Creamy Celery Soup in a fabulous and easy creamy soup. This dish tastes wonderful when served as a soup accompanied with garlic rolls or plain toast. It mainly combines the flavours of celery, fresh coriander, cheese, lemon juice and cream giving a rich and nourishing taste and flavour.

Celery along with cilantro provides fantastic flavours in this gorgeously made simple soup. Thick, creamy vegetable soup that tastes yum makes a hearty meal on its own.  Creamy celery soup is appetizing, appealing to the eyes, is velvety smooth, and has distinctive flavours. Celery has become a very common household staple along with carrots, onions and potatoes. Its crunchy texture makes it a popular addition to salads and many cooked dishes. Some of the well known recipes are Celery Thokku, Celery Egg Poriyal, Hawaiian chicken sandwich, tomato soup etc.

Celery belongs to the Umbelliferae family, whose other members include carrots, fennel, parsley and dill. While most people relate celery with its prized stalks, its leaves, roots and seeds are also used as a food and seasoning as well as a natural medicinal remedy. The stalks of celery have a crunchy texture and a delicate, but mildly salty taste. Apart from celery, cilantro is also one of the important herbs that are used in many popular dishes in Asian and east European cuisines. When added in combination with other herbs and spices, it enhances the flavour and taste of vegetables, chicken, fish and meat dishes.

This recipe is an excellent dish especially during winter season’s to beat the cold and also makes a perfect first course for a fabulous dinner party. This soup is smooth, delicate, comforting, quick to make and this hot meal offers plenty of health benefits. There are a variety of soups that one can make such as cream of mushroom soup, sweet corn vegetable soup, broccoli soup, hot and sour vegetable soup etc. Some of the healthiest soups include fresh, low-fat ingredients and a minimum of salt and extra fat. Almost any vegetable or meat can be added into a soup, from creamy squash or tomato bisques to vegetable beef or chicken vegetable soup.

To prepare this healthy and nutritious Creamy Celery Soup, firstly boil the celery and onion in 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan till the onion is soft. Blend flour in 1/4 cup water till smooth. Stir gradually into the onion mixture. When smooth stir in remaining water. Stir constantly till the mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat. Simmer covered for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream, cheese, parsley and lemon juice. Serve hot with garlic rolls or croutons or just plain toasts.

Tip – Adding celery root (a relative of celery) imbues the soup with even deeper celery flavour.

Click on the below link for detailed recipe:

http://www.vahrehvah.com/Creamy+Celery+Soup:7043

The goodness of celery is quite evident in this soup as this soup has just few calories and no fat. Being a humble vegetable, celery has amazing nutritional values. Celery is an excellent source of vitamin C and fibre. It’s a very good source of potassium, folic acid, and vitamin B6 and B1. Celery is a good source of calcium and vitamin B2 and a rich source of dietary sodium.

Celery contains more sodium than most vegetables; the sodium is offset by very high levels of potassium. Furthermore, the amount of sodium is not significant even for the most salt-sensitive individuals. One celery stalk contains approximately 32 milligrams of sodium and 104 milligrams of potassium and only 20 calories as carbohydrate. Celery is a well known vegetable for stimulating the immune system to help fight disease. Celery is packed with antioxidants and compounds that fight bacteria, viruses and inflammation.

This soup is a perfect balanced dish, nutritious, low fat, stomach filling, convenient to prepare and economical. Do try this recipe.

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Harabara Channa Soup is a delicious, refreshing and nutritious recipe consists of black chickpeas or kala channa as the basis for this soup broth cooked along with few aromatic spices.  Black beans are a great source of many dietary needs and this humble legume is a great way to prepare and eat as a meal or as a condiment for other foods.

Harabara Channa soup is simple to cook and a very down to earth homely dish. This dish is very satisfying, wholesome, and high in proteins and provides a nutritious meal.  The dish is nicely made with boiled black channa puree packed with a lot of flavours. This is a wonderful soup for those finicky foodies who do not like to binge on fast foods with extra calories but like consuming beans as it is a good appetizer and gives a greater food satisfaction in a healthy manner.

Black beans are a variety of the common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and belongs to the legume family. It shares many characteristics with their fellow bean family members that include red beans (kidney beans), white beans (navy beans), yellow beans etc. The black channa are also referred to as turtle beans in reference to their shiny, dark, shell-like appearance. Black channa have a rich earthy and nutty flavour. It also has a velvety texture that holds their shape well during cooking. Black channa or Kala chana is a variation of the commonly found chickpea but is dark brown in colour and smaller in size. It is also known as Bengal gram.

