Minty Green Peas Soup

                                                  Minty Green Peas Soup




Ingredients :

• Green peas [ shelled ] - 2 cups
• Onions - 2 medium size
• Water - 4 to 5 cups
• Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
• Fresh cream - 1/2 cup
• Butter - 2 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Black pepper - to taste

Method :

Heat butter in a deep dish on high flame for 1 minute. Then add chopped onions, stir and fry for 2 minutes. Then add shelled peas, water, mint leaves, salt and black pepper. Mix well and cook on high flame for 10 minutes till peas become soft. When done, cool and grind in mixture, and strain in a soup strainer. Cook again on high flame for a minute. Remove from the gas and serve hot with  fresh cream.

Cauli Flower Soup

                                                  Cauli Flower Soup



Ingredients :

• Fresh cauliflower - 1 medium size
• [ chopped fine [ only the flower ]
• Potato - 2
• Vegetable stock - 3 cups
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Maida - 2 tbsp
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
• Salt - as required

Method :

Pressure cook the flowerettes, and potatoes. Peel the potatoes and mash both well and keep aside. Mix butter and maida  along with milk and keep aside. Add water to this and cook well till it boils, when it started boiling  add mashed cauliflower and potatoes to that. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Add salt and pepper to that and serve hot.

Yellow Pumpkin Soup

                                                  Yellow Pumpkin Soup




Ingredients :

Pumpkin - 1/2 kg
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Butter - 3 tbsp
Milk - 1 litre
Salt - as required
Pepper powder - 1tbsp
Bread toast - for garnishing
Water - 1 cup

Method :

Peel the pumpkin and chop it into large pieces. In a deep pan, add butter. When it melts, add pumpkin pieces and fry them. Add salt, pepper powder, ginger paste and water and cook till pumpkin is soft. Blend this mixture in a mixie along with 1 cup of milk. In a pan, add the remaining milk and pumpkin pieces and cook for 10 minutes. Serve with bread toasts.

Tomato Soup

Ingredients :

• Red ripe tomatoes - 500 gms.
• Onions - 2 medium sized
• Carrot - 1
• Potato - 1 small size
• Salt - as required
• Sugar - as required
• Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh coriander leaves - little [ for garnishing ]
• Fresh cream - 1 tsp [ for garnishing ]
• Bread toast - little

Method :

Scrape the carrot, peel onions, potato and cut them into 4. Then pressure cook tomatoes, onions, carrot and potato along with salt. When it is done, pour them into a blender to make a smooth mixture. Strain this through a coarse sieve. Then boil the soup for 5 minutes more in low flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and fresh cream. Bread toast can be added.

To make bread toast :- Take 1-2 day old bread, remove edges, cut each slice into four vertically and horizontally. You will get small cubes. Deep fry in hot oil or ghee. Drain and keep aside.

P.S. :- Instead of potato, corn flour can also be added to make the soup thick. Dissolve 2 tbsp of corn flour in 2 tbsp of water and add to the soup while boiling.

Beet soup

                                             Beet Soup


Ingredients :

• Beet root - 2
• Onions - 1 chopped
• Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Carrot - 1 chopped
• Parsley - 1 spring
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Cream - for garnishing

Method :

Peel the beetroots and cook them till tender and grate them. In a large pan, heat 1/2 litre water. Add chopped onions, carrot and parsley. Boil it. Keep in low flame and cover and cook  for 1/2 an hour till vegetable are soft. Now strain this mixture and add the strained water to the grated beetroot and mix well. Take another pan, and heat this mixture, adding salt and sugar. Boil again for 10 minutes in low flame. Strain and discard the beetroot pulp. Serve chilled with cream.

Onion - Garlic Masala

                                              Onion - Garlic Masala



Ingredients :

• Onion - 4 to 5  [ medium sized thinly sliced ]
• Garlic - 2 pods [ full ] peeled and crushed
• Desiccated coconut - 1 cup
• Red chilled powder = 6 tsp
• Salt - as required 
• Oil - 7 to 8 tsp

Method :

Saute onion and garlic till light brown. Add the coconut and saute for  a few minutes. Then add chilli powder and salt and saute on slow heat for about ten minutes.  This mixture can be used as it is or finely ground. [ maharashtrian people use this masala for making gravies. ]

South Indian Curry Powder

                                             South Indian Curry Powder



Ingredients :

• 1tsp each of channa dal, urad dal, toor dal and rice grains
• 1 tsp each of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds  black pepper and turmeric powder
• Coriander seeds - 1 cup
• Red chilli powder - 1/4 cup
• Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little

Method :

Dry roast the dals and rice grains till light brown. Add the other ingredients. Saute curry leaves and chillies in a little oil. Grind all together in mixer. Store in air- tight container and use . You can keep this for 15 days.  [ keep this in fridge. ]