Roasted Red Pumpkin Soup

Red pumpkin is not all that common ingredient in our kitchen. I have not been used t eating this as neither my mom nor my MIL cook red pumpkins. I happened to see the roasted pumpkin soup on TASTY and decided to try it. Luckily, my SIL had bought some fresh organic home grown red pumpkin from her hometown which prompted me to try it right away.

This a very comforting soup especially in winters. It is kids friendly and can be easily given to toddlers above 12 months. This has a mild sweet taste very similar to carrots. Filled with Carotenoid and antioxidants, this a great power booster with high fiber and low calories. Now, doesn't that sound too interesting!!!!

Some of the summarized advantages of Red Pumpkin Soup

• High Fiber and hence satiates appetite quickly and for long hours keeping you full
• Extremely low in calories, hence a sin free indulgence and aids very good weight loss
• Rich in antioxidants and carotenoid
• Overall a power packed,comforting,easy to make and a tasty soup.

Ingredients

1. Red Pumpkin - 2 cups (chopped into cubes as shown in pic)
2. Water - 2 cups + 1 cup
3. Garlic pods - 4
4. Olive oil - 2 tbsp
5. Mixed Italian herbs seasoning - 2 tsp
6. Salt and Pepper as required

Method

1. Saute Red pumpkin and garlic in olive oil for 2 mins under medium low flame for the raw flavor of pumpkin to go off.

2. Pressure cook with 2 cups of water for 3 whistles.

3. Open after the pressure subsides and allow the contents to cool.

4. Grind the contents to smooth puree in a blender.

5. Transfer the puree to a pan, add 1 more cup of water and adjust water content if required depending on the consistency of the soup required. Do not add too much water that it becomes watery.

6. Add needed salt and pepper as per taste.

7. sprinkle some mixed Italian herbs and serve hot with toasted bread slices.

Paneer Burji Stuffed Peppers - High Protein Pockets

Stuffed peppers is a universally made dish and loved by all. Different countries use different stuffings to make the stuffed peppers. You can stuff rice, cooked rajma or chickpea, quinoa to millets, the variations are innumerable.Cooking is all about creativity and experimentation. So, I decided to make my version of Stuffed peppers with Paneer Burji, This is a protein packed. low carb and a delicious recipe which I consume without having to worry about my weight gain. Let's look into the preparations. I have used Red and yellow peppers as they have a mild sweet taste compared to Green ones which are slightly bitter. You can even use green peppers, but make sure you cook them completely to avoid the bitter taste.

Paneer Burji

Serves:3

Ingredients

1. Paneer Burji - 2 cups (Check detailed recipe here)
2. Red Bell pepper - 1 
3. Yellow pepper - 1 
4. Olive Oil - 2 tbsp for roasting
5. Needed salt

                            

Stuffed bell peppers roasted on all sides

                            

Method

1. Cut the bell peppers on the top and deseed the peppers as shown in the pic.

2. Stuff the pepper with paneer burji.

3. Heat a non stick pan, add oil and some salt.

4. Place the stuffed peppers on the pan and roast on all sides. Make sure you roast them by covering the lid of the pan. I have not covered for photography purpose.

5. Roast on all sides with covered lid so that the peppers are nicely roasted, cooked and the skin shrinks as shown in the picture. The entire process will take about 15 mins.

6. Once roasted on all sides, remove from pan and serve hot as shown in the picture.

Paneer Burji - Scrambled Paneer

There is a myth among so many folks that consuming paneer can lead to weight gain which is totally false. Paneer is a major source of protein especially for vegetarians. This is a dish one must definitely include when they are on a weight loss mode. This is also good for bones strength. This is a super food that is not only tasty, but also has various health benefits. This makes you feel sumptuous and satiated quickly and is also a treat to taste buds. These are some of the sin free and guilt free indulgence that leaves you stress free while on a weight loss mode. This is easily a vegetarian substitute for scrambled egg or what is called Egg Bhurji. You can make this and stuff inside sandwich or stuff inside chapati and make paneer chapati rolls. Options are plenty with this recipe. I had made Paneer Burji Stuffed Peppers for a dinner. Check out that recipe as well:)

Serves:3

Ingredients

1. Paneer/cottage cheese - 250 gms (Grated)
2. Tomato - 2 (chopped)
3. Onion - 2 big (chopped)
4. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
5. Oil - 1 tbsp
6. Green Chili - 1 (finely chopped)
7. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
8. Coriander leaves - (chopped) fistful for garnishing
9. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
10. Garama masala powder - 1 tsp
11. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
12. Chat Masala - 1 tsp
13. Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tsp
14. Needed salt

                          

                          

Method

1. Heat a pan and add oil and cumin seeds. Once cumin seeds crackle, add green chili and chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute well until onions turn translucent.