Traced well back, during the Middle East 7500 years ago, the chickpea or garbanzo beans today are well known worldwide and commonly known as kabuli chana and kala chana in India and Hummus in Arabic. The bean is a staple diet and used for delicious dips and soups in almost all of the Middle Eastern countries.  Kala chana is very high in proteins and provide a nutritional meal. It also has a low glycemic index and is a good protein option for people with diabetes. Extremely rich in Saponins the bean acts as an amazing antioxidant, especially the darker beans – Kala Chana. Vegans splurge on Chickpeas as a good replacement for meat as they are rich in protein and fibre.

The easily soluble fibre from Chick peas is known to reduce bad cholesterol levels. They are rich in Zinc & Magnesium as well and are a great food choice for diabetic and insulin resistant individuals. In parts of North India, chickpeas are consumed just about every day.  Black Chick peas are available whole and have a particular savoury flavour. Their cooking time varies from 30 minutes to an hour, based on variety.

Chick peas can be cooked with or without salt, sautéed in butter, or combined with lightly cooked vegetables to make a delicious salad. They are included in many traditional recipes, including Falafel and Hummus from the Middle East. In India, Kadala curry is a very popular dish made with kala channa from the Kerala cuisine and the other are the Black channa curry and kondaikadalai pachadi that is quiet popular Indian cuisine.

To prepare this incredible and healthy dish, firstly soak the black kala overnight, pressure cook the channa the next day with little salt. Use this water for making this soup. Take little channa and grind to a paste and mix it well with the channa water and keep aside. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, crushed garlic, green chillies and sauté well till the garlic are slightly browned. Add pinch of hing, turmeric powder, jeera powder, pepper powder and sauté all the spices until flavourful. Add salt to taste and the water of black chickpeas and allow it to boil. After it comes to a full boil, the soup is ready.

Tips: You can adjust the consistency of the soup as per your choice.

Packed with dietary fiber, this is a food recommended for folks with high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart attack risks. The heart health benefits of black beans come not only from the high amount of fibre, but also the high levels of folate and magnesium. For those of you watching your antioxidant intake, black beans rank as high as grapes and cranberries as sources of antioxidants. Research has found that the darker a bean’s seed coat, the higher the amount of antioxidants. Black beans are also a great source of protein for people looking for meat substitutes in their diets.

Black bean is an exceptionally great legume with its unique and solid nutritional profile. They are an excellent source of molybdenum, fat-free high quality protein, dietary fiber, flavonoid anti-oxidants (anthocyanins), vitamins (B1) and minerals (folate, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron). It also contains a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids which is about 3 times more than other beans. Boiled black chana soup is considered very healthy. It also has a low glycemic index.

To enjoy the benefits of the black channa, do make this recipe a part of your healthy and nutritious meal. To try this recipe, do watch the making for this recipe by clicking the below link:

http://www.vahrehvah.com/HARABARA+CHANNA+SOUP:7768

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Kamang Kakdi is a typical Maharashtrian Cucumber salad which is very simple and easy to prepare. This dish is almost a part of any restaurant Maharashtrian buffet. Kamang Kakdi is a delicious, flavourful and a humble dish made with cucumber cut into very small pieces (draining off the moisture) and seasoned with some cumin seeds, spiced with crushed green chillies and flavoured with roasted peanut powder and little fresh coconut.

The cucumber salad is refreshing, cooling and has a medley of flavourful ingredients that compliments with any spicy dish. Kakdi in Marathi means cucumber and cucumber is an excellent vegetable which can be eaten raw just like that or adding little salt and pepper or some spices to enhance its flavours. Kamang Kakdi is a wonderful accompaniment served with Masala bhath, Dalimbi bhat, Varhadi aloo bhat, Vangi bhath or any pulaos etc.

Any time, if you ever wonder how to beat the scorching summer heat, then remember this humble crunchy cucumber which is a low calorie vegetable with more nutrients than just water and electrolytes. A bowl of Kamang kakdi is appetizing, cooling and is stomach filling too. Generally there are various ways of serving cucumber. It is generally cut into thin slices and served as green salad or pickled or mixed with yoghurt and herbs which is popularly known as cucumber raita. The Kamang kakdi is an incredible variation with very simple and less ingredients which can balance and give a cooling effect if served with Tandoori chicken or kebabs.

