Hot Chicken Soup to keep warm on a winter evening!

I had flu last week and all my throat needed was something warm and soothing. The flu season is here and what better than Clear Chicken Soup with the goodness of ginger, garlic, peppercorns and onions to soothe the throat.

So here is the recipe for this simple soup. Not much of preparation required, ideal when you are not keeping too well. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 medium potato, chopped

A few pieces (I used 3 pieces) of Chicken  

2.5 liters of Water

1 medium size, roughly sliced Onions

2 teaspoon Ginger- Garlic paste

Pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Cooking Method

Add all ingredients in a cooking pot and mix together.

Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil and then continue to simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes.

Take out the chicken pieces, remove any skin and bones. Shred and serve with hot soup. I do not strain the soup as I like the soft sweet onions which are so rich in flavours.

I like only a few shredded pieces of chicken in my soup. I save the rest of boiled chicken for my sandwich spread with curry spices. It is nice to prepare the spread on the same day as the chicken is moist. The boiled chicken on storing may dry up. The spread makes fast and serves as a lovely lunch in a jiffy on the next day. I will soon share the recipe with you all.

Soup for Thought: This clear chicken soup is typically served up when your stomach cannot tolerate anything acidic or you just need some clear fluids to sooth your throat and body – that is why there are no tomatoes or spicy ingredients in here. But if you are feeling fine and you are just looking for warm soup then add some tomatoes, chillies and other vegetables (carrot, peas, etc) as you would like.  

With the winter here, surely give this soup a try! Its always on my must have list during winter. This is the first winter I am experiencing in UK and my body is getting regulated to this low temperature.

 Keep warm this winter!

Luv
Amzu x

Dinner with Tilda British Curry Rice

I had a really nice Diwali dinner which was not only quick to disappear from the plate but quicker for me to stir up! Courtesy Tilda British Curry Rice. 

Firstly, I had intended to share this experience much earlier but was down with flu and all I could think of this last week was to drink hot soups to keep me warm.  So now here it is finally...

I was very excited right from the time Tilda asked me to try the Limited Edition British Curry Rice - After all  Basmati rice from Tilda that I love and over that the recipe has been created by Dhruv Baker! Cheered for him in Masterchef 2010....who thought then that I would be eating one of his dishes sitting in a different country! 

Dhruv Baker is known to have a "Palate of an Angel"...thus no wonder the packet spells out all the delicate flavours...coconut, sweet apricot, spice of curry powder, ginger and fragrant star anise. 

I decided to try the rice with a simple heat blasted chicken to compliment the delicate flavours of the rice.  

Marinated the boneless chicken strips in ginger garlic paste, red chilly powder and salt. 

Sealed in all the flavours and cooked on high heat girdle.

Chicken sorted and then comes the star of the evening...

Heated in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Hot steaming rice ready to eat.....

Chicken strips on the bed of British Curry Rice & salad for the veggie quota.

But that is not all for dinner tonight....Diwali calls for sweets and I have cashew nut sweets (Kaju Katri) sent by my MIL from India! Thank you to all who made my Diwali! xxx

Now the verdict: How did I like my rice today??

Frankly I am not a coconut fan in my food, but I have to say even after having that pre conceived notion.....I ENJOYED the British Curry Rice. The rice was melt in the mouth with each bite exploding with flavours that were complex but light on the palate. 

My husband and me enjoyed this together (one pack serves two), and one portion is a decent 165 calories....fair enough to spare on a tasty portion of rice. My share of two strips of chicken was 100 calories. 

A must try...especially being a limited edition do not miss a chance to try it soon! 

I am excited to try out the recipes suggested by Dhruv with the British Curry Rice.....will surely get on the cooking trip soon!

Here are the lovely recipes by Dhruv that may tickle your taste buds: 

Dhruv's Paneer Arancinis can be found here 

                                              Dhruv's Salmon Kedgeree can be found here

Dhruv's Coronation Chicken can be found here

& 

Finally the best and the classic 

Dhruv's Biryani can be found here

It will be lovely to know if you have tried the Tilda British Curry rice and have you whipped up one of these recipes or being the Master chef of our Kitchen that we are ....have made one of your own recipe! Share with us here your recipe. 

