Papaya Promise: Papaya-Carrots-Beets-Yellow Pepper Smoothie

 What makes this a stand-out smoothie is that perfect bonding between the papaya and the ginger: the fruit's smooth taste seamlessly picking up on where the tuber's sharper notes start to fade off.
As a fruit, I am never really fond of papayas, except when you pair it up with mint or, like in this recipe, sync them up with veggies with a stronger character. However, what I truly admire about the papaya is its vibrant color and the way those little seeds nestle against each other in the fruit's flesh. A visual stunner, no less. Which is one of the reason why papayas make for such good table decor. More of that later.

 Serves 2-3
Preparation Time: 7 minutes.

Ingredients:

 2 cups peeled and chopped papaya
2 large carrots
1 medium beetroot
2 large yellow peppers (if yellow is unavailable, red peppers would do just as well)
1 cup almond milk or soy milk
1 generous length of ginger (vary according to your taste, I like more of my ginger)

Instructions:

1) If you are using a juicer, juice the peppers first, followed by the carrots, beets and ginger. In a blender, run the chopped papaya with the almond or soymillk for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the vegetable juice and blend till smooth.

2) If you are using just a blender, peel and chop carrots and beets, chop the pepper and mince the ginger. Run the peppers with soymilk or almond milk at low speed till well blended, then add the papaya, followed by the other chopped vegetables

Vitamins Plus: Celery, Green Apple and Red Pepper Juice

Celery-Green Apple-Red Pepper Juice

Once done, this juice is almost transparent that you can see right through the glass to the other side. Loaded with vitamins, this  is perfect for those days when you don't have too much time for juicing and want to juice on the go. Also perfect for an early morning drink to cut out those caffeine cravings. Works like a dream if you are migraine-prone (which I am), for it gets the blood pumping to weed out the ache. Migraines, at least for me, are signals that I am not drinking enough water, so you cannot do better than this juice bursting with hydration potential.

Serves 2-3 people
Preparation Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:

4 stalks of celery

3 large green apples or granny smiths

2 large red peppers

Juice of one lemon (optional)

Instructions:

1) Start with the red pepper, follow up with the celery.

2) The apples go in last and then the lemon. You may substitute one pear for one of the apples.

3) Drink as soon as possible. Refrigeration robs those precious vitamins.

All Purpose Herb and Garlic Infused Olive Oil

 I am not normally hooked to cookery shows on TV, but when I do come across a show that seems interesting enough, I like to take notes. The operative words for me, when taking such notes, are that the recipes are simple and the chef makes it seem simpler. I really do like Australian chef Curtis Stone's  ratings-busting show Take Home Chef, though I mostly catch re-runs on Netflix. Which is how I saw him demonstrate this amazingly simple recipe for herb-infused olive oil that I simply had to try for two reasons: 1) I do a lot of grilling and toasting of breads and 2) I thought this could also do really well as a salad dressing, along with, say, a little dijon mustard. I am yet to try this on salads, so will update once I get there.
But for now, this recipe is a keeper.

Note:  1) You can make and store this in larger batches, however there may be a little loss of freshness. It is so easy, takes just about five minutes to make, so if you like your herbs fresh, use it up the same day.
2) Curtis Stone demonstrated this recipe with fresh rosemary, which I did not have with me, but there was a jar of dried rosemary and fresh basil. And it turned out to be truly delectable. The message: experiment with different combinations of  fresh herbs and dried herbs until you get your desired flavor and strength of infusion.

Serves: 2-3 people
Preparation Time: 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
 2 stalks of fresh basil
3 cloves garlic/.
1 tsp dried herb (I used rosemary, but you could mix and match)
A pinch of sea salt.

Instructions:

1) Start with the garlic and herbs. Peel and mince the garlic, chop the basil. Use the flat blade of the knife to crush the garlic.

2) Crush the already crushed garlic along with the salt in a mortar and pestle, till the juices are released. Add the chopped basil and dried rosemary and crush and mix some more.

3) Warm the olive oil in a pan on low-medium heat. Remember to never, ever let any olive oil smoke, leave alone the extra virgin variety. The oil should be just warm enough for you to safely dip in a finger without getting scalded. Throw in the garlic-herb mixture and let warm together for a minute more.