2. Add tomatoes and all other powders and saute well on a low-medium flame.

3. Cover the lid and cook for 5 mins until the tomatoes are cooked well and mushy.

4. Add grated paneer to the above along with needed salt and give a nice mix.

5. Add chopped coriander for a final garnish.

6. Hot Paneer Burji is now ready to be eaten with your favorite rolls, sandwich, chapati or anything of your choice:):)

Green Moong Dal and Oats Adai

Never knew a dish which is too good for health can even be tasty until I had this. This is an amazing low carb recipe which satiates your hunger and keeps you full for long hours. Highly rich in proteins and fiber, this aids in weight loss amazingly.There are innumerable benefits of green moong which you can check here. I generally make this for dinner as soon as I come from office. I soak them in the morning and grind them to make a tasty adai batter for dinner. Traditionally, they add some rice while grinding the batter make it more crispier. I have skipped it as this is completely low carb making it a guilt free indulgence. Let's look into the preparation of this healthy adai. This tastes best with coconut chutney,avial or even just plain butter.

Serves: 4 adai/pancakes

Ingredients

1. Green Moong Dhal - 3/4 cup
2. Oats - 2 tbsp (I used normal Quaker oats available at supermarket)
3. Green chili - 1 big
4. coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (chopped)
5. Ginger - 1 inch
6. Jeera - 2 tsp
7. Onion - 1 big (chopped)
8. Needed salt

Ingredients

Soaked green moong and oats

Method

1. Soak green moong and oats together with 1.25 cups of water for minimum of 4 hours.

2. Strain them after it has absorbed all water. Grind them with chili and ginger to a fine batter. Do not add any water while grinding. Let the batter be thick.

3. Add chopped onions,coriander leaves and cumin seeds and needed salt to the batter. Mix well.

4. Heat a iron girdle, once hot, take a ladle of the batter and pour it on the girdle. Spread them gently into small thick round shapes. Allow them to cook on a low flame for 5 mins. Drizzle some Olive or Coconut oil on the sides.

5. After 5 mins, flip the adai gently on to next side and cook again until the batter is cooked well.

6. Hot tasty adai is ready to served with your favorite accompaniment.

Batter ready!!!!!

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. You can also grind the coriander leaves along with batter if you do not want to add it separately.
2. Cooking of adai takes a long time than dosa as it is a thick batter. For better results, cover them with a lid to speeden up the cooking process.
3. I have paired it with oats, but trust me, you can add any accompaniment of your choice like kollu(horsegram), quinoa,chickpea,millet etc. Soak whatever you like along with green moong and grind them together.

Paneer Kurchan

I saw this recipe for the first time prepared by Chef Sanjyot keer. It was so tempting and mouth watering to watch. However, I personally tasted this paneer kurchan at hotel Haven Sampoorna located at Velachery. I instantly fell in love with it. It tasted so good with phulka and naan. That is when I decided to make this at home. I referred to different recipes, finally made it in my style.This goes well with with any Indian Breads and also Pulao. The paneer is cut into long stripes and not cubes. In fact, onions and bell peppers all are cut in lengthwise. This is a semi gravy recipe.

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Tomato - 4 medium sized
2. Green Chili - 3
3. Onion- 2 medium sized, sliced lengthwise
4. Red Bell Pepper - 1, sliced thinly lengthwise
5. Green Capsicum - 1 ,sliced thinly lengthwise
6. Paneer/cottage cheese - 250 gms, cut into thick long strips
7. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 1 tbsp
8. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
9. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
10. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
11. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
12. Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
13. Lemon - half a lemon
14. Fresh Cream-3 tbsp
15. Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
16. Fresh chopped coriander for garnishing
17. Oil - 2 tbsp
18. Salt as needed

Method

1. In a pan, add oil and cumin seeds. Once the cumin crackled, add onions and saute until they turn transparent. 

2. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute until the raw flavor goes off.

