Hi there, everybody..hope your new year's off to a roaring start ! Hope you have new plans for a beautiful new year and a fresh outlook on life :) Did you make any resolutions, I wonder ?
I usually don't make any, and I haven't this year either..well, not particular resolutions anyway..just a small determination to challenge myself more ..to try and get more out of the time that is available to me..to try new recipes, new experiences, to spend more time with my family..because I have realized that sometimes (mind you, only sometimes), I get lazy and fritter away small chunks of time by watching TV or browsing on my phone..when I know that I could use it to get started on almost any task that I need to get done !
Anyway, enough of that..lets move onto the recipe..
For the past several weeks, my husband and I have gotten into the habit of making weekly menu plans. It has been a good strategy for us..I don't have to rack my brains every afternoon, pondering over what to make for dinner..I get to make better use of the ingredients in my pantry and fridge and I give my much stressed brain a little break LOL
Soup and roasted veggie sandwiches feature on the menu plan almost every week. Soups are a wonderful way to sneak in vegetables, they are hearty, flavorful and just yummy in any season!
The recipe that follows is for a creamy broccoli soup. It doesn't use any heavy creams for the creaminess and is really mild and tasty. Hope you make it and like it !
Ingredients :
1 tsp oil (of choice)
½ onion, diced
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 medium carrot , diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 C broccoli floretstsp turmeric
½ tsp garam masala
juice of ½ a lemon
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp fresh black pepper
½ cooked lentils (I used split moong beans)
4 C of water
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the ginger and the onion and saute until soft.
2. Add the turmeric and the garam masala and warm gently.
3. Add the diced carrots and potatoes and stir until evenly coated with the spices.
4. Add the water and boil until the vegetables are almost cooked.
5. Add the broccoli florets and cook for 10 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir in the lemon juice.
7. Remove from heat and cool.
8. Once cool, add the cooked lentils and the vegetable mixture into your blender and puree until smooth. You might need to do this in batches, unless you have an industrial sized blender !
9. Pour back into the sauce pan, add the salt and pepper and warm through.
10. Serve hot with home made croutons.
Notes:
My husband, my almost 2 year old toddler and I really liked the slightly spicy, creamy soup. My
6 year old was another matter altogether {sigh} He did have about half a cup of the soup and
since I had told him that he at least had to try it before he announced that he didn't like it..I guess I should be satisfied :) The addition of the potatoes and the lentils makes the soup really smooth and creamy without the addition of heavy cream. The lentils increase the protein content as well.
I used yellow split mung beans which you can easily find in any Indian grocery store, but you could use any lentil that cooks up soft.
Try the soup, you might be surprised :)
I usually don't make any, and I haven't this year either..well, not particular resolutions anyway..just a small determination to challenge myself more ..to try and get more out of the time that is available to me..to try new recipes, new experiences, to spend more time with my family..because I have realized that sometimes (mind you, only sometimes), I get lazy and fritter away small chunks of time by watching TV or browsing on my phone..when I know that I could use it to get started on almost any task that I need to get done !
Anyway, enough of that..lets move onto the recipe..
For the past several weeks, my husband and I have gotten into the habit of making weekly menu plans. It has been a good strategy for us..I don't have to rack my brains every afternoon, pondering over what to make for dinner..I get to make better use of the ingredients in my pantry and fridge and I give my much stressed brain a little break LOL
Soup and roasted veggie sandwiches feature on the menu plan almost every week. Soups are a wonderful way to sneak in vegetables, they are hearty, flavorful and just yummy in any season!
The recipe that follows is for a creamy broccoli soup. It doesn't use any heavy creams for the creaminess and is really mild and tasty. Hope you make it and like it !
Ingredients :
1 tsp oil (of choice)
½ onion, diced
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 medium carrot , diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 C broccoli floretstsp turmeric
½ tsp garam masala
juice of ½ a lemon
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp fresh black pepper
½ cooked lentils (I used split moong beans)
4 C of water
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the ginger and the onion and saute until soft.
2. Add the turmeric and the garam masala and warm gently.
3. Add the diced carrots and potatoes and stir until evenly coated with the spices.
4. Add the water and boil until the vegetables are almost cooked.
5. Add the broccoli florets and cook for 10 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir in the lemon juice.
7. Remove from heat and cool.
8. Once cool, add the cooked lentils and the vegetable mixture into your blender and puree until smooth. You might need to do this in batches, unless you have an industrial sized blender !
9. Pour back into the sauce pan, add the salt and pepper and warm through.
10. Serve hot with home made croutons.
Notes:
My husband, my almost 2 year old toddler and I really liked the slightly spicy, creamy soup. My
6 year old was another matter altogether {sigh} He did have about half a cup of the soup and
since I had told him that he at least had to try it before he announced that he didn't like it..I guess I should be satisfied :) The addition of the potatoes and the lentils makes the soup really smooth and creamy without the addition of heavy cream. The lentils increase the protein content as well.
I used yellow split mung beans which you can easily find in any Indian grocery store, but you could use any lentil that cooks up soft.
Try the soup, you might be surprised :)
Looks so yummy Chhaya! I am so doing weekly chart for my son's morning breakfast and lunch box. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Springbird ! Do try the menu planning and let me know how it works out ..while you are at it , share some recipes too :)
DeleteWow... I love broccoli and this soup looks super thick and delicious :) Will try this sometime.
ReplyDeleteAnd...thanks for writing in to me Chhaya... so glad the cake turned out great. Pls do share a picture if you have, would love to see :)