Rich Iron Soup

You must be surprised to read the name like that. Nothing came in mind except that name,since this soup really holds a very rich quantity of Iron. :)

Preparation time: 10 Minutes

Cooking time: 10 Minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 Medium sized tomato

Half Beet root if it is a big one otherwise 1 small one will do.

Half onion

1 carrot

2 T spoon Ghee

Mustard seeds

Cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Curry leaves

1 T spoon grated ginger

1/4 T spoon red chilli powder(optional)

1 T spoon corn flour

Procedure:

1. Cut onion,beetroot,carrot,tomato in medium sized cubes.
2. Cook them in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles. ( As per your pressure cooker, all the ingredients should cook well to get mashed easily.
3. Remove the skin of tomatoes before you grind vegetables.
4. Once vegetables are little cooled down, put corn flour in the mixer along with cooked vegetables. Also,add grated ginger, 7-8 curry leaves. Grind well.
5. Add some water and grind well so that no lumps are present.
6. We are not going to filter the mixture in order to retain the fibre content in vegetables.
7. Pour 2 T spoon Ghee in a pan and let it heat well.
8. Put cumin seeds,curry leaves. Once they crackle, pour the ground mixture in it.
9. Add water as per your taste. Whichever consistency you need,thick or thin.
10. Add salt to taste, red chilli powder as per taste though it is optional. :)
11. Let it come to boil. Cook for around 7-8 minutes.
12. Before serving, sprinkle roasted Cumin seeds powder or pepper powder and squeeze little lemon juice.

Have a nice soup!!!

Note: Lemon juice will make the iron content of this soup get absorbed in your body fast.

Happy eating!!!!

Healthy Upma / गव्हाची उकड

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 and half cup wheat flour

1 and half cup water

mustard seeds

cumin seeds

curry leaves 2-3 Twigs

medium size onion finely chopped

red chilli powder as per taste

mashed garlic or finely chopped garlic

1 T spoon coriander powder

salt to taste

Turmeric

Asafoetida

Chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing

Procedure:

1. Roast Wheat flour in a pan without oil till the raw smell goes off. It will take around 5-7 minutes. Don't roast till flour changes colour. Just rawness should be removed.
2. Switch off the gas and remove the roasted flour in a plate.
3. In the pan ,heat 4 T spoon oil.
4. Once oil is hot, put mustard seeds, let them crackle. Put cumin seeds,asafoetida,curry leaves,turmeric.
5. Put chopped onion,mashed garlic and stir well. Let the onion cook well.
6. Put red chilli powder as per taste and then pour 1 and half cup water.
7. Let the water come to boil. Add salt as per taste.Add coriander seeds powder.
8. Once water is boiling, add the roasted wheat flour and start stirring immediately. Stir until it mixes well.
9. Close the pan with a lid and keep it for 3-4 min on medium flame.
10. Just give one stir gently to avoid flour getting stick to the pan.
11. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve HOT :)

Tastes good with a lemon pickle. Or any of your choice :)

You can replace wheat flour by Jowar flour as well. The Upma will still be nutritious :)

Note: Maintain Flour-Water quantity combination as per given. ( 1:1) for the proper consistency of the dish.

Mutter Paneer / Green Peas-Cottage cheese Curry

Mutter paneer is one of the popular curries and must be one of those which are ordered in Restaurants oftenest :)

Easy to make and finger licking taste.....weekend can be made special with this curry am sure:)

Ingredients:

200gm Paneer

1 cup green peas

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

1 medium sized tomato or 2 small tomatoes finely chopped

1 T spoon Ginger-garlic paste

Whole garam masala ( 1 bay leaf, 3-4 cloves, 1 small cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom)

salt to taste

3 T spoon well beaten curds

Turmeric

red chilli powder

1-2 green chillies finely chopped or as per taste

1/2 T spoon sugar

1 T spoon coriander powder

1 T spoon Cumin powder

cumin seeds, mustard seeds

4-5 T spoon Oil

Procedure:

