Vegetable fried rice - a continental favorite

Happy Women's day all you wonderful women out there!! More love, more empowerment to all of you. I am grateful for the influence and impact of several women in my life. I also want to acknowledge the role of many men that simply allowed me to be 'me'. If it hadn't been for a father who never once held me back from doing what I wanted to do, if it isn't for a husband who always supports every "crazy to good" ideas I come up with, if it isn't for the 2 brothers that never treat me differently because I am a girl (I know this for a fact because they never spared me in fights and treated me like one of their own:-)), I am sure my life would have been vastly different. I realize that my life is not the norm everywhere, wishing all the girls same opportunities to spread their wings and grow.

Finally spring break is here :-) and DD is home after more than 2 months. While it may not be spring break for all ages and in all parts of the world :-) I am sure you will share my joy this week. Lotsa love, food, laughter and stories..this week at home. For us, spring break seems to be here triple fold as DD came home with two of her friends. Home seems to be fuller, more alive and happier :-). The girls are having fun doing things on their own, driving in and around PNW and braving the unusually chilly weather.

I don't know how many of you notice the change in eating patterns when kids come home from school. With DD the change is very visible, almost 'in my face' kind of thing. There is no longer any fuss about the food, everything amma makes is delicious and she is almost always hungry. Looking at 3 of them this week has me really sad at whatever the school cafeterias serve as food. Even the simplest of the dishes make them happy and contented.

This fried rice is possibly one of the simplest recipes I have blogged but DD's explicit instructions this time is to make sure I blog it so she can use it when she starts to cook :-), so here I am, the dutiful mom catering to her wishes.

Long time ago (think a decade and half ago) when the Indian food diaspora was not bursting like it is today, all we had access to as quirky teenagers and 'acting' grown up young adults was Indian food at home and outside home. This was the time when the nation's obsession had not gone completely international on the food front. The number of restaurants was very small and the food choice just seemed like an extension of what we normally ate at home, forget the fancy American, Italian, Mexican food. One would go to a hotel (that is what we called them when we were kids) to eat a dose/dosa that had taken an oil bath or a plate of mirchi bajjis that you would not make at home on a daily basis.

But even in those days, one international (??) food had made its way surely into the food scene. Everyone from small road side cartwallahs to decent and trendy restaurants served a genre of food called Indo chinese food. This included the manchurians, crispy, spicy noodles and the very distinct fried rice. I have not visited china (unless you count the couple of lay overs in Hongkong :-)) and am not an expert at anything China, but I have a lot of friends, colleagues from the Chinese community, I would think that makes me somewhat of an authority :-). Indo-chinese food was and continues to be a craze in India even though people are getting exposed to other cuisines. What we know of chinese food in India is really a very Indianized version of the food, many dishes being unheard of and unknown in mainland China :-). But that is the beauty of good food, right? it evolves, morphs and adapts to suit the palate of the people that enjoy eating. I am pretty sure there is a cook's license akin to a poet's license and the creative freedom sets you free.

In any case, not being someone that frequented restaurants, my first bite of the Chinese fried rice was at a hotel infront of my office in namma Bengaluru. BH would stop during lunch time if he happened to be in my part of the city and we would try and catch some time together in the midst of schedules, projects and the deadlines. He being more worldly wise and definitely having visited this place many times before took me there for lunch one day and ordered the veggie fried rice. Crunchy vegetables exuding sesame oil flavor was a new taste on my tongue but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was full by the time the bowl was half empty though. Those days, restaurants didnt encourage customers to take home the left overs and sadly I had to let it go waste :-(.

We didn't stock the necessary ingredients for making the rice at home in those days and so it became one of the frequent orders when we dined out. I make this often at home as we all love it. I wonder why it had stayed a restaurant food for such a long time given the simple ingredients list. We have a south indian joint here in town and he serves veggie fried rice along with his chettinad specials and dosa/idlis :-) and it is pretty good. So here is an easy to whip up and lip smacking vegetable fried rice.