Usually Maharashtrian food is high in nutritional values and brings out true flavours of the ingredients used. The dishes are primarily vegetarians with lots of fresh ingredients, vegetable and minimum usage of oil and sometime mild on spices. A simple everyday Maharashtra meal consists of a healthy, nutritious Jowar ki roti or jowar bajre ki roti or any wheat based Indian flat bread, bhaaji, koshimbir (salad), bhaat (rice) and amti or varan (legumes/ lentil stews). Matki ki usal is a very popular legume dish made at least once a week.

Kamang kakdi has a great texture, pleasant and attractive light green colour and wonderful nutty flavour from the roasted peanuts and sweetness from the fresh grated coconut. The peanut powder gives a marvellous crunch and the crushed green chillies make it a bit hot and yummy. In the western countries, the cucumber is generally shredded, diced, sliced, peeled or unpeeled. Cucumber is cooked in forming a yummy sauce base, and as a flavour addition. They are hardly noticeable in the final dish as they get disintegrated into the sauce.

Amazingly, cucumber has an impressive amount of water content (about 96%) that is naturally distilled, which makes it superior to ordinary water. The skin of cucumber has a high percentage of vitamin A, hence advice not to peel off the skin and can be eaten with the skin.

Fresh cucumber may taste “bland” to some but its thirst-quenching and cooling properties are refreshing. It acts as an anti-oxidant when taken together with fried and barbequed foods. It benefits us with various ways like acidity – the juice is soothing for the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, its cooling and helps to normalize body temperature, cucumber juice is diuretic, encouraging waste removal through urination.  This also helps in the dissolution of kidney stones. The high amount of vitamin C
and anti-oxidants in cucumber makes it an important ingredient in many beauty creams for treating eczema, psoriasis, acne, etc.

To prepare this simple yet yummy Kamang Kakdi, firstly peel the skin and cut cucumber into small pieces, rub little salt, mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes. All the moisture in the cucumber would come out. Squeeze the cucumber and strain off the moisture. Heat little ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds, as they start spluttering, add pinch of hing (asafoetida), crushed green chillies and sauté. Switch off the flame. Add in the cucumber pieces and stir well. Add pinch of sugar, peanut powder, grated coconut, chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Cucumber salad is ready to be served.

Serve with masala bhath, pulaos, roti etc.

The cucumber is an excellent source of vitamin C and A (anti-oxidants), folate, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, silica, sulfur, and lesser amounts of vitamin B complex, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and chlorine.

Do try this recipe and gain its benefits. The flavours are unique and yummy to taste. Click on the below link to watch the making of Kamang Kakdi:

www.vahrehvah.com/KAMANG+KAKDI+CUCUMBER+SALAD:7769

 

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Spicy bean soup is an excellent amalgamation of baked beans, capsicum, spring onion, celery, tomato puree, cooked rice, bread pieces; slowly cooked in a vegetable broth spiced with red chilli garlic sauce and pepper.

Spicy bean soup is a comforting dish at its best served during winter days; nothing like sitting indoors, warm and cosy, curled on the couch with a hot bowl of robust, zesty hearty soup to warm you up from within. This dish is also a complete healthy and nutritious balanced meal.

Baked beans are stewed well with spicy sauces that taste really great and they are often the haricot beans which are also known as navy beans (a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris). Baked beans are commonly used with a tomato and sugar sauce eaten on toast or part of a full English breakfast in Ireland and the United Kingdom. A canned baked bean are considered as convenience food, shortens the cooking time and can be eaten straight from the can as they are pre-cooked. They are very popular and often served with chips, waffles and other such goods.

Beans that are baked are a dish by itself and these beans can be substituted with other varieties such as kidney beans, black beans, white beans, navy beans etc. These can be cooked and made more flavourful and appealing giving many kind of variations using innovative spices to them. Baked beans could be used in many a variety of dishes. They can be mashed, mixed with spices, fresh herbs, boiled and mashed potatoes and make into wonderful cutlets and fried until golden in colour. They can also be used for stuffing into sandwiches, pizzas, kathi roll, tacos etc. As a traditionally stuffing, they go very well in a delicious Bean burrito. Beans can also be made into curried beans which can be an accompaniment with main course. Rajma made with kidney beans is a very popular dish from the northern part of Indian cuisine.

