Beetroot Stir Fry/ Beetroot No Sambharo

I know I have been neglecting my poor blog since quiet a long time, but here I'm trying to redeem myself. :)
Having many hobbies has its drawbacks. I just finished one of my crafts project which had been pending since long, it took time but its complete now and so I'm back to blogging.
Today I was planning to make a simple healthy dish and found some beetroots, which were neglected since few days, so I decided to do them some justice.
Beetroots either you love them or you hate them. Though they are highly nutritious and loaded with antioxidants, not to mention their importance for our cardiovascular health, these roots are ignore and mostly restricted to salads. So I wanted to make something simple and special with these beauties. To my surprise this dish came out well, tastes good and looks pretty too. For a picky eater like me, I can say I can eat this dish alone in itself.
So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 Large beetroots cubed and boiled
1 tsp canola oil/sunflower oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds/rai
Pinch of asofoetida
1 sprig of curry leaves/mitha limda
2 green chillies cut in half
1/2 tsp amchoor powder/dry mango powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder/haldi
1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder/ mirchi powder
Salt to taste.

Method:
Pour oil in nonstick skillet and let it heat up. Add mustard seeds & cumin seeds, let them come to a splutter, then add in curry leaves and green chillies along with asofoetida.
Add boiled beetroot cubes along with all the spices and salt to taste.
Do not add water as this dish is intended to be dry.

This dish can be served as a side dish with any curry or rice dishes.
Amchoor or dry mango powder is added to balance the sweetness of beetroot, it gives this dish a nice tangy kick on the other hand red chili powder adds the spice level making this dish sweet sour and spicy, all at the same time.
I'm planning to enjoy this dish with spinach stir fried with onions and garlic and hot rotis.

Dhania Mung Sorba

And so I'm back, after spending lovely vacation in India and Mauritius, my home welcomed me with its arms open, smiling as if to welcome me or I guess grinning over the dust and grime it had collected over 25 days, whatever it was I was prepared being thoroughly relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated.
Mauritius was a gr8 gr8 trip, me and P were awed at the beauty of that small island nation, beautiful turquoise beaches and breath taking views from dead volcano to 7 coloured earth, beautiful mountains to lovely meadows and not to forget the endless sugarcane fields.... yeap, makes me nostalgic. It is here that I tasted dhania ka sorba at a dinner served at our hotel Le Meridien Ile Maurice... which was rather sordid but I knew it could have been better, all it needed was some "zing". So coming back to Riyadh and in urgent need to healthy eating I tried my hands on Dhania Mung ka Sorba which, by the way was million rather gazillion times better than the one served at Le Meridien. Here goes the recipe.


Ingredients:
3 Tbs boiled Mung/Mag/Green Gram/Mash Bean along with the water in which it has been boiled or pressure cooked.
3 Tbs Fresh Coriander Leaves
1 Tbs Lime juice
1 Tsp ground cumin seeds
2 pinches Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Paprika powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Method:
With the help of hand blender or any other blender, blend the pressure cooked mung along with the water in which they were boiled. This blended mix should make around 3/4th cup, now add some more water to make it around 2 cups or 500 ml.
add all the ingredients except freshly ground black pepper and bring sorba to a boil.
Serve hot with lill more dhania (if you wish) and freshly ground black pepper.

Tip: adding an extra dash of lime juice to the dish while eating makes it more aromatic.

As you might have noticed this dish is a perfect health dish recipe as it bypasses oil, ghee or butter. Keeping it simple increases its appeal and I promise the taste will linger on in your minds.
Bon Appetite!!

Tomato Soup

Who said we can't enjoy a bowl of pipping hot soup in summers?!! Just turn on your air conditioners to high and see the fun. ☺

Tomato soup can be prepared in various ways... with cream, without cream etc. I prefer a healthier version of without cream. This recipe again calling in for minimum ingredients, remember lesser the ingredients, more the aroma and flavor.

Ingredients :
3 large tomatoes
1/4th tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp sugar (optional)
1/4th tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp corn flour or all purpose flour (add whole wheat flour if want to make it more healthier) add a ladle full of water and turn it into a floury paste.
salt as per taste

Preparation Method :

Boil tomatoes in plenty of water till the skin starts to wrinkle and crack. Turn off the heat and let it cool a bit. Do not throw away the water in which you have boiled tomatoes in.
Remove the skin of tomatoes and blend it into a smooth puree.
In a pan add puree and all the spices along with the flour paste, keep stirring it at regular intervals as the soup starts getting a bit thicker and bring it to a boil. Adjust the water level of the soup using the tomato stock that we had preserved.
Once its thick and its water adjusted boil for a minute or so and turn off the heat.
Serve hot.

As you have noticed I haven't added any butter or oil to the soup also I had prepared my soup using whole wheat flour to make a wholesome dish low in calories.

Tip : you can also add a spoonful of cream to make cream of tomato soup out of the above recipe.
Remember to add very little salt the first time, taste and adjust, this is done coz soups require almost half the quantity of salt for that "restaurant like" taste.
You can also add ground cumin to this soup for a homely taste.