What do you need to make fried rice? 
1.5 cups short grain rice (I used sona masoori)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1.5 Tbsp chili sauce
1 Tsp white vinegar (optional but recommended)
1/8 Tsp black pepper coarse ground
1.5 inch ginger made into a paste
2-3 cloves of garlic made into a paste
3/4 cup finely chopped green beans
3/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup thinly chopped cabbage
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1/2 cup finely chopped assorted colored pepper (I haven't used any this time)
1 Tsp salt
3 Tbsp oil (preferably sesame oil for that authentic flavor)

How do you make fried rice? (as you will see, it is very easy and simple :-))

• Get the vegetables chopped and keep them ready
• Wash & soak rice for 20-30 mins 
• Heat 6 cups of water in a big pot and bring it to a gentle boil
• Drain the water from the soaked rice and add rice to the boiling water. Add a couple drops of oil and stir it in. 
• Lower the heat to medium and let it cook for about 10-12 minutes or until rice is just about done. 
• Switch off and drain all the water out. I let this water cool completely and use it to water my potted plants (nammamma said that it actually helps bring out the flavor in the curry leaves plant and I follow the advice)

• Run cold water on cooked rice, fluff it up with a fork and let it cool
• Heat a big wok and add sesame oil. Let it heat up almost to its smoking point. 
• Add chopped onion and saute for 30secs. 
• Add ginger and garlic paste followed by finely chopped carrots & beans
• Let them cook on high flame for a minute, add cabbage and half of the spring onions. 
• Stir the vegetables constantly on flame and let them turn slightly tender.

• Add the sauces and vinegar to the vegetable mixture along with salt. 
• Add coarsely crushed pepper. 
• Add cooked rice and stir them together. 
• Taste test and adjust spices & salt to your liking. 
• Garnish with reserved spring onions. 
• Serve hot/warm.

Notes: 

• BH and I added 1/2 Tsp/per serving of a green chili chutney to make a little hot for us
• The girls scrambled a couple of eggs with a dash of salt and pepper and added it to the rice. 
• A favorite way of serving this fried rice in India is along with a side of gobi manchurian, I didn't make them this time :-)
• Vegetables in this rice are cooked al dente and retain a crunch.
• Using a wide wok and keeping it on high flame is key to a well blended fried rice.
• Make sure rice is cooked so as the grains are separate and fluff

Mysore Mallige idlis - soft & fluffy breakfast essentials

Now, nobody needs an introduction to the joy of this very South Indian breakfast breakfast right? I googled the word 'Idli' for fun and came up with hundreds of hits, there are blogs that talk about the idli recipes (many variations and complications on the basic recipe included as well) out there, so why do I need to write about it here again? Just for the very simple reason that it will be available as a reference to me or anyone that desires it readily. But then since you are being patient with me and humoring me by reading this extremely common recipe, I will give some tips at the end that makes some really soft and white colored idlis which are great to look at and delicious to devour on.

When I started cooking on my own, Idlis and chapatis were the two disasters in my kitchen. Idlis hardly turned anything but hard with an achingly dull muddy color especially in the cold winters and I had stopped making Idlis altogether. But then it always poked my pride since nammamma makes some of the fluffiest idlis ever known and never once gave the excuse of the outside temperature. So some theory (phone sessions with amma), some internship (watching her make idlis) and some practicals(making it on my own) have brought me to where I am and I can confidently say I make good idlis no matter what the thermometer reads.

Broadly, there are two ways of idli making, one generally made in the kitchens of Tamil Nadu and Kerala where rice is soaked and ground, these idlis have a bouncy texture. The other is made in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh by mixing pre-made rice rava into ground urad dal. This has a grainy texture. I love idlis both ways and if I have the time to grind rice for another 30 minutes, I take that route or go the rice rava way. You get pretty decent rice rava in all Indian grocery stores now and I don't have to soak, dry and powder them in the kitchen like my mom did. I usually bring either Laxmi or Deep brand of rice rava which works fine.

Oh, I haven't explained the 'Mallige(Jasmine)' part in the title, right? Mysore is famous for the Navaratri or Dasara celebrations and the huge procession on the day of Vijaya Dashami. As part of the celebrations, Mysore also hosts a Dasara exhibition which has all kinds of stalls from clothes to toys to soaps in addition to the cultural programs every evening for about 3 months. The exhibition attracts vendors from all parts of India and there are specialty places displaying and selling goods. It used to be the favorite hang out place as kids when cousins were visiting. From a pig tailed girl hopping with my older sister & cousins to a teenager visiting stalls with friends to a newly wed roaming with her husband to a new mommy carrying her infant, I have been to this exhibition at various stages in life.

