Minestrone soup is an Italian Soup which is a combination of pasta, beans, and lots of green and orange veggies. This is one of the healthiest soup. Again it’s quick and easy to make. Takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. I have used zucchini (both green & yellow), carrot, french beans, broccoli and red beans for this soup. If you are not using canned beans, then first thing to do is soak them 5 – 8 hrs. then pressure cook for 2 whistles or till its soft and cooked fully. I avoid cooking beans and veggies together as I don’t want my veggies to loose their glaze and color because of excess cooking. And these exotic vegetables takes lesser time to cook than that of the beans. So what I did here is I pressure cooked the beans with pasta for 2 whistles. Then mixed them with rest pan of vegetables. This reduced cooking time to half.
Soups are one of the best part of our food. These are loaded with vitamins and minerals. They are quick recipes and best comfort food.
Learn how to make this yummy tangy, spicy veg hot and sour soup. This veg hot and sour soup is one of my favorite soup. Whenever I dine out my first order is veg hot and sour soup. The name itself says it all. The sourness and the hot spicy combined together gives a nice flavor. The heat comes from the chilli sauce, black papers, ginger, garlic. you can add white pepper as well. The main sourness source is malt vinegar/ white vinegar.
You can add vegetables of your choice. Normally I add cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, french beans, mushrooms to the soup. You add bamboo shoots and tofu as well. This is super easy to prepare and gets prepared very quickly in 15 minutes.
The thickness or consistency you can adjust with cornflour.
This soup comes in Indo Chinese starter menu. Also read other Indo Chinese food like Veg Hakka Noodles, Veg Manchurian,
If you are looking for soups then please check these:
Monsoon and hot soups!! what a divine combination. I must say this soup is my all time favourite now. I would love to make this luscious creamy mushroom soup very often. Read my other soup recipe here.
In western part of India monsoon has arrived with drizzles and heavy showers accompanied with chilled wind, cold weather. Like we need some cold food to beat the heat of hot sunny summers, our body crave for hot beverages and some crispy fritters to accompany the fizzy weather. In this damp and moist weather germs and bacteria also breeds rapidly. Research has shown that our immunity system tend to be low in monsoon & makes us susceptible to diseases like cold, flu and digestive tract infection which are very common diseases associated with monsoon. Intake water carefully as these are the place where germs develop and so are the diseases. For this reason I say a strict no to any outside food especially street foods.
So to stay strong we need to develop healthy food habit for this monsoon. And to break the stereotype food habit of hot tea & coffee & fritters, why not welcome this monsoon with some healthy and flavorful piping hot soups. Soups are nutritious, keeps you full for longer. Also as these are light so easily digestible and helps in reducing inflammation and stomach flatulence.
This creamy low carb mushroom soup is perfect for this monsoon. Rich with nutrition this soup is super easy to make and flavorful with its earthy look & taste. I never knew this mushroom soup would taste so insanely delicious while preparing.It has flavors of garlic and chilli for that spiciness, curd, pepper, natural mild sweetness from mushroom and onion, everything well balanced made this a perfect recipe. To make it little creamy I have added 1/4 tsp whole wheat flour which is better than all purpose flour. You can add almond flour also to it. A pinch of flour and 2 tbsp of milk made it more creamy. I have replaced heavy cream with beaten curd. If you are vegan then use soy milk and vegan curd for the recipe. If you are following Keto diet then add heavy cream and butter for this recipe.
Its a super easy and 3 step recipe:
I. Chop and saute mushrooms, onions, garlics. Sprinkle flour and water/ milk to simmer.
II. Blend to a smooth puree. Add seasoning (salt & pepper).
III. Simmer to get right consistency. Garnish & Serve
Interesting!! lets make this super healthy creamy earthy mushroom soup.
Mushroom is sauted with onion and garlic. Then pureed and simmered to make this recipe.
