Yum Roasted Tomato Soup

Milky sweet corn puree is what makes this soup special!

This Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup has to be the BEST tomato soup I have ever had! I am not exaggerating at all… It’s everything a great tomato soup must be, with a deep tomato flavor. But fresh corn kernel puree is what makes the soup so special. It’s delightfully creamy making the soup silky and rich. It thickens the soup and makes it velvety. Sweetness of the corn compliments the sweetness of the ripe tomatoes.  This has to be the creamiest and tastiest Vegan Tomato Soup EVER!

I don’t think I am going to make tomato soup any other way from now on! In fact I believe that fresh corn puree can replace cream in many other soups. I am going to experiment with this a lot more and share interesting recipes with you all in future for sure!

Until then enjoy this awesome tomato soup and wonder why you never made it this way before…

Juicy plump fresh Tomatoes

Ready for baking

Fresh Corn kernels off the cob

Roasted Tomatoes

Vegan Tomato Soup with healthy fresh ingredients

Rich, creamy, velvety… The best Tomato Soup I have ever had.

Ingredients:

• 12-14 ripe tomatoes
• 1 whole husked sweet corn
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried Thyme
• Salt

Cut the tomatoes into half. Place them on a baking tray with the cut side up. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and dried thyme and roast it till its cooked soft and slightly brown on top.  Let it cool completely and blend it into a puree. You can skin the before pureeing if you like but I like the seed, skin and everything else in my soup.

Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Blend it into a creamy puree.

Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a thick bottomed pot. Add crushed garlic and fry till golden. Now add the tomato and corn puree together. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Season with salt. Add water to bring the soup to desired consistency. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve hot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a spring of fresh herb of your choice.

courtesy: http://www.lovefoodeat.com/creamy-roasted-tomato-soup-vegan/

Banana Strawberry Healthy Smoothie

With one of the festivals Vara Lakshmi vratham,known of the Goddess Lakshmi, Gold , wealth, prosperity and last but not the least food... n lots of Bananas coming home... I badly wanted to shake 'em up for a delightful smoothie chilled with crushed ice adding a tangy touch and most importantly healthy...

Ingredients:
Fresh Strawberries - 6-8
Banana - One Ripe Banana
Orange Juice
Honey
Yogurt (any flavour , even plain yogurt)

Procedure:
Cut the Banana into pieces
Juice the Oranges with your hands or juicer, this should make 1 cup of  fresh Orange Juice(You can also use the Orange juice from the counter, fresh juice is healthier).
In a Blender add fresh strawberries, Banana pieces, Orange Juice, Yogurt and Honey if you want to add a little bit of sweet(otherwise optional).
Add ice cubes according to your chill level and blend into a creamy smoothie.
Garnish with Strawberry and serve.

Spicy Stuffed Baigan ka Bhartha

Spicy Stuffed Baigan ka Bhartha -- cooking with Siri

"Aaha yemi ruchi, anara maimarachi
Roju tinnamare mojee teeranidi
Taaja kooralalo raaja yevarandi
Inka cheppala Vankayenandi....."
These are the lyrics of a famous telugu song which states -
"The Raaja of all vegetables is none other than our legendary " Brinjal/Egg Plant/Vankaya"...Indeed its the favorite of all..:D...



I made tons of Sarina Pudi for Ashaji Event and Suganya made me think about recipes to use up the pudi. and here it is "Spicy Stuffed Baigan ka Bhartha" which I by the way baked and steamed, so its tasty, less calories and absolutely delish..:D

Ingredients:

(small) Brinjals/Eggplants - 6
Sarina Pudi - 3 tbsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Salt- to taste
Turmetic - 1/4 tbsp
Tamarind Jucie - 2tbsp
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Green Chillies - 2
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp
Sambhar powder - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tbsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Chopped Onion - 4 tbsp

How to prepare:

1. Grind all the above mentioned ingredients except Brinjals into a thick paste adding very little water.
2. Slit the Brinjals into 4 parts and stuff them with the ground paste.
3. Keep aside the left over ground masala.
4. Bake the stuffed eggplants for 15 mins at 400 deg in the oven.
5. Now, In a pan, cook the left over masala for few minutes adding little water so that it becomes a gravy.
6. Add the baked eggplants to the pan and Cook for 15 minutes on low heat.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves. It tastes good with hot rice or Roti.

I served with white rice and Theplas. Here is the entire spread...:D

Bagara Baingan

Recipe courtesy: Cooking with Siri


My mouth is watering at the very mention of this dish. Juicy, tender baby eggplants stuffed & dunked in a rich nutty-onion-ey gravy. What not to love in this very-popular-hyderabadi-dish. The only down-side is - its preparation and cooking time. But, for that too I have a trick for you. This recipe is a bit different than others. It makes use of a masala powder which can be ground ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Whenever you want to have some of this rich, decadent dish - pop out the masala powder, add some fried onions, turmeric & salt. Stuff the mixture into the eggplants and once they are cooked, sprinkle the rest (with some water) over them. 

