Ginger Sesame Watercress Soup

The first legit snow day. Kids are home today and tomorrow has been declared a holiday already. Outside 10 inches of snow waits to be shoveled and my Canadian man has geared up to shovel, since the man who blows snow for us has just undergone a knee replacement surgery. And, it had to be the heaviest snow!  So my older daughter gears up too, to help. She is excited to be out as is the little one heavy snow makes good snow people . So booted and jacketed from top to toe, the three head out each on their personal pursuits. I am at home trying to get my valentine's project for my kiddos, esp the little one finished - this is a big deal in our house and for some reason the kids have always been into it, the girls especially. And I try to draw energy from their enthusiasm and end up making Nutella cookies with my daughter's help yesterday.

Three hours and some later, I poke my head through the garage door to enquire about lunch and in unison they demand something warm and yummy.  I rifle through the fridge to see what I can rustle up at short notice. Like a scanner that beeps when it spots things, so to my eyes zoned in on the half used tofu, spring onions begging to be eaten before they go rotten, baby carrots and a big whopping piece of ginger. Pulling these out from the fridge I sprint downstairs to my other fridge to see what else catches my fancy and voila watercress.
I sprint back up, go to the pantry and get down some TJ vegetable stock. At this point I feel like I was on one of those cooking shows where they assign you one ingredient and you had to race to come up with some ideas around it.

I place my big pot on the stove, threw in some olive oil to sauté the veggies and then just like the last few clicks of a rubric's cube, things fell in place so naturally and believe you me, I have never heard my hubby rave so much about anything quite as much as he did about the soup. He also insisted I blog it right away so that I would archive the recipe for keeps.

RECIPE
For 6 hearty portions
Can be made in 10-15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1medium bunch of watercress (as sold in whole foods)
• 6-8 baby carrots slit in 4 
• Half pack of extra firm tofu  cubed (Trader Joe brand)
• 1carton of vegetable broth (Trader Joe brand)
• 4 stalks of spring onions finely chopped
• 2 inches long and as thick of a ginger piece chopped roughly
• 1tbsp of sesame seeds (white or brown)
• 1tsp of olive oil

For the flavoring

• 1 heaped tbs of peanut butter
• 1tbs stir fry Szechuan sauce
• 1 tbs Sriracha sauce
• 1 cup of water

Method

1. In a pot, add olive oil and the sesame seeds. 
2. When they start turning golden, add the veggies and stir in high heat for a minute before lowering to a simmer
3. In a blender, add the chopped ginger to half the carton of veggie stock and blend smooth
4. Add to the pot and allow the veggies to cook in the ginger broth. Add also the rest of the broth. 
5. In the same blender, add the water, and all the flavoring ingredients and blend until smooth.
6. Now add this to the boiling soup
7. Allow the whole soup to boil for 2-4 minutes before taking off the flame.
8. Serve hot

I guarantee you that this will be a super hit plus it is such a quick recipe.

I have another wonderful preparation to share with you next time - until then stay warm or cool as the case may be.

Roasted Pepper & Tofu Soup

I am now treating my recipes like laundry or dishes - if you don't wash them periodically, they accumulate and you don't know where to start, the difference being, often I tend to create dishes and then have to rely on my pictures to remember the things that went into it.  But I have another adaptation of a recipe for you from the Vegetarian Times.

This is one heck of a soup and if you happen to like tofu, this one's a winner for you - Again this one;s a simple and quick recipe with not too many ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 Roasted Red Peppers (pickled or roasted fresh for the occasion)
• 2 red peppers cut fine, thin and long
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 16oz pack extra firm tofu cubed 
• 1 carton about 4 cups of veggie broth
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of fresh baby spinach chopped
• 2 Red chilies (first tempered in 1 tsp of olive/sesame oil)
• 1 tsp of sriracha sauce
• 1 tbs of tamarind paste (I only recommend Lakshmi brand for those living in the US)
• 1 tsp sugar

Method

1.  Finely grind the roasted peppers, garlic and tempered chilies into a smooth sauce
2. In a pot, add the sauce, the 2 cups of water and the vegetable broth and let it come to a boil on medium heat
3. Add the tamarind, sriracha  and sugar to this and stir in well
4. In a flat sauce pan add about 1 tsp of oil and sauté the cut peppers and tofu just for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the spinach
6. Add to the boiling soup and the soup to a simmer for about 5 minutes or until the spinach looks green and cooked

Enjoy Hot
Makes about 8 servings

Garlic Spinach Stir-fry Noodles

From the stove to your plate in 5 minutes FLAT! No kidding

This is the easiest meal you can ever prepare, and probably the tastiest, seriously – how many of you like Indian- Chinese food? You can see my hands way up there J This recipe came about after a pasta meal I’d made the previous day and had some angel hair remaining.