Prep Time5mins
Cook Time10mins
Total Time25mins
Course: Soups, Weightloss Recipe
Cuisine: American, Asian, Indian, Italian
Keyword: Healthy Soups, Low-carb Recipe
Servings: 2People
Author: daintykitchen
Ingredients
1tbspOil
8-10MushroomsWashed and chopped
4 - 5 garlic
1Green Chilli
1/2tspBlack Pepper Powder
1tbspBeaten curd/ Fresh creamfor garnishing
1/4tspSalt
1mediumOnionDiced
Instructions
Wash and chop the ingredients. Heat oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and onions. Once onion is translucent add chopped mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Remove 4- 5 pieces for garnishing.
Add 1/4 tsp flour and saute for a minute. Add water & milk here and let it simmer and get cooked in this liquid.
Once mushrooms are soft and well cooked turn off the gas and blend to a smooth puree using a hand blender. If using normal blender then cool the mixture completely before grinding. To make it spicy I have added 1 green chilli to the blending jar along with mushroom. This is optional you can skip adding green chilli.
Heat the puree again in the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and adjust thickness of soup.
Turn off gas and serve hot with swirl of beaten curd. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and few sauteed mushroom pieces.
Notes
If you are using regular mixer grinder, then cool the mushroom mixture completely before blending else it will burst with hot air pressure.
For spiciness you can use green chilli or black pepper or cayenne pepper.
Add almond flour for healthier option.
Happy cooking friends. Try this recipe and share your feedback below in the comment box.
Monsoon and hot soups!! what a divine combination. In western part of India monsoon has arrived with drizzles and heavy showers accompanied with chilled wind, cold weather. Like we need some cold food to beat the heat of hot sunny summers, our body crave for hot beverages and some crispy fritters to accompany the fizzy weather. In this damp and moist weather germs and bacteria also breeds rapidly. Research has shown that our immunity system tend to be low in monsoon & makes us susceptible to diseases like cold, flu and digestive tract infection which are very common diseases associated with monsoon. Intake water carefully as these are the place where germs develop and so are the diseases. For this reason I say a strict no to any outside food especially street foods.
So to stay strong we need to develop healthy food habit for this monsoon. And to break the stereotype food habit of hot tea & coffee & fritters, why not welcome this monsoon with some healthy and flavorful piping hot soups. Soups are nutritious, keeps you full for longer. Also as these are light so easily digestible and helps in reducing inflammation and stomach flatulence.
So lets get started developing a healthy habit with one more super-food Pumpkin. Pumpkin is a versatile vegetable. This is used for both sweet delicacies as well as savory preparations. Both seeds and vegetable have nutritional values.
Pumpkin as a super-food
Rich in Beta-carotene & vitamin A – Excellent for eye health and skin. It rejuvenates skin texture and color.
Source of fibre, magnesium and potassium – Good for heart health, helps in digestion & weightloss
High water content (90%)- Keeps hydrated & helps in weightloss
Rich source of vitamin C – Boosts immunity & fight against cold & flu
Pumpkin seeds rich in magnesium and helps reducing cholesterol and keeps heart healthy.
This pumpkin soup is really easy to prepare. Requires very less ingredients. If you will search for pumpkin soup you will get thousand recipes. Many of them are loaded with potatoes. But if you intend to make a low calorie and low carb soup then use only pumpkin. It’s a 3 step process.
I – Chop & saute Pumpkin, onion & garlic (Fresh Pumpkin)
II – Puree the sauteed pumpkin & onion garlic
III – Simmer for right consistency
Can you think of some more interesting and easy recipes?
Since I wanted to make this low carb, I have not added any cream to the soup. Here instead of cream I have used half tsp curd for garnish. The creaminess of the soup comes from the creamy pulp of pumpkin etc. for creamy texture you don’t need any additional cream to add. However adding cream will make it even richer but this is not compulsory. Again I have added some brown fried onions to add that crunchy bites inbetween.
Lets make this luscious creamy pumpkin soup.
I have used some brown onions for garnishing. This is optional you can skip this.
This easy pumpkin soup recipe is prepared from pureed pumpkin pulp.
