French Onion Soup

French Onion soup is a comfort food for those cold days. This soup is enjoyed with toasted bread and cheese.

Ingredients

2 Cups Vegetable broth
1 Cup white wine/light beer
3 Large Red Onions
2 Cloves garlic
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Thyme
3 tsp Black Pepper
2 tblsp Butter
1 tblsp Olive Oil
2 tsp all purpose flour
Salt to Taste
1 Cup Gruyere or Mozzarella Cheese
Slices of Bread

Method

- Chop onions length wise
- Chop garlic nicely
- Heat a deep pan and add the butter and olive oil
- Add the onions and garlic and sautee until Onions are cooked turns pink
- Add bay leaf and thyme
- Add the flour and toss till its brown
- Add the beer and vegetable broth
- Add Salt and black pepper
- Cook for 45min
- Toast the bread slice until crisp on both sides
- Place the soup in oven safe bowls and sprinkle cheese on the top liberally
- Keep the bowl under broiler on high for about 5 min until cheese is bubbling and slightly browned.

Enjoy it hot with the toasted bread.

Spaghetti and Meatless Balls with Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

Pasta

1/2 packet spaghetti
1 pot water
2 tsp sea salt or regular salt
2 tsp Olive Oil

Marinara Sauce

3 Tomatoes
1/4 Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
2 tsp Parsley
2 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Salt to Taste
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tblsp butter
2 tblsp Tomato paste/sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Note: If you are hard pressed for time you can get any store bought pasta sauce

Meatless Balls:

2 cups Bread crumbs
3 Cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup crumbled tofu
2 tsp Parsley
2 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Crushed black pepper
1/4 cup boiled peas and carrots
Salt to Taste

Oil for frying

Note: If you are in hurry, you can get meatless balls from Trader Joes and it tastes as good.

Method

Pasta

- Boil pot of water till its rolling
- Add salt and mix well
- Add Pasta and cook till Al Dente (2min less than suggested on packet)
- When Pasta is cooked, decant and save some pasta water for sauce
- Toss pasta with olive oil so it doesn't stick together

Note: Pasta water has starch that makes the sauce rich.

Marinara Sauce

- Heat Butter and add chopped onions, garlic
- When onions are translucent, add chopped tomatoes
- Cook for 3-4min
- Add the pasta water and add the tomato paste/sauce
- Add the herbs
- Add red chilli powder, crushed black pepper and salt to taste
- Let it simmer on low for 10min
- Add more water as needed to make sauce consistency
- Add Parmesan Cheese

Meatless Balls

- Mash boiled peas and carrots with a spoon or masher
- Mix the above ingredients well
- Make balls of lemon size.
- Heat Oil and fry the balls until they are golden brown

Note: Breadcrumbs act as binder. Add more if you have trouble making balls. As a healthy alternative, you can bake the balls in oven at 350 Deg F for 30min

- Add the balls to sauce

Serve Pasta on a plate and pour the sauce with meatless balls

Note: You can also make meatless ball sandwiches. Toast hot dog buns. Lay 2 slices of mozzarella cheese. Add 2 Meatless balls with sauce.

Vegetable Upma

Upma is a quick snack that can be made in jiffy. It is also quite filling and so a good option for lunch.



Ingredients

1.5 cups Semolina/Rava
2 Green chilies
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
1/4 Onion
10-15 Green Beans
1/4 cup Carrots
1/4 cup Peas
5-6 Cashew pieces
Salt to taste
Coriander/Cilantro leaves for garnishing
2 tblsp Oil
2 tsp chopped ginger
3 Cups water

Methods:

- Heat Oil in a pan
- Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters
- Add Urad dal and let it brown
- Add cashew pieces and let it brown (Cashew browns quickly)
- Slit Green chillies and add to above
- Add onions and cook till its translucent
- Add the vegetables and cook them till they are cooked
- Add the rava and fry for few minutes
- Add ginger
- Add water and mix well
- Add salt to taste
- Cook on medium for 10-15 minutes
- Garnish with chopped Cilantro

Enjoy with mango pickle!!

Ghee Roast Dosa with Tomato Chutney

Ghee Roast is crispy dosa that is found in most South Indian Restaurants. Tomato chutney makes a perfect accompaniment to this ultra crisp entree.


