Some recipes I tried! Part – 1

As you may have noticed my profile one of my favorite pastime is to try new recipes (or modifying the learned recipes). All of them are tried by different friends. After getting a positive feedback from them I thought of sharing with you all. I have given only 4 of them. After some days I will post part – II. Meantime try and enjoy the recipes. Also write to me if you have doubts or suggestions to my email id or post here in the website as comment so that everyone can know. Here are the recipes:

 

 

1. Vegetable-Cream soup (3 servings, ~250 ml each)

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 15-20 min

 

Ingredients:

Big onion – ½

Potatoes – 3 (medium size)

Peas (Green) – 1 cup (medium size)

Carrot – 1 or 2 (medium size), or 1 (big size) or as per the taste

Spinach – 6-10 balls or 1 handful of leaves

Garlic – 2 tooth

Ginger – 1 inch

Chick peas – 1 cup (~150g)

Salt – as desired

Pepper – as desired

Water – ~500-600ml

Cream – 3 tbsp (38% fat) or 6 tbsp (10% fat) or as desired

 

Appliances:

Vessel – big or medium size

Hand mixer with blade (Brand: Eg. Braun)

(Of course) hot plate/stove, ladle(s), bowls and spoons

 

Procedure:

1. Boil the water separately and pour into the vessel or directly boil the water in the vessel.

2. Clean the potatoes and carrots, and cut them into roughly equal size of about 1½ inches (cooks evenly at the same time).

3. Cut the onions of the same size like carrots and potatoes, and add.

4. Similarly add peas, spinach (if you have leaves, cut them to medium size), garlic and ginger.

5. If you use canned chick peas you can directly add to the vessel, after the vegetables are half cooked. Otherwise soak the chickpeas the night before, half-cook them separately, and then add to the half-cooked vegetables (while boiling).

6. Ensure whether you have added all the ingredients including salt and pepper.

7. Allow the content to cook for about 15 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked well.

8. Add the cream to the content and then cook again for 3-5 min.

9. Leave the content after cooking, undisturbed for about 3-5 min and then blend with the hand mixer (with blade).

10. The final content should have a creamy consistency.

11. Serve the soup with/without coriander garnished on top (preferable).

 

Dietary note:

1. If the individual doesn’t want cream at all, then the consistency should be compensated using additional 2-4 tbsp of chickpeas.

2. This is a light meal for people in diet. So adding cream is just to have a balanced fat in the food. If the person doesn’t require cream then option 1 can be used or just can avoid cream.

3. Those who are allergic to certain ingredients can avoid those and follow the recipe, as desired.

 

Tip:

You can use cabbage or cauliflower or broccoli to this, but if you don’t like the leafy smell add a pinch of turmeric powder (haldi/curcumin) while cooking, so that the smell is mostly reduced. Depending on the taste and season (weather) you can also add pumpkin, mushroom and any of the beets (red beet or turnip or beet-root).

2. Carrot Kheer (Carrot Payasam) (8 servings, ~125ml each)

Preparation time: 10-15 min

Cooking time: 25-30 min

 

Ingredients:

Carrots – 400 g OR big carrots – 5-6

Milk – 1 litre (3.5% fat; if low fat 1200 ml)

Sugar (white) – ~130g

Cashew nuts – 10

Almonds – 6 or 7 (soak in water for 5-6 hours, remove the skin)

Saffron – 1 pinch OR 2-3 styles (sticks) (preferable)

Condensed milk – 2 tbsp (preferable)

 

Appliances:

Refrigerator

Blender with blade

Other usual stuff

 

Procedure:

1. Peel the skin of the carrots, wash them and cut into ~2 inch pieces.

2. Boil them separately in water, drain and mash; OR boil with milk. However the carrots should be completely cooked.

3. If the milk is boiled separately in a vessel, stir well to prevent charring/burning of milk in the vessel bottom.

4. Once the milk is near boiling add the cooked, mashed carrots in it. Stir well.

5. If the carrots are boiled in the milk care should be taken: (a) carrots are cooked well, (b) milk is not burned.

6. Cook the content well for 5 min.

7. Grind the cashew nuts and almonds, and add the paste to the content in the vessel.

8. Add sugar and saffron, and boil for 5-10 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved in milk.

9. Now the content should look orange in color.

10. Add the condensed milk and simmer for 5 min with stirring.

11. Allow the content to cool for 10 min.

12. Blend well with the blender to make it to a kheer consistency (it is thicker than water, thinner than gravy soup).

13. Once the content is set to room temperature, keep in refrigerator for about 1 hour, and serve chilled as dessert.

 

Dietary note:

1. This may contain a lot of fat. So those persons who have to be in fat-free diet should avoid it. The same applies for diabetics.