What is a hang out without food, right? The Dasara exhibition was (I haven't been to one in 12 or so years) also known for the numerous eateries, these were all temporary stalls and mostly fast foods from and one of them advertised their Idlis as 'Mallige Idlis' and a small kid would call out to all people in a high pitched voice 'Bisi bisi idli, mallige idli, Mysore mallige idli (Hot, hot jasmine idlis)', it was the first time I heard mallige used in the context of Idlis and it has stuck with me. Mallige is the Mysore jasmine known for its delicate white blooms and the pleasant smell. Since nammamma's idlis were always soft and white, we started calling it 'Mallige idlis' at home too. So here is how I make the Mallige idlis.

What do you need to make Mallige Idlis? 
1 cup urad dal
2.5 cups idli rava
1/2 Tsp fenugreek seeds
1 heaped Tblsp cooked rice
1 Tsp salt

How do you make Mallige Idlis? 

• Soak urad dal & fenugreek seeds in 3 cups of water for 5-6 hours.
• Wash the idli rava in 2 changes of water, drain the water and keep it aside.
• Wash the urad dal in atleast 3 changes of water, drain the water. 
• Grind urad dal into a very soft dough by adding spoonfuls of water at a time. 
• Add the cooked rice towards the end of grinding cycle and continue to grind. 
• Idli rava would have soaked up the water, squeeze handfuls to remove any extra water and add it to the ground urad dal. 
• Mix the two together into a uniform batter, cover and keep in a warm place overnight to ferment. 

• The batter should rise and increase in volume by the end of the fermentation period. 
• Grease the idli plates with drops of oil, spoon the batter into the idli plates and steam it for 15 minutes. 

• Take out the idli plates and let it stand for a minute before removing the hot steamed idlis from the plate with the help of a butter knife. 
• Serve idlis with any combination of chutney, chutney pudi, sambar and dollop of ghee. 

Notes: 

• A stone grinder (electric or manual) works best as it can take the longer grinding periods needed to make soft idlis. If you are using regular mixie, use ice cold water to prevent the motor from becoming hot.
• The urad dal paste should become very soft and fluffy else idlis will turn out hard. 
• Use smaller grained idli rava for a better texture, some of the brands have really thick grains. 
• Addition of the cooked rice helps idlis to become softer and also adds to the color of the mallige idlis. 

• During cold season, I preheat my oven on at the lowest setting, switch off and set the batter to rise in there over night. 
• If you are using a pressure cooker to steam the idlis, remember not to put the weight and lower the heat when the steam comes out in full force and continue to cook for 15 minutes before switching off. 

For all those of you  enjoying a long weekend with Labor day Monday, have a wonderful time. This is our last weekend before school reopens on Tuesday, I will see you next week. 

Godhi(Wheat flour) dosa and peanut chutney - delectably addictive combination

Do you all agree marriages expand horizons including those of culinary kind? When families come together as part of a marriage, there is so much sharing that goes on. I got to taste the Godhi dosa for the first time after my sister got married, it was a very common dinner item at her in-laws place that it actually had a name - 'GoDoKaCha', one of my BIL's smart commentaries :-). GoDoKaCha is an acronym derived from Go(Godhi/Wheat), Do(Dosa), Ka(Kadlekayi/peanuts) and Cha(Chatney). I remember all of us gaping when my BIL and his siblings decided to make GoDoKaCha for dinner one day and only realized the delicious combination when we sat down for dinner. Akka's FIL used to eat cooked greens (mostly spinach)with this as a side and I am hooked to that combination as well. Though I don't cook spinach every time, Godhi Dosa and peanut Chutney is a standard combination in my kitchen. Both are easy and quick to fix and delicious when eaten together.

As you might tell, I favor thin dosas (not necessarily crisp but just thin) so all my dosa pictures usually show a thin dosa. I will have some notes to make thicker dosas and you can follow these pointers if that is your preference. Godhi dosa typically turns out soft just because of the wheat flour in it unless you roast it with a lot of oil.

I consider Godhi dosa a very good and easy alternative to chapatis/rotis. If you are a beginner and looking for a healthy, sumptuous meal, this is for you. This does not need any fermentation and you can expand the basic batter with any flavor with only your creativity to limit/set boundaries. It doesn't have to be accompanied by the peanut chutney but I am sure you will be hooked once you try the combination :-). DD is so addicted to this combination that she will make an instant chutney with the peanut powder I always keep in stock if we are too tired to make fresh chutney, another time on the instant chutney perhaps?