Prep Time5mins
Cook Time15mins
Total Time30mins
Course: Soups, Weightloss Recipe
Cuisine: Asian, Indian
Keyword: Healthy Soups, Low-carb Recipe
Servings: 4People
Author: daintykitchen
Ingredients
250gmPumpkinChopped
1tbspolive oil
1/2tspCoriander Powder
1/4tspCumin Powder
1tspBeaten curd/ Fresh creamFor garnish
5garlicfinely minced
1OnionChopped
1/4tspBlack Pepper Powder
1tbspBrown Onions (fried)
1/4tspSalt
1pinchOregano
1pinch Lemon Zest
1tspLemon Juice
1tsp Chilli flakes or paparika powder(Optional)
Instructions
Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add 1 tbsp finely minced garlic, saute till light brown. Add chopped onion and saute till translucent. Add 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp cumin powder.
Add chopped pumpkin and saute in low flame till pumpkins are soft. Here you can add 1/2 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn off the gas and cool it for some time. Blend it to smooth paste using hand blender. If using mixer grinder then cool it completely else the lid will open up with air pressure if used while hot.
Bring it to boil and simmer till you get right consistency. Season with salt and black pepper, oregano (Optional). To make it spicy add chilli flakes.
Garnish with beaten curd or fresh cream and coriander leaves and serve hot.
Notes
# If using mixer grinder to make puree of pumpkin, then let it cool completely else the lid will open up with hot air pressure.
# If the skin is hard then peel it or else use with outer skin on it.
This low carb creamy spinach and mushroom soup is one of the best soup for these cold days and nights. This is super easy and keto friendly soup which is tasty and at the same time it helps in loosing that extra fat.
Monsoon has arrived here with a great relief to summer heat and with a lazy weather. With drizzles I don’t feel like spending long time in Kitchen. Again with cold weather we crave to eat more fried, spicy food especially fritters or dumplings are very famous in Indian Monsoon. But one thing to keep in mind that we can’t eat more of unhealthy food.
We need to control our taste buds and serve ourselves hot but healthy food. Including hot soups and spices in our diet will help in building immunity and fights against the bacteria and virus in our stomach. That’s why while thinking about a low carb and healthy yet tasty soup recipe. I was confused between two ingredients Spinach and Mushroom. I bought both but could not conclude on which soup to make.
If you have read my previous posts, I have mentioned there spinach my all time favourite. So I again started with spinach but however mushroom too was in my mind. So there comes this creamy Spinach & Mushroom Soup. This is a completely low carb recipe. The creamy texture came from mushroom and flour. To give sour taste, I have used a cup of buttermilk. If you are following keto diet, you are free to add heavy cream and sour cream to the soup.
Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onion & crushed garlic. saute till light brown. Add chopped spinach. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and red chilli powder. saute till spinach is cooked.
Saute the mushroom and add to the spinach in a mixing jar.
Grind the sauteed spinach and mushroom to a smooth puree.
Heat the puree in a pan. Add mixture of buttermilk and a tsp almond flour for creamy texture and sour flavor.
Mix well and simmer for a minute. turn off the gas and serve hot. Garnish with sauteed spinach, mushroom and fresh cream.
Notes
If you are following keto diet then add heavy cream to soup while cooking. Instead of buttermilk use sour cream.
Enjoy the monsoon with this creamy spinach & mushroom soup.
Spanish Gazpacho Cold Soup is a best alternative for all salad lovers. Summer means heat and we try to keep ourselves hydrated. The best to keep hydration level high is by drinking juice, having fresh fruits etc. Fruits are high in water content so the best is having maximum fruits, juices and salads in your daily diet. Read about best summer drinks here.
This Gazpacho Soup belongs to Spanish Cuisine originally. When we talk about soup, its normally cooked and served. But the speciality of this soup is that its not cooked and served chilled. Normally its the raw puree of tomato, Cucumber and bell pepper combined with few more herbs and spices such as onion, garlic, jalapeno, coriander leaves. Wine vinegar or malt vinegar and lemon gives tartness to the tomato pureed. Olive oil and salt added in the end. This is pureed to very fine paste. Using large strainer strain out the rough particles. Sprinkle freshly crushed black pepper.
