Pineapple and Spinach Chunky Soup

No yak yak this time! Been really busy, missed wishing all of you a happy pongal! I did make venpongal, sarkarai pongal, and puli gojju. Abhi loved them (didn't give her the gojju, of course).Hubby is on a tight schedule and that means less respite for me even in the evenings. Add to that a nagging headache that just refuses to completely go. And, call it post pregnancy blues (they do continue this long ?)or whatever, I feel someone wound a tight band around my forhead and wont let go! But decided to post this tonight 'cause I've promised Usha of Veg Inspirations an entry for her first food event. And, she is one nice person I've met through food blogging.


Pineapple (really ripe) - 1 cup (chopped)
Spinach - 1 small bunch
Beans - a few
Carrot - 1 medium sized
Ginger - 1/2" (chopped fine)
Green chillies - 4 (more or less)
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Garam masala - 1/4 teaspoon
Olive oil - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Optional seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Canola oil - 1 teaspoon

Chop all veggies into bite sized chunks, saute for a few minutes in olive oil. Add the water and 1/2 the coconut milk. simmer till veggies are almost done. Throw in the spinach along with the rest of the coconut milk, salt, and the garam masala. Simmer till spinach wilts.Add salt to taste.

Crackle the mustard seed and add if you opt for the seasoning. I loved this soup made on the go to save an over ripened pineapple from ending up in the waste bin.Its spicy, tangy, and sweet!

Off this goes to Usha's "Healthy Inspirations Event-Soups" that's on at http://www.veginspirations.com/2010/01/event-announcement.html

Simple Spinach soup

I saw an expat celebrity chef's show on TV the other day. She was making a spinach based gravy. Her method was to boil lots of water , cook the spinach in it, drain the water and dunk the leaves in cold water! "Preserves the color", she chirped! I was outraged at the sheer waste of all those fabulous nutrients. Why not preserve the nutrients instead! Greens are delicate store houses of nutrients. Treat them easy. Here's a quick n healthy spinach soup going right to Sunshine mom's TumyumTreats Monthly Mingle - Soups event. The Monthly mingle event was started by Meeta of "What's for lunch, Honey?".

Fresh Spinach (palak) - 1 medium sized bunch
Coriander leaves (cilantro) - 3 to 4 sprigs
Shallot - 1
Ginger - 1/2"piece
Green chillies - 4 Nos (more or less)
Low fat milk - 1/2 cup
Grated parmesan - enough for sprinkling over each serve
Salt to taste

Rinse the greens well. Slice up the shallot, ginger, and green chillies. Place these and the greens in a thick bottomed pan. Cover and simmer cook till the leaves wilt (3-4 minutes). Blend to smooth puree, add the milk and salt and simmer for a couple of minutes. Ladle onto serving bowls, sprinkle on grated parmesan.

Hot and Sour Veg Soup

A new chinese restaurant opened next to our home here in Muscat. The first time we went there, my hubby suggested 'hot and sour veg soup'. I was a little skeptical since the hot and sour soup i'd tried at a restaurant in india wasn't really to my taste. To my pleasant surprise, this one here was really yummy! The second time we went to the restaurant, I asked to meet the chef, met him and got the recipe. Therefore this soup is courtesy Chef Santa of Nepal from the Wok of Life restaurant.


Veg stock - 1/2 litre
Carrots - 1/2 finely chopped
Cabbage - 2 leaves finely chopped
Black mushrooms - 3-4 (sliced thin) I din't find black mushrooms so just made do with button mushrooms!
Bamboo shoots - 2-3 tinned pieces (sliced)
Bean sprouts - about 5 gms

For seasoning
A dash of freshly ground pepper

Some Chilli sauce/paste

Dark soy sauce

A dash of tomato sauce

Vinegar

Boil the stock. Cook The mushrooms. Shred all the veggies , except sprouts, very finely and add. Dont overcook, the flavours should just mix in. Add the seasoning and top with bean sprouts. Simmer another minute. Serve piping hot!!!

The delightful 'Blogging friends forever' award has come back to me. My dear blogger friends Purva of purvasdaawat and EC of simpleindianfood have passed me thsi treat. Thank you, gals!

I pass this on to:

Vidya of iyercooks, Sagari of indianhomefood, Pooja of creativepooja, Nidhi of sizzlingbites, and Shreya of ammascooking .

Sweet corn veg soup

Frozen sweet corn - 250gms
Carrot - 1/2 of a medium sized tuber
Spring onions - 2 stalks
Corn flour - 3 teaspoons (about 15 gms)
Pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Water - 1 litre
Low fat cream - for garnish
Salt to taste
Finely mince the carrots (as you would find in chinese fried rice).
Boil the water in a thick bottomed pan. Add the corn and carrots and simmer till the carrots are half done. Add the finely chopped spring onions.
Dissolve the cornflour in half a glass of water at room temperature, ensure there are no lumps. Pour it gently into the simmering soup stirring all the while so that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring till the soup thickens lightly. Add pepper and salt to taste.
Serve hot with a squirt of cream on top.

Peas & Almond soup

Good quality frozen green peas - 1/2 kg

Almonds - 1 cup

Skimmed milk - 1 cup

Low fat cream - for garnish

Salt & pepper powder - to taste

Blanch the almonds in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cool and peel the skin. Grind to fine paste.Steam cook the green peas till tender or pressure cook for 2 whistles. Let cool.Blend the cooked green peas and almond paste in a mixer bowl. When it's time to serve, simmer it to a light boil and add the pepper and salt. Take off flame and pour into bowls. Squirt a little bit of cream before serving.