Beans are valued mainly for their richness in protein and fibre and excellent source of nutrition especially for vegetarians. They are low in fat and do not contain cholesterol. They have nice delicate flavours, tastes delicious and gives a nice texture to the dish.

For preparing this spicy bean soup, firstly heat some butter in a sauce pot. When it starts melting, add capsicum, spring onions, celery and stir fry until they become tender. Add baked beans, tomato and stir for a minute or two. Add tomato puree and stir further for 3-4 minutes. Now add the vegetable stock and bring this to a boil. Add rice. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Add bread pieces, sauces and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

It’s a spicy, warm, refreshing soup that’s great for everyone to enjoy and simple to prepare.

Do try this recipe and feel the warmth and smoothness of flavours. Click on the below link for detailed recipe:

http://www.vahrehvah.com/Spicy+Bean+Soup:171

 

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 Red Lentil Soup is an excellent dish from the Middle Eastern cuisine cooked with some meat, red lentil and spices together offering a perfect wholesome dish full of goodness that will fill you up with delight.  This soup is easy to make but requires a little longer time for cooking.

Red Lentil Soup is truly a delicious soup recipe and lentils boast one of the highest protein levels of any vegetable hence making this a healthy and nutritious dish. It has a slightly thick, creamy, unique and rich flavour served with crusty bread or can just be eaten on its own. Lentil soup is generally served hot and usually made a vegetarian soup, but can also be made with meat stock or pieces of meat. Red or green lentils can be made in different varieties with or without the husk removed. Husked red or yellow lentils disintegrate making this dish a thick soup.

To enhance the flavours and make this dish more nutritious, you can also include vegetables like carrots, potatoes, celery, parsley and onion along with other common flavouring such as garlic, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar. The soup is generously garnished with croutons or chopped herbs. Lentils are versatile, economical and healthy additions that can be added to many main course recipes like Whole Lentils Curry, Dal Bhat, Lentil Minestrone, Monika Dal and Undhiyu etc.

Red lentil soup is considered as a highly nutritious particularly excellent source of protein, dietary fibre, iron and potassium. Lentils are incredible legumes that have a rich nutty flavour. They are grown in pods which contain one or two seeds each. There are many varieties of lentil that are in different sizes and shapes.  Red lentils are also popular but they do not hold their shape as well when cooked. Lentils have good nutritional value, are also a good source of iron and an excellent source of folate. Lentils cook much faster than dried beans and do not require soaking.

Red lentil soup is an extremely stomach filling soup with a perfect nourishment in warming up your body on any cold day.  Lentils are also popularly used in making of various salads which is very satisfying and refreshing to your palate. Lentil soup and lentil salad are outstanding high protein, low fat and no cholesterol diets. It is impossible to think that any anybody would seem to dislike lentils as they are valued high for its nutritional benefits and also lend themselves to all kinds of cooking styles.

To prepare this exceptional and power housed with amazing nutrients and vitamins Red Lentil Soup, firstly put all the ingredients except the lemons in a big saucepan and keep it until it boils. Simmer gently, covered until the lentils become very soft and not completely disintegrated (this will usually take about 1 ½ to 2 hours cooking time).

During the last 45 minutes of this time, the lentils should be mixed every 5 minutes because they may stick to the bottom of the pot. When the lentils are cooked, taste and adjust some salt and pepper if necessary. The soup is now ready to be served. You can remove the bones and rub the soup through a sieve. After that return the soup to the saucepan and pour some water if it’s too thick, or cook it a little longer to reduce and thicken it. Collect any bits of meat from the bones and add them to the soup. Serve each bowl with a half lemon. It may be served with Arabic crunchy bread.

Their incredible nutritional value should be enough to get you cooking lentils. They are rich in protein, fibre and complex carbohydrates. They are a good source of calcium, phosphorus, iron, B vitamins and folic acid. They are also low calorie, low fat and cholesterol free. This recipe is a wonder food comforting dish that is simple to make and must to be included in your diet. Do try this dish. Click the below link for detailed recipe:

http://www.vahrehvah.com/RED+LENTIL+SOUP:2597

Apple Jicama Coleslaw is an incredibly versatile salad, having a crunchy texture and sweet flavour. This dish is a pleasant makeover mixed with an amazing sweet, tangy and spicy salad dressing made with pineapple juice, mayonnaise, sugar, hot sauce and salt; sprinkled with corn nuts that gives a crunchy and nutty flavour.