Blend these healthy vegetables together to a puree and refrigerate for few hours and serve cold. This soup is keto friendly and this good food is full of fibres and nutritions and low in carb.
I’m glad I made this soup and sharing this on my blog today. My first try on Gazpacho Soup. You can play around with ingredients always.
Gazpacho is a cold soup which are best for the summers. It has all goodness of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers. Its a raw pureed form of these vegetables.
Prep Time5mins
Cook Time5mins
Total Time2hrs10mins
Course: Soups, Weightloss Recipe
Cuisine: Spanish
Keyword: Easy Less than 30 minutes Recipe
Servings: 2Servings
Author: daintykitchen
Ingredients
1tbspolive oil
2Tomatoes
1Red Bell Pepper
FewCherry Tomatoes
2tbspCoriander leaves
5 - 6 Garlic pods
1Jalapeno
1OnionMedium
1tspSalt
1/2tspBlack pepper
1/4cupRed wine vinegar
1/2tspCayannepepper
1Lemon
Instructions
Chop tomatoes, cucumber,bell pepper, jalapeno, coriander leaves, onion, garlic. Grind together adding little water.
Blend to smooth puree. Strain the particles left out in puree with help of a strainer.
Add wine vinegar, salt, lemon juice, cayanne pepper and stir well. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and garnish with few chopped coriander leaves. Refrigerate for minimum 3 hrs. Serve this with bread croutons or any salad.
This leafy vegetable is full of nutrition, vitamins and minerals. Its rich in calcium and recommended for our bone health. It’s loaded with every good thing that our body needs.
Spinach recipes are very easy to make. Even in plain sauteed form it tastes delicious. It doesn’t take 5 minutes to get cooked. so when you are in hurry and want to make yourself some thing fresh and healthy, try this sauteed spinach recipe. Try my simple yet most popular butter garlic sauteed spinach for keto recipe.
How to make soupy spinach?
Normally while cooking spinach in dry sauteed form, never add water to it. Because they release lot of water while cooking. If you add additional water it will be mashy. One trick is wash and clean the leaves and then air dry them and store. Cut it just before you are going to cook them. In this way they release little less water or no additional water will get added in method of rinsing and cleaning the leaves. In my version of soupy spinach, I have not dried them before as i wanted it in soupy form.
While making any spinach soup we puree it to fine paste. but I wanted to have that bites of spinach along with it’s flavorful juice. Also I have added eggplant/ aubergine to the dish.
This is a simple soup recipe with minimal ingredients. I have used only salt and garlic for this soup and yet it’s delicious. Simplicity at it’s best.
Other Spinach Recipes
Another magic of the flavor of spinach is that it does not need any other spices to make it scrumptious. However it blends with garlic so well that only use of garlic is enough for this. How ever you can add other spices as well but the simple recipe is the best version to me. Palak also tastes great as gravy base in many curries and biryani etc. Read my bestever palak paneer and punjabi sarson ka saag recipe on blog.
While kneading wheat flour for chapati (flat breads) or Poori, I add 1/2 cup blanched and pureed spinach juice. This adds so many nutrition to the plain chapati. When your kid is a fussy eater you may try making this colourful poori or paratha. I have tried this for my baby and he loves this variety too much and at the same time he is having all the nutrition that’s required for his growth and development. Isn’t it a great idea?
You can have this as weight loss soup specially for dinner and its so filling that you will not crave for anything else. Its also a diabetic friendly food.
Green whole moong bean (Green gram bean) is used both in savoury and sweet dishes. This dal is rich in protein and dietary fibres. This is best served with roti/ chapati (flattened bread) or steamed rice or jeera rice (cumin rice). Moong dal or green moong dal is one of the best when you are on diet for weightloss or even better for diabetic patients.
