Curried Butternut squash Basil soup

On a cold evening, our bellies were craving for some hot soup. I quickly scanned my kitchen resources and came up with an idea to make 'butternut squash soup'. Butternut squash, always remained an 'untouchable' in my refrigerator- the least preferred vegetable in my family. Hence, I picked few other veggies to make the soup palatable. I chose fresh basil leaves and curry powder to flavor the soup. I avoided oil/ butter for health reasons. I thoroughly enjoyed brainstorming this soup recipe and felt more content seeing my family relish the soup.

Ingredients:

Butternut squash, cubed- 2 cups
Carrot, sliced - 1/3 cup
Tomato - 1
Asparagus, chopped- 1/4 cup
Red bell pepper, chopped- 1/4 cup
Celery, finely chopped- 2 tablespoon
Basil leaves- 6
Vegetable broth/ water - 2 cups
Curry powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Method:

Combine all the chopped veggies in a steamer. Add basil leaves when the veggies are half cooked. Cook them until tender. Do not overcook them!

Remove from heat and cool them.

Blend the steamed veggies with 2 cups of vegetable broth or warm water, salt, black pepper and curry powder.

If you prefer it piping hot then pour it into a pot and heat them to desired temperature.

Variations:
Roast the veggies in oil or butter instead of steaming them.
Garnish with whipped cream/ sour cream

Veg Frankie / Kati Roll

Frankie also commonly known as Kati Roll nowadays is a very popular street food which originated from Kolkata. Normally in the beginning a kati kebab was stuffed in a paratha and served but over the years there have been many variations in the preparation of the stuffing. Today, there are a variety of filling rolled up in any kind of Indian flatbread and is being called a kati roll. The recipe below provides a stuffing with Aloo (potato) and Paneer (Cottage Cheese).

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 20 min
Makes: 6 frankies

For Paratha:

Maida – 1 cup
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Potato – 1 small, boiled, peeled and grated
Warm Water – 1 or 2 tbsp, as needed
Oil – enough to drizzle
Little Maida Flour for dusting

For Filling:


Paneer – 100 gms
Potatoes – 2 small, boiled, peeled and grated
Salt – 1/2 tsp or to taste
Coriander Powder / Dhaniya Powder – 1/2 tbsp
Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
Amchoor Powder (Dry Mango Powder) – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder – 1/2 tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Green Chillies – finely chopped, to taste
Cabbage and Capsicum– cut to thin strips, as needed
Cilantro – finely chopped, as needed
Lemon/Lime Juice – to taste

Method (for Paratha)

1. In a bowl, mix the Maida Flour and the Salt together.

2. Add 1 tbsp of oil and rub it into the Flour. It is important that the oil is completely mixed well with the flour.

3. Add in the Potatoes and again press and mix.

4. Add 1 tbsp of Warm Water and press to make the dough. This is a very important step in making perfect dough so do not add water in haste. Add them 1 spoon at a time and slowly mix until you get a stiff dough.

5. Drizzle and coat the dough ball with Oil, cover and allow it to rest for 15 min.

6. After 15 min., knead once more, and divide the dough into 6 equal parts.

7. Heat a Tawa/Skillet on medium heat till it is nice and hot.

8. Take one part of the dough and roll onto a smooth ball and press between your palms to form a disc.

9. Dip the disc in some additional maida flour and roll into a roti.

10. Make the roti a little thinner than a chapati as the Maida tends to shrink.

11. Once rolled out, place on the hot Tawa.

12. Move the roti just a bit to avoid sticking to the tawa.

13. Allow the color to change just a bit and some bubbles to appear.

14. Flip the Roti once that happens and allow it to cook on the other side for just a couple of minutes.

15. Increase the flame to the highest and using tongs, place the Roti on the flame.

16. Allow it to balloon up.

17. Take off the flame and keep in an insulated container till ready to make the rolls.

Method (for filling):

1. Crumble the Paneer and add in the Potatoes.

2. Mix but be gentle not to make a paste of the mixture.

3. Add in the spice – Salt, Coriander Powder, Amchur, Garam Masala & Red Chili Powder.

4. Mix again to ensure that the spices don’t clump up to one area and are well distributed.

5. Heat Oil in a non-stick pan or a kadhai.

6. Add in finely chopped Green Chillies and then the cabbage and capsicum and fry till golden brown. Add salt to taste based on the amount of cabbage and capsicum. Then add Potatoes and Paneer mixture.

7. Mix gently and allow the filling to get heated all the way through for just a couple of minutes.

8. Once hot, turn off the stove/flame and add in finely chopped Cilantro.

9. Squeeze Lemon or Lime juice to taste and give it one final mix.

10. Transfer to a bowl to allow the mixture to cool down to make cylindrical rolls to fill in the roti.

Assembly:

1. Place the Roti flat.

2. Place the Filling Roll on the chutney side and start rolling.

3. Roll on the clean side and secure with a toothpick.

4. Serve hot.

Tips:

To make it for kids, add some cheese and serve with ketchup.