Egg Curry in Tomato and Garlic Gravy (Sauce)

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
6 boiled Eggs cut in half
4 cups of tomatoes chopped
3-4 Garlic Cloves
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Tumeric powder
1 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
IP Salt to taste
Chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

Method:
1. Heat a pan and add 1 tsp of Olive Oil. Add chopped tomatoes and garlic and cook well on medium heat until the tomatoes are completely cooked.
2. Let this cool down and come to room temperature. Blend this mixture in a blender or food processor with just a tad bit of water.
3. Heat the same pan with 1 tsp of Olive oil and put cumin seeds and all the spice powders and fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the blended tomato mixture and cook for a few more minutes.
5. Add the halved boiled eggs and ip salt and mix well gently.
6. Reduce the heat and cook for 5-6 minutes so that eggs absorb the spices.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

This recipe creates two IP Servings of 2 cups of Vegetables and 6-7 ounces of protein when you eat three eggs with half of the sauce.

You can serve this with a IP potato puree pita bread if you so desire.

Notes:
1. You can add 1-2 tsp of splenda if you feel that the tomatoes are a bit sour. I personally like the slightly sour taste of tomatoes, so I did not add any splenda.
2. You can even reduce the tomatoes and add some spinach for a slightly different taste.
3. You can use this tomato gravy and add it to other vegetables as well like bell peppers and cauliflower. Just reduce the tomato to 1 cup and and another cup of vegetables. It is better to roast these vegetables first. I will post another recipe soon.
4. You can use canned sauce, but somehow the taste is much better with fresh tomatoes.

Tomato Rasam (Soup)

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
Tomato - 2 Medium (About 1 Cup == 7 oz)
2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Whole Black Pepper
A Few Curry Leaves
1 Tsp of Granular Splenda
2 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro
Salt to Taste

For Seasoning:
1 Tsp of Olive Oil or Butter flavored Olive Oil
Mustard Seeds
A pinch of Hing

Method:
1. Boil the tomatoes with just enough water to cover them until you see the skin peeling.
2. Let the tomatoes cool. Peel the skin and mash them well. Add it back to the water you boiled them in.
3. After mashing, I took out the big chunks of tomatoes that I felt were too big and blended them well.
4. Dry Roast Cumin and Whole Pepper seeds and grind them into a powder. Add this powder to the mashed tomato mixture along with salt, splenda, curry leaves and cilantro and boil the mixture for a few minutes. Do not over boil it as it spoils the taste.
5. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and hing and add the seasoning to the Rasam (soup) as soon as Mustard seeds splutter. Serve it Hot.
6. This makes perfect meal options for cold weather. Cumin and Black Pepper are good digestive aids as well. This entire serving will count as 1 cup of Vegetable serving for Ideal Protein.

Notes:
1. You can use Jaggery or Sugar instead of Splenda. Since, I wanted this to be Ideal Protein Friendly, I used Splenda.
2. You can use Ghee for Seasoning instead of olive oil. Again to keep it Ideal Protein Friendly, I used olive oil.

Roasted Corn and Tomato Soup

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 lb of Frozen Corn
1 and 1/2 boxes of Cherry Tomatoes
4-6 Garlic Cloves
4 Cups of Vegetable Broth
1 Large Onion Chopped
1 8 Oz Bottle of Roasted Red Bell Peppers
2-3 Tsp of Chipotle Chillie Powder
2-3 Tsp of Paprika
Freshly Ground Pepper
Salt to Taste
Oil for cooking
Chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 425 deg F. Line a baking tray with Aluminum Foil. Spread the corn on the tray, add the cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves on top.
2. Drizzle oil on this. Sprinkle some salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes until the tomato skin starts getting wrinkly and the corn looks roasted. Corn wont become brown or anything.
3. Drain the Roasted Red Bell Peppers and chop them.
4. In a Pan, add some oil. Saute the Onion until they are translucent. Add the chili powders, salt and the roasted red pepper. Saute for a few minutes.
5. Keep a little bit of the roasted corn for garnishing.
6. Add the vegetable broth, roasted corn and tomato mixture and bring it to a boil.
7. Once it starts boiling, reduce the temp to Low Medium, cover the pot and cook the mixture for about 20 minutes.
8. Let it cool for a few minutes and blend it into a smooth mixture using a blender. For this mixture, I had to blend it twice.  It is very IMPORTANT that you remove the small cap on the blender lid to let the steam out and you can cover that hole with a paper towel to prevent splatters.
8. Serve it hot with Chopped Cilantro, freshly ground pepper and a little roasted corn.

Notes:
1. This soup tastes a bit better if you use fresh corn. You have to scrap the kernels from fresh corn. You will need about 3 cups of corn kernels. You have to be careful when scraping the corn as you do not want the underlying fiber as it can make the soup taste bad.
2. You can use any kind of tomatoes - vine, roma etc. I just happen to like the Cherry tomatoes and the slight sourness they add to the soup.
3. You can roast your own Red Bell Pepper. You cut the top off, remove the seed, cut it open so that you can spread it out, brush some olive oil on the skin and bake until the skin starts blackening and peeling off. Then you just peel the skin, chop it and use it just like the bottled one.
4. You can use an immersion blender if you like those and blend the soup right in the pot. I just happen to use the blender because that is what I have.

Tomato and Wheat Flour Dosa (Crepe)

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 Cup of Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Rice Flour
4 Medium Tomatoes
1 Medium Onion Chopped Fine
1/4 Cup of Chopped Cilantro
4-5 Green Chillies Chopped (or more per taste)
Salt to taste
Oil for Cooking

Method:
1. Sift the wheat and rice flour along with the salt.
2. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender.
3. Add the tomato puree to the flour mixture and mix well. Add more water to bring it to a pouring consistency. It should not be too watery but not too solid either.
4. Adjust salt if needed as you are adding some water.
5. Add chopped onions, green chillies and cilantro.
6. Heat a non stick pan or a cast iron pan, pour a ladle of the crepe mixture. Cook on both sides with oil.
7. Serve it hot with some pickle, chutney or jam on the side.

Notes:
1. You can cover the Dosa/Crepe on one side to hasten the cooking process.
2. You can avoid rice flour if you do not want to use it. Does not change the taste much. Texture might be a bit more softer without rice flour.
3. I like the taste of Onion when eating the Dosa, so I chop it and add it. But if you do not, you can chop it extra fine in the food processor before adding it.

Cucumber Tomato Salad with Mint and Avocado

(From Banu's Cookbook)

This is a variation of my own inspired from the salad recipe from Kayln's Kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 Large Cucumber or 3 Small Mini Seedless Cucumbers - Chopped into quarter pieces
2 Medium Roma Tomatoes or 1 Big Cup of Cherry Tomatoes - Chopped
1 Avocado
2 Tbsp or more of Chopped Cilantro
1 Tbsp of Chopped Mint
Lemon Juice
1 Can of Red Kidney Beans (Rinsed and Drained)
1/4 tsp of Chipotle Chilli Pepper powder
Salt to Taste
Black Pepper
Some spicy peanuts for topping

Method:
1. Chop the Avocado and add lemon juice to it.
2. Mix the chopped cucumber and red kidney beans well. To this add the chopped tomatoes and avocado and mix gently.
3. Add salt, black pepper, chopped cilantro, mint and chipotle chilli pepper powder and mix gently.
4. You can serve it topped with some Peanuts as I did. This is optional.

This recipe can be used in South Beach Diet Phase 1.