Some Healthy Choices

For all of you who have been emailing me about recipes, I am posting two really nice ones that make a wonderful lunch dish. You can also serve either dish as a side for your main course.

Indian Chole

I just made this today to have for lunches this week. I will warn you that it is extremely spicy. If you aren't into spicy food, I would highly recommend that you use less green chillies and less chilli powder! =) It is really delicious though.

Ingredients:

• 1 small bowl of cooked chick peas (roughly 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 large tomato diced
• 2 handfuls of chopped coriander
• 1 large onion diced

For Paste:

• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 2 spoonfuls of tomato paste
• 1 onion
• 4-5 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-in strip ginger
• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 Tbsp sunflower oil (or olive)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or a little extra
• 3 cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp stevia (or 1 tsp sugar)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Blend together tomato, one onion, cumin seeds, chillies, cinnamon and cloves to make a paste using a little water. Set aside.

Heat oil in large frying pan (or electric skillet) and add the bay leaves. Add the diced onion and fry until golden brown. Now add the tomato paste mixture and fry for a few more minutes. Add the dry powders (chilli, turmeric, sugar, coriander, and masala). Now add the chopped tomato and coriander and bring to a soft boil.

Boil for 5 minutes and serve with chapati bread as a side dish, or on top of rice for a main course.

Lentil and Coriander Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp sunflower oil (or olive)
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 1/8 Cup brown lentils
• 1 small onion, cut in half
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 Cups of water (more or less depending)
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper
• Freshly chopped coriander leaves

Directions:

Add all ingredients to your crock-pot, turn on high, and let it go!! Depending on your machine, it may take a few hours. The amount of water you use will depend also on your machine. The first time I made this using 5 cups of water, but that was too much. Soup is finished when lentils are tender. Remove onion and bay leaf.

Coarsely puree the soup with an immersion blender, or scoop a little out and blend in your food processor. Return the blended paste to the soup for thickening. Serve with a large portion of chopped coriander and a dollop of yogurt if desired. This is a delicious soup, although I admit that it isn't very pretty. =)

I took this to work all last week, and it is great with a little hummus and vege on the side!

Happy cooking this week, everyone!

You are what you eat ~ Namaste