dry roast it and char it up a bit. This time I used a grill pan to roast to get those grill lines u see in the picture above.

Cool for a minute before cutting into half and serving. Salsas, guacamole or sour cream make good accompaniments to the quesadilla, but I always serve them with this easy tortilla soup. Here's how I made the soup:

About 1 cup of the above veggie mix

2 small tomatoes - chopped

4 cups of veg. broth

Extra salt, cumin pwd, coriander pwd, tabasco sauce to season

Mix all the above and give it one good boil. To serve, crush some tortilla chips in a bowl, pour ladlefuls of soup and top with more crushed tortilla chips. Usually I use regular tortilla chips (especially the broken ones from the tostito scoops pack) but this time I cut up a tortilla into strips and microwaved it till crisp (in 20 sec. intervals for a total of about 3 mins.).

Now, nobody would associate quesadillas with dieting, right? But my version is, I believe, a lite one. The veggie mix has only 1 tsp of oil. The cheese is kept to a minimum - I have not measured how much I use in each quesadilla, but probably about 1 tbsp. The quesadilla is dry roasted. Oh, the tortilla I used (Bestlife multi-grain ones from Costco) has 100 calories and 25 fat calories per tortilla. And accompanied with the healthy, fat-free soup, you don't need more than one quesadilla to fill you up.

Hence this quesadilla and soup are off to the Diet Foods event at Divya's Dil-Se.

Coming to topics other than food, EC of Simple Indian Food had tagged me a while back to state six unspectacular quirks about myself. So here they are:

I am a very shy person.

I avoid driving on the freeway.

I have tried in vain to learn swimming.

I have tried in vain to bake.

I find it difficult to remember birthdates.

I don't follow stuff like chain mails etc.

Hence I had avoided this tag for a while. But I do appreciate EC thinking about me and did want to share some facts about myself. However, I don't want to force anyone to take up this tag. Hence if you read it and want to state six quirks about yourself, consider yourself tagged.

On a similar note, Kitchen Flavours has given me a Butterfly Award. It is my very first award in the food blog world and means a great deal to me. Thank you dear.

One of the rules of the award is to nominate 10 other blogs. But I follow so many beautiful, cool blogs...its hard to pick only 10. So this goes out to all the food bloggers.

Past event contributions

As I have mentioned earlier, in my non-blogger days I had participated in a few food blog events. I am posting all those contributions here in order to keep a track of them.


Bell Pepper Quesadilla & soup - Contributed to VoW-JFI -Bell Peppers event at Pooja's My Creative Ideas

Quesadilla, as you may know, is a part of the Mexican cuisine wherein veggies, cheese, meats etc. are stuffed between tortillas. The restaurant version is loaded with cheese, especially for a vegetarian like myself, this dish does not provide a balanced meal. Hence I started making it at home with more healthy options. Now we like the home-made version better and rarely have it in the restaurant. It is pretty easy to put together, hence a popular weeknight dinner in my home. I make several different types of fillings, for this event, it was the mixed bell peppers one. The accompanying soup is just an extension of this dish. Here's how I made it:

1 medium onion - chopped
1 each - green, red, yellow and orange bell pepper - chopped
1 15 oz. can of black beans - drained & rinsed
2 heaped tsp. cumin-coriander pwd.
Salt
2 tsp. oil

Heat the oil. Saute the onion till pink. Add the bell peppers. Saute 5-7 mins. Add the black beans, cumin-coriander pwd and salt. Mix well. Cook 2-3 mins. more. I like the smoky aroma that the mixture exudes at this point.

For making the quesadillas -

5 tortillas ( I used Mission brand Multi Grain tortillas)
Tabasco hot sauce
Shredded cheese ( I used Kraft Mexican style four cheese blend)

Fill half of each tortilla with 2-3 heaped tbsps of the mix. Drizzle few drops of Tabasco hot sauce per taste. Top with shredded cheese per taste. Fold each tortilla over into half. Roast on a skillet with 1-2 drops of oil until brown spots appear on both sides. I myself like it a bit charred, so I dry roast it on medium-high. Then cool it for a few seconds, cut into 2 or 4 wedges and serve.

