How to prepare fat-free mixed vegetable soup?

It might sound weird, savoring soup without oil, completely fat-free. However, I make soups which are fat-free and equally delicious. Speaking honestly, mixed vegetable soup is one of the reasons behind my sound health; optimized blood levels with no ailment in the last few months(by God's grace).

Let's start the process:-

• Spinach leaves (include stems) - 5
• Tomato - 2 medium-sized
• Ginger - 1/2 inch 
• Carrot - 1 - cut in small pieces
• Common salt - tinge
• Rock salt - tinge
• Black pepper- tinge

Pressure cook all the vegetables in a container for 15 minutes. Usually, I boil water in an electric kettle, pour in a pressure cooker and, allow 8-9 whistles. Remove from flame and let it cool for some time. Then, blend all the cooked vegetables. After blending, use a strainer to remove pulp. Once strained, give a single boil. Pour in a bowl and add salts and black pepper according to your requirement.

I have mixed vegetable soup twice every day; once in the morning and second in the evening.

Advantages are visible on my body and mind. U feel really energized. The best part of the preparation is that it's not cooked in oil.

Do try once and let me know your views.
Thank you


NOTE:- You can add more vegetables according to your requirements.

Bhindi (Lady fingers) recipe in yoghurt gravy

I love lady fingers in any form and every form. It is easy to cook a variety of dishes, especially when it’s lady finger. I am putting forward a recipe, locally prepared by people in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and savored with chapattis.

Ingredients:

Lady fingers- 250 grams
Yoghurt- 100 grams
Ghee/Clarified butter- 2 teaspoons
Spices as per taste-
Red Chili powder- especially Rajasthan red chili- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon
Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon
Salt- 1 ½ teaspoons

Remove the top and tail parts of lady fingers and cut in the middle. Make sure to make the cut on one side without touching the other side. Keep them aside. Take yoghurt in a bowl and mix spices like red chili, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Blend it well so that no lumps are left.

Take a frying pan. Pour ghee or clarified butter. Once it heats up, put lady fingers one by one. Saute for some time. When you see them changing color, add yoghurt mixture slowly. Mix the two well and then, put a lid on the pan for some time. You would see the ghee floating without a tinge of yoghurt. There is different aroma emerging from the dish once it’s fully cooked. Relish with chapattis.

Why tea?

Tea has always remained a dear part of my life. I don’t miss any occasion or time of the day when I shouldn't have tea. Tea leaves have a different and mesmerizing kind of aroma. With just a few sips, I feel better for rest of the day.

Getting up early in the morning and having tea! Well, this habit hasn't moved away from my life except for few years. There was a time in mid-nineties when I had left the beverage after a severe bout of jaundice. I was bed-ridden for a couple of months and my favorite drink was not allowed. This all started when I started having tea at the road side stall or in the college canteen during the late afternoons. As we are all aware, things are not hygienic and we just wish to have if cups are feasible with pocket money.

However, I started having tea from 2005 onwards….if I’m not mistaken. I should say I fell in love with it again. When I’m at home, I can’t stay without it for long. I wish to have at least 3- 4 cups each day. Thus, on weekends, I usually have 4 mugs of tea. Mugs are bigger than cups but not as big as tumblers. I start my morning with tea, breakfast with tea. I take lunch after 4 so a cup of tea after that. In the evening, I have it around 9. I don’t mind having tea as long as right proportion of ingredients is added to it.

In other words, I usually prepare beverage with few drops of milk. Ginger is essential during boil. When tea leaves are added, I close the lid for few seconds. The tea leaves its aroma instantly and you can relish once it’s poured in a cup. I have no hesitation with more sugar but adequate proportion is added to give sweetness.

Tea is but tea. It has a kind of aroma, a taste unmatchable with any other spice or herb. It is unique and good in digesting too. It is advised to have lemon tea or green tea. If you can’t stay without having milk tea, I believe, give a try to my kind of tea. It is appetizing, tantalizing and sumptuous. Well, I am running out of words.

How to make fat-free tomato soup?

It's a common tradition to make soup in oil by adding green and spicy ingredients. However, I believe having a soup without any additives is quite nutritious and nourishing for skin and internal body system. It is quite easy to make a fat-free tomato soup with few spices in hand.

Let's start the process of making fresh and nutritious soup.

Medium-sized fresh tomatoes- 5
Coriander leaves- 2/3
Black or rock salt- ½ teaspoon
Table salt- ½ teaspoon
Black pepper powder- ½ teaspoon
Roasted and powdered cumin seeds- ½ teaspoon
You could choose the spices as per requirement also.

Take a boiling pan and pour half container full with water. Add tomatoes and boil for half an hour on the burner. Use medium flame for boiling. I use pressure cooker for the vegetables allowing 5- 6 whistles. After removing the lid, you could see the vegetable shredded. If lumps are there, I prefer to crush the same in a blender. Check the consistency. It should not be very thick. Pour the liquid in a heating pan. Heat it till the first boil. I don't boil quite often for fear of losing nutrients. Add all the ingredients (tomato liquid and spices) and saute for some time. Remove from flame and pour in bowls. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and a slice of lemon.

The water containing boiled vegetable is useful in making soup. Thus, you shouldn't throw away but use for blending. The spices are available at grocery stores. You could even place an order online for its delivery. Many people prefer to add icing sugar to sweeten soup. However, I prefer to use only salt. Coriander leaves give a unique flavor to the entire drink. It is good for skin and eyes too. If you like ginger, you can add this spice while boiling.