4) Transfer to a bottle and close for about 20-30 minutes, the longer the better. Do not refrigerate. The oil is ready to use when you can sniff the dazzling aroma if you open the bottle to catch a whiff. Let stand longer or lesser according to your desired infusion strength. Just before using, add a pinch of black pepper and/or paprika and shake well.

5) Spread liberally along with the herbs on bread/baguette slices before toasting on an open griddle.

Other uses:

1) Add a pinch of black pepper and/or paprika and some grated parmesan cheese for a great tasting bread dip.

2) Use as barbeque oil for grilling.

3) Mix with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and/or dijon mustard, a pinch of black pepper and some salt and use as salad dressing.

Very Berry Smoothie with Beets and Carrots

Ever tried drinking your breakfast? You can, with this one. The beets and berries make for an instant energy boost, while the carrots and apples hydrate. And if you still hesitate to throw in the beets with the berries, just look at that electric color.

You would want to WEAR this juice, it is so velvety smooth!

Serves 3-4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries or blackberries or raspberries or a combo of all three
2 large red apples
1 medium sized beetroot
4 large California carrots
1 cup soy milk or 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt

Instructions:

1) If you are using a juicer, juice the apples first, followed by the beets and carrots

2) Run the blender with the soy milk or yogurt at low speed, add the berries and smoothen. You may need to add a cube of ice or two to make it smooth enough. Add the juice and blend. Serve.

3) If you are using just the blender, chop the vegetables into small pieces, then run in a blender with the soymilk or yogurt till smooth. Add the apples and berries, one after the other and blend. Add ice cubes if it is too thick to drink out of a glass. Serve.

Note: Add 3-4 mint leaves along with the berries for extra punch.

Multi Bean Soup with Barley and Side of Garlic Bread Toast

 

 

 

Serves: 2-3 people

Preparation Time: 45 minutes (including 30 minutes. of simmer time) if using a crock pot or 4 hours if using a slow cooker

Ingredients:

1 cup of any mix of dried beans, soaked for 6 hours (I use the 16 Bean Soup Mix by Goya, available in most grocery stores)

2 cups vegetable broth or stock

1 cup sliced carrots

1 green pepper-chopped

1 medium sized  boiled potato with skin-chopped

1 bay leaf

1 medium yellow onion-sliced thin

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried parsley leaves

1/2 tsp red chilly flakes

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and black pepper powder to taste.
1 tablespoon of chopped scallion to garnish

Instructions:

1) Place the soaked, rinsed and drained beans in a slow cooker or crock pot.

2) Add the broth or stock along with some salt.

3) Tear up the bay leaf and drop in. Add the ginger-garlic paste.

4) Place the coriander seeds in an infuser and drop into the mixture (If you do not have an infuser, skip the coriander seeds altogether and substitute with a teaspoon of coriander powder. This is entirely optional, except for giving the soup the 'curried' flavor.

5)  Saute the chopped onions and garlic in the olive oil in an open pan and drop into the mixture

6) Bring to a boil in the open vessel and let it boil for about a minute or so. If you are using a slow cooker, turn to the 'High' setting and wait for the mixture to start boiling.

7) Turn down the flame, put the lid on and simmer for about 30-35 minutes till the beans look well done. If you are going with the slow cooker, turn down to the  'low' setting and simmer for about 3-4 hours.

8) Add the chopped green pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley and red chilly flakes.

9) Continue simmering for about 5 minutes in the crock pot or for about 15 minutes in the slow cooker.

10) Turn off the heat, fish out the bay leaves and toss them out.

11) Add salt and black pepper to taste.

12) Garnish with chopped scallion and enjoy with  a side of grilled/toasted garlic bread (recipe below)

Note:  I do not like my green peppers over cooked, so I always drop them in with just enough time to let their juices seep into the boiling liquid.

Also, I am a great fan of potato skins, so if you want your soup tasting the same delicious way mine did, keep those skins on.. Great for texture too.

How To Make Garlic Bread Toast:

1) Slice up a baguette or Italian bread into bite sized pieces.

 
2) Heat up a griddle till it is almost near smoking.
3) Liberally dab the bread slices on both sides with  home made all-purpose herb and garlic infused olive oil, making sure you get enough of the herbs onto the slices.
4) Toast on griddle till crispy and golden brown on both sides.

