Chicken Haleem with Oats

Oats haleem for Iftar today :)

So if you find yourself having left over chicken, what do you do? You make a soup or better yet, oats haleem with it!

Take out the bones from the chicken. If your chicken is in curry form, you don't need the following:

Ginger garlic paste,

Onions,

Red chilli powder

If it's plain chicken, then add the above items and fry till onions turn soft.

If its' curry leftovers, you only need the following:

Lemon juice - to taste

Mint and Coriander leaves - chopped

Green chilli, finely chopped - to taste

Chicken stock - optional

Oats

Put the chicken into a pot, add the green chillies. Add chicken stock or water. One cup per person. Add coriander and mint leaves, lemon juice and salt if required. The chicken stock usually has sufficient salt in it.

Once the liquid boils, add the oats - about 1/2 cup per person, and allow to cook for 10 min. The consistency will be quite thick. Take it out of the stove and allow to cool. Then mash it up a little bit, and you will notice that it becomes a bit sticky in nature, haleem-style.

And thats it. Serve hot with fried onions and a wedge of lemon. Bismillah!

Carrot Coriander Soup

So here’s a simple recipe that I tried out in just 15 minutes (one of Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipes). Most soups can be made with the same base – garlic, peppercons, bay leaf and any vegetable of your choice. Go on!! Try it!! 

Carrot Coriander Soup

You would need a teaspoon of peppercorns and a bay leaf.

Some garlic cloves, 5-6 would suffice.

 Around 400 gms of carrots and a medium sized onion.

Chop up the onion and the carrots.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pressure cooker. A heavy bottomed pot would do.

Add the peppercorns, garlic cloves, bay leaf and onions. 

Fry till the onions are golden brown. They should be soft by now.
Add the carrots to the pot.

Add a fresh bunch of coriander leaves along with the stems.

Add some water and allow to pressure cook for 10 min.

Allow to cool and then puree everything.

Transfer back to pot, add salt and pepper to taste. Add water to correct the consistency. Allow to boil.

And that’s it! Add a few drops of lemon. Serve hot. Some garlic bread would be nice.
And don’t forget to say Bismillah :D

Carrot Coriander Soup

Quick reference:

1 tbsp butter or ghee
5-6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
5-6 garlic cloves
500 gms carrots
Coriander leaves with stems
Salt to taste
White pepper
Lemon

Method:
Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pressure cooker. Add the peppercorns, garlic cloves and bay leaf. Chop up the onion and add it to the pot. Fry till the onions are golden brown. Roughly chop the carrots and add them to the pot. Add a fresh bunch of coriander leaves along with the stems. Add some water and allow to pressure cook for 10 min. Allow to cool and puree everything.

Spicy Veggie Soup

For vegetable soup, you can use pretty much anything you have in stock. Carrots, beans, cauliflower, celery, cabbage...anything...mix and match, be creative. Here's what I used and it turned out great.

• 250 gms gourd (Kaddu or Lauki)
• 250 gms cabbage
• 1 medium sized carrot
• Mint leaves - a bunch, chopped
• coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 green chilli, chopped finely
• Black pepper or chat masala
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Salt to taste
• Lemon juice, 2 tbsp (or half a medium sized lemon)

Dice the vegetables, add salt and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and puree the vegetables in a blender.

Prepare chicken stock in half a litre of water. Add salt to taste, mint leaves, coriander leaves green chillies, black pepper, chat masala and bring to boil. Reduce heat and add the vegetable puree. Add lemon juice and cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Tip: Soups taste great with garlic bread or something crunchy on the side. If you got chips with you (we get boondi and kurkure in India, which works well), crush them and sprinkle on the soup just before serving.