Beetroot Salad

There is no recipe as such , just went with what came to my mind when I saw 2 sad looking beets sitting next to a couple of Bok Choy which was on the verge of wilting. Grill/boil beetroot ( pref grill ) , cool , peel and slice. Blanche bok choy for 10 seconds , set aside .Take some oranges , peel and remove the membrane , you can use any fruit .
Crispy fry finely sliced onions till they are a deep golden brown , do the same with chopped garlic- set aside to cool .

Take4-5 tablespoons orange juice + 1 teaspoon lemon juice, season with salt and pepper - this is your dressing .

On a bed of bok choy ( use any greens ) place the beet and some orange segments .Sprinkle the dressing , let the salad sit 3-5 minutes . When ready to serve , sprinkle the crispy fried onions and garlic.

You get this delicious sweet and sour salad with bites of crispy onion and burnt garlic. Superb .

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Fried Arbi

Each home must have a few recipes for this vegetable , I am sharing one of the ways we prepare fried arbi .

Pressure cook arabi but don't over cook it. Cool and peel.
Take atta , season it with salt , red chili powder , roasted and powdered ajwain , roasted and crushed kasoori methi and amchoor.
Dip arbi in water , then dip into the atta mix nicely coating the arbi . Press gently with your hands . When all are coated shallow fry arbi on medium heat .Don't disturb the arbi while frying ,touch just to turn.
Comes out nice and crunchy and in season replaces potato chips as a snack at home.

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Cauliflower Soup

Thank you Ruchi Airen for the inspiration behind this soup . A few twists and turns and out came a delicious healthy no fuss soup.

There are no quantities - will try regardless !

1 Kg Cauliflower .

20 Cloves Garlic.

10 -12 Spring Onions.

Olive Oil.

Salt / Pepper .

Soup Cubes

Clean cauliflower , discard the danthl , roughly separate florets as shown in the pic.

Chop spring onions in large chunks , use the greens too.

Keep garlic whole.

Take about 60 Ml Olive Oil and coat the vegetables with it .

Set oven at 180C , bake 20-25 minutes till cauliflower softens.

Some spring onions / garlic will burn , that's wonderful as that adds the flavor too, in fact scrape the burnt bits off the baking dish to use in the soup.

Cool the vegitables , take 1/3 and zap once in the blender to coarsely grind , leaving some chunks.Blend the rest into a semi paste.

Add water / soup cubes / stock - bring to a boil with the vegitables , season to taste ..drizzle some extra virgin olive oil just before serving.

Absolutely delicious .

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Tomato Soup

This soup was made for Shruti on her visit to Delhi .

In boiling water plunge 8 red tomatoes , take out in a minute , cool , peel ,de seed and chop into 4 pieces . Preserve any juices that you may loose while de-seeding .

Make a basic stock using salt , 1 bay leaf , 1" Galanga chopped , 2 celery stalks chopped and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary .Simmer covered in 2 liters of water for about 30 minutes till reduced to half , strain and set aside. By now your house will be filled with the warm and delicious aroma of rosemary !

Chop one carrot , 1 medium sized onion , 2-3 cloves of garlic and simmer along with the tomatoes in the stock for about 20 minutes , cool and blend the soup .

Simmer another 10 minutes after adding 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil to emulsify the soup . Add some cream - about 50 ml , adjust flavors and eat this aromatic and delicious soup with some nice crusty bread !

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White Chicken Korma

This is a lovely recipe from Camellia Panjabi's 50 Great Curries of India - I tweaked it to suit my mood and am reproducing the recipe as I made it .
1 Kg Chicken - Cut to desired size .
2+2 Tablespoons Ghee
100 Grams Almonds - Soak in hot water and an hour later remove skin.
200 Grams Onions Chopped.
1 Bay leaf.
4 Green Chilies Chopped Fine.
8 Green Cardamon - Seeds only.
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1 Teaspoon Poppy seeds ( Soak in 100 Ml water , discard water after an hour and make a paste ).
200 Grams Full Fat Yogurt - Hand in a muslin for 1 hour.
4-5 Cloves.
1 Black Cardamon - Bruised.
2" Cinnamon Stick.
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic.
1 Tablespoon Minced Ginger.
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg Powder.
1/2 Teaspoon Mace Powder.
Salt

