Soya Chunks : Chinese style

Soya Chunks : Chinese Style

A friend of mine is pregnant and going through the third trimester of pregnancy. She was recently diagnosed heavily anaemic. She was put on protein rich diet. Being vegetarian she was bugged of eating lentils each day.

The day she shared this, she asked me if I could make something interesting out of soya chunks available in markets.

Soya protein has 50gms of protein per 100gms (as per the nutrela box), but my research says it’s around 35gm/100gm.

Here I came up with the idea, a tangy version for my expecting lady. I made soya chunks in some Chinese style.

Here is the recipe:

Soya chunks  100gm

1 onion chopped

1 capsicum chopped

Soy sauce  ¼ tsf

Red Chilli sauce  2tsf

Vinegar 1tsf

Corn flour a pinch

1 tsf vegetable oil

Boil the soya chunks as per instructions on the box.

In a pan, heat the oil. Sauté the onion, capsicum till tender. Add the sauces and vinegar. In 100ml of water mix corn flour (make sure no lumps). Add it to the pan. Add boiled soya chunks. Wait for 5minutes. Season with iodised salt and cracked pepper. Serve hot.

Can be served with steamed rice.

KADDU KI SABZI (Pumpkin Vegetable)

KADDU KI SABZI

(Pumpkin Vegetable)

you my pumpkin pumpkin, hello honey bunny

After years of cooking, I still regret that I have never been able to produce the flavors my mom puts in her cooking. I know her main ingredient is love. Even if I follow the exact recipe and season ample amount of love, dedication and discipline in my food. At the end of the day, the recipe is not yet perfect.

My mom visits me twice a year, every time I request her to cook Kaddu ki Sabzi and Bharwa Paratha. She makes a perfect blend of sugar and tanginess of tomatoes.

Well, It started this way, that my friends planned a hangout at Drive-in cinemas along with dinner. One of my friend is little fussy about eating vegetables. I chose to prepare this recipe and asked him to trust me and try it. Amazingly he liked it. (considering he is a blunt man and gives only honest opinions. I am not gonna name him here, but il tag this link to his wall J).

Here goes the recipe:

Pumpkin medium riped 250gms (peeled & chopped in one inch cubes)

Tomatoes medium size 2 in number

2 tsf sugar

Quarter spoon fenugreek seeds (methi ke dane for tempering)

Salt, chilli flakes, turmeric powder for seasoning.

2tsf vegetable oil

In a pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add fenugreek seeds, sauté for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes. Stir occasionally till they get tender. Add sugar. Wait for a minute. Add the seasoning. In the last add pumpkin cubes. Mix well. Cover the pan with lid. No need to add water as pumpkin releases its juices. Wait for ten minutes with occasional stirring. The recipe is ready if the pumpkin is nicely tender and juicy.

Garnish with coriander.

Best goes with paratha, poori, thepla.

My notes:

My mom is the best cook ever.

You can avoid peeling the pumpkin, it adds roughage to recipe.

The correct blend of sugar, tanginess of tomatoes and exact amount of salt is learnt with time. (don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t turn out well in first trial)

CRISPY POTATOES WITH HERBS

CRISPY POTATOES WITH HERBS

 The launched of my first poetry book VOICES & VICES was a big deal for me, so for my friends. Their support and motivation has led me to this giant step. After the release and success, comes the party time. Friends of my poetry club insisted a homemade supper. This is a delight when you see friends talking about your poems and food. It feels like I am the centre of their appreciation. Apart from self bragging, the menu was simple but with some innovation.

Here is the recipe of starters I served with almond broccoli soup. Though preparation takes time, but trust me the efforts are fruitful. I made crispy potatoes with herbs like oregano, parsley.

What you require is:

200gms potatoes (selectively the tiniest one, there this is another variety available in the section of your supermall, which people doesn’t easily relish)

50gms butter (yes, calorie counts)

Green garlic (few stems, diced)

Oregano, onion salt, garlic salt, chilli flakes (as per the taste)

SALT (only use while serving, not in cooking, explained below).

