Prarthana's Vegetarian Delight

Soup is the primary food in a full course meal. Spinach soup is a healthy creamy soup. I make this soup often and serve an hour before dinner. This is a very easy soup recipe which can be made within 10-15mins. I also make this soup if someone have a bad headache or sore throat. It will be refreshing. INGREDIENTS: 1. Spinach- 1 bunch (If its very big , take 1/2 bunch). 2. Onion- 1 big. 3. Ginger- 1 inch. 4. Garlic- 2-3 pods. 5. Cloves- 1 6. Cinnamon stick- 1 inch. 7. Butter- As needed. 8. Salt- To taste. 9. Pepper- To taste. 10 Green chilly- 1 (Optional). 11. Sugar- 1 tsp. 12. Milk- 1/2 cup. METHOD: 1. Wash and clean the spinach leaves. Separate the leaves from its stem. Take a pan or pressure cooker. Add 1 spoon butter. Add cloves and cinnamon stick. Add in the chopped ginger, garlic and green chilly (if using). Then, add chopped onions and saute until it turns pink. Add in the spinach leaves and saute for a minute. Add sugar (Sugar helps to retain the green...

Sabudhana is called as sago or javvarisi in tamil. North Indian people usually make sabudhana kichidi or vada during fasting days. I make this sabudhana vada as a weekend snack. This spicy sabudhana vada can be had as it is, but my husband loves to have this with a green chutney. So, here's the weekend special snack. INGREDIENTS: 1. Sabudhana/sago- 1 cup. 2. Potato- 1 big. 3. Green chilly-2 4. Ginger- 1 small piece. 5. Garlic- 2-3 pods. 6. Coriander leaves- 1 handful. 7. Peanuts- half cup. 8. Salt- To taste. 9. Cumin powder- 1 tsp. 10. Coriander powder- 1 tsp. 11. Red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp. 12. Oil- For frying METHOD: 1. Wash and soak sago for 4-5 hours. After 4-5 hours, drain the excess water completely and keep it aside. Boil potatoes in a vessel or pressure cooker and peel its skin once cooked. Dry roast peanuts and grind it as a coarse powder along with ginger, garlic and coriander leaves. In a bowl add the boiled potatoes and grounded powder. Add salt a...

Adai Avial is a famous south Indian combination dish. Adai is a type of dosa made of lentils. Avial is actually derived from Kerala. Kerala is well known for the usage of coconut oil in all their dishes. Avial is also one such dish with the wonderful aroma of coconut oil. Avial is made up of mixed veggies of your choice. INGREDIENTS: FOR ADAI: 1. Channa dal/Kadalai paruppu- 1 cup. 2. Thoor dal/Thuvaram paruppu- 1cup. 3. Raw rice- 1 cup 4. Parboiled/Idly rice- 1 cup. 5. Moong dal/ Pasi paruppu- 1 handful. 6. Urad dal/ Ulundhu- 1 handful. 7. Dried red chilly- 5-6 (Even more if you want spicy). 8. Curry leaves- 1 handful. 9. Salt- To taste. 10. Asafoetida- 1 tsp. 11. Onion- 1 finely chopped. 12. Cabbage- 1 cup finely chopped. 13. Grated carrot- 1 cup. 14. Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup finely chopped. FOR AVIAL: 1. Mixed vegetables- 1 cup.(I used potato, raw banana, Pumpkin, drumstick, green peas, carrot, beans). You can also add egg plant, yam, arbi. 2. Coconut-...

