Creamy Broccoli Soup

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 :)

Low Fat Coco Pudding

At the beginning of the year, I had promised myself that this year I would try and be more active on my blog...having been ridiculously slow with posts the previous years. But as the first month drew to a close, I realized that I haven't really made much progress ! My children's colds, then my own ...catering to the needs of an active kindergartner and a baby, cooking and cleaning and a few other activities leave me with no time...I also know that these are just excuses...other bloggers out there juggle far more than I do and manage to post wonderful , creative posts quite regularly..but it is what it is and all I can do is do better next month!
The following recipe came out of a low fat dessert cookbook that I had purchased from a library sale. I had perused all the recipes but had never cooked from it before...but one evening, while my son and his friend romped through the house, I felt like making a decadent pudding for them to snack on and chanced upon this recipe !
It turned out delicious and pretty easy to make...Of course , I did need to spend some time at the stove and then the finished pudding did need to be cooled a little in the refrigerator, but if you have an hour or more then you can easily delight your family and friends with this pudding.



Recipe :  Coco pudding
Vegetarian, Low fat


Ingredients :
1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 T cocoa powder
1 can evaporated skimmed milk
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract


Method:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, evaporated milk and maple syrup. I didnt have any maple syrup on hand and used 1/2 a cup of sugar instead.
2. Bring this mixture to a low boil over medium high heat . Reduce the heat and cook until mixture thickens. This took me about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. A little flavoring goes a long way, so use the extracts judiciously.
4. Cool slightly and then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Garnish with chocolate shavings and watch as it disappears !
The whole wheat pastry and the skimmed milk amps the nutrition content of this dessert.


The two young food critics for whom I made this pudding polished off their plates in a jiffy !
This is one recipe that I know will become a staple at my house.

Vegan / Dairy Free Option: Replace the evaporated milk with an equal quantity of non dairy milk like almond or soy milk. Unflavored and unsweetened milks should be preferred.

Gluten Free option: Replace the whole wheat pastry flour with a gluten free flour, preferably one with a mild taste, such as oat flour.

Do try this out and let me know !

Pohe / Seasoned Flattened Rice Snack

I come from a family of breakfast eaters...we always eat breakfast, no matter what time we wake up !! Traditionally though, the breakfasts that my mom prepared for us were usually savoury. It was only after I came to the US that I found out that people here preferred their breakfasts on the sweet side !
The recipe that I have today is one that we often had in the mornings before we went off to school. It is simple, quick to prepare and quite delicious ! Maharashtrians call it 'kanda Pohe' and in Kannada, it is called
'Oggarisida avalakki' . What it is , is a simple preparation of seasoned flattened rice, garnished with fresh coconut and cilantro leaves.



Ingredients:
1 C flattened rice (pohe, avalakki)
1 tbsp canola oil (or oil of choice)
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp peanuts
1 -2 green chiles
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1/4 C finely diced potatoes or green peas (optional)
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tbsp fresh shredded coconut
2 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
juice of half a lemon

Method:
1. Soak the flattened rice in plenty of water for a couple of minutes and then drain completely and set aside.
2. Add the salt and the sugar to the flattened rice, mix well.
3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the urad dal, chana dal, peanuts and the mustard. When the dals brown slightly and the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the green chiles and the onion.
4. Saute for a few minutes on medium heat. The onion should retain a slight crunch.
5. Add the turmeric to the onion mixture and mix well.
6. If using potatoes or peas, add them to the pan now and cook until the veggies are tender.
7. Pour the lemon juice and mix.
8. Add the flattened rice and mix thoroughly. Be gentle, though, you dont want the avalakki flakes to get crushed !
9. Sprinkle the coconut and the cilantro on top and serve hot !

Enjoy a plateful of this simple dish as breakfast or as snack with a hot cup of coffee , tea or beverage of your choice  !

Side Notes :
1. I have had this dish where the cook used so much oil that there was a layer on the bottom of the plate..Although this might increase the flavor and give a crunchy fried mouth feel, it is neither healthy nor necessary to use so much. Just use your judgement and make the dish a healthy one!
2. You can buy flattened rice in big packs in Indian grocery stores. There are two types - thick and thin...This recipe needs the thick variety...the thin avalakki will not be able to stand up to the soaking.
3. Try flattened rice made out of brown rice, if available in your store.