SOUPS AND SALAD

---SOUPS AND SALADS---

Soups and salads are an integral part of diet.
Indian food has both, albeit they have been "Indianised"by every state as per their own culture and taste.

Read some SOUPY facts at,

http://www.businesswire.com/emk/borden/supportfiles/funfacts.htm

If you want to "TOSS MORE SALAD"
or discover what's beneath
SALAD DRESSING,you may visit

http://www.whattocook.com/search/salad.html



CHEESE- JEERA SOUP (To serve four bowls)

Soups are an essential fare in western cookery. With changing taste and the Indian palate becoming Global, it is right time to post some exotic and not so exotic Desi soups recipes. I have made certain changes in recipes to suit Indian taste which I hope you won't mind.

Butter 3 spoons
Maida flour 2 spoons
White onion 1 no.
Onion Powder 1 spoon
Garlic 4 to 5 cloves
Milk 200 ml.
Cheddar Cheese 100 gms.
Jeera Powder 1 spoon
Green Chillies 1 no.
Salt to taste

Dice onion, finely cut green chilli and deskin Garlic. Grate Cheese and set aside. Add water to Maida and mix thoroughly. Add butter and little water and whole pods of garlic after just injuring them by pressing them to flatten just a bit and cook on slow flame for five minutes. Remove the Garlic pods and discard. Now add Jeera powder and Onion, which is diced to milk and boil .Add the boiling milk with spices to the maida butter mix. Stir thoroughly or else the maida is likely to make uneven mass. Now add cheese (grated) and onion powder. If you think that you need water, add some and also add salt to taste. Simmer for a minute or two and see that the cheese is melted. Pour it in Soup bowl, garnish with finely cut Green chilies. Enjoy this soup scalding hot with sprinkling of pepper and a dash of Vinegar if you like.

Variation
If you want, you may cut chicken meat from leg portion in small pieces, precook them with only a little salt and add to Cheese soup. In such a case, avoid Green Chilli. Use Halal Chicken for this usage.


--- Cucumber Pachadi (Karnataka) ---

DOSEKAI AAVU-PACHADI (sweet-sour cucumber pachadi from karnataka)

This is a sweet sour cucumber pachadi, which is a speciality in Karnataka cuisine especially during summers and special ocassions.


Cucumber 1 medium
Jaggery 1.5 tea spoon or more as per taste
Tamarind extract 1.5 Tea spoon

Make a paste of the following
Kadalai Parappu 2 spoons or Soaked Peanuts paste 1 tbsp.
Coconut 2 nos. of 2" pieces Green Chilies 2 to 3 nos Red Chilies 3 to 4 nos.
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon Cumin powder 1/2 spoon Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Salt to taste

Tempering
Oil 1 spoon, Mustard seeds 1/4spoon

First make a thick paste of all the above ingredients. Take care that there are no stones in Jeera and Mustard. If you have mustard powder it is good. Red chilies may be not too hot variety. Keep aside. Some people add jaggery to paste and some add along with Tamarind extract. You can mix both after you make paste of spices.

Kadalai parappu if used, fry in oil till light brown and then use it for paste. If you are using soaked peanuts, it is ok to soak it for at-least one or two hours .

De peal the cucumber and make finger digit pieces (1").
Sprinkle some water on the cucumber pieces and keep aside. When you are serving the pachadi, add cucumber just before serving. If you add in the beginning, the cucumber would become very tough to chew.

You must take care to match the amount of Tamarind and Jaggery so that the taste is exactly sweet and sour without being excess.

This pachadi is a refreshing change from the other pachadis you have had so far. Try it out and post the feedback please.



--- Cucumber-Curd Salad ---

CUCUMBER-CURD PACHADI (Karnataka)

This is a very simple yet tasty salad. Goes well with rice, pulao etc. It has four distinct tastes which fill the want of any dish which lacks in any of the taste.

Cucumber One small
Curds 1.5 cups
Green chilli 2 nos.
sugar 1 to 2 spoons
Salt to taste
Kothumalli 2 spoons
Mustard 1/4 spoon
Oil 1 spoon
Coarsely powdered Jeera 1/4th spoon

Peel the cucumber after checking if it is bitter or not. For that slice the stem end and remove a small portion of white flesh. Taste it. If it is bitter, discard the cucumber. If it gives a slightly odd taste, smear two pinches of salt and rub it. After some time wash the salted end and use it. This process removes odd taste of cucumber. Dice cucumber in small cubes of 1 cm to 1.5 cm size. Slice green chillies in thin round rings (take care to remove seeds). Adding coarsely pounded jeera is optional. Pluck Kothumalli leaves only and cut very fine. Use curds which are not too sweet, it should be slightly on sourish side. Add all the ingredients and then mix properly in a bowl. Take oil in a tampering ladle and add mustard seeds. Heat on a medium flame. When mustard starts to pop, add the tempering to cucumber salad. Place the bowl in fridge and serve cold. This salad has sweet, sour, hot and salty taste.



--- RAITU/ RAITHA ---

RAITHA...RAITU

Hundreds of recipes of Raithas are available in books and on the net.
The question is ,

"WHAT IS RAITHA?"

Basically Raita/Raitu is a Gujarati dish, which is
neither pure salad nor a pickle and also not a Chutney.
It is somewhere between dishes generally enjoyed with heavy sweets like Ladoo made from pure ghee.
It has a pungent smell and taste of nascent mustard
which packs a kick.


Word Raitha as it stands, is coined from the word,
Rai = Mustard
Atho = to pickle/To ferment.
In a Raitha, two ingredients are a must.
They are, Mustard seeds and Curds.

