Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

If you feel, i have turned into a soup fan, you won't be wrong. I have turned into not only soup fan but also a salad fan. I have tried so many variations of soup and salad that it even surprises me. As a child that was the one thing i didn't see myself doing when i turn thirty. 

So you see, life is indeed expecting unexpected. 

This soup over here is nice blend of fruity and veggie flavours. It has carrot,  an-apple-a-day-keeps-doctor-away thingy and nice gingerly bit. You can even add some orange juice to it, how more fruity can you be? 

Ok, don't take my word for it, try it out yourself, will you? 

Then here we go....

Let's collect ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, sliced

1-2 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 small apple, peeled and sliced

4 to 5 cups sliced, peeled carrots (about 1 1/2 pounds)

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup Orange Juice (optional)

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Let's start putting Soup together: 

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until it's softand translucent. (about 5 mins.)

2. Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute, until fragrant.  

3. Add apples, carrots and cook for 3 minutes more.

4. Turn flame to medium-high and add vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil.  

5. Reduce flame to low and simmer, uncovered,  until carrots and apples are softened, about 30 minutes.  

6. Remove pan from the flame and let it cool down a bit. ( About 10-15 minutes.)

7. Blend the soup.

8. Return soup to the pot.  If you prefer soup thinner in consistency, add more vegetable broth or Orange juice if you’d like.  

9. Add a dash of fresh ground nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.  

Note: Please mind that Soup got some ginger so it is already a bit spicy so watch out on amount of pepper. 

Enjoy delicious, spicy and nutritious soup ! 

Bon Appetite.

Eet Smaaklijk.

Safety Note: If you are blending in blender be sure not to fill the blender more than halfway full or hot soup will explode everywhere. Let some of the steam escape to avoid unpleasant incidents.

Pumpkin Soup

I was on a healthy eating bandwagon last month. Please note verb "was" here. I haven't been much into pumpkins and it hardly enters my kitchen but once i tasted how amazing this soup tasted i already have had it a few more times. 

While it is nice to go healthy, it doesn't always mean you have to eat bland food and your taste buds have to suffer. I tried so many tasty recipes for the first time that i have a lot of new additions in my favorite list ! 

I know i need to share more recipes but it just gets too busy specially with Lil Bun in our lives. By the way he loves this soup as well, i was having it the next afternoon in lunch and he was making faces as if why not to me? So i gave him a spoon and he licked it thoroughly, so inspired i gave him some more and he gulp it happily. So then we ended up sharing a lunch, i am so happy that soon we will be able to eat same meals and no more special baby foods but wait, still some time for that. No day dreaming, back to recipe.

Ok so what are we waiting for, let's get started.

Pumpkin Soup

Let's collect ingredients :

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bowl pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into cubes (i used around half of pumpkin)

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional )

¼ tsp salt 

¼ tsp pepper

Let's make some Soup :

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. 

2. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent, while stirring in between not to make it stuck. It will take about 3-4 mins. 

3. Add pumpkin and cook until lightly softened. 

4. Add vegetable stock and tomato paste and stir to mix. 

4. Bring it to a boil over high heat, lower to a simmer, and cover. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, until pumpkin is very tender. 

5. Let it cool down a little bit and blend it into until smooth. 

6. Put it back on flame, add cheese, salt, and pepper; mix and serve warm.

Enjoy delicious healthy pumpkin soup !

Broccoli Almond Soup

Broccoli isn't very frequent at our home, but it started making more appearances after arrival of our Lil Bun. He eats it happily ( touch-wood and prayers for it to stay the same). 

Hubby dear isn't much a fan of broccoli so i was surprised when i saw him devouring on Broccoli Almond soup during our recent visit to India. 

After all the fat accumulation on the waist at the end of the trip, it was a high time for us to go a bit healthy. So while trying to include more salads and soups in our meals i have been looking for and trying new alternatives. And one fine day looking at Broccoli in the fridge, it clicked me why not to try this soup. It is simple, easy and nutritious. And what's more to it is Lil Bun and his dad both liked and devoured it. Success. 

It also got almonds, which we love. They are not only protein filled but also considered good for brain. I ate lots of almonds while i was pregnant and so whenever lil Bun does anything smart leaving us all surprised, we go something like "There goes all the almonds i ate!" hehe 

We use the roasted ones in the recipe to bring out complete flavour. 

I followed recipe from Tarla Dalal with a little bit of twist to accommodate our taste preferences.

So here we go. 

