Soup/Curry

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Papad Ki Subji – Trash To Treasure

 

People who knows me know that I am not into throwing away food. I like to be creative with everything and use what I have in a different way or give it to someone who has some use for it. Have you heard Gandhi’s 1 of popular quote “There’s enough for everyone’s need but not for greed.” If you don’t use what you already have and keep expecting more… Then good luck with that.

So, I got this papad from India and they turned out too salty and spicy and I actually hardly eat papad. So i was about to throw away but then decided to put back for some reason . Glad I did because this papad ki Subji idea came. It’s a very simple dish from Rajasthan. Basically it’s kadhi with papad. There are lots of version online. Here’s my simplest version:

  • Take sour yogurt and add little  basan, turmeric powder. Keep it aside.
  • Heat oil or ghee. Crack some cumin seeds . I added few methi seeds too.
  • Add yogurt sauce , water depending on consistency you like. Adjust salt.
  • I didn’t add any spices since papads were spicy. But you can add anything you like.
  • To make it healthy, add some cauliflower florets. It will go well with yogurt sauce.
  • If you leave this curry after cooking , it will get thick.
  • Find your creative side. This papad ki Subji is result of someone ‘s creativity after all. Isn’t it? We sometimes forget the thought behind things , here cooking. People were creative with their cooking in olden times and used what they had or grew in that area.
  • Enjoy !
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Yummy Gatte Ki Subji 

  
Life Or food in desert is yummy. Gatte ki Subji is popular in Rajasthan where fresh vegetables probably were not available year around. So they learned to make yummy curries from whatever was available. Now a days everything is available everywhere but when you run out of vegetables , it’s snowing outside and you want to eat something good, try this curry. 

I had first time few months back at the friend’s place and it was so good that i had to try my hands and it turned out good. Very easy to make. I followed recipe from here:

Gatte ki sabzi

Have a side of salad or steamed /roasted vegetables on the side to make it a good healthy meal and have it with Roti . 

Enjoy !

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Chickpea Soup

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  • Since greek bean soup was so good and so easy to make, had to make again.
  • Had some cooked chickpeas in freezer and thought it would be perfect. And yes, turned out so great that i had to share with you all.
  • Made it same way as previous greek bean soup, also added some ginger paste and pinch of red crushed pepper.
  • You can add some chopped potatoes, spinach or methi leaves will be good too. Like Salman Khan style in Big Boss,  i would say “add whatever you want man, but make it”.
  • You can have with roti too instead of bread, just keep soup little thicker and it will be little different kind of chickpea curry.
  • Winter is a good time to eat beans, celery , carrots so this soup is wonderful for winter.
  • People who are trying to include turmeric in diet, this soups are a wonderful way to add pinch of turmeric powder.
  • Enjoy !
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Greek Bean Soup

 

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  • Since i read that navy beans are good for skin, have been wanting to cook them. 
  • Navy bean or any white bean soup is popular winter food in Greece according to my google research. There are a lot of recipes out there.
  • I used my indian way of cooking beans to save time. Soak beans first in water overnight and then pressure cooked with a small piece of ginger. Ginger to help with digestion.
  • Heat olive oil. Add chopped ginger, onion, carrot, celery and cook for 2-3 mins. 
  • Blend tomatoes in a blender and add puree now. Add water from beans or plain water. Cook for few mins again.
  • Add cooked beans and simmer for 5-10 mins so that all flavours mingle and veggies are cooked.
  • Garnish with parsley. You can serve with little olive oil on top.
  • Soup is really good and ppl who don’t like much spices, this is a mild soup.
  • Also made focaccia bread to go with it. There are many recipes online so find your favorite. I used half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. Focaccia bread is very easy to make and it’s quick too.
  • I pressured cooked beans and made bread dough so that it has time to rise before going out. And after returning, put the bread in the oven, made soup and it was all done in 30 mins. Instead of rolling rotis everyday, easy to bake bread.
  • Wholesome meal and left over will be perfect to pack for work lunch next day.
  • Try it out. You don’t need to be greek to enjoy this soup and in this age, all ingredients are available everywhere. Why stick with same kind of food everyday?  And restaurants don’t serve this kind of hearty meals.
  • Find your own way of making navy bean soup.
  • Enjoy !
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Soup with seaweed and cabbage curry

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  • I say this every fall but seaweed is really good to eat in fall when air is dry. I have seen very good benefit with dry cough so now when i feel it’s coming, i just make soup with seaweeds and it’s kinda instant relief.
  • There are many kinda seaweed so buy the kind that is for soup. It will say on the pkg.
  • Made red bean/chori soup with it. Use less salt since seaweed is already salty and also it’s rich in natural iodine.
  • You can make any soup you like and just add seaweed to it.
  • Cabbage is another wonderful vegetable with lots of benefits and very easy to cook.Also very cheap too. Here’s a simple way to cook for non-indians who won’t have all indian spices.
  • Heat olive oil or any oil you like, season with mustard seeds and or cumin seeds. Add slit green or red chilli, chopped/paste garlic.
  • Add shredded or chopped cabbage, cover and cook. Add salt after it’s cooked little bit.
  • You can add some green peas to it too.
  • Enjoy !