2. If some persons are allergic to saffron or nuts they can avoid that, but the flavor due to the nuts will be missed of course.

3. Those who don’t like condensed milk can avoid that too.

 

Tips:

1. When you use less fatty milk, for e.g. 1.5% fat, use 1.2 litres. Boil the milk well so that the milk is little condensed. Then you may not need condensed milk separately. However this is applicable to high fat milk too.

2. Garnishing: You can garnish with a stylus of saffron on top with a full cashew nut/almond.

3. To avoid the metallic/plastic taste in the food, blend the content once it is warm, but NOT HOT, because some material used to make blender body or blade may not be good enough when hot. 

3. Tea cake (Here: Vanilla flavor)

Preparation time: 20 min

Baking time: 30 min

 

Ingredients:

Maida (Hvedmel) – 125 g

Sugar (white) – 150 g

Eggs (medium sized) – 3

Butter – 50 g (non-salted is better)

Milk (3.5% fat) – 200 ml

Vanilla essence – 1 drop if liquid concentrate; OR 1 tsp if powder

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Chopped nuts – almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut (nuts preferable)

Dry (Desiccated) Coconut – 2 tbsp

 

Appliances:

Baking oven

Oven dish (circular/rectangular)

Hand/Machine beater (Eg. Melissa, Braun)

Other required stuff

 

Procedure:

1. In a pan melt the butter (if required).

2. If the butter is home-made and soft, use the beater to mix well with sugar. It will have a creamy consistency. Otherwise melt the butter and beat with sugar as above. No matter if the consistency is little less than creamy.

3. Now break open and add the eggs. Beat well with the beater.

4. Now add milk and beat well again.

5. Now add the flour slowly and beat well to make it like a batter (more than creamy, like for eg. Idly/dosa batter consistency).

6. Add the vanilla flavor (essence or powder) and beat well.

7. Add the baking powder and mix for a very short duration. (If you have a hand beater, not more than a minute, OR if you use a machine beater, not more than 20 sec)

8. Grease the oven dish with a thin layer of butter.

9. Sprinkle the flour as a thin film on the oven dish.

10. Pour the content into that and let it spread.

11. Sprinkle the chopped nuts on top randomly.

12. Also sprinkle the coconut and sugar on top.

13. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 125˚C for 25-30 minutes. Notice the raise in the pan/dish.

14. Use a thin wooden stick or a fork to poke into the baked content. When you take the stick/fork out there should not be anything sticking to it. Then it is ready as a cake.

 

Dietary note:

1. This is a fatty snack, so persons who have hearty problem/diabetes/diet regulations should avoid.

2. If you are allergic to coconut and/or nuts, you can avoid them.

3. Those who don’t want eggs, can increase the butter to 25 g more, but will of course become fattier.

4. Cakes are usually eaten cold. If eaten hot the baking powder remnants (or chemical reaction due to baking powder) may not be good for digestion/intestine.

 

Tips:

1. If you mix for long time after adding baking powder the CO₂ (Carbon di-oxide) will be released before baking. Then there will not be a foamy consistency of the cake after baking.

2. You can use other flavors like banana or pine apple or custard apple or other flavors as desired.

3. Cream/icing on top of the cake: Beat whipped cream with icing sugar and spread well once the cake is cooled.

4. Fruit topping on top: You may place finely cut strawberries or rasp berries or blue berries or de-seeded cherries. You may use all/any of them on top of the icing layer!

5. Recipes can be fine tuned using creativity and knowledge on taste compatibility of the ingredients.

 

 

4. Indian tzaziki (One of my successful fusions!)

 

Background: Tzatziki is a Turkish (also Greek) food, usually a starter in European dining. In Indian context it may be an equivalent of raitha.

 

Preparation time: 15 min

 

Ingredients:

Turkish (or Greek) yoghurt – 100 g

Cucumber (peeled) – ½ (depends on the size)

Garlic – 1 – 2 tooth

Salt – as desired (Usually less salt tastes better)

Raitha masala – ½ tsp

 

Appliances:

Grater

Vessel and other usual stuff

 

Procedure:

1. In a vessel grate the peeled cucumber.

2. Add the yoghurt and mix well. No need to add water, as cucumber makes it thin. If not, then add a little water to make it creamy.

3. Squeeze garlic and add to the content.

4. If required add salt and mix well.

5. Add raitha masala (Indian taste) and mix well.

 

Dietary note:

1. The yoghurt is available in different percentage of fat. So you can choose according to your requirement.

2. Those who are allergic to garlic or don’t like can minimize the amount added. Without garlic tzaziki cannot be enjoyed.