Pulav is always easy, simple one pot meal. I make different types of pulav for my husband's lunch box. This is one type of greenish pulav with spinach. I pack this along with raitha or chips. INGREDIENTS: 1. Palak or any spinach- 1 bunch(I used Chinese spinach). 2. Onion- 1 finely chopped. 3. Tomato- 1 finely chopped. 4. Potato- 1 5. Green peas- 1 small cup. 6. Ginger- small piece. 7. Garlic- 2-3 pods. 8. Green chilly- 3. 9. Coconut grated- 1 cup. 10. Cashews- 4- 5 11. Coriander- 1 handful. 12. Salt- To taste. 13. Cinnamon- 1 small stick. 14. Cardamon- 1 15. Cloves-2 16. Bay leaves- 1 17. Oil- 2 spoons. 18. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp. 19. Sugar- 1 tsp. 20. Basmathi rice- 1 cup. 21. Water- 2 cups.   METHOD: 1. Wash and soak basmathi rice for 10-15mins. Peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Separate spinach leaves from its stem. Wash and clean spinach leaves. Heat a pan and add the spinach leaves. Add cumin seeds and sugar. Cumin seeds and sugar helps to ret...

This cabbage curry is a very simple basic dish. Cooking time for this is less than 10mins. Oh, yes chopping the cabbage finely is the biggest task. If you are an expert in chopping, then this the easiest side dish for chapati. This is my favorite subzi since my childhood. I still remember my mom packs this in my lunch box along with phulkas. INGREDIENTS: 1. Cabbage- 1 small. 2. Onion- 1 medium sized finely chopped. 3. Tomato- 1 finely chopped. 4. Salt- To taste. 5. Chilly Powder- 1 tsp. 6. Green chilly- 1 7. Garam masala- 1 tsp. 8. Oil- As needed.(I used 2 spoons) 9. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp. 10. Mustard- 1 tsp. 11. Coriander- For garnishing. 12. Turmeric powder- 1 tsp. METHOD: 1. Chop the cabbage finely. Chop it as finely as you can. It should look like grated coconut. Heat oil in a kadai and temper with mustard and cumin seeds. Slit the green chilly and add it. Add chopped onion and saute until it turns pink and the raw smell goes off. 2. Add chopped tomatoes and tu...

Baby corn has become our favorite recently. I started making many dishes using baby corn. Frankly its the most easy vegetable to chop. Once i saw a cooking show in which they prepared baby corn pepper fry. Its a starter dish. I tried that recipe and it turned out really good. From that i started trying many dishes using baby corn. One of those is this subzi.   INGREDIENTS: 1. Baby corn- 10-12 pcs. 2. Onion- 1 Finely chopped. 3. Tomato- 1 Finely chopped. 4. Capsicum- 1 Finely chopped. 5. Everest garam masala/ subzi masala- 1 tsp. 6. Red chilly powder- 1 tsp. 7. Salt- To taste. 8. Oil- 2 tsp. 9. Cumin seeds- 1tsp. 10. Coriander- finely chopped to garnish. 11. Turmeric powder- 1tsp. METHOD: 1. Chop baby corn into medium size rounds. Cook baby corn in boiling water with little salt. Once it gets cooked, drain the water and keep the baby corn aside. 2. Heat oil in a kadai and temper with cumin seeds. Add the chopped onions and fry until it turns pink. Add the tur...

Spinach is a healthy leafy vegetable. But many don't like to eat spinach and any leafy vegetable. So i try to make it in a tasty way. I make this keerai kootu weekly once or even twice. My husband loves this. I use all kind of spinach like palak, mola keerai or even Chinese spinach for making this recipe. Ingredients: 1. Spinach- 1 bunch. 2. Green chilly- 3. 3. Coconut- 1/2 cup. 4. Cumin seeds- 1tsp. 5. Asafoetida- 1tsp. 6. Salt- To taste. 7. Sugar- 1 tsp. 8. Coconut oil- 1tsp. 9. Mustard seeds- 1tsp. 10. Urad dal- 1tsp. 11. Mor milagai or dried red chilly- 1 (optional). 12. Moong dal- 1/2 cup cooked(Optional) Method: 1. Remove the spinach leaves from its stem. Wash and clean the leaves. In a pan, add the spinach leaves, cumin seeds and sugar. Cumin seeds and sugar helps to retain the greenish color. Sprinkle some water and bring it to boil. Little water is enough since spinach already has water content. 2. Switch off the flame once the spinach gets cooked...