Corn Fussili n Basil Soup

Soups are the most comforting food for winter and I have been making a lot of them this winter. Here is one, I tried recently. I had found this one in a microwave booklet with recipes from Tarla Dalal at my mom's place. I vaguely remembered the combination and created this one. It is quite filling and I loved the flavour of basil in the soup.

Sending it to Divya's Show me you Soup and to my event 'Winter Warmers'

Corn Fussili n Basil Soup

Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes.
1 cup sweet corn + 2 tbsp extra.
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp oil
3/4 cup fussili pasta, boiled
4-5 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste.
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp corn flour mixed with 2 tsp of water.
Grated cheddar cheese for garnishing.

Process:

1. Boil the tomatoes and make a puree of it. Boil 1 cup sweetcorn in 1 cup water and churn it in a mixture. Strain it and discard the waste.

2. Heat a pan and add oil. When heated add the onions and saute till translucent.

3. Add the tomato puree and heat for 30 seconds. Then add the sweetcorn mixture and stir well.

4. To it add the cornflour mixture and stir well. The soup will thicken. Add water to adjust the consistency.

5. Add the remaining sweetcorn, basil leaves, boiled pasta,sugar, salt and pepper. Give it a nice stir and boil on a medium for 5-7 minutes.

6. Garnish it with grated cheddar and serve hot.

This is my 4th entry to my event -Winter Warmers. Others were C3 Soup, Carrot Halva(Microwave) and Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing. Along with these I would like to submit these four recipes for my event-

Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup, Tomato Soup, Tom Veg Soup and Ginger and Cardamom Tea.

Hurry in your entries. Event ends 30th Jan 2011.

Enjoy!

Corn Palak

'Corn Palak' - When I reflected on these words, I suddenly realised we are so accustomed to 'Hinglish' (Hindi-English) words them we seldom realise that we have so many mixed words in our vocabulary. Still, I thought it would not be a good idea to call it Bhutta- Palak or Corn Spinach as I am so used to hearing  'Corn Palak'. 
I make this very often coz its so full of nutrients. For further reading, read benefits of Spinach and Corn here and here.

Here is the recipe for 'Corn Palak'.

Sweet corn kernels in spinach and tomato gravy spiced with Indian spices.

Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup

When it comes to soup, I prefer a simple tomato soup with bread croutons. But, this winter when I had to prepare soup more often because of the bad weather, I tried a few more types of soup. One of them is "Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup". It is creamy with a good quantity of veggies. Its healthy and one full bowl is quite filling for the stomach. I loved it and hope to make it many more times.

Here is the recipe for it. We can do variation to this recipe by adding shredded cabbage,chopped cauliflower florets, string beans etc.

This recipe serves 2 people.
Ingredients:

1¼ cup frozen sweet corn.
2 cup + 2 tbsp water.
1 tbsp corn flour.
¼ cup chopped bell pepper.
1 tomato deseeded and chopped.
1 carrot chopped finely.
1 green chilli chopped finely.
½ tsp mustard seeds.
1 tbsp oil.
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
1 tsp salt.
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper powder.

Process:

1. Boil the sweet corn in 2 cups of water. Churn it finely in grinder. Sieve the mixture and keep aside. Mix the corn flour in 2 tbsp of water. Keep aside.

2. Heat a frying pan. Add oil when heated and add mustard seeds such that they crack right away. Add the chopped green chilies, chopped bell pepper and sauté.

3. Add the chopped carrot and sweet corn and heat till carrots are tender. Now add the chopped tomatoes and the sweet corn mixture.

4. Heat till it comes to boil. Add salt, pepper powder and sugar. Now add the coriander leaves and corn  flour mixture.

5.Then soup will start to thicken. Give it a good stir and heat for 5 minutes. Be careful so that the soup does not stick at the bottom of the pan. Take it off the gas.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Sweet Corn Salad

While in India I never missed having a hot & spicy corn while going for movies. I love sweet corn and the fact they are very healthy is an added advantage. I feel guilty when I bake a cake because I know how much it is going to add to my waist line. So I decided to have a lot of healthy food items in my menu. Thats why I am into soup and salads. So, here is another salad which is tasty and healthy.

Sweet Corn Salad:

Sweet corn in white gravy

Sweet corn in white gravy:

Sweet corn in sweet gravy of cashew, milk, almond and condensed milk. Cardamom for the nice flavor and white pepper for a mild spice.

This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

2 cups sweet corn.
1½ cup milk.
1 cup cashew.
¼ cup almond powder (optional).
¼ cup condensed milk.
½ tsp salt or to taste.
½ tsp white pepper powder.
¼ tsp cardamom powder.
2 tbsp ghee.
2 tbsp chopped glazed cherries for garnishing.

Process:

Boil the sweet corn in water still tender or if using frozen sweet corn, microwave it for 5 mins. Churn the cashews in a cup of milk and make a smooth paste. Heat a frying pan. When heated add ghee then add the cashew paste. Heat for 4-5 mins. Then add almond powder, condensed milk, cardamom powder, salt, white pepper powder and the half cup of milk and give it a good stir so that everything if evenly mixed. Now add the sweet corn and heat for another 5 mins. Turn off the gas and take the pan off the gas. Transfer in a serving bowl and garnish it with chopped glazed cherries.

Serve it hot with paratha or naan.