I also had some fresh leaf salad spinach – the big boxes you get at Sam’s! Two hungry kids and one quick thinking mom namely moi (:  and all happy! A whole lot healthier than Maggi and a whole lot yummier too!

Start to finish 5 minutes not taking into account the time to cook the noodles. You can make this individually so it can be served hot (like dosas(:

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INGREDIENTS

Angel hair or thin vermicelli (even if you have no leftovers, this takes 5-10 minutes to cook at the most)

Fresh Spinach leaves

Garlic 1-2 cloves depending on how much you love it

1 Red chili crumbled

1 tbsp sesame oil

1-2 tbsp Schezwan stir-fry sauce (this is vital folks)

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PREPARATION

In a shallow wok/pan heat the sesame oil

Crumble the chili in it

Next, crush the garlic or add crushed garlic

Now throw in the spinach and spin a couple of times. The spinach will almost immediately get soggy

Add the noodles and the sauce over it

Toss a few times until all the noodles are drenched in the sauce

Feel Free to garnish with peanuts!

Put on your plate and dig in hot (:

Optional: you can also crumble some spicy peanut balls on it or add some roasted cashews (it is delicious as is though)

Cheers until the next recipe!

Paneer Manchurian

Paneer Manchurian

This is a dish I make often but never think to blog – like we never end up seeing the local sites of our town, this one has been bypassed by other newer recipes that I’ve either concocted or learned! This is a house fav and gets demolished almost as soon as it is prepared!!! The last time I made it for a party and it was enjoyed by all – If you are looking for a quick, exotic and gourmet Indian-Chinese paneer recipe, look no further! I would like you to make this and give me some feedback! That would be the best compliment of all J

Preparation time: approx 15 minutes

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. paneer (cubed)

1 tbsp. Maggi Hot and Sweet Sauce

1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp Asian spice mix

1 tbsp. spicy Szechuan stir-fry sauce

2 tsp. honey

1 tsp. sesame seeds

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

¼ cup of: fresh onion chives, fresh garlic chives

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. corn starch

PREPARATION

1)      Heat the olive oil and gently toss the paneer on high heat until slightly brown

2)      Whisk all ingredients except chives and corn starch

3)      Pour over the paneer and lightly turn

4)      Allow to cook on low heat

 In the mean time…

5)      add tbsp. water to cornstarch and mix well

6)      Now, add the cornstarch slowly into the bubbling sauce. It will start to thicken almost immediately

7)      When it has reached the desired consistency, add the chives and toss.

8)      Serve hot with ginger garlic rice (recipe given below)

The ingredients

Whisk the liquid ingredients together

Garlic and onion Chives (homegrown)

Saute the Asian spice mix and the sesame

Add the paneer

Now the sauce

The corn starch and the chives

 Ginger Jeera Rice

Ginger Jeera Rice

Ginger Jeera (cumin) rice is a quick and flavorful rice and is a beautiful accompaniment to almost any kind of Indian-Chinese dish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups Basmati rice

1 inch of ginger (grated fine)

2 tsp. cumin seeds

3 tbsp. butter (I used garlic and herbs butter)

PREPARATION

1) In a shallow pan, heat the butter and add the ginger, chives, and cumin and sauté.

2) Wash 3 cups of rice, adding exactly six cups of water

3) Now add sautéed ingredients into water with salt to taste

4) Cook in rice cooker for a fluffy and soft texture

Enjoy the aromatic rice with a tongue-tickling Paneer Manchurian….

Broccoli-Cabbage Stir-fry

Zàihuì: (Chinese for hello again)

This was a cautious move on my part – for one thing, my son loathes cabbage and a once completely devoted butter broccoli fan, he is quite averse to it as well. And as we all know, speaking plainly, much as these two green veggies are incredibly good natured for our bodies, they can be quite a combustible combo, iykwim ;)

Anyway, I had a bit of cabbage left over from the vadais I had made and a broccoli head and went Chinese with them. These veggies lend themselves SO well to oriental foods!

I kept it simple, knowing fully well the theme I chose for the blogging marathon was, curry in a hurry – you can have this in 30 minutes or less… I made the stir fry and mixed it in with rice and boy was it ever so good – so please try if you get a chance to!

Ingredients

½ cabbage head small

1 medium head of broccoli

3-6 green chilies *depending on preference

1-2 red chilies * depending on preference

1 tsp Asian Spice mix

2-4 table spoons of Soy Sauce

Some peanuts (optional)

I topped it with some homemade ghatia just for fun

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of sesame seeds (I used white ones)

2-4 cloves of garlic

Preparation

Heat oil on high flame in a Wok, add the garlic, chilies, sesame, and the veggies and allow them to cook until tender but crisp (NOT soft – those are nasty).

