Spinach Soup with Edamame Patties

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Sharing the recipe for my dinner and as I was writing the blog post, I realized that it was two recipes. Since they were both so easy, I am putting both of them here.

Spinach Soup

Ingredients:
4 cups of tightly packed spinach (Washed, rinsed and patted dry)
1/2 Cabbage head - Chopped roughly
1 Yellow Squash - Chopped roughly
1 Cup of Red Onion
2-3 Pinches of Nutmeg
2-3 Green Chilies
2-3 Garlic Cloves
2-3 Tsp of Olive Oil
Water to boil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add the chopped onion, green chilies and Garlic and saute until Onion is translucent.
2. Add the nutmeg powder and mix well.
3. Add Cabbage, Yellow squash and Spinach. Mix well. Add about 2 cups of water just enough to cover the veggies and boil them well under medium fire. I covered the pot and cooked them well.
4. Let it cool a little bit and then puree them in the blender with salt. Make sure that the mixture is not too hot when you are pureeing it. With the measurement I have given, I was able to do it in one batch, but you might have to do it in couple of batches.
5. Return the pureed mixture back to pan and boil for a few mins. I added 1/2 tsp of olive oil when I was boiling it.
6. Serve it hot with black pepper.

Notes:
1. You can add other vegetables like Kale, Tomato etc.
2. You add some butter in the very end instead of olive oil to get a more richer taste.

Edamame Patties

Ingredients:
1 12oz bag of shelled frozen edamame
1/4 Chopped White Onion
1/4 cup of Cilantro
3-4 Garlic cloves
1 inch of Ginger
2-3 Tsp of Red Pepper Flakes
1 Egg
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Pressure cook the Edamame Beans until they are fully cooked.
2. In a food processor - add 2/3 of the cooked bean and all the ingredients and blend it until you get a smooth paste.
3. Chop the remaining edamame seeds roughly, mix it with the paste.
4. On a parchment paper, spray some oil, form small patties out of this mixture. It will not be very tight mixture as there is no binding element like bread crumbs. Just form the best shape you can.
5. Bake at 375 deg temp for about 20-25 mins, flipping them once in the middle.
6. Serve it hot with some Walden Farms Fat Free Honey Dijon Dressing. You can use salsa, ketchup or any other dressing of your choice. Or eat it dressing free :))

Notes:
1. You can add bread crumbs and make it like regular burger patties.
2. If you add breadcrumbs, you can pan fry it as well.
3. You can broil the patties at the very end to make it more crispier.
4. I made 11 patties out of this. Each had 2g of carbs, 40 Calories each and 3g of protein.

Cabbage and Black Eyed Pea Curry

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 Cup of Dry Black Eyed Pea
1/2 or 3/4 head of Cabbage
1 Small Onion
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 inch of Ginger
3-4 Green Chillies
1/4 Cup of Finely Chopped Cilantro For Garnishing
1/4 tsp of Turmeric Powder
Salt to Taste
1 Tsp of Lemon Juice

For Seasoning:
Oil for Cooking
Mustard Seeds
Cumin Seeds
Urad Daal
Curry Leaves

Method:
1. Wash and clean the black eyed pea and then you can either cook it in pressure cooker for 3 whistles or you can cook it on stove top until it is cooked.
2. Chop the onion finely along with Garlic, Ginger and Green Chilies.
3. In a separate pan, heat the oil, add all the seasoning ingredients. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the Finely Chopped Onion Mix. Saute this well until the onion is cooked and turns brownish.
4. Now add the chopped Cabbage and turmeric powder and let it cook well. Do not add any water, you can reduce the heat and let it cook with a lid on. If you want crunchier Cabbage, do not cover the pan.
5. Once the Cabbage is almost done, add the cooked black eyed pea and salt. Mix it well and cook for 5 more minutes on low flame.
6. You can then turn off the flame and garnish the curry with chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice.
7. Serve it hot with either Chapathi or Rice.

Notes:
1. You can use Canned or Frozen Black eyed pea as well, but they need to be cooked a bit as well. The cook time might be less than dry.
2. You can increase or decrease the garlic and green chilies per your taste.
3. You can put the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilies in a food processor and chop the very fine as well.

Cabbage Paratha with Bran

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup of Finely Chopped Cabbage
1 1/2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup of Wheat Bran
1/2 inch of Ginger Chopped Finely
Salt to Taste
1/4 Cup of Yogurt (fat free)
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
2 Tsp of Jeera Powder
1 Tsp of Coriander Powder
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder (or more if you want it spicy)
Oil for cooking

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients except Oil in a wide bowl and mix well. Add very little water in increments to knead the dough.
2. Put the mixed dough in refrigerator for at least 20-30 mins. This helps the bran to absorb water and the paratha will be softer.
3. Take the dough out and then make it into small balls (maybe slightly bigger than golf size balls), and Knead them thoroughly. I found that kneading these smaller dough balls is much easier and more effective. Roll it out using wheat flour.
4. Put it on a heated pan and cook it on both sides using oil. Make sure you cook the paratha on medium fire. This takes a bit longer, but cooks it well.
5. Serve the paratha hot with either Pickle or Yogurt or both.

Notes:
1. You can add Cilantro as well. I forgot to add this time.
2. You can skip the yogurt if you are not inclined to add it, but I have found out that Yogurt and keeping it in the fridge helps the bran soften quite a bit. But I have tried it without yogurt as well and it works perfectly well.
3. If you do not like the taste of cabbage, you can chop it much more finely in the food processor before mixing it with the flour.

Paneer Stirfry with Cabbage and Bell Peppers

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Fresh Paneer (Cubed)
1 small head of Cabbage - Finely Chopped
1-2 Bell Peppers  - Chopped (I used a combination of Yellow and Red Bell Peppers)
Oil To Sautee
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 Tsp of Cumin Powder
1 Tsp of Corriander Powder
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder
Salt to Taste

Method:

1. Pan fry the paneer cubes with very less oil in pan and keep it aside. In the same pan, heat some more oil and sautee the bell peppers.
2. In a Wok, add some oil and once it is hot, add some cumin seeds and then add all the dry powders and saute for a few mins and then add the chopped cabbage and cook it for 10 mins with a lid on and very slow fire. This way you can cook the cabbage completely and yet keep it crisp and not soggy.
3. Once the cabbage is done, add the paneer and the bell peppers, salt to taste and mix well. You can garnish this with chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer stir fry is ready and can be eaten with Chapathi or Rice. I had it just like this with some salad.