The Big Boost: Broccoli-Banana Smoothie

Now, before you go all a-shudder at the thought of drinking your broccoli raw, remember this: broccoli is best when it has not been put on a stove. Not just broccoli, most of its other Brassica cousins too lose their anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties once you cook them. If the idea of raw broccoli absolutely turns you off and you are the kind that would  have no broccoli at all rather than raw broccoli, then you can perhaps get off with steaming your brocs, but then that would only be second best. So, get used to it, take your brassica as is.

Now, here is the good news. You will neither taste nor smell raw broccoli in this smoothie. What you will taste instead are the bananas and the cilantro. Plus the luscious tomatoes. So, it is definitely a win-win.

Serves 3-4

Preparation Time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

 1 cup broccoli florets

2 large ripe bananas

2 large ripe tomatoes

1 large kiwi

1 cup chopped parsley/cilantro or a combination of both

1 cup chopped spinach

1 large cucumber

3 stalks of celery

1 lime, peeled.

1/2 cup water or unsweetened soymilk  (if using just a blender)

 Instructions:

1) If you are using a juicer, juice the greens, cucumber, celery, broccoli and lime. Chop tomatoes and kiwi and place in blender. Pour the juice into the blender and run on medium-low speed till well mixed.

2) If you are using just the blender, blend the broccoli, greens and cucumber first on medium-high speed with the water or soymilk. Add the remaining ingredients--all chopped--and blend till smooth.

3) Add a dash of squeezed lemon, if desired, before drinking.

Note: This smoothie tastes best if consumed immediately, but can also be stored for up to a day in air tight bottles in the refrigerator. You may experience some loss of nutrition upon storing, so go ahead, gulp it down straight out of the blender.

Morning Medley: Apple-Carrot-Strawberry Smoothie

This is as close to a perfect breakfast smoothie that I get, one that packs enough punch to last you almost till lunch time, if you team it up with a veggie sandwich or just a plain large garden salad.
You cannot go wrong with all those carrots and strawberries, can you? Also, this is the perfect transition-smoothie, if you are slowly adapting to the 4S way of eating. It is absolutely and gorgeously delicious, so make huge batches and store in the fridge for up to a day or just take in a large bottle to the office. Will keep you off all that caffeine and keep your day aglow.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 large cup of frozen strawberries
4 large carrots
2 large red apples
1 inch of ginger
1 cup soy milk

Instructions:

1) If you have a juicer, juice the carrots, apple and ginger first.
2) Pour juice into a blender, add strawberries and soymilk and blend until smooth.
3) If you do not have a juicer, chop all ingredients into small pieces. Blend carrots and soymilk first in blender, then add ginger, apples and strawberries, in that order, till each is well blended and the consistency is smooth.

Green Chutney with Mint and Coriander

As far as chutneys go, this one is the empress of versatility. Spread it on a sandwich, use as dip for your carrot and celery sticks or mix it up with cooked dishes for that extra spicy bite, however you put it to use, the classic Indian Green Chutney never lets you down.

I must confess I am addicted to this one, for I make huge batches to  store in my refrigerator and dab it on the slightest pretext. Add or decrease the green chillies as per your hotness preference and try not to keep one batch for more than a week as it loses some punch upon prolonged storage. Or you can take the easy way out and simply pour  into a freezer tray and thaw out when needed. That way, you lock in both the flavor and the color.

 

 

Ingredients:

For 3-4 servings.

1 large bunch of cilantro/coriander, chopped

1 large bunch of fresh mint leaves, chopped

3 green chillies, chopped

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 inch of ginger, chopped

1/1 teaspoon salt

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

1 tsp oil.

Instructions:

1) Blend all ingredients into a smooth paste in a blender adding water as you go. 

2) Taste for salt and lemon juice and adjust as desired.

Green Glow Smoothie with Romaine Lettuce, Kale and Yogurt

It ain't going to get greener than this, And it ain't going to get more open ended either. Basically, anything that is green and edible goes into this smoothie, so what I have given below are only the ingredients that I used. You could, for example, switch and swap the kale with broccoli or the celery with leeks. Or you could throw in a green pepper or two. Or, how about a jalapeno to spice things up? And let the fruits bind together all that greeny goodness into an incredibly delicious super-detox drink.