Luv 

Amzu xx

Cauliflower and Peas Curry- Enjoying Veggies as a part of a healthy diet

Movember is a World Vegan Month, so lets pledge to include more veggies in our diet! After all we all know vegetables are a great way of adding colour and fibre to the diet. The non-starchy vegetables (does that mean potato is not included in this group....hmmm....yes...as it is starchy ;-)) are low calorie, low fat and cholesterol free....great way to fill you up. And if we get to eat a curry made of vegetables than it is a right combo...taste and health!!

I am sharing the recipe I promised of a simple Indian vegetable curry that is made so often at home. It is the humble cauliflower and peas curry. 

Ingredients

Serves 3

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 medium cauliflower, cut into bite size florets

1/2 cup of frozen green peas

1 can of tomato purée 

1 teaspoon of whole cumin

1  teaspoon of red chilly powder

1 teaspoon coriander and cumin powder 

1/2  teaspoon turmeric powder
About 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

 

Cooking Method

Heat the oil  and add whole cumin.
Fry the cauliflower florets in it. 

Add the spices (chilly powder, coriander-cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt) 

 Then add green peas and cook for 5 minutes. 

Add the tomato purée next. Cook for 5 minutes more.


Add a little water and cover the pan to cook the florets thoroughly.

Here is the cauliflower and peas curry all ready. It is perfect with chapati (Indian flat bread made of wheat flour).

P.S: Don't be surprised if next time your husband may just get you this sweet cauliflower bouquet ....it is just is way of saying what he wants to eat tonight!

Or may be this anthocyanin rich purple cauliflower to add colour to life ;-) xx

Luv

Amzu x

Tilda British Curry Rice

Received samples from Tilda Legendary Rice today!! 

It is British Curry Rice - Limited Edition developed my Masterchef Winner 2010 Dhruv Baker! Looking forward to trying them soon.

A lovely handwritten letter that accompanied the samples!! xx

Coriander & Mint Chutney- Good on its own and great when used to prepare dips, starters, mains & sides!!

This basic chutney is perfect for use as a dipping sauce with Kebabs, grilled foods, as a marinate, as curry base (I have shared Coriander & Mint Chicken Curry before), sandwich spreads, Bhel Puri (a quick snack with puffed rice; recipe to follow soon) and Raita....made my raita with Chobani yoghurt and enjoyed it with my lunch . 

It is a versatile combination of herbs that can be used to prepare a number of dishes. 
Here is the recipe for the Coriander & Mint chutney! 

Coriander & Mint Chutney: 

 2 green chillies

1 medium bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), cleaned

5 leaves of mint

1/4th teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

Cooking Method 

Grind Mint, coriander, green chillies using water to make a fine paste. Add salt and lemon juice at the end and give it a good stir. That is the chutney ready. 

You can store this chutney in the refrigerator for a week. I can however not resist the smell of freshly prepared chutney. The aroma is so tempting to add a zing to your meal. 

 I added  2 teaspoon of it to Chobani fat free greek style yoghurt and stirred it in. Here was a lovely raita ready to accompany my lunch!

 I had cauliflower and green peas curry with Indian flat bread (chapati) for lunch.

The recipe is going to follow soon. This is a part of the vegetarian recipes I am preparing as a part of the World Vegan Month! November is a World Vegan Month and as we all know that vegetables are an integral part of a diet even if one is a meat eater. I really enjoy vegetable curries and cauliflower is one of them.

I will share the recipe in my coming post with you all...till then eat healthy and tasty!!

Luv

Amzu

P.S: The different flavours of Chobani fat free Greek style yoghurt are many to please the palate...but the plain is certainly versatile!

 O gm fat and 17 gm of protein per serving of 170 gms of plain yoghurt. A good way of adding protein to my vegetarian lunch!!

Chobani Yoghurt.....here I come for a quick breakfast....

I needed a quick breakfast today and normally I drink buttermilk made of fat free natural Greek style yoghurt with 1 tablespoon flaxseed powder in it. 

Today I had Chobani fat free Greek style yoghurt waiting for me in the refrigerator. So but obvious I was going to have that for breakfast today!! 