In my childhood, a different process was followed for making tomato soup. The tomatoes were boiled in a pan till they became soft, light and easy to mash. The tomato solid was placed in a big strainer. The entire solid was pressed with hands or spoon so that liquid could be collected in the container below. This liquid was heated to make it warm and ingredients were added and garnished later.

Tomato soup is often used as appetizer. However, I prefer to eat at odd hours too. You can have soup with bread sticks at any time- morning or evening. Few calories are consumed while having home-made soup. It is fat-free and considered a best energizer for cool climates.

Often, people prefer to make juice by blending or prepare puree by cooking crushed tomatoes. It is cooked in oil or butter with essential ingredients to give an appeal. However, fat-free tomato soup is something that is home-made, where nutrients are kept intact.

With the use of electronic appliances, it has become easy to prepare any dish. Try making this fabulous, easy to make, fat-free tomato soup at home. You would surely love it.

What is curry?

Curry is one of the most common recipes used in Indian sub continental kitchens worldwide. It refers to a variety of dishes prepared in different kinds of dry and wet spices presented in a variety of gravy like coconut, yoghurt and tomato puree.

In the western states of India namely Rajasthan and Gujarat, curry is solely a liquid dish prepared in butter milk or yogurt and yellow flour. The preparation of curry is similar in both the states with the only difference of sugar added in Gujarati curry.

As the name refers, curry has an ingredient called “curry leaves” added after cumin seeds and mustard seeds start to splutter in ghee. Curry leaves have a unique flavor which is added to accentuate the aroma of dish. “Curry powder” is not necessarily added in any of the curries. It is a combination of various types of spices procured locally or internationally and leaves a distinct flavor when used while cooking rice and vegetarian or non-vegetarian recipe.

Gujarati curry is thin in consistency. Yellow flour and butter milk are used proportionately. Sugar is added for sweetness. It is served with chapattis and rice.

Rajasthani curry is a bit thick in consistency. Yellow flour and churned yoghurt is used together. The yoghurt used for preparation is sour in taste.It’s yellow in color mainly because of the use of turmeric powder.

Tinda recipe in yoghurt gravy

Since I hail from western Rajasthan, many recipes are prepared in yoghurt gravy. They are delicious and contain a lot of nutrients. Yoghurt is considered a basket of calcium and other minerals. Apart from raita and dahi-bada, there are a lot of dishes prepared in dahi/ yoghurt.

One of my favorites is Tinda (Indian Apple Gourd) prepared in yoghurt. It is often referred as "tindsi" in this region. The best thing about the recipe is its delectable taste which is neither salty nor sour. It can be relished with rotis.

Here’s the recipe which is easy to make and serve. Tinda/ Indian apple gourd (medium-sized)-4 Yoghurt- 1 small bowl Red chilly- 1 teaspoon Coriander- 1 ½ teaspoons Turmeric- ½ teaspoon Common salt- 1 ½ teaspoons Ghee- 1 table spoon

Remove the skin of tinda and cut into small cubes. If the seeds are ripe, remove them. If not, include them in cooking. Make a smooth paste of yoghurt by beating with a teaspoon. Add the spices like red chilly, coriander, salt and turmeric. Mix the ingredients well so that a good mixture is obtained. Make sure to use the yoghurt which is bit sour in taste. Also, ensure it is removed from fridge at least a couple of hours before cooking.

Pour ghee in kadai or frying pan and heat at medium flame. Add tinda cubes and sauté till they turn a bit brown in color. Add the paste slowly. Mix them together and sauté for few more minutes on low flame. Close the lid for two-three minutes. After removing the lid, you would see the ghee afloat. This implies the dish is ready to be served. Serve the dish in a bowl along with chapattis.

Tinda is an all season vegetable available in the Indian subcontinent. There are many recipes associated with this vegetable. However, I like to cook tinda in yoghurt gravy as I find it satiating for taste buds.

Indian Desserts- Shrikhand

Indian desserts have always found ready support from a large audience because of the delectable sweetness and extraordinary presence of variety. Shrikhand is a popular yoghurt-based, easy to make dessert. Offered along with meals, its unique taste is often accompanied by a variety of flavors added to make it delicious.

Shrikhand is derived from two words- Shri which refers to Lord Krishna and khand for sugar. It is believed, in his childhood, Lord Krishna used to love home-made butter a lot. The sweetened product of yoghurt was another most admired one by Lord Krishna and his friends.

How is it prepared?

It is a simple procedure which could be followed and incorporated in kitchen meals. Take fresh yoghurt in a muslin cloth. Hang the cloth from a height. The extra water contained in yoghurt should be removed using the cloth. After hanging for at least a couple of hours, you would find it in a solid form. Place the yoghurt in a bowl and add some spices, essence and sugar. For a small bowl of yoghurt, you could add 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add crushed cardamom and saffron to give a unique aroma. You can flavor the yoghurt with essence like vanilla, strawberry, raspberry or chocolate. After mixing the ingredients, the next and basic step involves churning. You could use a hand-held churner or an electronic churner as per preference. Make sure not to leave out any lumps whatsoever. It must appear smooth and soft. You could always garnish Shrikhand with crushed dry fruits like cashew nut, almonds, apricot, raisins and walnuts for extra calorie.

Since it’s always possible that yoghurt kept for a long time out of refrigerator would allow bacteria to sour the content. Thus, it should be kept in cold storage and removed only while serving. Shrikhand could be eaten with cooked rice, roti or as dessert. It has high calories and calcium. It is good for people from all age groups but best for growing children. It is considered best in building bones and muscles.