 

Tips:

If you would like to make it more Indian taste you can add chat masala too. The recipe can be modified according to your creativity and knowledge of compatibility of ingredients.

 

See you soon with more recipes…

Cheers,

VIJAY

 

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1. Vegetable-Cream soup (3 servings, ~250 ml each)

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 15-20 min

 

Ingredients:

Big onion – ½

Potatoes – 3 (medium size)

Peas (Green) – 1 cup (medium size)

Carrot – 1 or 2 (medium size), or 1 (big size) or as per the taste

Spinach – 6-10 balls or 1 handful of leaves

Garlic – 2 tooth

Ginger – 1 inch

Chick peas – 1 cup (~150g)

Salt – as desired

Pepper – as desired

Water – ~500-600ml

Cream – 3 tbsp (38% fat) or 6 tbsp (10% fat) or as desired

 

Appliances:

Vessel – big or medium size

Hand mixer with blade (Brand: Eg. Braun)

(Of course) hot plate/stove, ladle(s), bowls and spoons

 

Procedure:

1. Boil the water separately and pour into the vessel or directly boil the water in the vessel.

2. Clean the potatoes and carrots, and cut them into roughly equal size of about 1½ inches (cooks evenly at the same time).

3. Cut the onions of the same size like carrots and potatoes, and add.

4. Similarly add peas, spinach (if you have leaves, cut them to medium size), garlic and ginger.

5. If you use canned chick peas you can directly add to the vessel, after the vegetables are half cooked. Otherwise soak the chickpeas the night before, half-cook them separately, and then add to the half-cooked vegetables (while boiling).

6. Ensure whether you have added all the ingredients including salt and pepper.

7. Allow the content to cook for about 15 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked well.

8. Add the cream to the content and then cook again for 3-5 min.

9. Leave the content after cooking, undisturbed for about 3-5 min and then blend with the hand mixer (with blade).

10. The final content should have a creamy consistency.

11. Serve the soup with/without coriander garnished on top (preferable).

 

Dietary note:

1. If the individual doesn’t want cream at all, then the consistency should be compensated using additional 2-4 tbsp of chickpeas.

2. This is a light meal for people in diet. So adding cream is just to have a balanced fat in the food. If the person doesn’t require cream then option 1 can be used or just can avoid cream.

3. Those who are allergic to certain ingredients can avoid those and follow the recipe, as desired.

 

Tip:

You can use cabbage or cauliflower or broccoli to this, but if you don’t like the leafy smell add a pinch of turmeric powder (haldi/curcumin) while cooking, so that the smell is mostly reduced. Depending on the taste and season (weather) you can also add pumpkin, mushroom and any of the beets (red beet or turnip or beet-root).

2. Carrot Kheer (Carrot Payasam) (8 servings, ~125ml each)

Preparation time: 10-15 min

Cooking time: 25-30 min

 

Ingredients:

Carrots – 400 g OR big carrots – 5-6

Milk – 1 litre (3.5% fat; if low fat 1200 ml)

Sugar (white) – ~130g

Cashew nuts – 10

Almonds – 6 or 7 (soak in water for 5-6 hours, remove the skin)

Saffron – 1 pinch OR 2-3 styles (sticks) (preferable)

Condensed milk – 2 tbsp (preferable)

 

Appliances:

Refrigerator

Blender with blade

Other usual stuff

 

Procedure:

1. Peel the skin of the carrots, wash them and cut into ~2 inch pieces.

2. Boil them separately in water, drain and mash; OR boil with milk. However the carrots should be completely cooked.

3. If the milk is boiled separately in a vessel, stir well to prevent charring/burning of milk in the vessel bottom.

4. Once the milk is near boiling add the cooked, mashed carrots in it. Stir well.

5. If the carrots are boiled in the milk care should be taken: (a) carrots are cooked well, (b) milk is not burned.

6. Cook the content well for 5 min.

7. Grind the cashew nuts and almonds, and add the paste to the content in the vessel.

8. Add sugar and saffron, and boil for 5-10 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved in milk.

9. Now the content should look orange in color.

10. Add the condensed milk and simmer for 5 min with stirring.

11. Allow the content to cool for 10 min.

12. Blend well with the blender to make it to a kheer consistency (it is thicker than water, thinner than gravy soup).

13. Once the content is set to room temperature, keep in refrigerator for about 1 hour, and serve chilled as dessert.

 

Dietary note:

1. This may contain a lot of fat. So those persons who have to be in fat-free diet should avoid it. The same applies for diabetics.

2. If some persons are allergic to saffron or nuts they can avoid that, but the flavor due to the nuts will be missed of course.

