A Wholesome Soup with Meat and Vegies

As the cold winter is setting in, who won't crave for a hot soup with goodness of lean meat and fresh vegetables. Add a spoon of rice or noodles this is one wholesome healthy meal for those restful weekends.

Ingredients:
1 lb Meat or Poultry, I used Mutton
2 inch Ginger piece chopped
5-6 Garlic cloves
1 tbsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Cumin seeds
A handful of chopped Coriander leaves
1 French Onion leaks - chopped
Salt to taste
6-8 cups of Water or stalk

To Stir Fry Vegies:
1 tsp I can't believe its Butter or Becel or regular Butter
2 cups sliced Carrots, Beans, Cabbage or any other vegies of choice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Others:
3 - 4 Tbsp Corn flour
1 tsp Butter
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional :
1 cup cooked plain rice or noodles

Garnish:
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Stir fried Vegies

Method :
In a pressure cooker, add meat/poultry, and all other spices along with water and pressure cook for 30 minutes for meat and 15 minutes for poultry.
Remove lid and let it simmer for about an hour.
Separate the soup from meat pieces using a large filter and discard the spices .
Keep the soup aside.
Shred the meat pieces and set aside.
Now in a wide deep pot, heat butter and add the chopped/sliced vegies and stir fry for 3-4 mins, add salt and pepper, remove from heat and keep aside
To the same pot, add little more butter and add 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste and saute, add the shredded meat pieces along with some salt and pepper and stir fry for a minute.
Now add the soup water to the pot and let it come to boil.
Meanwhile in a small bowl mix corn flour with a cup of water to make a very dilute solution and add it to the boiling soup.
Allow the soup to become little thick and add the finely chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat.

Serving:
Assemble the soup bowls and pour soup along with some meat pieces.
If adding rice or noodles you can add it now.
Garnish with stir fried vegies, coriander leaves and a pinch of pepper powder.
Enjoy hot with crackers on the side.

Cauliflower Egg Pakora/Bhaji/Fitters

This is yet another simple easy snack to make and yet so tasty that you don't want to stop with a few. Thanks to the filling nature of cauliflower which will help from packing on the calories. I liked it so much the first time my husband made this for a light evening snack. Since then "poor man", he ends up making this for me whenever I have a urge to snack on this. I had always expressed my love for cauliflower in this blog. So here is another addition to my cauliflower list.

A simple starter, with very minimal ingredients and ease to make. Doesn't require any dipping sauce or condiments. Can be eaten just like that, to enjoy the flavours better.
With a gentle seasoned covering of crisp egg on the outer and mild soft vegie inside, this is indeed a treat for me.

Ingredients :
1 small Cauliflower, separated into 10 - 15 florets
2 Eggs beaten
1 tsp Red chilly powder
Salt to taste.
A pinch of black pepper powder (optional)
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Wash the cauliflower florets and dry them with paper towel.
Prepare the covering mixture, with beaten egg, red chilly, salt and pepper powder
Heat oil in a deep fry pan
Dip the cauliflower florets one by one into the egg mixture to coat evenly and thick and gently slide into the hot oil
Fry on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or till the florets turn brown and the cauliflower is cooked.
Once done remove the florets from the oil and place on paper towel to remove excess oil.
Serve warm with ketchup or just as it is.

Berry Banana Smoothie

Smoothies have become so regular when it comes for wholesome break fast ideas. One of the best ways to get in the daily required servings of fruits or vegetables. With berries you not only get the benefits of anti-oxidants but also fibre and other essential nutrients and adding banana gives that full feeling. Yogurt and milk satisfy the calcium needs and if thats not enough add a spoon full of protien mix to make it a booster drink to kick start our metabolism.

Since all the ingredients are easily available in our fridge, be it fresh fruit or forzen, yogurt, milk, all we have to do is to throw them in a blendor and and blend till a smooth. My two little boys, luv this smoothie, so I end up making it by demand sometimes.

Ingredients :
1 banana sliced, fresh or frozen
1 cup Mixed Berries, fresh or frozen
1 tsp Roohaza syrup or any rose syrup
1 tsbp honey
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp plain or flavored yogurt
Add 1 tsp sugar if using plain yogurt. (optional)

Directions:
If using fresh fruits then use ice cubes instead of water.
Mix all ingredients in a blendor and run till smooth.
Serve immediately chill.

Sending this smoothie to Sanghi who is hosting FIL-Fruits event.

Kothu Roti / Parotta with Meat Gravy

AKA Muttai Parotta / Minced Egg Parotta
Kothu Parotta has some sweet memories of Nagapattinam/Velankanni beach side restaurants for me. As a small tourist attraction for those visiting Tamil Nadu, Velankkani, has quiet a festive look and the walk from the hotel to the seashore doing some petty shopping at beach side stores is a nice experience. By the time we reach the seashore our hungry belly is wanting the delicious seafood and other delicacies that this place has to offer. I have tasted the best fish fry ever in this place. They cut open a medium size fish and fry it on large tawas with marinated masalas. Not to mention the crab fry. I cannot understand how they can spice up the crab from within with out any gravy hanging out. If this is the seafood side they are nothing less when providing base foods to go with the seafood.
The Elegant Egg Dosa/Muttai Dosa, thin and crepe with beaten egg and masala on it, Parotta with Meen Kozhambu/fish gravy or the famous one and only Muttai Parotta/Kothu roti. I only remember tasting it 3 or 4 times. Often I and husband keep re chanting the memories of this. And it a must try on a visit to this place.

Procedure to make a Kothu Roti/Parotta is quiet interesting. Parottas are shredded into pieces beaten with long metal ladles on a large iron tawa, and egg, onions, gravy and other spices and ingredients are add to it and mixed to get the end result. It was totally new dish for a Telugu girl like me who has never heard about it in Andhra. Only after my marriage during the few years of my stay in Chennai I came to know it. Though in Chennai we do get this kothu Parotta, it is no comparison with the one I tasted in Nagapattinam/Velankanni. It is mostly a eaten for dinner and in Chennai/Tuticoran/Nagarcoil , you can hear the sound of making this dish in small restaurants nearly from very other street corner in the night time. In Toronto every Srilankan Tamil take out has this in there menu with added attraction of any meat/chicken to it. Again the same thing, the taste is no where satisfying near the Kothu Parotta we get in Velankanni.

This said I started to make it at home. Since we get the beaten shredded parotta/roti in the frozen food section in many srilankan Tamil stores, it makes it easy to try this dish at home.

Ingredients :
3 Fresh Parottas/Roti or Store bought Frozen Minced roti
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
2 thinly sliced/chopped red or white onions
5-6 Green chillies chopped
a handful of fresh curry leaves
1 Tomato chopped
1 tsp Black pepper powder
Salt to taste
2 -3 Eggs
1 Cup Meat curry (Mutton/Beef/Chicken)
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Lime wedges

Directions:
In a wok or kadai heat oil and allow mustard to splutter.
Add curry leaves and green chillies fry for 10 seconds.
Add sliced/chopped onions and fry till the onion is cooked.
Now add chopped tomato and fry till all the water from it is gone.
Now add the Minced roti or shredded parotta, eggs, salt and peeper and mix well.
Once the egg becomes hard, add the meat curry with gravy and keep stirring till all the gravy stick to the parotta and the out is dry but moist.
Add coriander leaves and remove from heat.
Serve hot with lime wedges.