What do you need to make Godhi dosa? 
Makes about 4-5 regular size dosas
1 cup whole wheat flour/regular chapati flour
1 Tsp rice flour
2.5 cups water
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 Tsp mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp red chili powder (optional but recommended)
1 Tblsp finely chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
1-2 Tsp oil to fry dosa

How do you make Godhi Dosa? 

• Take a big vessel, add all the ingredients except for water and mix them well. 
• Add water slowly into the vessel and mix into a batter of pouring consistency without any lumps.

• Heat a dosa pan/griddle on medium high. 
• Pour a ladle of batter and move it quickly into a circle (thickness depends on your preference). I usually do not work it a lot but let the batter find its way and just do a gentle move of the pan.

• Drizzle a couple of drops of oil around the dosa, let it cook for a minute before flipping it over with a spatula.

 

• Let the other side cook for 30-45 seconds. 

• Serve it hot off the griddle with peanut chutney (<Grin>, ok I will give you a break, you can eat this dosa with any other chutney of your choice)

 

• Repeat for the remaining batter and enjoy the hot Dosas.

What do you need to make peanut chutney?
The below ingredients make a slightly spicy, tangy and sweetish peanut chutney. Adjust the spices to suit your palate. 
1 cup peanuts
3-4 dry red chilies (adjust to taste)
Small piece of tamarind or 1/2 Tsp tamarind concentrate
1/2 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 Tsp crushed jaggery or brown sugar
2 cups water
Seasoning: 
1 Tsp oil
1/2 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp cumin (optional)
1/4 Tsp Asafoetida powder

How do you make peanut chutney? 

• Roast the peanuts well until the raw smell disappears (you can do either the stove top or the microwave method), keep aside.
• Roast the red chilies for a minute in the hot pan, switch off and add the tamarind and cumin seeds. 
• Let the ingredients cool off before taking them to the blender with salt and jaggery. 
• Grind into a smooth paste with water.
• Heat the oil, add ingredients under seasoning, let the mustard crackle before adding the sizzling seasoning into the chutney. 

Notes: 

• Some suggestions for making Godhi dosa more interesting - Add cumin, ajwain, finely chopped green chilies, curry leaves or onions, any combination or each on its own will provide a different flavor. 
• Notice that I have added raw mustard, it will get cooked on the hot pan along with the dosa and you get a nice crunchy bite and flavor when you eat it. 
• I do not cover the Godhi dosa while it is cooking, this along with the oil drops helps it develop some crispy parts which I love. 
• If you prefer soft dosas, cover the pan with a lid after you drizzle oil and let it cook for a minute before turning it over. The moisture that forms inside the cover helps the dosa to become soft. 
• Peanuts can be roasted in microwave by spreading them a wide MW safe dish, you will need to try out the timings on your device as it depends on the power settings. Mine usually takes 4 MW runs of 3-2-1-1 minute. 
• I add the tamarind to the hot pan so it softens up a little and will be kinder to the blender :-)
• Cumin gets roasted very quickly, add it only after you switch the stove off and it will be just done right.

Kalakand - Perfect sweet for celebrations

There was (is?) a bakery/sweet shop in Rajajinagar I block in Bengaluru called Eishwarya sweets, he had an upstairs kitchen where he prepared fresh, delicious sweets and savories. I had tasted kalakand for the first time here with BH. The store has morphed a lot and the last time I saw, it still was on the same street, but looking very different and modernized :-). I also like the kalakand you get at Asha sweets in Malleswaram, Bengaluru (very close to the famous Malleswaram 8th street), it is a narrow, small shop always crowded and has one of the best kalakand I have tasted. Years back during my IISc days, I used to get rasgollas packed in earthen pots and take it home to Mysore for my little nephew. I visited the store with daughter & a friend last summer and fell in love with their delicious Badami haalu (almond milk).

Kalakand is BH's favorite sweet, and we usually end up getting some fresh kalakand along with other goodies every time we visit India. The simplicity of the sweet is in the number of ingredients it uses - just two if you don't count the lemon/lime juice for making the paneer. The process is time consuming but the end result is extremely gratifying. There is not much chance you will miss the consistency like the traditional burfis, so it is a beginner friendly recipe. The milky richness makes it a perfect dessert for any occasion.

So here goes a perfect bite of Kalakand to wish BH many many Happy returns of the day as he turns another year wiser & older. 

