Gujarati Kadhi

After an awesome weekend getaway...which always turns out to be really heavy on the tummy!!...all of us really wanted something light to eat the next day...
My MIL and I were in no mood to slog in the kitchen..nor did we feel like eating out again...
So we decided on some nice light khichdi with some gujarati kadhi. It cant get anymore awesome than this on a tired day...:)

Heres how I made it..,

Level: Easy
Serves: 7 - 8 people
Adapted from: Tarla Dalal's "Exciting Vegetarian Cooking" cookbook

Ingredients:
3 tblsp gram flour
3 cups yogurt
4.5 cups water
2 tsp ginger-chilly paste
4 curry leaves
4 tblsp sugar, or as desired
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves

For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
2 dry red chillies. broken
3 tsp clarified butter/ghee

Method:
Step 1 - Beat the yogurt and gram flour together. To avoid lumps, add yogurt slowly to the flour and keep beating till smooth at every stage, till all the yogurt is used up and is lump free.

Step 2 - Add in the water, curry leaves, ginger-chilly paste, sugar and salt and mix everything well. Keep it to boil stirring regularly.

Step 3 - In another small pan, heat the clarified butter. Add in mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add in cumin seeds and let it brown. Add in the asafoetida and dry red chillies. Stir in for a couple of seconds and pour this over the boiled yogurt kadhi.

Step 4 - Let it boil for 5 more mins so the flavours incorporate well. Add in the chopped coriander.

Serve piping hot with some soft khichdi.

Do not boil the kadhi on a high flame, it could boil over.
Do not leave the yogurt mixture unattended as it could curdle.

Happy cooking!

Power packed soup

The origins of this soup, will always be a mystery to me...:)
My mother was visiting my brother, sis-in-law and niece in London last year, when she had a similar fresh soup out of a carton. She read the contents and tried to recreate this at home.
The final result was so very cool, that I dint care if this matched the original version...:)

So heres the mystery soup for all of you.

Level: Easy
Serves: 3 - 4 people

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, cubed
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 potato, cubed
1/2 tomato, cubed
3 inch pumpkin, cubed
1/2 small bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 carrot, cubed
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup split orange lentils / masoor dal
1/2 tsp butter
3/4 cup milk
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Method:
Step 1: Pressure cook the cubed onions, potatoes, tomato, pumpkin, coriander leaves, carrot, garlic cloves and split orange lentils. Puree them and keep aside

Step 2: Take a vessel and heat the butter in it. Add in the chopped onions and saute on slightly high flame till they are brownish. Add in the pureed veggies and milk and let it boil. Add water to get the consistency you desire. Add in salt and pepper.

Serve hot.

You can have this soup with some nice toasted bread...or some really soft fresh bread. It tastes great either ways.
You need to cook the coriander leaves with the other veggies, this totally enhances the flavour of this soup. Try not to alter or avoid this step. Its quite strategically critical !! :)

Happy cooking!