Serves 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 

4 cups chopped spinach
1 medium head of romaine lettuce, chopped
3 celery stalks
2 gala green apples
1 pear
1 cucumber
2 stalks of kale
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 banana (or) 1 medium ripe mango, peeled and chopped (or) 2 cups pineapple cubes without rind (or) 2 cups of a combination of all three
1 cup ice cold water
1 cup probiotic low fat yogurt (optional). You can substitute the yogurt with an additional cup of cold water
Juice of half a lemon.

Instructions:

If you have a juicer:

1) Juice the spinach, kale and parsley first, followed by the cucumber, lettuce, celery, apples and pear.
2) Transfer to a blender, add the banana/mango/pineapple, water and yogurt and lemon juice.
3) Blend well, pour into tall glasses and serve with a garnish of mint leaves.


If you do not have a juicer:
1) Peel the cucumber. Chop all fruits and vegetables
2) Set the blender on low speed and blend the water, spinach, parsley and cucumber.
3) Gradually add the celery, kale and lettuce and blend until smooth.

4) Increase the speed, add the fruits. Gradually add the yogurt  and lemon juice and blend until smooth.

 Serve.

Cabbage and Moong Dal Soup

A disclosure: If you are South Indian and know what a cabbage curry is, you are not going to be too keen on trying this one out. Between this and the curry, I would take the curry anytime. The ingredients are almost the same: the dal/lentils, the spices and the cabbage. But what makes this, ahem, different, is that it is a stand-alone. You do not need to sync it up with rice or gravy. And it preserves the cabbage juices all that more. And it is light and flavorful and easy on your time.

Serves 2-3 persons

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

 Ingredients:

1 medium head of cabbage, finely chopped

1 cup moong dal (or) green lentils, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 small piece of ginger, chopped

2-3 pods of garlic, chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

3 jalapeno peppers or 2 Indian green chillies, chopped

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/ tsp garam masala powder

2 cups vegetable stock/broth
1 cup water

2 tbsp olive oil

 Salt

Black Pepper

Instructions:

 1) If you have a pressure cooker, cook the dal/lentils along with a little water and salt on a medium-low till it is well cooked. If you are using the stove top, bring the water to boil in a small pan, add the dal/lentils and bring to a boil again. Turn down the heat and cook on medium high for 7-10 minutes till the dal is soft and mushy.

2) Heat the oil on medium low in a saute pan and toss in the onions, garlic, ginger, jalapenos/green chillies, ginger garlic paste and the garam masala powder/ Fry for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of the garlic is gone.

3) Puree along with the cooked dal/lentils.

4) In a large stock pot, bring the stock/broth to a boil, add the shredded cabbage and the dal puree.

5) Add salt, bring to a boil, and turn down heat to simmer for 15 minutes till the cabbage is well done.

6) Add the cumin powder and coriander powder and simmer for 5 more minutes.

7) Turn off heat. taste for salt and add black pepper powder/

8) Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Triple Treat: Broccoli-Carrot-Potato soup

 If ever you wanted  your carbs. fibers, vitamins and disease-fighting nutrients, all in one great tasting, radiantly colored bowl, you cannot do better than this.

In one of my many serendipitous moments in the kitchen, I chanced upon a much depleted head of broccoli and a lonesome potato, both sadly in need of company. And then, just as if to complete the picture, there was just these two carrots left out of a huge bag of organic carrots.

A quick web trawl threw up this super easy recipe by  Amy Swenson, I was quite taken in by the idea of substituting potatoes for cream.

A little more improvisation and a few more spices and  voila, here was the closest I could get to a perfectly creamy vegetable soup, just right for those long winter nights. 

Just remember not to boil the broccoli too much, for heat destroys some of those legendary cancer-fighting sulphur compounds that make this luscious green vegetable a super food.

And, as I always say, do not peel the potatoes or carrots. Keep skins on.

Serves 3-4

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium head of broccoli or 2 cups of frozen broccoli florets

1 large potato, boiled and chopped
1 large carrot, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cups vegetable stock or broth

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp dried onion powder

A pinch of turmeric

A pinch of cinnamon powder

A pinch of  of nutmeg (just for a dash of flavor, too big a piece will be overkill)

Salt to tase

Black Pepper to taste

Instructions:

 1) Chop the potato into medium-large cubes.

