Carrot Celery Soup (Gluten Free)

Carrot Celery Soup with Brown Rice Pasta

Soup makes a great one pot meal, when you make it chunky and thick. This soup can be made thick or thin. I was cleaning up my fridge to buy some new veggies so these were waiting to cooked.

1 Bunch Celery (the long one)

I Small Bag of baby carrots  (which we forgot to snack on during the week)

4 Large Carrots

2 small red Radish (which somehow escaped when I made radish sambar)

A small bunch of Spring onion (bottom to fry along with the onion and top to garnish)

So I set out to make the soup.

Prep time - to cut veggies about 10 minutes
Cooking Time - Saute - 10 Minutes Pressure Cook 15 mins blend and Garnish 5 mins

You will need

Celery - Chopped in 1/2 finger long lengths

Carrots - chopped in big pieces (No need to chop the baby carrots)

Spring Onion Onion - 1 (Chopped in big pieces)

Garlic - 1 (in cloves)

Oil - 1 Tablespoon

Cilantro to Garnish

Cumin - 1 Tsp

Salt - 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon

Vegetable Broth or Water  - 1 Quart 

Butter 1/4 Teaspoon

Cayenne Pepper Powder - 1/8 Teaspoon

All Spice Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon

If you don't have these on hand, you can substitute any other spice that you like.

I feel Cayenne Pepper adds a different kind of spiciness to the soup rather than regular chilly powder.

I forgot to take a picture after adding the carrots, the  last pic was taken after the veggies were cooked in the pressure cooker, while blending them.

Method
--->In a Pan, on a medium flame, add the oil. When it starts to get hot, add the cumin, saute it till it slowly starts sizzling, add the garlic cloves, then the onion  and spring onion, and saute it till it all starts coming together.
--->Now add the celery, mix once
--->Add the carrots, mix once. Add Salt
--->Transfer the contents to a Pressure Cooker and give it 3 whistles.
--->After the pressure comes down, take a hand blender and blend it all well.
--->In the pan you sauteed the veggies, add the butter and when it melts add the spice powders and mix well, now add the blended contents  and the broth to this. Mix well. Taste for Salt
---->Garnish with the Chopped (top part) Spring Onions and Cilantro

To make this thick and make it a one pot meal, I cooked some brown rice pasta  and served it together.

Subz Biryani

Would you believe it if I said that I hadn't heard about or tasted biryani till I was about 15? I grew up in an orthodox tamil (Iyer) brahmin household...... In our cuisine the main spices we use are Cumin, Coriander, Black Pepper and Red Chillies and at the most Cardamom for Sweets....

So, when I had the first whiff of this dish, my instinct was to throw up :)

This dish has actually wooed me a long time, before I succumbed to it....

I agree this is not the best Biryani ever, BUT, it is a foolproof recipe and comes out well every time..

The Best Biriyani I have had is made by my friend Suhasini.... I will get her recipe and post it on this blog ...

This recipe was taken from a NITA MEHTA Book called Mughlai Cuisine....

This recipe serves 5-6

Here is the Recipe

Paste

6-7 Flakes Garlic

1" piece Ginger

1 Tbsp Saunf (Ani Seeds)

1 Tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

3 Red Chillies

1 Tsp Dhania Powder (Coriander Powder)

1 Stick Dalchini (Cinnamon)

3-4 Laung (Cloves)

3-4 Saboot Kali Mirch (Pepper Corns)

Seeds of 2 Moti Elaichi (Brown Cardamoms)

Other Ingredients

2 Cups Basmati Rice - Soaked for 1 Hour

1-2 Carrots - Cut Diagonally in to slices

1 Small Cauliflower - Cut into Big Flakes

8-10 French Beans - Cut into 1"long Diagonal Pieces

2 Small Potatoes - Cut into fours

2 Onions - Sliced Finely

1/2 cup Oil

3 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Bay Leaf

Method

--->Soak Rice for 1 Hour.

---> Grind the ingredients of the paste together with a little water.

--->Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add Onions, Cook till golden brown.

---> Add the vegetables and stir fry 3-4 minutes.

---> Add the paste and the Bay Leaf

---> Measure 4 cups of water and add to vegetables.

