Palak Soup / Spinach Soup

Invite you to have a cup of hot & healthy Palak Soup / Spinach Soup.

Spinach / Palak has more nutritional value. Rich in antioxidants which destroys the free radicals and help in cell rejuvenation, Iron, Calcium.

While picking spinach select the one which is fresh, crisp as well as tender. Store them in a vegetable bag in the fridge.

Thoroughly wash it well before you use it for cooking. Cooking time for spinach is less, so you just need to blanch it for 5 to 10 minutes in hot water to retain its nutritional value.

There are variety of dishes prepared using spinach (dry as well as gravies). So here is a healthy reciipe for making soup using spinach.

Ingredients :-

 (serves :2)

1. Palak leaves - 25-30 nos
2. Garlic pods - 2 nos.
3. Onion - 1 no. (small)
4. Ginger - 1" piece
5. roasted Cumin powder - 1 pinch sprinkled for 1 serving
6. lemon juice - 1 tbsp (optonal)
7. Green chilli -1 no. (spicy variety)
8. Cinnamon - 1/2"
9. Cloves - 2 nos.
10. Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
11. salt to taste
12. Vegetable stock / water - 2 cups

Procedure :-

• Wash & chop the spinach leaves. Boil 2 cups of water / vegetable stock. switch off the stove and put the spinach leaves, keep it covered for 10 min (this is called blanching).
• Peel Onion, wash and chop finely
• Chop ginger and garlic pods
• Drain the spinach and save the stock. Let the leaves cool down.
• Heat oil, add cinnamon & cloves. when it is fried, add onion and saute till it becomes translucent. Add some stock and let it boil for 3 minutes. Remove from fire and let it cool. Drain and remove the cinnamon & cloves and reserve the stock.
• Puree the spinach and onion
• Add the reserved stock, salt and mix well. Heat it and adjust water level as per your preferred consistency.
• Before serving, add few drops of lemon juice (optional) and sprinkle a pinch of jeera powder / cumin powder.
• Healthy cup of yummy spinach/palak soup is ready!

Pumpkin Soup / maththan soup / Manjal Poosani soup

Winter is on. air is dry and lightly cold. I have started making a soup daily. Today made Pumpkin Soup.

Pumpkin also known as Kadhdhu / Kasi bhopla / Maththan /manjal poosani / budi kumbala / budikumbadi is a bright orange vegetable which is easy to cook and is little sweet in taste. The flesh, seeds, stringy inner part all are edible. With the stringy part inside on which seeds are seen can be used in chutney making. (will post the recipe). 

It is rich in vitamins and minerals. Good for prostrate gland and heart, irritable bladder and the seeds are used to treat mood swings and depression.

Pumpkin is orange inside (which means it is ripe). If it is pale in colour then it is not a ripe pumpkin. Some mistake it for ashgourd which is white inside and is also used in the famous 'petha' from Agra.

The best way to get all the nutrients in a vegetable is by par boiling it. So let me share a nice soup recipe today.

Ingredients :-

1. Ripe pumpkin - 1/4 kg
2. Bay leaf - 1/4 leaf
3. Black pepper - 4 nos.
4. Onion - 1 small
5. Salt to taste
6. Water - 1 cup
7. Butter - 1 tbsp (you can use olive oil to make it more healthy)
8. Lemon juice - few drops
9. fresh cream for garnishing (optional)

Procedure :-

• Wash, peel and dice the pumpkin into cubes 
• chop onions
• In a pan, add the butter / olive oil, bay leaf 
• Add the chopped onion, black peppers and fry for 3 minutes
• Add the pumpkin cubes, fry for a minute
• Add water and pressure cook it for a whistle 
• strain and save the stock. cool the vegetable, remove the bay leaf and puree the vegetable.
• Transfer the puree to a vessel, add the stock and bring to boil adding salt
• remove from fire, add few drops of lemon juice, mix it
• Serve hot garnishing with fresh cream

Enjoy the winter with a cup of soup each day.

Navratri / Dusserah 2012

Navratri celebrations went on merrily at our place with dandiya & garbha dances every night after the arati. Every afternoon bhog was offered to devotees (prashad of durga ma).

This is the mandap inside which goddesses were kept.

An inviting rangoli :-

A mini fair was conducted with various stalls and various competitions were organised for the kids. Prize distribution ceremony was conducted yesterday. 

Today the dasami day all the celebrations came to an end by evening. Durga ma was taken out for immersion in a grand manner with a fireworks show.

May the goddess bless you all with happniess, good health and prosperity.

Jai mata di

Decorative Glass Work

I went to market 3 weeks back and on the way in a supermarket  bought a bottle of Amul's flavoured milk as I was feeling hungry . I saved the bottle & brought home. I kept a plant in a plastic container. So replaced the plastic container with this bottle after cleaning. The plant looked beautiful than before. 

Couple of days back saw a glass art work in a TV programme. They showed similar work on a plain piece of glass which was then converted into a Clock. Thought why not try that work in a bottle? So here it is for your views. Sorry folks, i forgot to take stage by stage picture. But one shot will show you the glue in semi dry form.

A simple art which gives amazing texture depending upon the tool you use & your creativity.

I didn't colour it as i felt this is more beautiful than the coloured one. Here is the procedure for you :-

In any glass article, squeeze dabs of fabric glue here n there.

Now let out the magical spell from your fingers!  :-) ha.ha.ha  (yes you all have it!) With your index finger tap on it & spread it through out the surface in the same process.

When the glue is semi dry, using back of a paintbrush or a pen, roughly run it over the semi dried glue to form some rough pattern.

the work will look like this :-

Let it dry for 5 hours

If you want to colour it, you can colour using water based glass colours & spread it to make a nice varanajal on to your glass article & enjoy your interiors by giving it a feather touch make over!

 This makes a beautiful decor item which you can even gift after you do a creative work.

Isn't it simple?   Now cast the magic onevery plain glass you see & turn it into gorgeous show piece!

Happy Crafting!