3. Add bell pepper and capsicum strips and saute for a minute.

4. Grind tomatoes and chili together. Add the ground paste to the pan.

5. Add the salt , all the powders and mix well.

6. Cover the pan with lid and simmer for 7 mins for the raw flavor of tomato paste to go off.

7. Add fresh cream and gently mix to get a creamy consistency of the tomato paste.

8. Add paneer strips and mix gently.

9. Add lime juice,crushed kasuri methi and some fresh coriander leaves.

10. Cover the lid for 3 mins on simmer and then switch off the flame. This is for the flavor to get into the paneer.

11. Serve hot with Naan, Roti or any Indian Breads.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

Kashmiri Red chili is added to give nice color to the recipe.

Shahi Pulao

I have been wanting to try this pulao for a long and was waiting for a right occasion to make it. I had invited my sis -in law and her husband for a lunch after a very long time. So I really wanted to make something special and surprise them. I was thinking hard as to what to make for rice as my husband doesn't like briyani much.As far pulao, I wanted to make sure this should be something unique and different. So this has been inspired from various recipes like mughlai pulao, jaipuri pulao and finally I devised this recipe of "Shahi Pulao".

This is highly rich in flavor,ingredients and aroma. This does not taste sweet and is a mildly spiced pulao which is made using fresh cream,Ghee,saffron milk and cashews and is truly a Royal Delight.:) The color to this pulao which you see in the picture is purely from saffron milk and I have not added any extra color.Everyone just loved this and this is sure to make your guests fall for your cooking:)

I have skipped adding paneer to it as I had already made Paneer Kurchan as one of the side dish separately on that day of lunch. 

Let's look at the preparation.

serves:3

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Paneer/cottage cheese-1/2 cup cubed
3. Ghee - 3 tbsp
4. Pepper powder-2 tsp
5. Garam Masala powder-1 tsp
6. Coriander powder-1 tsp
7. Saffron strands -4
8. Warm milk-1/4 cup
9. cashews and raisins -2 tbsp each
10. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
11. Salt to taste

To Grind-Shahi Paste

1. Fresh Cream - 1/4 cup
2. Green Chilies-2 (slit lengthwise)
3. Ginger - 1.5 inch with skin peeled
4. Garlic Pods-5

Masala Ingredients

1. Star anise(anaachi poo) - 2-3 
2. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
3. Cloves - 3
4. Green Cardamom - 2
5. Black Cardamom - 2
6. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
7. Shahi Jeera - 2 tsp
8. Bay Leaf-1 big crushed
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Vegetables Used (Can be anything of your choice)

• Beans - 6-7
• Carrot – 1
• Onions -1 medium sized
• Cauliflower florets-5-6 
• Potato-1 small

Method:

1. Rinse basmathi rice well and soak it in lukewarm water for 20-30 mins.

2. Soak the saffron strands overnight in warm milk.

3. Grind all the ingredients under "Grind" to a smooth paste and keep it ready.

4. Boil cauliflower with a pinch of salt and turmeric separately for 2 mins and then strain them. This is to get rid off worms present in the cauliflower.

5. Fry the raisins, cashews and paneer in a tbsp of ghee, gently on low flame until they turn golden brown .Keep them separately.

6. In a pan, heat ghee and add all the masala ingredients and saute for 2 mins on low-medium flame until the jeera and fennel seeds crackle completely.

7. Now, add onions and saute until the onions become transparent.

8. Now, add the shahi paste and saute until the raw flavor of ginger and garlic goes off.


9. Next, add all other vegetables(including cauliflower) to the pan and mix gently.

10. Strain the soaked basmathi rice completely and add it to the pan.

11. Add garam masala,coriander powder and pepper powder and mix evenly and gently in low flame till the rice is fully covered with masala mixture and evenly coated.

12. Now transfer the content of the pan to a vessel for pressure/electric cooking.

13. Add salt and soaked saffron milk to rice and cook the rice as mentioned here.

14.  Add the fried cashews,raisins,paneer and mix gently.

15. Garnish with tender chopped coriander leaves and some cashew-raisins.

16. Shahi Pulao is now ready to be served hot with papads or raitha.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Use good quality saffron to get the bright golden color and aroma.
2. Adding paneer definitely adds richness to the pulao. So do not skip it:)

Walnut Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Highly delicate,soft and crunchy brownie delight topped with chocolate ganache and served with vanilla ice cream. It came out really well with perfect texture inside and out. I made this as a dessert for a family dinner. This dessert is sure to make you drool over.