I have been seeing a lot of recipes of so called Raithas
with most inconceivable ingredients like Brijals ,and other
vegetables. Just as you can't call any ladoo as Boondi Ladoo,
you cannot call any curd dish minus Mustard seeds as Raitha.

A typical traditionalRaitha does not involve cooking
of any ingredient.

I am posting a basic raitha recipe of Banana, which is
one of the traditional recipes .


PAKA KELA NU RAITU

Ingredients

Ripe but firm Bananas...... 1 nos
Small sized Mustard seeds...1 tsp.
Fresh curds.................250 ml
Salt........................1/4 to 1/2 tsp (As per taste)
Green chiilies..............1 no
Ginger......................1/4" piece (Optional)
Sugar.......................2 tbsp
Kothumalli/cilantro.........1 spoon.

METHOD OF PREPARATION

Grind coarsly mustard seeds in a mixi and remove black husk
of upper skin layer and set aside.
Slice one green chilli of medium hot variety in thin shreds,
pluck kothumalli leaves and set aside.

Take curds in a glass bowl and add ground and dehusked Mustard.
You may add salt at this stage.Mix well.
Leave the mustard+curds mixture for about two hours at
room temperature after covering it with a plate.

After 2 hours, just smell the mixture. If it gives off strong pungent
aroma of nascent mustard, then it is ready for further treatment.

Now just befor lunch/dinner,first add sugar and mix it thoroughly.
Now make small pieces of Banana and add to fermented mixture.
Add finely sliced green chilli and shredded ginger (Optional)
and garnish with Kothumalli.

It tastes great with ghee sweets, Roti/parathas
and you can use it as a taste changer.
You may use any fruit or Bundhi to make this raita.

--- Mulangi-Tomato Salad (Tadakiyun) ---

TADAKIYUN (Mulangi kirai-Tomato Salad)

Salads are an integral part of any Indian meal. Unlike their western counterpart, Indian salads are regular salads, salads with oil dressing, salads that have partially cooked or partially fried or deep-fried ingredients. Some salads have spices and some are just SALADS. I would be bringing to you some known and some unknown varieties .I trust you would try them out. Happy Salad days!!!

I am partial to Mulangi (Radish) and my first salad comes in the form of Mulangi Kirai (radish leaves) salad which I bet You would never have tasted. This was my mother's favourite and is mine too!! So without much ado, here I go.......

Mulangi Kirai (Radish leaves) 10 leaves
Tomato 1 no. (Big)
Asafoetida 1/2 to 3/4 spoon
Red Chilli powder 3/4 spoon
Salt to taste
Salad oil/Groundnut oil 2 spoons

Select clean hot radish leaves (white mulangi ) Remove center veins with a sharp knife. Cut all the leaves similarly and arrange five leaves and cut leaves to make about 3 mm width long slices (ribbons). Set aside. Dice tomatoes into 1/4 " pieces. Select tomatoes, which are firm and not too sweet. Now mix both Mulangi kirai and tomatoes and all the dry spices. Jeera is optional. I don't use it. Add salt and finally add oil and mix thoroughly. Remember to add slightly more salt as this tastes great with anything.


--- Tomato Soup ---

TOMATO SOUP

Soups are an essential fare in western cookery. With changing taste and the Indian palate becoming Global, it is right time to post some exotic and not so exotic Desi soups recipes. I have made certain changes in recipes to suit Indian taste, which I hope you won't mind.

250 gms. Tomatoes
1/4 spoon Black Pepper powder
1/4 spoon Chilli powder
1 Small onion diced in small pieces
1 spoon of Ginger paste
Salt to taste
1 spoon of Jaggery
1/4 spoon of Jeera
5 cloves
2 Nos. 2" pieces of Cinnamon sticks
1 Tea spoon Of Ghee for tampering
1 strand of Curry leaves
1/4 cup of finely cut Kothumalli leaves

Steam cook the tomatoes and when cold, remove the outer skin, add a little water and make a fine mixture with a blender. Now add Pepper powder, chilli powder, salt and Jaggery. Add a little water and paste of Ginger and boil it on a medium flame. Take ghee in a Thallikku karandi (tempering ladle) and add cloves, cinnamon and Jeera. Heat and when cloves get puffed up, temper the tomato soup. Cover for five minutes. You may add onions fried in a little ghee at this stage. Now add Kothumalli and curry leaves and cover again. Reheat before serving.





TOMATO-CURD PACHADI (Andhra)

This is a very simple yet tasty salad.Goes well with rice, pulao etc.It has a distinct colour and taste which is very typical Southern.
This pachadi is a great accompaniment with rice and chapathis.

Tomatoes 4 medium
Onion 2 spoons
Curds 1.5 cups
Freshly grated coconut 1/4 cup.
Green chilli 2 nos
Salt to taste
Kothumalli 2 spoons
Asafoetida (Mild) 1/4 spoon (optional)
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Mustard 1/4 spoon
Oil 2 ladles

First make a thick paste of all the above ingredients. Take care that there are no stones in Jeera and Mustard. If you have mustard powder it is good. Red chilies may be not too hot variety. Keep aside .Some people add jaggery to paste and some add along with Tamarind extract. You can mix both after you make paste of spices.

Kadalai parappu if used, fry in oil till light brown and then use it for paste. If you are using soaked peanuts, it is ok to soak it for at-least one or two hours .

De peal the cucumber and make finger digit pieces (1") .

Sprinkle some water on the cucumber pieces and keep aside. When you are serving the pachadi, add cucumber just before serving. If you add in the beginning, the cucumber would become very tough to chew.

You must take care to match the amount of Tamarind and Jaggery so that the taste is exactly sweet and sour without being excess.

This pachadi is a refreshing change from the other pachadis you have had so far. Try it out and post the feedback please.