What do you need to make Kalakand? 
6 cups whole milk for paneer
6 cups whole milk for the khova
Juice of 1 lemon/lime
1 cup sugar (adjust if you like it more or less sweet)
chopped unsalted pistachio/slivered almonds for garnish (optional - I didn't use it)

How do you make Kalakand? 
Making Paneer:

• Take 6 cups of milk in a thick bottom pan, bring it to boil.
• Add the lemon juice and let the milk curdle. 
• When you see milk & whey separating in the pan, switch off the stove and let it settle for 2 minutes. 
• Pour the curdled milk into a cheese cloth (I used a new thin white towel) and let the water drain away.
• Wash the mixture by running water on it to remove the lemony flavor, squeeze the cloth tightly and hang it for about 5 minutes. 
• Crumble the paneer and keep it aside.

Making Khova:

• Take 6 cups of milk in a thick bottom pan on medium heat. 
• Frequently stirring the milk to ensure it doesn't burn, until it reduces to about 1/3rd of the original quantity. 
• Keep breaking the layers of milk that forms at the top and mix it in. 
• The process took an hour and half for the quantity I made today. 

Making kalakand:

• When the khova is ready, add the crumbled paneer and sugar.
• Frequently stir on low heat until all the water content evaporates. It took 15 minutes for the quantity I made today.
• Pour into a plate in a thick (atleast an inch) layer and spread it evenly.
• Garnish with nuts, I didn't do it as we like the pure taste of the milk with no make up.
• Let it cool completely before cutting into pieces. I made 12 pieces of 2X2X2 inches.

Tips:

• Use whole milk for the rich taste.
• If you like the hint of lemon juice in kalakand, skip washing the paneer with water.
• Do not take short cuts and use store bought paneer in this recipe. The dish gets the tasty glow from fresh paneer. Actually making paneer is a very fulfilling experience and I hit that high note every time I open the cheese cloth and see the perfect ball of paneer staring at me :-), take a look at it below..

Super 'Guacamole' bowl for the 2012 Giants game

Well, the biggest game of the season came to a nail biting finale yesterday and it was a good game between the Giants and the Patriots. I am not a sport fanatic, never played any serious sport during school years. Coming from India, cricket was a way of life especially sandwiched between two brothers that held transistor radio to the ears during the matches. I married into a family where I can very easily call everyone as hard core cricket fans, amma cooks a single pot dish and puts it on the table when India is playing those crucial matches so no-one needs to miss a moment of excitement. BH having played in the varsity games during college and my FIL being the consultant he is have a ton of opinion to give to the entire Indian cricket team every time they play, not that anybody is listening or there is any dearth of opinion :-). I have stayed on the border where I can relish a quick one day or 20-20 but have no patience for the test matches. The cricket fever has reduced over the years as life took over but we like to watch a good game on a diaspora of sports.

Super bowl takes you over if you live in a place with a strong local team which is what happened to us when we were in the Midwest, last few years have seen Indianapolis Colts becoming Champions in 2007 and playing strongly though they lost in 2010. It was a let down to watch the dismal season of Colts this year as they came nowhere close to the big game, however Indianapolis got itself ready for hosting the Superbowl 2012. Honestly, yesterday's game was exciting and worth watching even without the Colts, we decided to support the Giants because of Eli Manning :-).

As Sunday morning turned out busy running errands and also since we had a heavy lunch, I made the super easy, super delicious, super healthy Guacamole with the avocados :-).  

Avocado is a fruit native to Central Mexico and is a super healthy food because of its high mono saturated fat content. It is hailed as nature's butter and has more potassium than bananas and is rich in Vitamins B, E & K. Avocados finds its way into many dishes in my kitchen. This guacamole recipe is my way of recreating our favorite 'Chipotle' at home, this is a crowd pleaser and 'no-guilt' dip that can be made at home in a jiffy. I make this quite often and for no reason. 

What do you need to make Guacamole?

2 ripe avocados - pitted and the flesh scooped

1 small firm, ripe tomato - chopped fine

1/4 red onion - chopped fine to make about 1.5 Tblsp

handful of fresh cilantro - chopped fine

1/2 jalapeno pepper/any other green chili - chopped fine

Juice of 1 lemon/lime

1Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1/2 Tsp sugar

1/2 Tsp fresh ground black pepper

How do you make Guacamole? 

Scoop out the flesh of avocado and mash it with a fork/spoon. Mix in the remaining ingredients till well blended. Cover with a wrap and set it aside for 30 mins for the flavors to work together. Serve it with your choice of crackers, chips, tortillas and the like.

