Monday, October 5, 2009

Mixed Vegetable Soup

Is your baby resisting to eat the tasteless baby foods available out there in the market?
Are you not sure what  to prepare for dinner or an evening snack?
Are u suffering from cold and want instant relief?
Don't like to cook an expansive meal?
Too much vegetable in the refrigerator, all in small portions, don't know what to do with them?


If your answer is 'yes' to any of the above then read on....


This is the final version of the recipe I arrived at after making lot of modifications. Before I get into the recipe, I would like to share the story behind this...My daughter was 6 months old when the pediatrician said that I could start giving her some mashed vegetables and fruits. Consulted few of my friends and chose one of the best brands. For the first few days my sweet lil thing ate few spoons. Later she started to spit them out. I tasted them to see if it was ok. To my horror I didn't like a bit. Being a choosy person myself, I should expect some amount of this gene on my child too. So I started preparing myself. One vegetable everyday. I would pressure cook, grate and give her this. Didn't add salt because of sodium content..was too conscious ignoring the taste..:). Then we went to visit the doc on a routine checkup after a month. She started with a long list of fruits and vegetables and said I have to give her all of them. This little one would just have 2 or 3 spoonfuls and how am I going to feed all these vegetables. It was definitely a herculean task. So I started adding all the available vegetables and of course some lentils for some protein and a tinge of salt so that I could happily eat the leftovers. I started to make this for everyone in the family as it was delicious and healthy. In spite of all these my daughter is still below her normal weight.. 


Here's the list of things that's needed for making this soup.


Ingredients:


All kinds of vegetables that is available with you. - 2 cups (cut into 1 inch pieces)
(for eg: beans, carrot, beetroot(for the color), squash, potato, sweet potato, radish, peas, pumpkin, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflowe, corn)





small onion - 2
garlic - 1 clove
small tomato -1
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
moon dhal - 1 tbsp
garam masala powder -1 tsp(if its for your little one, ignore this)

corn flour -1 tsp
salt - as required
pepper - if required
butter - 1 tsp
milk - 4 tbsps
fresh cream - 1 tsp


Method:


1. Pressure cook the vegetables, tomato, onions, garlic, turmeric powder, moong dhal, garam masala together.
2. Allow it to cool.



3. Grind them to a smooth consistency using a blender.
4. Now heat a pan and melt the butter.
5. Add corn flour and roast them for a min.
6. Add milk and allow it to boil.
7. Now add the ground vegetables.
8. Add required salt and let it cook for sometime.
9. Serve hot topping it with fresh cream.
10. Add pepper if need be.





Variations:


1. Make it to a thick paste and offer it to an infant. Highly nutritious.
2. Don't add fresh cream. Add some more water and make it as a rasam. Add coriander leaves for extra flavor.Goes well with rice and papad.
3. Don't add garam masala while cooking the vegetables. After the vegetables are cooked add ground coconut, cumin seeds and green chilli. Cook them together for 5 min. Season with mustard, urad dhal and asafoetida. This is a good side dish for chappathi or rice varieties.


Do try this recipe and give your comments


This recipe is participating in the event Cooking for Infants and Toddlers 0-3 yrs by Radhika and  Sudeshna. This can be offered to children from ages 6 months and up!!
This soup is also participating in WFY Light Meal by EC.



1 Comment:

  1. EC said...
    Not just kids, even elders will love it...thanks for the entry

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