2) If you are using a broccoli head, discard the stems and chop the florets into bite sized pieces.  The stem can be used separately to make  vegetable stock. 
3) In a small pan, heat the olive oil on medium low, fry the onions and garlic till onions turn mushy and the garlicky smell is gone.

4) Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for one more minute.

3) In a crock pot, bring the stock/broth to a boil, add the broccoli, carrots and potatoes, all the spices, turmeric and salt. 
5) Once the broth starts boiling, toss in the sauteed onions and garlic, lower flame and simmer for 5-7 minutes till vegetables are semi-cooked.

6) Puree the mixture in a blender.

7) Return to crock pot or a slow cooker.

8) Taste for salt and seasonings. Add onion powder

7)  Bring to boil and turn to simmer for 5-7  mins (if using a crock pot) or on low setting for 20-30 minutes if using a slow cooker

8) Turn off heat, transfer to soup bowls and serve with grated cheese or sour cream topping.

Grow Your Own Sprouts

Ah, the pleasure of watching life unfold before your eyes, inside your kitchen, one big step every day. The delight in seeing the tiny little roots grow stronger every day. Ever since I started growing my own sprouts, I am hooked to this spectacle on a daily basis.

Time was when most of my sprouts came off store shelves, almost a day or two old and looking dysfunctional and hardly the protein powerhouses they were supposed to be. And they tasted predictably flat. 

It was then that a friend told me about the Easy Sprout Sprouter, which seemed such a wondrously simple idea. I scrambled to get one from Amazon, only to get a package that was missing some parts. But I was not going to give up, I will have my sprouts, come what may.

Which is how I ended up making my own sprouter kit, based on the Easy Sprout idea. Sure, it looks very 'uncool' but who really cares as long as  I get the most amazing sprouts on almost a daily basis for my salads and soups?

The contraption that you see below and the sprouting instructions, both of them are inspired by what I saw and read on Sprout People, you could either go to their site directly or stay with me. 

Cation: Sprout People probably has a patent riding on the product, so  make sure you do not violate their patent. My home made sprouter kit  is not a commercial derivative and is meant strictly for my  own use and NOT for the market place.

How To Make Your Own Sprouter:

You need stackable food grade plastic containers with lids in an assortment of sizes, at least two in each size. The different sizes come in handy depending on what you are sprouting, I normally use the bigger size for moong dal and the smaller ones for alfalfa, mustard etc.

• A is the sprouting container. Using a sharp knife, make uniform incisions going out in a circular pattern from the the center of the bottom of the vessel. You will need a really sharp knife to make cuts without 'tearing' the bottom.
• B is the sitting base to be filled with water.
• C is the lid with incisions similar to A, plus random 'vent holes' punched in the center, to aerate the sprouts.
• D is a smaller sprouting container for harvesting smaller quantities.
• E  is the sitting base for D, to be filled with water,

Essentially, that is all it takes. Make as many or as few sets of containers as you want.

Now, for the fun part, the sprouting itself. I have used moong/mung here. You need about 3-4 days to get a robust harvest. All it takes is about five minutes of your time every day to ensure you never run out of sprouts. Keep alternating batches so that the harvest is continuous/

Day 1:

1) Wash and rinse one cup moong  and place  in A.

2) Stack A inside B so that the lips hang to on each other, but there is a large enough gap between the bottom of both containers.

3) Fill with water.

  4) Snap lid C on and leave to soak for 8-10 hours.

5) Separate the containers and rinse the soaked moong under a faucet. The 'soak water' in the sitting base B is rich in nutrients, you can either use it to make stock or as a drink for your plants.

6) Slide A back into B, put the lid on n and keep in a cool, dark place, like a pantry cupboard or a shuttered kitchen shelf. for another 8-10 hours to allow for germination.









Day 2:

7) Your moong would have starated sprouting by now. This is how the happy campers look like at this stage.

8) Rinse once again gently under a spray faucet, taking care not to disturb the seeds too much. You need to keep the sprouts hydrated for optimum growth.

9) Gently tap the container against the edges of the sink to wring out as much excess water as you can.