Heat 2 tablespoons ghee , add almonds , cinnamon and bay leaf and gently cook 3-4 minutes , then add onions and cook covered over low heat 8-10 minutes till onions go limp allowing them to just about change color.Add chopped chilies and cardamon seeds , cook another 2-3 minutes and then add 200 Ml water and cook 10 minutes covered - all cooking so far over low heat.
Take pan off fire , when the gravy cools , discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick ( important ! ) and blend the rest to a fine gravy . Set aside.

Heat the balance 2 tablespoons ghee , tip in cloves ginger and garlic , a minute later add chicken and cook till chicken slowly releases water and changes color from pink to white.Cooke covered 3-5 minutes not allowing the chicken to brown.

Blend the gravy , curd and mace + Nutmeg powder , add to the chicken allowing the chicken to cook covered over medium heat till done. Add hot water to get the desired thick gravy .

This is a delicately flavored chicken - delicious as it is pretty to look at !

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Borscht - A soup from Ukraine

Borscht
I adapted this from The Soup Bible.

This delicious soup is from Ukraine where the main ingredient is beetroot as it grows in plenty . In other areas the main ingredient beetroot is replaced with tomatoes - different tasting naturally , but quite tasty . This version is superb . Allow the soup to rest 12 hours and eat it the next day - tastes even better as flavors mature .

Serves 8

1 Onion Chopped.
4 Medium Sized Beets - Washed , peeled and chopped. ( Don't was beets after peeling ).
1 Packet ( 200 Grams ) Mushrooms - Clean and Chop.
1 Red Bell Pepper - Remove seeds and chop.
2 Stalks Celery - Chop.
1 Cooking Apple - Chop unpeeled.
50 Grams Butter.
60 Ml White Oil.
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds.
1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper.
Juice of 1 Lemon . Tweak later to taste.
1 Bay Leaf.
Thyme.
8 Cups Stock / Water.
Salt

Take all ingredients ( not water/stock ) and place in a pot , add 4-5 tablespoons stock/water and cooked covered over low heat for about 20 minutes till beets are soft.
Add remaining stock and cook covered another 20 minutes on low heat.
Strain Vegetables , save the liquid !
Remove bay leaf and blend vegetables to a smooth paste.
Add pureed vegetables to the saved liquid , cook covered 5-7 minutes to blend flavors with the liquid.Adjust taste.
Garnish each portion with sour cream ( I used cream ) .
You can make this soup vegetarian as I did or use chicken stock.
It's yumm !

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Maas Ki Tari

Maas Ki Tari

A gently flavored dish , this is a recipe from a friends home in Jaipur , don't know of the origins of it , all I do lnow is that once you put it to cook , you can take an hour long nap and wake up to a delicious mutton dish that can be made dryish or with a slight gravy

500 Grams Mutton

1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper Corn.

1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds.

Loosely tie the above in muslin .

Mix together :

500 Grams Mutton.

60 Ml White Oil.

15 Whole Garlic Cloves ( Not thick ones ).

3-5 Dried Red Chilies.

200 Grams Thick Curd.

1 Tablespoon Grated Coconut.

1 Teaspoon Poppy Seeds.

10 Shallots ( Peel and leave whole ).

1 Tablespoon Minced Ginger.

1 Large Red Tomato Chopped / Pureed.

2" Cinnamon Stick

1 Black Cardamon.

2-3 Green Cardamon.

A Few Cloves.

Salt.

To the above mixture , add the potli of seeds tied in muslin.Put all the ingredients in a heavy bottom pan with a tight lid .OR secure & seal the lid with atta and cook in dum for an hour on low heat.You dish Must be sealed well.

When cooked , remove the seal , discard the potli and adjust flavors , gravy , cooking the dish another few minutes till the meat nearly falls off the bone. Delicious .

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