Tips: 

• Choose the avocados right - they should be soft to touch with no bruises on the body
• Make an incision around the avocado (vertically or horizontally) and turn the fruit around this incision to get the 2 halves, removing the pit becomes easy and you can scoop the fruit out with a spoon.
• Once you have mixed the ingredients, if you cover it with a thin plastic wrap (cling wraps), it will retain the gorgeous green color for hours. The lemon/lime juice helps prevent the oxidization and you can definitely make this much before your party starts. 

For the love of nutella - Milkshake with fruits & nutella

I belong to the category of moms that try to keep packaged and processed food away from my daughter, there are many processed foods that I keep away from her but Nutella has found its way into our kitchen because of my bias towards nuts. This is not an advertisement for nutella, I just feel comfortable that it is ok to substitute nutella once in a while with other sides/spreads. My daughter likes it smothered on roti,  rolled in chapatis, on top of her bread or just a lick of the spoon.

What is Nutella? It is a spread with roasted hazelnut with cocoa, blended with skim milk and does not contain any artificial flavors or preservatives. Infact the original version supposedly had only a hint of cocoa since chocolate was a rare commodity during the World war period. The earliest form of the spread was created by Mr.Pietro Ferrero in the 1940s and was brought to the US about 25 years back by Ferrero, USA. You will find all this information & much more on the Nutella usa website.

I recently found out that there are hard core fans of Nutella and they celebrate a world nutella day on Feb 5th. You can go to http://www.nutelladay.com/nutella-recipes/ and check out the umpteen number of recipes and ways in which Nutella can make everything taste better :-). You can visit the site to try other more complex recipes or contribute one of your own. I choose my daughter's favorite and an extremely simple recipe to celebrate the World Nutella day.

What do you need to make nutella milkshake?
2 ripe bananas
1 ripe pear (skip if you don't have it or if you don't like it)
1 cup cold milk (I used skim milk)
2 Tblsp of nutella spread
1 Tsp vanilla essence (optional)

How do you make the nutella milkshake? 
Very simple, put all the ingredients in a blender and blend it until it is smooth & frothy, Pour it in cups and enjoy immediately.

Variations: 

• Since it is not much of a recipe, play around with the choice of fruits, I have made it with only bananas and it tastes good too. The pear and banana combination made it taste more like the chikoo/sapota which was equally enjoyable. 
• If you don't have nutella on hand, try the milkshake with a scoop of chocolate ice cream instead, but then you will not be celebrating the World nutella day :-)

Are you watching the Super bowl tomorrow? Any favorites? My favorite team (Indianapolis Colts) are sitting in the gallery while playing hosts to the superbowl game, so it is not exciting as it might have been.. I will see you next week with my Superbowl platter.. 

Carrot-bell pepper soup for a rainy evening dinner

When the weather is cloudy and it is a little chilly indoors, I crave for something hot and spicy. It is also true on days when work day has been longer and busy and you realize it is dinner time but not much is ready in the name of dinner. We enjoy our bread & soup days without any of the aforementioned excuses also since we are a soup loving family :-).

I made this delicious carrot-bell pepper soup yesterday and took cue from Veggie Belly's tip for flavoring it with mint, thank you Sala. It was very flavorful and we slurped it with bread topped with grapefruit chutney.

What do you need to make Carrot-bell pepper soup?
4 large carrots - washed, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 small yellow baby bell pepper - this adds a sweetish peppery flavor, you can use red colored ones also
1 cup milk
10 mint leaves
1 tsp ground pepper + some for garnish
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
1 cup water

How do you make carrot-bell pepper soup?

1. Heat the butter, fry carrots and bell pepper for a minute, add water and cook until soft, alternatively cook carrots in a pressure cooker.
2. In the mean time, heat the milk on low heat, add mint leaves and let it come to a boil.
3. Switch off the stove, take the mint leaves out and preserve the flavored milk.
4. Once cooked carrots & pepper have cooled, take them to the blender, add the flavored milk and blend it till smooth.
5. Bring the blended mixture to a rolling boil in a soup pot, season with salt & pepper, add water if the consistency is thick. I didn't need any additional water.

Variation:

1. You can add a 1/4 red onion and 1 tomato instead of the bell pepper for a different flavor. grape tomatoes give a nice red hue to the soup. 
2. Add 1/2 tsp of amchoor (dry mango) powder while boiling the soup if you like your soup to have a little punch.