10)  A goes back once again into B and the lid goes on too. This ensures optimum draining of the excess water, leaving just enough to keep the sprouts moist for the roots to grow stronger.

11) You will have to repeat the rinse and drain process a couple of times more on Day 3, till your roots reach the size that you want. The bigger the roots, the more the protein, as also the taste, crunch and chewiness

 

Curried Beet Soup with Chili Garlic Croutons

The little fresh produce store around the corner from where I live had this dewy batch of fresh-off-the-earth beets that I simply could not resist picking up. I love beets in very many ways, and I still drool at the memory of that all-too-sweet beetroot jam that was once served to me at a wedding party back in India. The cook did not have a 'recipe' for it ("Why recipe and all? You just do it the normal way like all other jams") Since I did not then know what the 'normal way' was, I let it pass. Now, fast forward to the present, and the first thought that struck me when I looked at those beets was to jam them up, but the idea of sugar overloading freaked me out. So, a spicy soup it had to be, to tie in with the sweetness that I could see oozing out of those beets.

The recipe that you see below is what I like to call an a la carte recipe, you do not work to any particular framework, but keep adding stuff as you go on. And the idea of 'currying' it all up worked so well that now this will go down as a favorite coming-out-of-winter staple.

Curried Beetroot Soup with Chili Garlic Croutons

Serves 4

Cooking Time:  30 minutes on open stove or 2 hours in slow cooker

Ingredients:

4 medium beets, peeled and grated.

2 large carrot, grated, WITH SKINS ON. ( Yes, I hate de-skinned carrots. It would be such a shame to toss away all that carotene goodness sitting just under that skin)

4 cups  home made vegetable broth or stock

1 medium red onion, chopped

2-3 pods of garlic, diced

2 jalapenos , chopped and seeded

1 tsp paprika, or if you like your soup really hot, 1 tsp of dried red chilly flakes

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

A pinch of turmeric powder

1 tsp olive oil

A pinch of garam masala powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Note: The turmeric serves as both color-preserver and flavor-enhancer to the beets.

Instructions:

1) Heat the olive oil to medium low in a saute pan, add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 20 seconds.

2) Add the grated beets and carrots chopped onions, garlic, jalapenos. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the beets are semi-cooked.

3) Add the turmeric powder, paprika and/or chilly flakes and the garam masala powder. The turmeric is great for color preservation, or else beets tend to lose a lot of vibrant color on a stove.

4) Fry for one more minute.

5) Puree this until you have a smooth consistency. Do not filter. Again, why lose out on some great texture and fiber?

6) Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a crock pot or a slow cooker.

7) As the broth is boiling, dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small pan till you get the aroma.. Powder in a spice grinder and add to the boiling broth.

8) Add in the pureed beets and salt and bring to boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and turn off the heat.

9) Taste for salt and add black pepper as needed.

10) Serve with grated cheese or sour cream or for that truly Indian touch, a sprinkling of chopped cilantro and a side of chili garlic croutons (see below for recipe)

Another variant on this is the roasted beet soup, which has a flavor and taste all its own. Here is how you go about it. For this version, leave the carrots out. And of course, this means more kitchen time.

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2) Peel the beets and cut into large cubes.

3) Arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil on top 

4) Roast for an hour or till beets turn mushy.

5) Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat some olive oil,  fry the ginger garlic paste and saute the onions and garlic along with the jalapeno and spices

7) Once the beets are done, let cool and rub off skins.

8) Puree along with the spice mixture as described in Step 7 above.

9) Repeat other steps as described above.

How to Make Chilli Garlic Croutons:

I  use olive oil for this, but any vegetable oil would do.
 1) Use left over bread, whenever you can.
2) Peel and finely mince 2 cloves garlic,
3) Break up 2-3 red chillies (available in most Asian grocery stores) into very fine pieces.
4) In a mortar and pestle, mash up the minced garlic with a pinch of salt till you get a coarse paste.
5) Add the broken chillies and continue to mash into a slightly coarse paste. The juice oozing from the garlic give you enough liquid to work into the paste.
6) Transfer to a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of paprika. Taste for salt. Make sure it is not too salty.
7) Trim the crust off the left over bread slices and liberally smear the  chilli-garlic paste on both sides and toast on a hot griddle.
8) Use as soup topping and store the remaining croutons in an air tight bag, Do not refrigerate, unless you like mushy croutons. These stay good for up to a week, if properly stored.
9) You can also use these croutons on salads for that extra crunch.

