Rustle up

Spending time in the kitchen can be therapeutic. Try these simple, yet sumptuous dishes for a feel-good factor

Are you tired of rustling up dishes during this crisis where we’re invariably short of stocks, here are a few easy to make dishes that have the added advantage of boosting your immunity too:

Chickpea &
spinach salad

Ingredients

2 cups boiled chickpea (white chana); ½ cup chopped onions; ¼ cup olive oil; 3 tbsp lemon juice; ½ tbsp lemon zest ; 1 ½ tbsp ground cumin; 4 cup baby spinach leaves; 2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint; Salt & pepper as per taste

Method: In a medium bowl combine the chickpeas and onions. In another bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture and toss to combine. Serve the chickpeas salad over a bed of spinach leaves.

Tomato peppercorns clear soup

Ingredients

2/3 medium-sized tomatoes; 10 peppercorns crushed; 3-4 garlic flakes finely chopped ; 1¼ ginger crushed; 1¼ cinnamon stick; Chopped onion 20 gms; Salt to taste; Oil 1 tsp

Method: Boil the tomato, ginger, cinnamon, crushed pepper in 250 ml water till the tomatoes are done, allow it to cool then mash it and sieve it. Heat the oil/butter, fry the garlic and chopped onions till golden brown on a slow fire and add the tomato stock, add salt to taste, allow it to boil for a few minutes. Serve hot with a sprinkle of black pepper powder and garnished with mint leaves. No thickening agent needs to be added.

Neem chutney

Not many of us like to eat neem leaves because of its bitter taste. So why not have them in the form of a chutney?

Ingredients

10 neem leaves ; 2 tsps – jaggery; 3-4 – kokum; 1/2 tsp – cumin seeds (jeera); Salt

Method: Wash the neem leaves. Grind all ingredients together. Besides neem, the jaggery used in the chutney not only diminishes the bitter taste but also helps in digestion. Jaggery is a rich source of iron, zinc, and selenium. It also detoxifies the body.

(Courtesy: Chef Nilesh Pawar - Head Chef, The Byke group of hotels & resorts)

Creamy sweet potato & carrot soup

Ingredients

Sweet potato roasted or boiled 250 grams; Carrot peeled, roasted or boiled 100 grams; Chopped onion 20 grams; Chopped garlic 10 grams; Chopped celery 10 grams; Black pepper whole 03 grams; Salt to taste; Fresh spinach cleaned & shredded 50 grams; Bay leaf 1; Cream or milk 30 ml ; Melon seed /flaxseed /nuts 10 grams

Method

Wash sweet potato and carrot, apply some olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 160C. Once cooked and cooled, remove the skin and make a puree. Now take a deep pan on moderate flame, add chopped onion, garlic bay leaf and celery. Sauté for a few minutes till it turns light brown. Add pureed sweet potato and carrot. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with cream or milk. Serve hot with shredded spinach on top. This soup goes well with buttered garlic bread.

Barley congee with fresh veggies

Ingredients: Barley washed and soaked 50 grams; Dices of Carrot 50 grams; Dices of French Beans 50 grams; Chopped onion 20 grams; Chopped garlic 10 grams; Chopped ginger 05 grams; Chopped spring onions 10 grams; Chopped green chilli 05 grams; Olive oil 10 ml; Salt/pepper To Taste ; If carrots and beans are unavailable you can use any other vegetables such as broccoli or capsicum

Method

Wash and soak barley overnight, Heat olive oil in a deep pan, add onions, garlic, ginger and sauté until lightly golden brown for few minutes. Then add all the remaining ingredients except spring onions and let it boil. Simmer on low heat for about 30 min or until the barley is tender. Garnish with spring onions and serve warm to enjoy a bowl of barley soup.

(Courtesy Chef Mani Pathak, executive chef, Fox In The Field, Whitefield, Bengaluru)