Butternut squash soup.

Hi here is a recipe which I got from “foodnetwork” & tried it out. It came out well so thought will share it with you all.

Ingredients- Butternut squash 1 pound, 1medium size onion, 2 cloves garlic, salt to taste, 2 tsp curry powder ( I added garam masala) 1tbsp honey, Chicken broth ( optional) . If you dont get butternut squash try it with the orange pumpkin.

Heat up the oil & add the chopped onions & garlic. Saute them till they become soft then add the chopped butternut squash ( I would prefer to buy already chopped one, as its a tough job to cut the whole butternut squash) & about 2 cups of water or chicken broth. Cover the lid of the vessel & bring it to simmer about 15min till the squash cooks. Then add the honey & blend it. While serving drizzle some yogurt over the soup..

Palak/Spinach soup

Here is a simple recipe for spinach/ palak soup.

Ingredients-1 bunch of  Washed & cleaned Spinach, 1 medium onion, 1 tomato, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 -3 green chillies, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp Dry oregano.

Heat up the oil, add the chopped onions, garlic, & green chillies. Once the onions become transparent add the chopped tomato. Then add chopped spinach & salt.  Saute for a bit then add water or chicken broth. Add black pepper & oregano . Cover the vessel & let the spinach cook on a low flame. Once the spinach is done let it cool down & then blend it in a mixer. You can add some lemon juice for added flavour.

Sprouted Moong dosa

This is one healthy & easy to make recipe for kids. Take 1 cup of Moong dal ( green) & soak it overnight. Drain the water, cover the the container & let it sprout. Then  grind the sprouts  with little water, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, curry leaves, ginger, fresh cilantro/coriander  &  salt to taste. Soak 1/2 cup of Rice flour & then it to the above mixture. Add salt to taste. Heat the pan & spread the batter to make dosas.

A besan ( bengal gram flour) Pudding.

This is a Maharashtrian Sweet dish called “Ninav” , the key ingredient of which is “Besan” . My mom always made this & everyone at home enjoyed eating it. So here is my mom’s recipe-

Ingredients- 1/2 kg chana dal ( or besan ) , 1/2 cup whole wheat grain ( or whole wheat flour) , 1/2 cup Rice ( or rice flour) . Roast everything separately . Grind it to fine flour if you are taking the whole grains. Take 1 cup of this flour & add 1/2 cup of jaggery, 2 cups of coconut milk, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp of cardamom, 1/4th tsp of nutmeg , 2 tbsp of ghee or clarified butter & mix it well. Put this mixture on low heat , keep stirring it to avoid lumps till you get a consistency of a porridge. Then take a baking pan, smear it with butter & pour this mixture into it. Preheat the oven to 150C & keep the above batter for 20 min till u see it getting a brownish tinge.
I hope you enjoy making this for your family!

Kheema Cutlet/ Burger.

Have anyone of you faced the dilemma of what to make for lunch/ dinner during midweek after long working hours? Here is a recipe which is easy to make & yet mouth watering!

Ingredients- Minced Chicken or any other meat., onions, ginger-garlic paste, Chilli powder/ paprika, Cumin Powder, Turmeric, oregano, & salt to taste.

Method- Heat up the oil, add the chopped  onions & ginger garlic paste, saute well till the onions turn light brown. Thaw the minced meat/ chicken & mix all the dry ingrediens in it. Marinate it for at least an hour. Then add this meat to the onions & saute on high flame.. When the oil starts to separate out add some water & let it cook. Keep the kheema dry. Once the kheema is cooked you can add boiled potatoes mix everything together. Apply little oil on your hands & make medium sized cutlets / burgers. Coat them with bread crumbs & shallow fry them. These cutlets can be relished  with  coriander-mint chutney.

Alternate method- Instead of cooking the kheema, combine it with all dry ingredients, onions & bread crumbs & roll them into burgers. Grill these till the meat cooks.

Recipe for making Sweet Sheera

 Thought you might like to try out this recipe….lemme know how it turns out or any ways to improve it!

 Ingredients

• One cup Rawa
• Two cups whole Milk
• 3/4th cup Ghee or clarified Butter
• 1 1/4th cup Sugar

Method

1. Heat up the Ghee, add the Rawa & saute it till it turns light brown .
2. Heat up the milk a little bit, add sugar in it so that it dissolves. Add the milk to the rawa & mix well so that it doesnt form lumps. 
3. Once the Rawa absorbs the milk & swells up, lower the flame & cover it with a lid for 10 min or so.
4. Garnish with almonds, & raisins.

-Pradnya