All Reds Soup

I was very sceptical of using beets in my regular tomato soup because I have tried it in a smoothie with a lot of other ingredients to mask it and still didn't like it much. But this soup came out delicious and full of healthy goodness.

This makes soup for 2 healthy servings.

You'll need
3-4 large tomatoes
2 medium carrots
1 beet
1 cup water/stock
1 tsp garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tbsp roasted ground cumin
Salt to taste

Boil, purée, and strain the tomatoes, carrots, and beet. Add the water or stock for a soupy consistency.

In a saucepan, add the oil then the butter.

Once it's hot, add the crushed pepper, bay leaf, and garlic.

Add the purée and salt to taste. Add the roasted cumin powder and bring to boil.

Remove the bay leaf before serving it hot.

Kale Salad done Two Ways

After reading so much about the benefits of Kale all over the Internet, I finally found a place that stores these leaves in Bombay. 

I assumed I would use it as I do any other salad leaf, wash, pat dry, dress, and eat. It is fortunate I looked up recipes for kale salad hoping for a new salad combo I could try. It turns out kale is not to be used like any other salad leaf...it is a much tougher variety. So, the first step is to get the kale ready.

For the Kale:

1 bunch of Kale
2 tbsp walnut or olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar or lemon juice

Wash the kale leaves thoroughly. I soak it in salt water for 5 minutes then rinse it our with fresh water. Remove the stalk completely - it is too tough to be eaten. Roughly chop the leaves and put it in a large bowl. 

Add the oil and vinegar, then with your fingers, gently massage the oil into the leaves for a minute or two. Leave this to marinate for 15 minutes at least to 24 hours at the most. It won't wilt like regular leaves.

I used half of the leaves for a dinner salad (top picture), and the other half for lunch (bottom picture) the next day. It still retained some crunch and felt fresh.

Salad 1:

A bowl of the prepared kale leaves

1 chopped red onion

1 chopped tomato (or a few cherry tomatoes)

4-5 walnuts

2 chopped figs

1 chopped carrot

2 tbsp Ranch dressing

1 bunch of other salad leaves (I used rocket and celery leaves)

Mix it all together. I like something crunchy and a hint of sweetness in my salad. Here, onion, walnuts and fig do that, but you can substitute (with something like apples or oranges) or remove any of the ingredients.

Salad 2:
A bowl of the prepared kale leaves

1 chopped tomato

3-4 orange segments (peeled and seeded)

4-5 walnuts

This is a much simpler salad. It can be used as a side but it was a filling lunch for me.

Chopped Salad with Apple and Dill

Summer's here and salads are the best meal options for the season. I had read of an apple and dill salad, but that would've been very light on its own. So I combined it with my regular salad mix and it had a subtle hint of sweet and sour (?).

I prefer to chop up my greens and veggies making it easier to eat and it mixes evenly with the rest of the salad.

This makes for a meal for 1 or a side for 2.

Salad bits:
Romaine lettuce - 5-6 leaves
Rocket leaves - 1 small bunch
Dill leaves - 6-7 stems
Carrot (peeled and diced) - 1
Onion - 1
Tomatoes - 2
Apple (peeled and diced) - 2 small or 1 large
Cucumber (peeled and diced) - 1

Dressing:
Option 1: Light Ranch (store bought)
Option 2: Olive oil 3 tbsps with 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Carrots and Beetroot Risotto

I usually like all types of vegetables and fruits. Bitter gourd and beets are the exception most of the times. Although I have found ways that I can eat beets, bitter gourd still remains a challenge!

Here's another healthy, and very edible, beet recipe, a slight modification from the earlier version.

You'll need:

3 small carrots

2 beets
2 tbsp Olive oil

1 cup (uncooked) Arborio rice (or any medium-grain rice)

1 large onion peeled and chopped

2-3 tbsps butter

3-4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup red/white wine

2 cups (approximately) water or chicken/veg stock

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese + some more for garnish (Parmesan is recommended because of its strong flavour, but I've used Gouda or even Cheddar and liked the result)

Seasoning to taste

Bake the carrots and beets with some olive oil at 200 deg C for about 30 minutes. Once cool, peel and puree them in a mixer. If you don't have an oven, just boil them in some water till semi-cooked. If you put a knife through it, there should be some resistance. Keep aside.

In a deep pan on medium heat, pour the butter. When hot, add the garlic and onions. Stir for a minute and put it on low heat for another 5 minutes. Once the onions start to caramelize a little, increase the heat to medium-high and add the rice and roast for about a minute. Add the beets and carrot. Then add the wine and stir a little till the liquid is absorbed. 

Now add 1 cup of the water or stock. Stir a little and let the water get absorbed by the rice. Once the rice has taken in most of the water, add another half a cup of water/stock and stir a little to release the starch from the rice. 