I almost always make this accompanying easy soup with the quesadillas. Take about 3 to 4 tbsps. of the above mix. Add 3 to 4 tbsps of any store-brand salsa and about 2 to 3 cups of vegetable broth or water. Mix and simmer until heated thru. To serve, pour in a bowl & top with few crushed tortilla chips.

Tricolor salad - Contributed to Theme of the Week - Saffron, White & Green event at Pooja's My Creative Ideas

For the Independence Day 2008 event, I sent her a tri-color salad. The basic idea was from a recipe I had copied down a while back. I think it is from a cookbook by Nita Mehta, but I'm not 100% sure of that. Anyway, I did change it based on what I had on hand.

Its a pretty simple dish. Here's how I made it.

2 medium carrots - grated fine
1 c. macaroni - boiled with a little salt
2 tbsp. rajma - I used the canned variety
1 small green bell pepper - chopped fine
few sprigs of cilantro
1 green pepper - deseeded & chopped fine
3 cups plain yogurt
1 tsp chaat masala
Salt, sugar & Pepper to taste

Tie the yogurt in a fine muslin cloth & hang it to drip for 2 hrs. (The whey can be collected in a bowl & used for kneading roti dough.) To this creamy yogurt, add the chaat masala, salt, sugar & pepper to taste. Divide into 3 equal portions. Mix the grated carrots into one portion, boiled macaroni into the second and the chopped peppers & cilantro into the third.

Arrange the three layers in order to resemble our tiranga. Dig a hole in the center of the macaroni layer & fill with rajma beans for the chakra.

Soy Pulav - Contributed to JFI - Soya event at Sia's Monsoon Spice

1 cup basmati rice - washed & drained
1 small onion - chopped
1 cup soy granules - soaked in warm salted water for 10 mins., then drained
1 cup frozen peas & carrots
1 small tomato - chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ginger - garlic paste
2 tbsp yogurt
2 tsp cumin-coriander pwd
1 tsp red chilli pwd.
1 tsp garam masala pwd.
Few mint leaves & springs of cilantro
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp salt

Heat the oil. Add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the onion. Saute for 2-3 mins on medium high. Then add the ginger - garlic paste. Again saute a bit, add tomatoes & the frozen peas & carrots. Mix the masala powders, chopped mint & cilantro in the yogurt and add to the veggies. Give it a stir. Then add the rice and soy granules. Add about 2 cups water & salt. Bring to a quick boil on high, then reduce to medium low. Cover with a tight lid & cook for about 15 mins until rice is done.

Methi rice & Curd rice - Contributed to Rice Varieties Event at EC's Simple Indian Food

Methi Rice (Menthesoppu Anna learnt from my maternal aunt) -

1 cup rice - I used basmati and cooked it in the pressure cooker. Then cooled it by spreading on a plate.
2 bunches methi - The methi bunches I found in the Indian store that day were pretty small, hence I used 2. Wash and chop these.
For tempering - 2 tsp oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, turmeric, udad dal.
1 tblsp. jaggery
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp dhana - jira pwd.
2 tsp sambar pwd. (home - made or store - bought)
Salt

Heat the oil. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, then hing, turmeric, udad dal.Fry for a min. Add the chopped methi leaves. Add about 1/2 c. water, jaggery, tamarind paste, dhana - jira pwd., sambar pwd. and salt. Cover and cook for 10 mins. Then add to the rice, mix well. Let this sit for 1/2 hr so the rice absorbs the flavors.

Curd rice (Also my maternal aunt's speciality) -

1 cup rice - I used basmati and cooked it in the pressure cooker. Then cooled it by spreading on a plate.
Heat 2 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, then 2 broken dry red chillies, 4-5 curry leaves, 1/2 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp udad dal. Fry for a min. Pour this on the rice. Add the yogurt, salt and sugar to taste. I also added some buttermilk to thin it out a bit. Add some fresh shredded coconut. Mix and refigerate until ready to enjoy. This is a lifesaver on a hot day.

Dal Palak Roti and Tofu Roti - Contributed to Roti Mela at Cooking 4 All Seasons

Dal Palak Roti

Tofu Roti

Dal Palak Roti -

This combines the goodness of lentils and spinach to make the everyday roti more flavorful. I made the dough using 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup pressure-cooked moong & tur dals, 1/2 cup palak puree, salt, 1 tsp dhana-jira pwd, 1/4 tsp red chilli pwd, 1/4 tsp amchoor pwd. Spices can ofcourse be adjusted to taste. No/very little water is needed to form the dough. Then I rolled out the rotis and roasted on the skillet with a drop of oil on each side. This made 7 rotis. I served this with chanya-chi-amti (brown chana curry).