Let's collect Ingredients:

2 cups chopped broccoli (incl. stalks and florets)

1/2 cup chopped Onions

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp chopped celery

1/2 tsp garlic salt (optional)

1/2 tsp cornflour dissolved in 1/2 cup milk

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp almond paste ( i left almonds in warm water for a few mins till it was a bit soft and then crushed it in blender)

1 tbsp roasted almond slivers

Salt to taste

For Garnish:

Few Cilantro leaves or a few almond slivers. 

Let's start making some soup: 

1. Heat 2 cups water in a deep pan, Add Broccoli stalks to it and cook on a medium flame for 5 mins.

2. Add Broccoli florets, onions, Garlic, Celery and salt (a bit less than final quantity if like us you like a bit garlicky taste and are going to include garlic salt). Mix well and cook for 3-4 mins, while stirring continuously.

3. Remove it from the flame and allow it to cool a little. 

4. Blend it with a hand blender till smooth.

5. Add the cornflour-milk mixture, garlic salt (optional), almond paste. Cook on a medium flame for 2-3 mins, while stirring continuously.

6. Add ground pepper, roasted almond slivers. Mix well and cook on a medium flame for another minute. 

7. Serve hot, garnished with almond slivers.

Enjoy!

Chili Gobi ( Chili Cauliflower)

This is one of the favorites, similar to Gobi Manchurian but spicier and without gravy.

Let's collect Ingredients:
Ingredients -1
2 pinch Salt
1 no Cauliflower (whole, florets separated)
¼ tsp White vinegar
5 cup Water

Ingredients -2
5 tbsp Maida (refined wheat flour)
5 tbsp Corn flour (white)
2 pinch Ajinomoto
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
¼ tsp Red chili powder
½ tsp Coriander powder
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Chili sauce
¾ tsp Ginger garlic paste
2 pinch food color (red)
2 pinch Black pepper powder
1 cup Onions (roughly chopped, optional)

Ingredients -3
3 Onions (big dices)
6 Green chili (slit open)
½ tsp Ginger (finely minced)
½ tsp Garlic (finely minced)
2 tsp Red chili sauce (for sautéing)
4 stks Spring onions (chopped finely)
4 stks Coriander leaves (chopped)
2 pinch Ajinomoto
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
2 tbsp Oil (for sautéing)
1 Capsicum (optional)

Let's prepare Chili Gobi:

1. Blanch the Cauliflower:
- Separate the florets wash them thoroughly and keep aside.

- Bring water to a boil, add salt and vinegar (Ingredients: 1), drench the cauliflower in the boiling water and let stay for 3-4 minutes.

- Put off the heat, drain all the water and pat dry the cauliflower in a clean kitchen towel and keep aside.

2. Prepare Batter for deep frying:

- Combine Maida, corn flour, salt, ajinomoto, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, food color, ginger garlic paste, soy sauce and red chili sauce. (Ingredients: 2)

- Add the steamed cauliflower and coat, steamed cauliflower will release water and the sauce will add little to make it a thick paste like batter.

- Keep tossing the cauliflower florets until you get a thick batter. Heat oil and deep fry until crispy on outside.

- When done, drain excess oil in a paper towel and keep aside.

- After frying all the cauliflower florets, if you are still left with some batter, add some roughly chopped onions in the leftover batter fry it and add them along with fried cauliflower. This way you increase the quantity and it also adds up to the taste. (Optional)

3. Final assembling:

- Heat oil; fry the slit open green chilies along with diced onions, chopped ginger and garlic over medium flame to make them slightly brown. (Chopped capsicum can be added at this stage, but optional, helps in increasing the quantity)

- Now add the fried cauliflower and onion dipping along with red chili sauce*, ajinomotto, salt and green spring onions.

- Fry over low flame till rolls up to a dry fry. (Approx 6-7 minutes).

- Switch off and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve as an appetizer or side dish.

Tips:

- This is very spicy dish, Spice level can be adjusted by cutting down on the chili.

- Adding vinegar while steaming will keep the flavor and color of cauliflower intact. Arrest the unpleasant sulphur smell and yellow coloring.

- While frying the cauliflower, Sample a piece first to check if oil is ready. If the temperature is too hot, it will become brown, low temperature will separate the cauliflower and batter. Right temperature will turn florets crispy on outside and slightly soft on inside.

- Ajinomotto and food color gives it restaurant quality, people who are very conscious about health can avoid making this dish as excluding them totally will result in bland cauliflower curry.

- * NO tomato sauce/ ketchup or tomato related items. Red chili sauce includes chili paste, salt, sugar and vinegar. Use these if you cannot find the readymade sauce.

Serving: 3 to 4 Adults (approx)