The recipe:

Few hours before the actual cooking, marinate your potatoes. In a zip lock pouch, put potatoes (rinsed, well dried and unpeeled). Add butter, garlic stems and herbs. Lock the zip pouch and mix the contents vigorously. Keep aside for 2-3hrs. You can mix the contents few times in the pouch itself.

In a pan, bring the contents on medium heat. Cover the pan. Occasionally stir the potatoes otherwise they will stick to bottom. It might take half an hr to get the potatoes golden brown and crispy.

Just before serving add the salt. If added before, the potatoes will release their water content and they won’t be crispy enough. Rather they will taste like wedges.

Garnish with oregano, diced garlic.

Goes well with soup, side salad and for a change with sandwiches (instead of regular French fries).

Hope you enjoy. I will wait for your feedbacks.

My take away on recipe:

1.      Time consuming. Not an instant recipe when guests knock your door uninformed.

2.      Calorie rich. But sometimes you can relish.

3.      Unpeeled potatoes, preserves the roughage content.

Gajar ka halwa

GAZAR KA HALWA

Winters are about to say good bye, in a way that those colourful fresh vegetables won’t be  available in the market soon.  I went to my regular grocery this fine Sunday morning and got tempted by red carrots across the counter. I thought of yummy Gajar ka Halwa. Although it’s a very common Indian dish and my generous colleagues usually offer me a portion of their Halwa, that I dint think of cooking it this winters.

But the charm of my recipe is that it’s a quick 15minutes recipe. Especially for the people like us who don’t have the time to go through proper traditional recipe where the carrot is cooked in milk for hours.

The innovation in my recipe is that I used condensed milk instead of whole milk and mava ( khoya).  I have actually replaced khoya in my kitchen with condensed milk (milkmaid, mithai maid) because the market these days is flooded with adulterated khoya.

Here is the recipe

You need

Carrots  250gms (should be red, enriched with Vitamin E,A)

Milk 10ml (yes just ten ml.)

Condensed milk (50gms)

Cardamom powder a pinch

Shredded almonds, coconut and dry fruits.

Blanch  the carrots in hot water. (YESSS! I blanch them first. It saves the milk quantity, hance calories. And the blanched carrot is easy to shred as well) Grate them.

In a pan take milk. Add carrots, cardamom powder and condensed milk.  Heat till the milk reduces.

Garnish with dry fruits.

Trust me:

The recipe is quick and easy

Calorie count is reduced. Since we are using sweetened condensed milk, no extra sugar is needed.

Adulterated khoya (mava) is avoided.

It tastes almost same, except that u miss the flavour of Desi Ghee. Which can be added. 

Tofu Muttar sabzi

Tofu Muttar 

                                                      Tofu Muttar / muttar paneer sabzi 

I came back home to find that my fridge had peas, tofu, tomatoes. So I came up with an innovation of our regular muttar paneer sabzi. The recipe is same as authentic muttar paneer sabzi, just replaced paneer (cottage cheese) with tofu. Tofu is soya protein condensed in cubes. Its rich in protein, calcium, magnesium and other minerals.

Here is the recipe:

All you need is:

Peas 100gm

Tofu 100gm

Onions 2

Tomatos 5-6

Tomato puree 2tsf

Ginger garlic paste

Green chilli

Chilli powder

Coriander powder

Turmeric powder

Refined oil 4-5tsf(option to desi ghee)

Cream 1tsf

Home made garam masala a pinch

Salt to taste

In a blender, blend garlic ginger, onions, green chilli. Take a wok, heat the oil on medium heat, add the paste. Sauté till the paste starts leaving oil. Add few pepper, cloves. Blend the tomatoes. Add tomato paste and puree in the wok. Add all the masala. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add peas, tofu (diced in cubes). Heat for 20minutes in the covered vessel. The recipe is done once it starts leaving oil in the corners. Garnish with cream. Green coriander leaves.

Savor with roti, phulka, paratha, puri or rice.