Make Your Own Stock To Get the Best Out Of Your Juicer Pulp

Growing up in the southern part of India, one of the things that fascinated me about a trip to my parents' village was being able to make my own 'plantain fibre rope'. We would pull strips off the soft bark of the plantain tree, rip them apart for the stringy fibre and use them to make remarkably strong ropes for our tug-of-war games. No part of the plantain tree, my grandmother told me then, was ever meant to go waste. You ate up the fruits, you stripped the stem for the core inside (the plantain pith/vaazhaithandu) and ate that up too, you ate up the flowers, you used the leaves in lieu of plates to dine and you used the fibre from the stems to make ropes or to string jasmine flowers to wear on your head. Truly a zero-waste tree.

Indeed, that is the way nature meant everything to be, to reduce waste as much as possible.  Which is why it seemed such a shame to have to throw away all that pulp that accumulated from my daily juicing. Though my Breville juicer is the best ever in the business and gives me almost dry pulp, it still can not extract every last drop of goodness. And the fact that the pulp was as vibrantly colorful as the juice itself, made it even more difficult to have to throw iaway, which is how it all ended up on the stove  to go into the making of  amazingly flavorful and nutrient-packed stocks which I substitute for water in many cooked dishes.

One day of my juicing gives me enough stock to fill up one 8' x 10' ziploc bag which I then store in my freezer compartment.  Most of the vegetable pulp can be used this way, while the fruit-based pulp can be used as is to bulk up puddings, cakes and most other bakes. Use your imagination and don't throw away all those precious nutrients.

How To Make Stock:

1) Take the pulp in a generous sized stock pot and fill almost till the brim with water. Add some salt, a bay leaf , a medium sized stick of cinnamon and a pinch of turmeric and bring to a boil. Turn down the flame and simmer for 20-30 minutes on low heat.

2)   Place a colander on a bowl and pour the pulp into this. Let sit for 10-15 minutes and then use a flat wooden spoon to gently pat down the pulp to extract all the liquid.

 

 

3) After all the liquid collects in the bowl, you have a stock that looks as colorful as this. I usually do a 'tasting' at this stage since I cannot resist the aroma.

4) Let cool for a few minutes, and store in ziploc bags in your freezer compartment. You now have the most amazing base for your soups.A good way to ensure the stock stays well for a longer time is to eliminate the air bubble that will collect as you pour into the bag. To do away with this, wait till all the liquid is frozen, then open the bag and squeeze out the air and reseal. You can also store the stock in separate plastic containers but my freezer compartment is quite small and I make a lot of these, so I stack up the bags like books inside the freezer.

These keep good for at least a month, but use them up whenever you can, to avoid overcrowding the freezer. 

Update: There was this excellent recipe for Moussaka using juicer pulp that I came across in the Reboot blog the other day. Seems simple enough and promises to taste as delicious as the pictures suggest. Planning to try this out soon. Watch this space for more on this.

Beet Blast: Apple, Beets and Green Pepper Juice

Remember that all-too-cliched adage they told you as a kid, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" and how, depending on how hormonal we were,  we would ad lib, "But if the doctor is handsome/beautiful, keep the apple away?"

You are not gonna need either of those ones with this juice. A handsome one indeed, this is, with its unique dualism of being both detoxing and rejuvenating at the same time, not to speak of all that anti oxidants that the green peppers load your system with.

Share this with your doctor, if you want to keep him/her.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

2 large beets
2 large green peppers
1 large golden apple

Instructions:

1) As always, start with the softest first, in this case the green peppers

2) Follow with the apple.

3) Finish with the beets.

A Glass Full of Sunshine: Orange-Apple-Carrot-Ginger Juice

A brisk, high-octane walk by the beach, with white sail boats patrolling an aquamarine horizon and the sun warm on your shoulders...is the closest I can come to describing the way this golden orange drink will make you feel.

This is one juice I never tire of consuming over and over again, for I absolutely love its flavors and colors. The goodness of carrots blends seamlessly with the sharp twang of ginger and the sweetness of apples to endlessly tease your imagination.