Add the soy sauce and the spice mix and stir swiftly

Remove from flame

Add some crushed peanuts if you desire

Cook about 1 cup of rice and allow it to cool a bit before mixing the stir fry with the rice.

Serve Hot… Enjoy this jiffy curry! Zai Jien (see you soon in Chinese)

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Cool Lassi(e), Harini, Kalyani, Priya Mahadevan, Suma
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Priya Suresh, Veena,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Shylaja, Srivalli
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Priya Yallapantula
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast:Aarthi, Vaishali

Indian Chinese Pizza

NO oil was used for this preparation!

I call it this after much deliberation as to what the title should be  - Perhaps Shepherd’s Pie or Quiche? Nah – The first makes me think meat and the second makes me think egg – Since this has neither and is as veggie/vegan as can be I thought I’d call it what it resembles the most. Indian because I used the same Cilantro Chappati atta (give link) that’d I had leftovers of for the base – And Chinese because I used unconventional pizza seasoning and toppings like cauliflower mainly, zucchini, green bell pepper and red bell pepper and green chilies – For seasoning all I used was Fab India’s  Szechuan spice mix – And did it ever taste good! My son went on and one about it and I was needless to say pleased as punch as the desired effect it’d had on him and the rest of the family. So easy, yet so satisfying

Preparation
Grate your veggies as opposed to cutting them/ Add the salt and spices and turn.

Roll out like square/round pizza base. Add the veggies and the cheese (I used Parmesan and Mozzarella. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees - Since I did not use yeast, it did not rise very much, but it was a think crust and tasted like soft on the inside and crunchy like breadsticks around the corners.

Enjoy folks J

Entering this to my blog event,
Fast Food NOT Fat Food,  Spice Ur Senses Treat for the Eyes Event , Srivalli's Kids Delight , guest hosted by me -Click here to check it out and Herbs & Flowers- Cilantro by Krithi's Kitchen And to Only Original Recipes at Nivedita's Kitchen

Chinese Broccoli Soup

We lucked out last week, while looking for spring roll wraps, and found this oriental grocery store where we not only got the wraps which were only 35 calories each, but also some really yummy greens. I was under the impression I was cooking greens until I compared my pictures online with a google search for Chinese greens and found that this was indeed Chinese broccoli – How cool is that J What is it they say about learning something new every day ;)

Simple Soup, takes less than 20 minutes to make

Ingredients

2 bunches of Chinese broccoli (wash thoroughly and cut big)

2 sachets of dry milk powder (Use non-dairy powder if you are vegan)

2 green chilies

2 cloves of garlic

1 small cube of ginger

1 tbsp of crushed cashews (optional)

½ cup of grated coconut

1 tsp of olive oil

Salt to taste

Preparation

Really wash the greens very thoroughly and chop into fairly big pieces since it is to be ground anyway

Dry fry the coconut.

Then add the oil and the rest of the spices and brown a little.

Next add the greens and keep closed

In a vessel, empty the contents of the milk powder add the specified amount of water and mix.

When the greens soften, add the milk and allow the entire soup to cook for about 2-3 minutes

Blend to a smooth consistency and serve with warm bread.

I served it the my Four Flour Medley Masala Bread J

Shrooms and Garlic rice - Chinese style

I made 2 different kinds of this rice, first one I Indianized by mixing in some garlic podi from Grand sweets and snacks. This tasted good, but I think the second was an even bigger winner and deserves a place on this blog - Another healthy recipe with very little oil...so here goes

Ingredients
About 10-12 good sized shrooms (white ones)
Green spring onions - three stems
Garlic cloves- 4-5 crushed
4-6 green chillies (this can be adjusted according to tolerance levels
the juice of 1 medium sized tomato - strained
1 cup of basmati or jasmine rice
1 tsp of olive oil

Preparation
Cook the rice separately and keep warm
Dice and grind the tomato and strain the juice from the pulp
Finely mince the mushrooms, green chillies and spring onions
In  big pan, heat the tsp of oil, crush the garlic directly into it and add the veggies
Sautee for a couple of minutes before adding some salt and I used a dash of  seasoning herbs (I got a schezwan seasoning spice from Fab India on my recent visit) but any other asian seasoning will do just as well
You want to put just a dash literally!
Add the tomato juice and let it simmer for a minute
Break up the rice so it is nice and fluffy.
Add to the sauce and let it cook
The tomato juice will get quickly absorbed by the rice and will look moist but dry
Allow it to cook for a minute or so longer, stirring so it does not get burnt at the bottom

Serve hot with spring rolls on the side or enjoy as is...
Don't forget the key ingredient - Love - to make it and serve it

 The shrooms, onions and chillies vut and ready to go

 the tomato puree

  The crushed garlic sauteeing in the pan

                       The veggies saute

                    The final product