This is healthiest form of plant protein and has amino acids which are considered as building blocks of protein. These are high source of nutrients including manganese, potassium, magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B. It’s rich in protein, and dietary fibre. This lentil is low in carbohydrates which differentiates it from the other lentils. Due to low glycemic index this is one of the super foods for diabetic patients as it helps in regulating blood sugar.
How to make hara moong dal?
I make hara moong or green gram in two ways, i.e. both as dal and as curry. Preparing any of them is easy and almost similar. Incase of dry curry, then don’t add water while sauteing with spices and simmer till it’s of thicker consistency. Where as if you want to make as dal, add approximately 1 glass – 1.5 glass water more to the curry preparation.
Consistency of Pressure cooked whole moong dal
Normally even if I want to make soupy dal consistency, I don’t add much water during pressure cooking. Keep the ration 1 : 2.5 for lentils to water. With excess water it may spill over and will not get properly cooked. Another point is cook on medium to low flame so that the lentils will get cooked properly.
Then if you want to make it dry sabzi, don’t add water or add little water. Even you want soupy dal, add extra water during this point (after mixing cooked dal to the spices paste).
Look at the pictures below. 1st one is dry moong dal sabzi and the 2nd is moong dal soup.
Pic – 1 – Dry Green Gram CurryPic – 2 – Green Gram Lentil Soup or Green Moong Dal
So the basic difference is their consistency. Rest all methods are same for both dry curried lentils or soupy lentils.
Note: Soak the dal for 3 -4 hours to get full nutrition of it. It will help reducing anti nutrients which are naturally present in all beans and legumes. This makes it easier to digest and reduces flatulence.
This can be served as dal, as sabzi or even as lentil soup and very healthy in any form. This is easy to make recipe and healthy option in both lunch and dinner.
Prep Time5mins
Cook Time30mins
Resting Time15mins
Total Time35mins
Course: Dal, Main Dish, Sabzi & Curry, Weightloss Recipe
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Easy Less than 30 minutes Recipe, Healthy Soups, Indian Dal, Low-carb Recipe
Servings: 4People
Author: Ipsa Faujdar
Ingredients
1cupgreen Moong (whole)
1onionfinely chopped
2tomatofinely chopped
1inchginger finely chopped or crushed
6garlic podsfinely chopped or crushed
2green chillifinely chopped
3tspcoriander powder
1tspred chilli powder
1/2tspturmeric powder
1tspsalt
1tspcumin seeds
6 – 8curry leaves
1/2tsphing
2dried red chilli
2tbsp coriander leaves
3tbsprefined oil/ ghee
1tbspghee(optional)
Instructions
Wash dal properly and soak in water for 1 hr.
Put in a pressure cooker. Add turmeric powder and salt as per taste. Add 2 cups of water.
If soaked earlier then pressure-cook for 4 – 5 whistles. Else it might take 4 – 5 whistles more. Let it cool before opening the lid.
For Dry Moong Curry
Heat 3 tbsp refined oil in a deep pan or kadai.
Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Then add chopped ginger and garlic and saute for a minute.
Add chopped onion, green chillies and curry leaves to it and saute till translucent.
Then add chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes more or till oil separates.
Then add dry spices and mix well. Add 1/4 cup water and give it a good stir.
Add boiled dal to the pan and let it simmer till desired consistency received. Add 1 tsp lemon juice and mix well.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.
For Moong Dal/ Soup
Heat 3 tbsp refined oil in a deep pan or kadai.
Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Then add chopped ginger and garlic and saute for a minute.
Add chopped onion, green chillies and curry leaves to it and saute till translucent.
Then add chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes more or till oil separates.
Then add dry spices and mix well. Add 1/4 cup water and give it a good stir.
Add boiled dal to the pan. Mix well.
Add 1 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes on medium to low flame. Add water as per the consistency you need in dal.
Add 1 tsp lemon juice and finely chopped coriander leaves.
Notes
Adjust water as per the consistency you need in dal. You can make it both as dry sauteed curry or soupy dal.
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