Brown Rice and Apple In Milk - Hearty Breakfast

I was looking for something different to make for breakfast and was also watching out for "attractive" ways to use up my Brown Rice. I came across this recipe and modified it a bit to suit my palate. So, here's what I did. I had a feeling this would taste good and it really did :)

• I cooked brown rice with milk and water (1 cup rice, 1 cup milk, 1.5 cups water). Remember, how delicious Ven Pongal tastes when you cook rice in milk?  I had pre-soaked brown rice in water, as usual for 2 hours.
• Then, I melted butter (~2 tsp)on a pan and added chopped apple pieces (from 2 apples) and allowed them to soften a bit. 
• Drizzled honey over the apples (as a healthy alternative to sugar) and then tossed the rice and apples together.
• Took a cereal bowl, added some fresh cold milk and added this rice and apple mixture. That's it :) 

 I did everything in the same pan (I used a 28 cm big pan with a glass lid) - first, cooked rice, then, dug a hole and melted butter and sautéed apples and mixed them.

Brown Rice and Caramelized Apple in Milk

Let me warn you, this is not my typical kinda food but it was realllly awesome! You can call it whatever you want - porridge, cereals... what's in a name, after all ? :)  I personally think, this won't go well if you use normal white rice. The nutty texture of brown rice, the caramelized apples and sweetness of honey were just a perfect combination! I was soo full until after 1 in the afternoon that day and felt happy about not succumbing to another cup of tea at 10:30 am :)

Sending this to CWS: Rice event hosted by Kaarasaaram.com

Healthy Minestrone Soup - Vegetarian

If you love Italian food, if you're a fan of Olive Garden, you're sure to love Minestrone Soup. It's very flexible in that you can add whatever veggies you have in hand, just add macaroni cooked al dente and don't forget the red beans and/or white beans. Very healthy and delicious. Bon Appetit!

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

What I Used -

Elbow Macaroni - 2 handfuls
Red Kidney beans / Rajma - 2 handfuls (Soak overnight with triple the volume of water)
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Red Onion - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Carrot - 1
Frozen Mixed vegetables (Beans, Peas, Corn and it had carrots of course!) - 2 handfuls
Celery - 4 stalks (chopped)
Ripe Tomatoes - 4
Mixed Italian herbs (dried) - 1 tbsp
Ground Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste (~ 3/4 tsp + 3/4 tsp)
Water - as required


Feel free to add -

Navy beans/White beans - a handful or 2
Potato -1 (small cubes)
Zucchini -1 (half lengthwise and slice)
Bell pepper/capsicum - 1 (diced)
Baby spinach (finely chopped)

How I Made Minestrone Soup -

• In a large pot (Small pressure cooker pan works for me! ), sauté chopped onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes on medium flame. 
• When the onions are a little softer, add celery, carrots, beans, peas and corn  (all chopped vegegies) and sauté for 2 minutes. 
• Finely chop 1 tomato and add to the pan.
• Extract the juice of 3 tomatoes in a blender and add to the pan.
• Add the soaked Red kidney beans, salt, pepper, Italian herbs and pour about 1 1/2 to2 cups of water.
• Pressure cook for 3 whistles and switch off. 
• If you do not have a pressure-cooker, use a slow cooker, so that the flavors evolve and mix well.

• In the mean time, cook pasta (Elbow macaroni or other) in salted water until al dente. Don't overcook the pasta. This is precisely why we did not add the pasta to the pressure-cooker!

• Add the cooked pasta to the veggies sauce and heat on medium flame for 3-5 minutes (Need not boil). 

Minestrone Soup

Serve your minestrone soup with some fresh Garlic bread :)

Variation : You could use alphabet-shaped pasta and your kids can have some fun while they eat nutritious food!

This is my entry to Soups and Salads Mela hosted by Srivalli and Global Food Festival at Sizzling Tastebuds

Roasted Red Pepper/Capsicum Soup - Italian style - Step-By-Step Recipe

My hands have been itching to try this soup ever-since we relished it at a restaurant in Trastevere in Rome.  This is a hearty soup that fills you up so much that half-a-sandwich is good enough to complete your meal. There is no cream or milk added, so this is absolutely vegan and really really healthy and low in fat!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup - Hearty Italian Soup

I tried to re-create the taste with whatever tools and ingredients I had in hand and it was delicious and fulfilling! The quantities I have given below are good for 2 adults.

Ingredients -

Red peppers - 2 medium/big
Garlic - 8 pods
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Italian spices - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper pods - 8, to be crushed
Red Chilli flakes - 1 tsp (from 3 dry chillies)
Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Olive oil - 3 tsp
Water / Vegetable stock- 1 cup

Procedure -

• Wash and clean red peppers with water. 

• Roast one-by-one by placing them directly on the flame. (Folks who have an oven might find it easier to grill/broil them). 

• Turn them around so that the whole surface turns black and you can spot blisters. 

• Carefully transfer the blackened pepper/capsicum into a bowl and close it with a lid. In 5 minutes, the condensed water will soften the skin and you can easily peel off the black skin by showing it under running water. Trust me, it worked perfectly for me, even the very first time!