If there is one juice I recommend that you simply must try, just to savor the experience of a truly great tasting combination of fruits and vegetables, it is this.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

5 large carrots

3 large oranges

2 large red gala apples

1"length of ginger 

Instructions:

1) Peel and juice the oranges.
2)  Follow it up with the apples and ginger, and finally the carrots.
3) Serve in tall glasses garnished with mint leaves.

Coconut-Ginger-Coriander Chutney

If you have ever dined in an 'authentic' south Indian restaurant, no way  could you have missed that delicious tableux of chutneys they serve alongside your idlies/dosas. These are quite different from the north Indian chutneys that are mostly dry and many of them are delightfully coconut-y. This recipe comes straight out of my mother-in-law's kitchen and  combines the best of both coconut and coriander chutneys in one robustly flavorful bowl.

Most of the ingredients here can be found in any Indian/Asian grocery store.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients:

Grated coconut: 1 cup
Ginger : One inch piece, chopped
Coriander: 1 large fresh bunch, chopped
1/2 cup channa dalia /fried gram dhal
Tamarind Pulp: 1 tsp or Tamarind Juice: 2 tbsp
Hing/Asafoetida: 1 pinch
Green chillies : 3-4 chopped
Red chillies: 2
Mustard Seeds- 1tsp
Curry Leaves: 3-4
Oil-1 tsp
Salt: To taste
Water: 1/2 cup

Instructions:

1) Grind the coconut with green  and red chillies and 1/4 cup water in a blender.

2)  Add the channa dalia/fried gram dhal, ginger, coriander leaves, tamarind pulp, hing,salt and grind, adding more water as you go, till you get a consistency you like. I like mine not-too-watery, but feel free to experiment. Make sure, though, that there is enough water to keep the blender blades turning. 

3) Transfer to a serving dish.

4) Heat the oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter open, usually about a minute if your oil is really hot, but not smoking. Add the curry leaves and fry for about 10 seconds till the leaves turn crispy.

5) Pour on the chutney before serving.

Note: This chutney loses much of its freshness  if refrigerated, but if you absolutely must do this,  stop with Step 3 and store.  Take out of the fridge 1-2 hours before serving and go to Steps 4 and 5.

Bruschettas for Brunch

The first time I ever laid eyes on a bruschetta was at the bustling cafeteria of the University of Trento in Italy.  Served along with some fine Italian red wine--Carpineto, if I remember right--the flavors stood out so sharp against the mellowness of the olive oil that I pigged out, getting them down as fast as they would go. In other words, my heart was stolen.

However, that would be the last time I ever tasted a real good bruschetta until I came across this lovely recipe by Elise Bauer and then it was bruschetta time again. I must say I ended up with amazing stuff. This recipe is mostly Bauer's, except that I added plenty of mushrooms and some hearty red peppers and substituted roma tomatoes for the plum variety. Also, I did my tomatoes a different and easier way. Next time out, I plan on trying this with sun-dried tomatoes and can't help salivating at the very thought.

Serves 3-4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1)  Six ripe red roma tomatoes

2) 1 cup chopped mushrooms

3) 1 large red pepper, deseeded and diced

4) 2 cloves garlic, minced

5) 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

6) 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

7) 1/4 cup olive oil

8) 1 baguette or Italian bread. preferably whole wheat

9) Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Chop the mushrooms and red peppers. Dice the tomatoes and remove seeds.

2) Warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and saute the chopped garlic for a mnute, then add the vegetables and saute till the juices start oozing out. Remove from fire at this stage, do not wait till mixture turns mushy. Mix with chopped fresh basil and salt and pepper in a bowl.

 

3)  Slice the baguette into half, then cut each half length wise till you get four equal sized slices.

Coat the inside of each slice liberally with olive oil. For best results, use home made all purpose herb and garlic infused olive oil.  Heat a griddle till it is almost smoky hot, and toast the slices till they are golden brown on the inside. Do not apply olive oil or toast the crust.

4) Arrange the slices on a platter, spoon the vegetable mixture generously on each slice, garnish with fresh basil and serve.

 Note: Spoon the tomato mixture on to the slices just before serving, to avoid soggy bruschettas.