---> Add Salt and Lemon Juice

---> When Water boils, drain the soaked rice and add to the water.

---> Put a tawa under the pan of rice to reduce the hear further.

---> Cover the pan of rice with a small towel or naplin and then with a well fitting lid. Keep some heavy weight on the lid

---> Slow down the fire and cook till the rice is done (10- 15 minutes).

---> Serve after 10 minutes

NOTES

I used a handi pressure cooker so did not do the tawa under the pan etc, i just reduced the flame to a very low level and continued to cook it.

It Tasted excellent, an easy one pot meal , I served it with some Cucumber Raita...

Bisi Bela Bath

I got this recipe from my husband's friend, Anil Parthasarathy's Mom, Mrs Padma Anandan. I think of her, when I make this. It turns out very well. I made this for a potluck party.

At this time, I must say i dont like to use the frozen mixed vegetable bag for this or for any other indian dish, be it avial or undhiu or Biriyani. I think it is a crime....

It really takes away all the taste that is intended for it.

Also I always use the REAL tamarind in all of my recipes, but if you like you may substitute it but the taste will not be awesome...

The ratio of Rice to dal is 1 is to 3/4th cup.

You Need

Rice (Jasmine or Long Grain or Ponni Raw or Sona Masoori) 1 Cup (I used Ponni )

Tuvar Dal (Split Pigeon Peas ) 3/4th Cup

Ghee 1/3rd cup

Oil (Indian Sesame Oil) 4 tablespoons

Turmeric Powder 1 Teaspoon

Sambar Powder - 1 Teaspoon

Salt - 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon

Tamarind - 1 American lime size

Water - 6 cups

Mustard seeds - 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon

Curry Leaves to garnish - about 4 strands

Vegetables

Turnip - 1 Medium Peeled and Cubed

Bell pepper Green - 1 Large Deseeded and Cubed

Tomatoes - 4 Medium Cubed

Chayote - 2 peeled, deseeded and Cubed

Indian Eggplants - 2 Large cubed

Carrots - 3 cubed

Masala

Coriander Seeds 1/3 Cup

Dry Red Chillies - 1 handful (more if you need it spicier and less if not, also depends on the spicyness of the chili)

Split Channa Dal - 4 tablespoons

Urad Dal - 2 Tablespoons

Method

---> Wash the Rice and dal together.

---> Soak the Tamarind in 1 cup warm water.

---> Start getting all the vegetables ready, i e, peel, cubed etc.

---> After about 20 minutes, squeeze the tamarind well and take out all the juice.

---> In a pan, add half the oil and ghee, and keep on medium fire, saute all the vegetables together

---> Once the vegetables are half cooked move everything to a pressure cooker

---> Add the washed rice and dal to this and then add the remaining4 and 1/2 cups of water

---> Add the sambar powder, salt and turmeric powder

---> While it comes to a boil, simultanousely start dry roasting all the masala stuff

---> Once the coriander seeds is well roasted, (you will be able to smell it) , make a fine paste, you can add 1/2 cup water to this and make a really good thick paste.

---> By now, the stuff in the pressure cooker will start to have a slow boil, add this masala to that and again wait for another slow boil

---> Close the cooker and put the wight on it and give it about 2 whistles, at the third whistle, make the fire to a low and after 5 minutes switch it off

---> Once the pressure goes down, add the remaining oil and ghee to a pan and on a medium flame, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves to it. Once the mustard seeds start to sputter, pour this over the bisibela, and enjoy it HOT ....

Since this really is a one pot meal, you can just have it or make some raita with it or have it with chips.

this measure will easily feed upto 6 hungry people! :)

I forgot to add this yesterday!

You can use shallots or onions also for this.

Taste it and see if the tamarind taste is ok, otherwise, you may add 1/2 teaspoon of tamarind paste to it, this really depends if the real tamarind is old or new.

Also, when you add the water, make sure your cooker is big enough so this wont boil over, there should some space in between.

And then, once the pressure is down, transfer the contents to another vessel, because there will be some stuck to the cooker. Be careful, not to scrape otherwise the bisi bela will taste burnt.

And then, last but not least, Keep it covered intil you eat otherwise it crusts up and form a hard covering on it.