Spinach Celery Soup in Coconut Milk

Know What You Eat: Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A (70 percent of daily requirement), vitamin C (25 percent of daily requirement) and iron (20 percent of daily requirement). Spinach also provides vitamin K, which helps blood coagulate and which, along with calcium, vitamin D and phosphorous, is important for strong bones. Celery is a plant in the parsley family with edible roots, research has shown that celery contains blood pressure reducing properties. Celery contains active compounds called Pthalides which relax the muscles of the arteries that regulate blood pressure allowing these vessels to dilate. It is rich source of Vitamin C.

I hate to do shopping(grocery ) that too to stand in the line to pay for the items purchased when people come in with a big bunch of coupons to be sorted out, all the sorting is done at the cash counter making people wait. To get over it, i quickly graze through the magazines(especially the food related ones) kept near the billing counter. The bad part it sometimes you will be half done and your turn would have come. This is one of the recipe i came across but couldn't go through the whole recipe except the title, so i made my own by adding celery as i just love its flavor and it did turn out nice.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Serves : 4

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 bunch (medium sized)
Celery - 1 1/2 cups(Chopped)
Coconut Milk - 1 can (120z)
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Salt
Pepper
Water
Oil - 2 tsp(i used coconut oil)

Method

1) Wash, rinse, drain and chop the spinach.
2) Wash the celery and chop into fine pieces.
3) Heat a pan, add 1 tsp of oil and then add the chopped spinach and celery pieces.
4) Saute till they are tender.
5) Let this cool and then transfer to a food processor and puree it adding enough water.
6) Now peel the ginger and cut into thin strips.(Always peel the ginger and use the inner part alone).
7) Heat 1 tsp of oil and once hot add the ginger strips and fry till you get a nice aroma.
8) Now add the pureed spinach and celery mixture and coconut milk and let this simmer for 10 minutes.
9) Add salt and pepper to taste and serve it hot with your favorite bread.

Event Participation:

This dish is our contribution to SWC- Cooking with greens event.

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Plain Palak (Spinach) Curry

Know What You Eat:

Researchers have identified at least 13 different compounds in nutrient-rich Spinach that function as antioxidants and anti-cancer agents. Spinach has also been shown to help those suffering from osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis and other diseases. Spinach is fat-and cholesterol-free, low in calories, high in fiber, high in folate (20 percent of daily requirement), and also provides 15 percent of the daily requirement of magnesium. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A (70 percent of daily requirement), vitamin C (25 percent of daily requirement) and iron (20 percent of daily requirement). Spinach also provides vitamin K, which helps blood coagulate and which, along with calcium, vitamin D and phosphorous, is important for strong bones.

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves 2 ( 1 serving = 1-1/2 C Fresh Spinach)

Ingredients:

6 C Fresh Washed Chopped Spinach

2 Med Sized tomatoes, Chopped

1/4 C Half & Half

1 tsp Turmeric Pwd

1 tsp Red Chilli Pwd

1 tsp Coriander - Cumin Pwd

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

For Tempering:

3 tsp Canola Oil

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

A pinch Asafoetida

Method:

1. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, once it stops spluttering add cumin,& asafoetida powder.

2. Now add washed chopped spinach, salt & turmeric and let it cook in a covered pan untill it is half done, then add chopped tomatoes and all the rest of the ingredients.

3. Add water if necessary / if more gravy is needed.

4. Once all cooked for about 15 mins, add 1/2 & 1/2, remove from flame, & serve hot.

Note:

At our home we eat this plain palak, with moong dal khichadi & paratha.

Also goes well with plain Basmati rice / Indian Flat Breads.

Event Participation:

This dish is our contribution to SWC- Cooking with greens event.
This dish goes to 15 mins Event hosted by Mahimaa

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Tomato Spinach Omlette

Know What you Eat

This food (ChickPea Flour Besan) is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Magnesium and Copper, and a very good source of Protein, Folate and Manganese, Niacin.

Cooking Time: 15 min
Preparation Time: 10 min
Serves – Yields roughly 4 to 5 med.size Omlettes

Ingredients:

1 cup (120 gms)chickpea besan flour
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 cup finely shredded spinach
1/2 cup mixed cabbage, carrot, cilantro & onion (optional)
1/2 cup tomato puree OR (very finely chopped tomatoes)
5 tsp canola oil for frying
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp turmeric pwd
2 tsp red chilli pwd (or acc. to taste)
1 tsp garam masala pwd
Salt to taste
Water to mix the batter(be careful as you already have tomato puree to make batter loose enough) for eg. after mixing should look like a dosa batter.

Method:

1 Mix together all the ingredients,then add enough water to make a dosa like batter, keep it aside for atleast 10 mins.
2 Heat the iron or non-stick griddle and pour a ladle full of the batter and spread like you spread a dosa, let it evenly cook.
3 Pour a tsp of oil and once it is cooked on one side,turn and place the other side of the omlette and remove it once cooked.
4 Serve it with green chutney or ketchup.

Event Participation:
This dish is our contribution to SWC- Cooking with greens event.

This goes to Sunday Snacks - Chaats/Indian Street Food, hosted by Pallavi

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