1. Heat 2 T spoon oil in pan. Put all the ingredients of whole garam masala in it ( cloves,cardamom,cinnamon,bay leaf ) and stir well for 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan keep aside to cool down.
2. In the same pan put finely chopped onion and stir well. Once, onion is cooked well put tomatoes and let it cook for some time. Once cooked, remove from pan and let it cool.
3. After some time, if all the stir fried ingredients are cooled, grind them all ( except cardamom) in mixer with 1-2 green chillies and little bit water.
4. Heat 2 T spoon oil in pan, put cumin seeds and let it splutter.
5. add ginger garlic paste,turmeric and stir well.
6. Add ground mixture and little water to cook the masala well.
7. pour little water in order to get a medium thick consistency.
8. Add cumin powder, coriander powder,red chilli powder.
9. Let this mixture come to boil, then pour medium sized Paneer cubes.
10. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes.
11. Pour fresh green peas. ( If frozen are used, remove from freezer 10-15 minutes before use)
12. Stir very gently.
13. Add (well beaten)curds now. Stir gently,so that paneer/peas wont break. Add sugar,salt.
14. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes. ( Don't overcook after you add curds,otherwise curds get separated due to heat.) Curds give a nice creamy consistency. ( You can also add half cream and half curds. i.e 2 T spoon cream and 2 T spoon Curds.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with Roti or Naan :)

Healthy benefits of paneer:

• paneer has a rich source of Calcium which helps in building strong teeth and bones :)
• If taken in moderation, can reduce weight
• Paneer provides requirement of protein by the body for growth and renewal
  Being source of calcium, paneer prevents and reduces back and joint pains
• BUT, if deep fried, benefits wont be as many as mentioned above :)

Mathari Chaat / मठरी चाट

Mathari is a famous Tea time snack of North India. When we had been to Himachal pradesh,we had tasted this Mouth watering chaat..Mathari chaat.

An easy to make snack with a good shelf life.

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 30 min for frying mathris apart from soaking up Dough for 1 hour

Makes: 32-34 mathris.

Ingredients:

2 cup Maida ( All purpose flour)

1 cup Rava( Fine semolina)

Black pepper powder. Pepper crushed coarsely. Around 2 T spoon or as per taste

Carom seeds that is Ajwain ( Owa) 1 T spoon or as per taste

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a mixing bowl, put all purpose flour, semolina, crushed black pepper, carom seeds and salt as per taste, 4 T spoon hot oil.
2. Mix well so that the oil gets mixed well with the flour.
3. Add lukewarm water to make a dough. Dough should be kneaded tightly.
4. Close the dough with some utensil so that it soaks well.
5. Keep the dough aside like this for an hour or 1 and half hour is better. The better the dough is soaked, less oil will be absorbed in mathri.
6. After around 1 and half hour role medium sized poori shaped Mathris.Mathris shouldn't be very thin or thick.Medium thickness is fine.
7. Finish making all the mathris and close them with either a kitchen towel( tissues) or a cotton cloth.
8. Like dough, if they are kept for some time before you fry them, less oil will be absorbed.(So i suggest you finish your cooking or any side work to be done while mathris are getting little dry.)Approximately 20-30 min is also fine.
9. After this,Prick each mathri with a fork so that it wont pop up while frying and gives us a nice crispy mathri.
10. Keep oil for getting heated up in an iron wok. You should keep at least 1 inch oil in pan.
11. Once oil becomes hot, keep the flame on medium flame and fry mathris.Every time you fry mathris, keep the flame on medium flame. After you remove mathris, keep the flame on high till you put another set. This is because once mathris are fried, oil becomes little less hot so we are heating oil to the required temperature again. Secondly, medium flame frying gives crisps to the fried items. If you fry on high flame it may make mathris little chewy.
12. After putting in pan, 2-3 min later, mathri will come up meaning you can flip them now.
13. Fry till nice golden brown colour is appeared.

Once mathris are cooled down to normal temperature then only store them in a sir tight container.

You can have them as a tea snack or we can make a chat out of it.

Make pudina chutney, tamarind sauce what we prepare for bhel puri.

Pour Pudina chutney, tamarind sauce on mathri. Put finely chopped tomatoes, boiled and cut potatoes,chopped coriander leaves, sev, chaat masala.

Enjoy!!!!!