Ingredients:

Dosa

1 cup raw rice
1 cup par boiled rice
1/2 cup urad dal
5-10 methi/fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup ghee
2 tsp salt

Tomato Chutney

2 Large tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2tsp hing/asofetida
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
1 tsp oil

Method:

Dosa:

Preparing Batter:

- Soak the rice together, urad dal and methi seeds separately for at least 2 hrs
- Grind the rice with as much water needed and urad dal and methi with as littke water needed.
- Mix the above two batter along with 2 tsp salt
- Preheat the oven to 170DegF
- Keep the batter in oven for 10min covered
- Leave the batter overnight

Making Dosas:

- Heat a round pan
- Pour 2 ladles of batter and turn into round shape
- Pour little ghee on the side and the middle
- When the side on the pan has turned brown, flip to the other side
- Apply ghee on the brown side
- In 2-3 min flip back with brown side down
- This makes really crispy dosa

Tomato Chutney

- Chop tomatoes to small pieces
- Cut onions lengthwise
- Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds
- After Mustard seeds splutter, add urad dal
- When urad dal turns brown, add hing, turmeric and chili powder
- Add the oinion and wait till its translucent
- Add the chopped tomatoes
- Add salt and cover the pan
- Let it cook for 10-15min until the tomatoes are completely cooked.

Serve with Dosa.

Note: You can make dosas same day of grinding but they will not have the fermented taste.

Phulka

Phulka is simple yet sometimes most painful when it doesn't real puff up. Here's simple recipe that always works:

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat/atta
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp oil
1 cup warm water


Method:

- In a bowl, mix flour, salt and oil and mix them.
- Add water slowly and keep mixing. Be careful not to add all the water at once
- When its a bit hard, wet your hand and mix the dough one more time
- Knead the dough for 5 more min with occasional punching.
- Set aside for at least 2 hours covered with wet cloth

Its a good way to reduce stress :-)

- Take a lemon size ball and dry flour.
- Make a round shaped bread
- Heat a pan
- Put the bread on it till pinkish spots appear on the side facing fan
- Take the bread off the pan and on to flame/coil on the other side
- Let it puff up and add little ghee on top.

Chatpata Gobhi

Chatpata Gobhi is an alternative to making usual Gobhi a little more tangy. Serve it with Paratha and everyone will rave it.

Ingredients

1 Cauliflower (cut into small florets)
1/4 cup cut green beans (optional)
1/4 cup green peas
1 tblsp chaat masala
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tblsp oil
Salt to taste

Method

1. Boil water in a large pot
2. Par boil cauliflower (boil for 15min)
3. Remove all the water
4. Heat Oil and add cumin seeds
5. When they crackle, add turmeric, chillie,chat masala, garam masala and salt
6. Add the cauliflower florets
7. Let them fry for 5min
8. Add beans and peas
9. Cover it and cook for 10min
10. Remove cover and cook until dry

Paneer Bread with Sauteed Mushrooms

Paneer Bread is a nutritious snack on its own. When served with Sauteed Mushrooms and tomato soup makes a wholesome dinner.

Paneer Bread:

Ingredients:

- 1 Packet hot dog buns
- 1 cup paneer
- 2-3 green chillies
- Coriander/Cilantro leaves
- Salt to taste
- Butter for toasting

Method:

- Crumble paneer into a bowl
- Add salt to taste
- Chop green chillies and cilantro and add to paneer
- Mix the above mixture well
- Heat a frying pan
- Open the bun and spread paneer mixture all over the bread
- Put the mixture side down making sure the paneer stays within the bread
- Add butter on the side
- As the bread toasts, paneer would have cooked and become golden brown in color
- Flip the pan on top of a plate so the bread and paneer fall perfectly

Serve hot with hot and sweet sauce

Sauteed Mushroom

Ingredients:

- Mushrooms: cremini or button: 2 cups (Cleaned)
- Basil
- Salt
- Lemon juice (half lemon)
- Parsley
- Salt
- crushed black pepper
- Olive Oil

Method:

- Heat Olive oil in a pan
- Cut mushroom into halves or quarters depending on size
- Add the mushroom
- Mushroom will leave water, so keep tossing until all the water is absorbed
- Add salt, chopped parsley, Chopped basil, Crushed black pepper
- Sautee it on high heat until mushrooms have golden brown marks on them
- Take off the heat and add lemon juice and toss it well.