The word ‘coleslaw’ arose sometime way back in 18^th century as the Anglicisation of the Dutch termed it ‘koolsla’, a shortening of ‘koolsalade’, which means ‘cabbage salad’. This originated from Ireland and generally was made at the end of the month from leftover vegetables and cream. There are various version of making the coleslaw with a variety of dressing of your choice and taste. Coleslaw is also sometimes simply called as slaw in few American dialects.  Coleslaw primarily consists of shredded raw cabbage dressed with buttermilk and mayonnaise. It also includes shredded carrots, other fruits and vegetables like apples, onions, radish, peppers as well as horseradish and various spices.

Jicama is a popular round root vegetable native to Central America and is available year round especially from November to May. It is a remarkable vegetable with a crunchy texture and natural sweet and nutty flavour. Because of its versatility, jicama offers to a variety of dishes that includes salads, vegetable platters, salsas and even desserts. The mellow flavour of jicama complements itself with tart apples and sweet cabbage giving this dish a sophisticated and classic flavour.

Jicama is a popular vegetable of Mexican cuisine and also known as Yam Bean or Mexican turnip. Although the edible root resembles a turnip, yet there is no interrelation between a turnip and a Jicama. The scientific name of Jicama is Pachyrizus erosus, belonging to the genus Pachyrizus. Gradually the Spaniards were the people who took Jicama from Mexico to Southeast Asia and spread its popularity in countries like Philippines, Indonesia, China, India, Singapore and Vietnam. Although the plant root is edible, it is unsafe to consume the rest of the vine. Jicama is called by different name in each regions of Asia. It is called as ‘cu dau’ in Northern Vietnam or ‘cu san’ in southern Vietnam, ‘bang kuan’ in ethnic Chinese, ‘doushu’ in Mandarin Chinese, ‘man kaeo’ in Thai, mishrikhan in Hindi and Kandha or kandagadda in Telugu.

Apple is an impeccable fruit that is loaded with enormous vitamins and minerals. When added to any coleslaw it adds that extra crunch and is extremely refreshing, delightfully crisp and juicy. An apple on its own makes an excellent fruit, ideal after school snack and ranks high among comfort foods. Fuji and Red Delicious apples are all high in phenols. The fructose in apples gives them their sweetness. Fructose is a simple sugar, but it’s broken down slowly. Combined with all the fiber in apples, this helps keep blood sugar levels stable.

Green cabbage is a common ingredient in any coleslaw that offers a major payoff – fewest calories and least fat of any vegetable.  It is a versatile vegetable that is smooth and the shiny leaves are also used as wraps for meat, grains and other vegetables. Shavings of green cabbage are added to salads, used as the basis for coleslaw and sauerkraut, and tossed into stews and sautés. Cabbage is also a good source of vitamin C, fibre, potassium, and other nutrients.

To prepare this wonderful Apple Jicama Coleslaw, firstly whisk together the dressing ingredients (that includes 1/4 cup pineapple juice, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tsp sugar, hot sauce to taste, salt to taste) in a large mixing bowl. Taste and adjust the sweetness and spiciness if so desired.

To this add, 1/2 small green cabbage, sliced into 1/4-inch strips, 1/2 jicama, sliced into 1/4-inch strips and 1 large Fuji apple, sliced into 1/4-inch strips. Toss until coated. It tastes best if dressed within 30 minutes of serving, so it stays crisp and fresh. Taste for seasoning and toss again right before serving. Garnish with crushed corn nuts.

Tips – A julienne vegetable slicer/ peeler makes this slaw a snap.

Jicama is also a  popular ingredient for mixed fruit salads, fresh fruit combos and soups along with  other common  fruits and veggies such as  pineapple, carrot, orange, green beans, raw mango, apple, and sweet potato. Jicama has high carbohydrate and anti-oxidants content.  This low-calorie tuber is an excellent source of minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper and manganese. Jicama is high in vitamins C, A and B, along with calcium and phosphorus.

This crispy, crunchy, and extremely refreshing coleslaw recipe features a very under-utilized vegetable which is very mild with a subtly sweet flavour. The dressing is made from only a few ingredients, but works perfectly with this combination of fruit and vegetables. It’s just a perfect raw salad blends wonderfully with the tart apple and crunchy cabbage. Give this easy side dish recipe a try soon.

Enjoy Cooking!