3. Those who don’t like condensed milk can avoid that too.

 

Tips:

1. When you use less fatty milk, for e.g. 1.5% fat, use 1.2 litres. Boil the milk well so that the milk is little condensed. Then you may not need condensed milk separately. However this is applicable to high fat milk too.

2. Garnishing: You can garnish with a stylus of saffron on top with a full cashew nut/almond.

3. To avoid the metallic/plastic taste in the food, blend the content once it is warm, but NOT HOT, because some material used to make blender body or blade may not be good enough when hot. 

3. Tea cake (Here: Vanilla flavor)

Preparation time: 20 min

Baking time: 30 min

 

Ingredients:

Maida (Hvedmel) – 125 g

Sugar (white) – 150 g

Eggs (medium sized) – 3

Butter – 50 g (non-salted is better)

Milk (3.5% fat) – 200 ml

Vanilla essence – 1 drop if liquid concentrate; OR 1 tsp if powder

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Chopped nuts – almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut (nuts preferable)

Dry (Desiccated) Coconut – 2 tbsp

 

Appliances:

Baking oven

Oven dish (circular/rectangular)

Hand/Machine beater (Eg. Melissa, Braun)

Other required stuff

 

Procedure:

1. In a pan melt the butter (if required).

2. If the butter is home-made and soft, use the beater to mix well with sugar. It will have a creamy consistency. Otherwise melt the butter and beat with sugar as above. No matter if the consistency is little less than creamy.

3. Now break open and add the eggs. Beat well with the beater.

4. Now add milk and beat well again.

5. Now add the flour slowly and beat well to make it like a batter (more than creamy, like for eg. Idly/dosa batter consistency).

6. Add the vanilla flavor (essence or powder) and beat well.

7. Add the baking powder and mix for a very short duration. (If you have a hand beater, not more than a minute, OR if you use a machine beater, not more than 20 sec)

8. Grease the oven dish with a thin layer of butter.

9. Sprinkle the flour as a thin film on the oven dish.

10. Pour the content into that and let it spread.

11. Sprinkle the chopped nuts on top randomly.

12. Also sprinkle the coconut and sugar on top.

13. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 125˚C for 25-30 minutes. Notice the raise in the pan/dish.

14. Use a thin wooden stick or a fork to poke into the baked content. When you take the stick/fork out there should not be anything sticking to it. Then it is ready as a cake.

 

Dietary note:

1. This is a fatty snack, so persons who have hearty problem/diabetes/diet regulations should avoid.

2. If you are allergic to coconut and/or nuts, you can avoid them.

3. Those who don’t want eggs, can increase the butter to 25 g more, but will of course become fattier.

4. Cakes are usually eaten cold. If eaten hot the baking powder remnants (or chemical reaction due to baking powder) may not be good for digestion/intestine.

 

Tips:

1. If you mix for long time after adding baking powder the CO₂ (Carbon di-oxide) will be released before baking. Then there will not be a foamy consistency of the cake after baking.

2. You can use other flavors like banana or pine apple or custard apple or other flavors as desired.

3. Cream/icing on top of the cake: Beat whipped cream with icing sugar and spread well once the cake is cooled.

4. Fruit topping on top: You may place finely cut strawberries or rasp berries or blue berries or de-seeded cherries. You may use all/any of them on top of the icing layer!

5. Recipes can be fine tuned using creativity and knowledge on taste compatibility of the ingredients.

 

 

4. Indian tzaziki (One of my successful fusions!)

Background: Tzatziki is a Turkish (also Greek) food, usually a starter in European dining. In Indian context it may be an equivalent of raitha.

 

Preparation time: 15 min

 

Ingredients:

Turkish (or Greek) yoghurt – 100 g

Cucumber (peeled) – ½ (depends on the size)

Garlic – 1 – 2 tooth

Salt – as desired (Usually less salt tastes better)

Raitha masala – ½ tsp

 

Appliances:

Grater

Vessel and other usual stuff

 

Procedure:

1. In a vessel grate the peeled cucumber.

2. Add the yoghurt and mix well. No need to add water, as cucumber makes it thin. If not, then add a little water to make it creamy.

3. Squeeze garlic and add to the content.

4. If required add salt and mix well.

5. Add raitha masala (Indian taste) and mix well.

 

Dietary note:

1. The yoghurt is available in different percentage of fat. So you can choose according to your requirement.

2. Those who are allergic to garlic or don’t like can minimize the amount added. Without garlic tzaziki cannot be enjoyed.

 

Tips:

If you would like to make it more Indian taste you can add chat masala too. The recipe can be modified according to your creativity and knowledge of compatibility of ingredients.

See you soon with more recipes…

Cheers,

VIJAY