Most of the mothers face the problem of feeding children healthy food. Spinach and greens are the hardest nuts to crack. Here are two delicious recipes.
1. Soup Noodles: Serve Four
Ingredients:
Tomatoes – 4
Bottle Gourd: half a small
Carrots: two. small and cute
Spinach – 8 leaves (remove the stems)
onion – one
Garlic: half round (8-10 cloves)
nail -2
Salt and pepper to taste.
Whole cumin seeds. (jeera) – a table spoon
Noodles*: 400 g (instant or others)
Addresses:
• Peel the onion, garlic, pumpkin and carrots.
• Wash spinach well.
• Wash all other vegetables, including tomatoes.
• Chop vegetables into small pieces, about one to two inches.
• Place all the vegetables and cloves in a pressure cooker.
• Add 250 ml of water.
• Close the lid of the pressure cooker and when it starts to whistle, put the gas heat to minimum.
• Keep it for ten minutes.
• Meanwhile cook noodles or boil noodles according to instructions.
• For instant noodles, it’s only two minutes; while other noodles may take longer and require water drainage.
• Add flavorings and spices as provided with the instant noodles.
• For other noodles, drain the water after boiling and add salt, red chili sauce and vinegar to taste.
• Once the noodles are done, set them aside.
• Turn off the gas, wait for the vapor to dissipate.
• Open the lid of the pressure cooker carefully.
• In case of using a steel blender, mix the hot vegetables well; If using a plastic mixer, grinder or blender, wait for the vegetables to cool down, then mix well.
• Take a large strainer and strain these blended vegetables through it.
• Use a spatula to mash and push the vegetable through the strainer.
• Take a large saucepan and combine the noodles and blended (and strained) vegetables in that saucepan.
• Toast the cumin seeds in the hot strip (tawa).
• Crush these roasted seeds into a powder. (I put these in chakla and roll the rolling pin i.e. belan over these).
• Add this powder to the noodle and soup mix.
• Add salt and black pepper to the soupy noodles.
• A very nutritious food is ready and that is absolutely not fattening for winter evenings.
#While served in the bowls, this soup can be garnished with boiled eggs.
*Instead of noodles, pasta/macaroni can be used.
2. Tiffin taco: Two tacos
Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour: 100 gms
Warm water: 200ml
salt: a pinch
Ajwain*: a pinch
Purified butter/ghee: one tablespoon
To fill:
Potato – one boiled
Cheese – 50 gms grated
Green peas – 50 g boiled
Green Fenugreek (Methi) leaves – two sprigs, (washed and very finely chopped)
Salt and pepper to season
Oregano – a pinch
Sandwich cream – optional
Addresses:
Add the flour, salt, ajwain and butter to a wide plate/pan.
Slowly add warm water to knead and make a smooth dough.
Make 2 balls with this mass.
Put an iron girdle on the fire.
Roll out the balls of dough into wide circular pancakes. (size of a quarter plate)
Cook these pancakes on the hot strip one by one, turning them over, when one side is done.
Mash together the potato, cheese, peas and fenugreek leaves.
Add salt, pepper, and oregano.
Spread a thin sandwich layer over the pancakes, one at a time. (optional)
Spread the vegetable and cheese puree over the pancake/taco as well.
Roll up the taco and use a toothpick in the ends to keep it closed.
Grill these rolled tacos on the grill of your waffle iron.
Serve hot with chutney or green sauce.
# For the filling you can use any dry cooked vegetables, for example, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, etc. or scrambled eggs can be used.
*Ajwain is also called carambola, Carum copticum/Trachyspermum copticum/Trachyspermum ammi, or bishop’s weed.