Tofu Roti -

I got this idea from a friend who, during her pregnancy, would add tofu while kneading her roti dough. For this roti I used 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 12oz. packet firm tofu (drained), 4 tbsps kasuri methi, salt, sugar, dhana-jira pwd, red chilli pwd. Made a soft pliable dough (again - no/very less water in required). Rolled out and roasted the rotis with a drop of oil on each side. This was served with red chard & potato subji and cucumber-onion-tomato raita.

Coconut - ricotta burfi - Contributed to AFAM - Coconut at Tasty Palettes

1.5 cups dry shredded coconut
Part skim ricotta cheese - 15 oz. tub
1.5 cups milk - mava powder
1.75 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Cook the ricotta cheese in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat for about 8 mins., stirring frequently to avoid burning/sticking. At this point it loses most of its moisture and becomes like khoya (mava). Add the milk - mava powder. Mix well and cook another 5 mins. Add the sugar, mix well. The mixture will become liquidy again. Cook another 10 mins., stirring often. Add the coconut, mix and cook another 5 mins. Mixture will be quite thick at this time. Pour on to a greased thali. Pat down with a spatula. Let it cool completely. Then cut into desired shapes. Enjoy right away like I did or refrigerate!

Scrambled Tofu & Couscous Upma with Edamame beans - Contributed to Express Breakfasts Event at The Singing Chef

Scrambled Tofu

Couscous Upma with Edamame beans

Scrambled tofu -

Heat 2 tsps olive oil, add 1 tsp jeera seeds, then 1 small chopped onion and 1 chopped green chilli. Fry this for a few mins. In the meanwhile, drain 1 14 oz. packet of firm tofu and roughly chop it. Add this to the onions, increas the heat to high and saute the tofu for about 5 - 7 mins till all the water that the tofu leaves dries up.Then add turmeric, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Couscous upma with edamame beans -

Soak 1 cup dry couscous in warm salted water for 5 mins. In the meanwhile, heat 2 tsp oil in a non-stick fry pan, temper with mustard seeds, cumin seeds and hing. Then add 1 small chopped onion, 2 dry red chillies (broken), handful of broken cashew pieces. Next go in about 2 cups of frozen edamame beans (soy beans) and few tblsps of water. Cover and cook this for about 5 mins. Then mix in the soaked couscous, salt, sugar and lemon juice. Garnish with fresh shredded coconut and chopped coriander.

Chilli Paneer Sandwich - Contributed to the Sandwich Event at Food-n-More

The basic idea for this sandwich is from a cookbook by Nita Mehta. I had noted down this recipe from my friend a while back, can't recall the name of the book. It is called Chilli Paneer Footlong in that book.

For my sandwich, I did make quite a few modifications (for the ingredients I had on hand). Here's how I made it.

4 slices of 12-grain bread (store brand)
Butter
Shredded mozarella cheese
1 spring onion - chopped

For the tomato spread -
1 large clove of garlic - chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
1 tbsp regular ketchup
1 tbsp Maggi Hot & Sweet Ketchup
1/2 tsp ova/ajwain
1/4 tsp Degi mirchi pwd
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper

For the chilli paneer -
1 cup paneer cubes (Store-bought paneer, cut into small cubes)
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Degi mirchi pwd
Salt, pepper

I marinated the paneer cubes in the above mix for about 1/2 hr, then shallow fried them in 2 tbsp olive oil.

Prepped the tomato spread by heating oil, adding garlic, frying till light brown, then adding all the other ingredients and cooking few mins.

To prep the sandwich, I butterred the slice lightly & grilled in on my grilling pan, then laid on some of the tomato spread, topped with the paneer, shredded cheese & finally garnished with some spring onion slices. I left it open-faced & served a simple salad of greens, cucumber & shredded carrots on the side.

BTW, I relaced the tomato spread with pizza sauce for my 4-yr old daughter, who loves paneer, but has not yet gotten used to the heat in our food. She loved her mini pizza!