D.O.N.E. 

Yes, it is as simple as that. Feel free to adjust the ingredients used for the masala powder - but the ones that are a must are - peanuts, sesame seeds & coconut. 

It was late in the night and I was too tired to even click any pictures. Hence there are no step-by-step pictures this time. and You know what, I have a feeling there is no need of them. Have a look at the recipe & you will know why. - Just gather all the ingredients and jump right in.


If you are a hyderabadi like me, hope this dish will bring you back some of your memories from - back home. :-)

Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan

Save this recipe for those special parties where you are determined to get some Umph's and Wow's from your friends. (or) even better - treat yourself and/or your family with this decadent dish, especially when you want to buy something expensive. I am sure, after tasting this, anybody would say 'Yes' to anything you ask for. ;-)

Simplified & Adapted from my mommy's recipe. Mom, you are THE best.


Step 1 - Dry roast each of the following ingredients separately and cool them on a shallow plate. Then grind them into a fine powder (in a coffee grinder, if you have one like I did). 


1/4 cup peanuts***
2 tbsp sesame seeds***
2 tsp poppy seeds**
1 tsp coriander seeds**
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp dried coconut*** (if using frozen shredded coconut, plan to use the whole thing in one-go. It not good for refrigeration.)
1 inch cinnamon stick**
5-6 black cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns


The ones which have 3 stars (***) are a must-haves & with 2 stars (**) are good-to-have ingredients.

Store this powder in an air tight container & refrigerate. It will stay good for several weeks. Remember to use dried coconut if you want to use it later.

Now that we have our masala powder ready to go, the process is much more simple than you think.

Step 2. Wash and pat dry about 10 tender baby eggplants. Don't make slits as of now.

Step 3. Heat a tsp of oil and add 2 cups of finely chopped onions & little salt. Saute for about 8 mins on medium-low flame until golden brown. Add 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste. Cook for 2 more mins. Remove from heat and cool down a bit.

Step 4. In a mixing bowl, add the fried onions, about 6-7 tbsp of the above masala powder, little salt, 2 tsp of tamarind pulp, 1/2 tsp of turmeric. Mix well.

Step 5. Slit the eggplants into fours. keep the stem in tact. Stuff half of the above onion-masala mixture.

Step 6. Heat a tsp of oil in a wide, shallow pan and add these stuffed eggplants. Make sure the pan is wide-enough to fit all of the eggplants in one single layer. Rotate and shake the pan occasionally so that the eggplants cook evenly, until tender - on medium flame. Cover. Let it take as long as it takes for the eggplants to cook completely. It took me about 15-20 mins. 

Step 7. Turn the flame to LOW and add the rest of the masala paste with 1.5 cups of water. Check for salt one last time. Donot use any spatula, just shake so that the eggplants are coated well. Cook on low heat until the oil start to separate at the edges. 

Ready to serve for anything - from biryani to rotis. :-)

Patience is virtue for this recipe to come out well and trust me, the end result is worth waiting for. I am sure my friends at work who got to taste it can vouch for that ;-).

Off this goes to Healing Foods: Eggplant, originally started by me & this month graciously guest hosted by dear Kavita. Hurry in your entries by Jan 31st and have a chance to win one of the two giveaways. :-)

As I said before, there are many variations of the same recipe. and the difference is mainly in the ingredients for the masala powder, in Step 1. See how Nags has prepared the same recipe, in her own ishtyle. :-)

Banana to the Rescue..

Banana Peels Against Acne

I know they have long served their duty well and 90% of humanity has already slipped on at least one banana peel in their lifetime but they have another, more powerful ability that concerns our beauty.

Not only you can use bananas in a rejuvenating and moisturizing face mask, but you can keep just a small part of the peel to heal acne. 

Photo: Karl Faktor

What makes bananas priceless in the fight against acne is the potassium and the antioxidants housed within their peel. They have the ability to drastically reduce skin irritation, swelling and redness, as well as to diminish the visibility of scars.

So, right now you are just 5 steps away from an acne-free face:

1. Eat a ripe banana (you know how beneficial they are for your overall health, don't you?)
2. Cut a small piece of the peel (approximately 1,5 inch).
3. Rub the inside of the peel gently over the irritated area. Rub for about 5 minutes or until the inside of the peel gets brown. Replace and throw away the banana peel once it is entirely brown.
4. Clean the skin around with lukewarm water but let the banana dry out on the affected area to do its magic.
5. Repeat at least 3 times a day.

Apply daily to visibly reduce your acne. You will be surprised by the fast and glorious results and the clear skin you will be awarded with just a few days later. In fact, you will see the first results just overnight. 

After we discovered banana peels at home we waved goodbye to all commercial anti-acne treatments.