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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | After reading Jeans post the other day about gaining 9 pounds over the holidays, I decided to post these recipes that are very nutritious and nurturing for this time of the year. They also are very satisfying when coming off a heavy meat and or heavy rich food diet in general.
The Tomato soup does not have to be prepared with eggs, but it sure is best this way. I got this recipe from a Chinese friend of mine several years ago. This soup can be eaten almost every day and is loaded with Vitamins and especially Vitamin C. This is a great soup for a light evening meal, which is traditionally how it is done in Northern China.
I hope you enjoy these recipes and if you have any questions on how to prepare them, I'll either post as we go along or feel free to email me. Enjoy!
Subzi – Satyam's Nepalis Vegetable Curry w/ Saffron Rice
Sesame Oil – Light or Dark, doesn’t matter
Half Onion – Sliced in half-moon slivers
One quarter teaspoon Tumeric
2 cups Cauliflower, small florets, blanched till half cooked, ** blanched means lightly boiled
2 cups Potatoes, Quarterd, skins on, blanched till half cooked
Half Teaspoon each, Ground Coriander and Cumin, use slightly more coriander like almost one-quarter teaspoon more
Make a paste of ginger and garlic…to taste, but use at least 4 cloves garlic and peel the ginger first. This can be done using a mortar or in a food processor.
Three quarters of a cup of water
1 Sliced and Quartered Tomato
A handful of fresh Cilantro, torn apart in small pieces * I like to tear, not chop Cilantro. Stems and all.
Sea Salt to taste
Heat Oil for frying on med-high heat. Add Onions and stir fry till lightly brown. Add Tumeric, mixing very quickly – do not burn. Add blanched Cauliflower and Potatoes. Mix together thoroughly. Combine Garlic & Ginger paste with Cumin & Coriander and Water. Mix together well, then add to the vegetables. Cook until Three-quarters done, then add Sliced Tomatoes on top, do not stir. Cover and Steam 5-10 mins longer, then mix Tomatoes into the vegetables, and cook 5 mins. longer to make a gravy. Take off heat, then add Cilantro, do not stir. Cover and let sit for 10 mins. Then stir in Cilantro and add sea salt at this point.
Serve with Steamed Saffron Rice. To make Saffron rice, you first cook the rice - 2 cups of raw uncooked rice to 1/2 the amount of water in a rice cooker, or follow directions per your rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, use the 1:1 ratio of water and rice, cook until done adding water if necessary to get the desired texture - Basmati is the traditional rice for this recipe, however, we like to use Jasmine as it has a nice flavor and aroma while cooking too. While Rice is cooking, take a few Saffron threads and add them to a half cup of water, let it stand – at least 30 mins. When rice is done, add 1 Tablespoon Ghee or Butter (Butter is higher in fat and really should not be used if you are worried about fat), mix together, then add Saffron Water and mix thoroughly.
Evening Light Tomato Soup
Sesame Oil – Light or Dark
Freshly peeled and sliced and slivered Ginger, to taste but at least 1 Tablespoon
2 Tomatoes, sliced and quartered
6 Cups of Boiling or Hot Water
2 Eggs, beaten
1 handful of Fresh Cilantro, torn apart in small pieces
Sea Salt to taste
Heat oil and stir fry ginger till brown. Add tomato slices, cook until pasty. Add Boiling or Hot Water. Stir until water is rolling in a hard boil. Add beaten eggs lightly all around the top, to make small flowers (yes, this is how you make egg drop soup) until all egg is dispersed. Let it come to a boil again if its not already, for at least 1 – 2 mins. Remove from fire, add fresh cilantro, again, do not stir - YET., cover for 5 mins. Now, Stir in fresh Cilantro and Sea Salt. Enjoy!
**Note: about fresh Cilantro. Especially in the winter months or for persons requiring a cooked vegetable diet, you lightly cook Cilantro by adding it at the end. The heat from the dish lightly cooks the cilantro...you do not cook cilantro.
Edited by Cyndi 2006-01-06 3:43 PM
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| ginger in the tbsp quantity has a tendency to upset my stomach. is there a way that i can cut it somehow? or is there an alternative for it?
i'd love to try the tomato soup.  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | You can adjust it any way you want. One way is to make a paste out of ginger...this helps greatly if your not used to or if ginger bothers you. Making a paste is by pounding it down to a liquid. I'm really surprised since ginger usually calms the stomach. Ginger is considered to be Vishvabhesaj, which means "universal medicine". Perhaps using it in a dry powder would be better for you too. Garlic is the one you should watch out for...especially with the Pitta dosha.
As for cutting it out completely....hmm? Ginger is part of the formula for both of those dishes and I'm afraid it will alter it tremendously...in fact, it will also taste very bland. The only other thing I can think of is to use big slices to get the flavor and then take it out at the end or simply don't eat it. This way you will not get the total benefits of the recipes - especially if you are using these foods for coming off the Holiday Food Binge. Ginger is used to increase the digestive fire, which is the key to radiant health. It contains enzymes and encourages the body to produce enzymes that help digest fats, carbs, and proteins. It also has so many other benefits like stomach aches, joint aches and pains, motion sickness (I give ginger slices to my animals when traveling long distances) vomiting....the list goes on. |
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| i knw the list of benefits that ginger brings, and every time i've tried to use it in the suggested amounts, i've had terribly stomach pains, gas, bloating--sometimes lasting for days. I once tried a ginger-based digestif tea suggested by an herbalist, and that was horrifying!
So, i have to rely on something that is mildly pepperminty and with very little ginger. But, i do fine with garlic, though i certainly go easy on it too.
I have plenty of tomato soup recipes, but i like to try a new one. i suppose i could cut it--or as you said just remove it if i keep it in chuncks. that would probably be easiest.
honestly, i love ginger, but i find that for me, a little bit goes a long way. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hey Zoebird,
Knowing what you know about ginger and all the health benefits it has. Did you ever figure out why or what the properties were in ginger that caused you so much grief with it?? Our bodies change constantly and I am not one of those people who do not believe in the western medical diagnosis of a particular food allergy or even sensitivity forever for a person. I believe there is always another underlying issue, internally that causes these types of problems. I also believe there is a way for problems like this to be corrected - especially in a young person such as yourself. It's when you get old and feeble like me that you have to worry about digestion and not being able to eat beans anymore...although, I did eat some blackeyed peas for New Year's Day and did fine...No Dal for me, ever...unless I take some supporting herbs, have a session of acupuncture to push them on through, or do Bikram every single day  |
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| well, i have no 'western diagnosis' for it; i simply noticed the 'trend' when i used ginger in my own stuff.
for example, at one of the indian restuarants where i eat, they'll cut the ginger usually in the food in half or more for me, while still maintaining the same amounts of the other spices. This makes a big difference in whether or not i'm able to digest the food. I can have some ginger, but not much. What we found, though, when i had some with full-on ginger in it, i had severe problems with it. When we cut or removed the ginger, i didn't have the severe problems.
i have no problem avoiding ginger, since my other digestif teas do not have ginger and if i do have an upset stomach for whatever reason, i can take these teas and they'll work within minutes. When i use a ginger tea or a tea with a considerable ginger component, it works entirely against me.
I haven't figured out why, but i'm not terribly worried about it. |
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| Your ginger intolerance is intriguing as ginger is usually recommended for settling an upset tum in most herbal traditions. I find ginger ale very helpful in this regard myself. Peppermint on the other hand can bring on acid with me. Recent years have also seen an increased tendency for garlic to bloat me out, not that I'm about to give it up in a hurry
Fee |
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Holiday Food Cure Recipes