I particularly like Greek style yoghurt...

Greek yoghurt are normally robust in protein, calcium content and active cultures. 

So what makes Chobani special?

The philosophy behind making Chobani is "Yogurt should be simple". Yoghurt is made the same way for thousands of years, and so they do not change it! 

That’s why Chobani yoghurt is made with just milk and cultures which is then authentically strained so that it’s thick, creamy and chocked full of health benefits:

Chobani has: 

• Only natural ingredients. No preservatives & artificial flavors.

•  5 live cultures. 
• 3 types of probiotic cultures in Chobani: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus, and Lactobacillus case. Probiotics (often called “good bacteria”) are living organisms found in certain foods that help replenish and strengthen the bacteria naturally living in your body.

• Made with real fruits present at the bottom. No jelly! 

• Two times more protein than regular yoghurt.The one that I usually eat contains 4.5 gm of protein per 100 gm. Whereas Chobani contains 8.2 gm of protein per 100 gm. 

• A good source of calcium.

• Gluten-Free and Kosher-Certified.

• Naturally low in lactose: 95% lactose free



Strawberry flavour has been aways my favourite. So I start with a spoon full of it for tasting. It was rich and creamy with the slush of strawberry at the bottom. The strawberry taste was a little jammy, but it balanced well once mixed with the yoghurt. 



It contains cane sugar which imparts the sweetness.. The total sugar content at first seems considerable being 11 gm per 100 gm of yoghurt but most of it is lactose which is milk sugar. 


The secret behind the creaminess? 


Well, it's hardly a secret, but Greek yoghurt is strained. Straining removes more water from the yoghurt  making it more dense, firm and creamy. The end result is a satisfyingly thick and tangy your that's perfect with fresh fruit. 

 

I made my breakfast with strawberry yoghurt with apple pieces in it. I added 1 tablespoon of cereal flakes to it for crunchiness. 

 

The Plain flavour yoghurt contains no added sugar. The nutritional fact shows 4 gm of sugar which is Lactose i.e. natural milk sugar again. I will use the plain yoghurt to make a nice mint flavoured raita to eat with my lunch. (Will share with you all in the next post). 

Flavours: It is available in six delicious fat free flavours – Strawberry, Peach, Black Cherry, Blood Orange, Pomegranate and Plain.  Chobani is now available at selected Tesco stores across the UK.   
To learn more, visit www.chobani.co.uk 

Unexpectedly, Pomegranate is clearly my favourite.  The sweet-tart flavors integrate well into the yoghurt.

A very useful chart which helps to substitute high fat products like butter, cream, mayonnaise with yoghurt. After all it is all about eating healthy and tasty! ;-)

This was all till now about the nutritional facts and flavours of Chobani Fat Free Greek style yoghurt! 

But here is an ....

An Inspiring Story: The Man Behind Chobani Greek Yogurt.

 

Hamdi Ulukaya is the CEO President and Founder of Cobani. He has been dubbed as“the Steve Jobs of yoghurt” by Forbes in 2011. Hamdi stumbled upon a classified ad on his desk for a Central New York yoghurt plant that had recently been closed by Kraft. After initially throwing the ad away, “there were a million reasons not to buy it,” Ulukaya trusted his gut and fished it out of the trash. He went to see the plant that day, decided to buy it on the spot and officially founded Chobani in 2005. Hamdi immediately hired four ex-Kraft employees and began updating the plant facilities. It took over 18 months to perfect the recipe for Chobani and in October 2007, the first cups hit store shelves. Initial retail interest for Chobani primarily came from high-end, specialty stores. Despite his need for revenue, Hamdi held out for placement on mainstream yoghurt shelves based on his belief that everyone deserved access to “good” yoghurt. And in 2009, Hamdi’s conviction paid off when Stop & Shop, New England’s largest retailer, signed on. Other major retailers quickly followed suit. Today, Chobani is the number one yoghurt brand in America.

Chobani Yoghurt

I got a surprise package today! It is from Chobani…Fat Free Yoghurt in different fruit flavours. Going to review them soon and will let you all know. (perk of being a dietitian!)

Sooo many flavours....which one should I go for first!!