Depending on the consistency, add or subtract the amount of water/stock being used. Add some salt and pepper and the Parmesan cheese. Check the rice if it's done - it should be firm and not be too soggy. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with some grated Parmesan.

Vegetarian Vietnamese Rice Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

This is just so fresh and healthy and easy to make that I wonder why I never did this before.

Rice sheets are now available in most grocery stores in India (well, in Bombay at least).

For the filling, I used:
1 small radish
1 small carrot
Half each of red and yellow peppers
Moong bean sprouts
Sweet basil 
Cilantro
Mint
Vermicelli*

*I used Brown Rice Vermicelli. Just soak them in boiling water for 5 minutes.
To give it some extra flavour, I stir-fried it with some garlic-chilli paste and added some salt. Allow to cool.

To prepare:
Keep a flat dish with some warm water, and 2 plates - one to prepare it in and 1 to keep the finished rolls in.
Dip the rice sheet in the water for about 10-20 seconds - make sure it doesn't fold in the water else it'll stick to itself. Once it is soft, place on the plate and start placing the filling. Start with the vermicelli in the center and add a piece of each vegetable. Don't overfill else it will get difficult to roll. Once everything is in place, roll the sides in first, then the rest of it. It takes a bit of practice but after 2-3 rolls, it should get better.

Peanut Dipping Sauce:
1 cup roasted peanuts 
1/2 tsp salt                  
1 tbsp honey               
2-3 tbsps olive oil  
Put these ingredients in a food processor and make into a paste - doesn't need to be very smooth. OR just use some Peanut Butter.

Add:
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp chilli-garlic paste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Mix well and serve.

Summer Salad

I had something similar at a restaurant and loved it, so tried to replicate it at home and it turned out quite well.
I love this salad because it makes me eat 2 things that I don't normally eat but I should beacuse they're healthy - beets and prunes.

Rinse out a bunch of lettuce leaves.
A good way to dry them is to take a few leaves and wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and shake. It's a longer process but better than eating a soggy salad, or buying a salad spinner that takes up space I don't have to spare.

Add:
1 boiled (or baked), and peeled beetroot
1 onion
1 large tomato (or a few cherry tomatoes)
1 large carrot (peeled)
2 cucumbers
5-6 chopped prunes 
6-8 pieces of Walnut (broken in halves)
4-5 olives

Dressing (pour just before serving):
2 tbsp Olive or Flax seed Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey

Cheese:
Top with either Feta or Blue cheese

Traditional Christmas Pudding

A little late to post this, but I had made a few of these over the holiday season and they were great!
The only detterant would be the time it takes to cook it.

Ingredients:
3-4 tbsp flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1tbsp mixed spice (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves)
2 eggs
100g dark muscovado sugar
100g butter or vegetable oil
A few toasted pecans
4-5 chopped dates
4-5 chopped prunes
10-15 currants
50g blanched almonds, flaked
Juice of half an orange (it worked well even with cranberry juice)
Zest of 1 orange
1 carrot (grated)
1 apple (peeled, cored, and grated)
2 slices crust-less white bread (not store-bought breadcrumbs. Take 2-3 day old white bread and if it isn't completely dry, then put them in the oven on low heat for 15-20 min taking care to not brown it. Then break them into coarse crumbs by hand.)
50ml Guinness (I used regular beer)
50ml Grand Marnier (I used brandy or rum)

Beat the sugar with butter/oil. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to this.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add this and the rest of the ingredients to the butter/sugar and mix well. The consistency should be a little sloppy - not too dry (add alcohol/juice if it is) and not too runny (add some more flour if it is).

Pour the mix into a greased pudding bowl, cover it with a foil and tie it with string.

Ready the steaming vessel. Use something at its base to prop the pudding bowl so it doesn't stick to the base and burn. Pour in enough water so that it just comes up half way up the pudding bowl. Once the water is warm enough, put in the pudding bowl and cover.

This needs to cook for 6 hours (yes you read it right). This ensures that the flavours soak through all the ingredients. Keep topping up the water level in between. Don't let the water dry out or else the pudding will burn.

This can be made a week in advance and kept in the fridge. To reheat it, steaming is recommended (but I just zapped it in the microwave).

To serve (Optional):
Sprinkle the surface with 2 tbsp soft brown or caster sugar.
Pour 30 ml of brandy or rum and flambe it. It gives a nice toasty crust to it.

Carrot+Apple cake

This is as simple as ABC (for those who speak English). Easy to remember too!

You need:
1 cup peeled and grated carrots
1 cup peeled, cored and grated apples
1 cup vegetable or olive oil
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Optional:
A few drops of Vanilla
Handful of Walnuts and/or dates
Orange zest

Beat the eggs with the sugar till fluffy.
Add the oil and whisk again.
Sieve in the flour with the baking powder and salt. Then fold in the mixture.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients.

Pour in a greased pan and bake for 40 minutes at 180 deg C.