• Take a pan, heat olive oil and fry chopped onions and garlic till onions turn pink.

• Tear the soft capsicum/red pepper into big pieces and fry them together with onions and garlic. Remember to de-seed the core.

• Add salt, crushed pepper, Italian spices and chilli flakes. Add 1/2 tsp sugar if you want to.

• Cube tomato and add to this. Fry for 2 minutes.

• Add 1 cup of water or vegetable stock and keep covered with a lid for 10 minutes.

• Use a hand blender or an electric mixer to blend them all together into a puree. I used the versatile Indian mixer that my mom gave me.

• If too thick, add 1/2 cup water and boil again for 3 minutes et Voila!

• Add toasted bread to the soup, if you like!

Bon Appetit! :)

This is my entry to Soups and Salads Mela hosted by Srivalli

Garlic Rasam (Spiced lentil soup with ghee-roasted garlic) / Poondu Rasam - Quick & Tasty

Rasam is usually the second course (after sambar) on a traditional South-Indian menu. Typically, it's made from pureed tomatoes spiced with cumin + pepper powder combined with cooked lentils mashed. Tamarind juice is used by many in Rasam but this recipe is simple yet delicious and there's no mess of tamarind! Don't you wanna try it too?

Here's What I Used -

Garlic pods - 10
Toor dhall - 2 handfuls
Rasam powder - 2 to 3 tsp (I use Ambika's but any brand works. Home-made rasam powder is great!)
Jeera powder / Cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp 
Turmeric powder/Haldi - 1/2 tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida - a pinch
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp (optional)

To Temper:
Ghee - 1 tsp
Whole Jeera/Cumin - 1 tsp


Here's How I Make It -

• Pressure cook toor dal with twice the quantity of water.
• Meanwhile, take a pan, melt ghee (butter is ok too) and roast chopped garlic.
• Take a pot, boil 1 cup water with rasam powder, hing, jeera powder, pepper powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder.
• Add ghee-roasted garlic to the pot.
• Add some salt.
• Add lemon juice. 
• By now, the dal is cooked and ready to use. First, add the water from the dal (paruppu-thanni) and let boil.
• Mash the dal well and add that to the rasam pot. 
• Mash jaggery and add now. Boil for another 5 minutes and you're done.
• Finally, roast whole cumin/jeera in ghee and add to rasam. Close the rasam pot with a lid to retain the aroma of ghee-roasted jeera. This is a great tip I learnt from my ammamma (mom's mom), when I was in my teens and I still do it everytime I make any rasam. Though ammamma is not around with us anymore, I know, deep inside my heart, that she's always watching our family from heaven and would be happy to see me pursue her passion - cooking!

Tomato and Basil Soup

I didn't know for a long time that Holy basil is our own Thulasi.  Yes! :)  Did you know that? ;)  No wonder it is called the 'king of herbs'. However, there are different varieties of basil and the one used in Italian cuisine is called sweet basil.  Soups are good for health any time of the day and helps to keep your calorie count down.  Let's make it healthier by adding some herbs to it!

Difficulty level - Easy
Time - 10 minutes

Ingredients -

Ripe tomatoes - 4
Red Onion - 1 (or 1/2 if its too big)
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Basil leaves - 5
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt
Pepper

3 Easy Steps -

1. Blend together the tomatoes and onion with 1 tsp of sugar.
2. Pour the juice into a pot and season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to it. Bring to a boil.
3. Sprinkle basil leaves before turning off the fire. 

Note: You may also add a mixture of Italian herbs in lieu of just basil.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Broccoli belongs to the cauliflower family and tastes great even when just steamed with salt and pepper sprinkled over it. It is said to be a good source of Vitamin C and dietary fiber. Research also says that broccoli consumption can prevent heart disease.

I am now a big fan of broccoli, given that it is inevitable in Chinese Vegetarian food, which is the easiest, most commonly available option for vegetarians living in Singapore.

I've seen my mom add milk to soups in order to give it a creamy texture. I wanted to try how broccoli puree would taste when mixed with milk and finally came up with this recipe.

Ingredients -

Broccoli florets - 1 bunch
Yellow onion (I prefer it to red onion as it is sweeter) - 1/2 , chopped
Half of a Boiled potato (This is used as a thickener)

Milk - 2 cups
White Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Butter - 2 tbsp
Italian herbs (optional) -1/2 tsp
Fresh Cream (optional) - 1 tbsp



How I Made It -

1. Melt butter in a pan.
2. Add chopped onions and fry for a while.
3. Add broccoli florets of a medium sized bunch, mash and add the boiled potato and add enough water to cover the veggies. Add salt. Cover and let them cook.

4. Once cooked, let them cool.
5. Add white pepper and blend them in a mixer to a nice paste. Add water if it's too thick.

6. Pour the blended creamy mix back into the pan and add milk to it.
7. Add a pinch or two of mixed Italian herbs like Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Oregano. This is entirely optional but I like to use this.

8. Boil the mixture and stir for a few mins and Voila! your cream of broccoli soup is ready.
9. Finally, you can stir in 1 tbsp of fresh cream, but that's optional again.