Lemon and coriander soup

Lemons are a great source vitamins and minerals. They are a must for daily use and storage. During the season or if you happen to have a tree in the kitchen garden, one can plan to make pickle out of them and it stays for months with out any problem. Fresh lime juice is a popular drink these days even with an array of colourful ariated drinks. Also health conscious/ weight conscious people believe in that glass of lemon and honey in the warm water first thing in the morning.

Coriander is also an important ingredient of indian cooking. When we go for shopping for vegetables, as a routine we pick up lemon,fresh and green coriander, green chillis and ginger. All are great appetizers. So this soup is definetly going to enhance our taste buds and also help in the digestion.

Ingredients:

1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 tbsp butter, 1 green chilli, 1 inch piece of ginger, ½ of lime, 2 spoons of chopped green coriander/hara dhania, 4 medium cups of water and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash and grate the carrot, finely chop the onion, chilli, ginger and fresh coriander.
2. Heat butter in a small pressure cooker, add chopped onion, chilli, ginger and salt.
3. After frying a little add water and let it simmer till the carrot softens.
4. Finally, add coriander and juice of half lime and put off the flame.

Serve hot on a rainy day or a cold winter night. 

Vegetable upma

Any dish nutritious and filling should be a welcome to all age groups. As a child making tasty upma was the most challenging, though later in life, it became the simplest thing to make. The main task is to make it lump free.

Ingredients:
100g sooji, 300g mixed vegetables- cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, green peas,beans and onions.

For tempering:
1tbsp oil, 10 cashew nuts, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 4 green chillis, ½ tsp grated ginger, ½ tsp garam masala powder and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Roast the sooji and keep aside till use. 
2. In fact, it is better to roast it before storing this way it can protected from catching worms. 
3. Dice the vegetables and chop the onion. 
4. Heat oil an pan, put mustard seeds, cashew nuts, ginger, green chillis and garam masala powder. 
5. To this add chopped onion fry a little and add the rest of the vegetables and salt. 
6. After sautéing a bit add 500 ml of water and allow it to come to the boiling point. 
7. Now is the time for a little care, the sooji should be blended carefully into the boiling vegetable mix stirring thoroughly so that there is no lumps formation. 
8. Let it simmer for 10 mins and put off the flame.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or sauce.

Vegetable Biryani

This one is made in almost every household and very simple to make and also loved by all. This can take sumptuous vegetables and becomes a wholesome meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice, ¼ kg french beans, 2 carrots, 2 potatoes, 2 onions, 2 tbsp khus khus, 3 green chillis, 1 inch ginger piece, 6 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon piece, 3 green elaichi (cardamom), 1 pinch grated jaiphal, 3 bits javitri, 3 tbsp oil and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Soak khus khus in a little water along with 7/8garlic cloves, green chillies and ginger. 
2. Wash the rice and keep aside. 
3. Peel the potatoes and carrots. 
4. Slice onions finely and cut all vegetables into even size so that they get cooked uniformly. 
5. Grind khus khus with the other spices into a fine paste. 
6. Heat oil in a  big heavy bottomed kadhai/ pan, put tej patta/bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, elaichi, javitri, jaiphal and fry, to this add sliced onion , fry till brown, add the vegetables and stir fry a little and add the washed rice, stir for a while and put off the gas. 
7. Take a small pan and heat a little oil, add the khus khus paste and fry well. 
8. Once the oil starts leaving the sices add this to rice and vegetable mix. 
9. Heat 31/2 cups of water in the electric rice cooker and to this add the prepared rice and vegetable mix.

Cook till  done and  serve hot with bagara baingan and raita. 

Hakka fried noodles

Chinese cooking has always been popular across the world. It is healthy since it takes very little oil with an exception of deep fried stuff. Some people are allergic to ajinomoto used in the dishes and also it is not safe for children below 12 years. So one can safely avoid it and the taste will not be affected.

Ingredients:

2 packets of hakka noodles, 2tbsp oil, 2tsp, green chilli sauce,1tsp pepper powder, 1/2tsp soya sauce, 1tsp vinegar and salt to taste.

Vegetables for seasoning:

1/4kg Cabbage, 1/4kg spring onions, or normal onions, 1/4kg red, yellow and green peppers, 1 small carrot, 1tsp garlic paste. All vegetables have to uniformly sliced for even cooking.

Preparation:

Boil water in a big vessel, add salt, a tsp of oil and the noodles and put off the gas. After standing time of two minutes put the noodles into a strainer and run through cold water and leave it aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add garlic paste, spring onions, cabbage, all three peppers and carrots. Keep stirring the vegetables and to these add the sauces, vinegar, pepper powder and salt. As the vegetables get little soft add the noodles, mix well and put off fire.

This can be had plain or with add on sauces.

Dhappadam

A variety of fresh vegetables can be put into this to give a fine taste to the dish. This is similar to stew and gives the taste as per the vegetables used and goes well with hot rice on a rainy day. It is a sumptuous dish with a whole lot of nutritive value.

Ingredients:

Fresh vegetables:

500g yellow pumpkin, a small bottle gourd, two small carrots, two onions, handful of string beans, three small brinjals(optional).

50g seedless tamarind soaked in little water, 50g jaggery, 2tsp cornflour.

1/2tsp chilli powder, 1/4tsp haldi powder 1/2tsp jeera( cumin) powder, 1tsp dhaniya (coriander)powder,1/4tsp methi (fenugreek)powder,1tsp salt to taste. For fresher aroma, methi, dhaniya, jeera and 2/3 red chillis can be fried in a little bit of oil and powdered fine in the mixer and then be used in this dish.

For seasoning:

1tbsp oil,1/2tsp mustard seeds, 1/2tsp jeera seeds, 2 pinches of hing(asafoetida) and 1 twig of kadipatta.

Preparation:

Cut the vegetables into medium sized cubes and put that much water to cover all the vegetables and cook on medium flame. Once the vegetables are soft add the dry masalas and stir well. Take the pulp out of the tamarind, add little water to corn flour and mix it with jaggery and add this to the vegetables along with tamarind pulp. Cook for a while, take a small pan, put oil, mustard seeds, jeera, hing and kadi patta and as the seeds start spluttering add the seasoning to the dish before taking it off the flame.

This can be stored in the refrigerator. The taste in fact improves upon storing.