Beat the weather blues with immunity building food

Chennai

Prepare your body to deal with the weather changes. Pepper, ginger, garlic, honey, beetroot and herbs are great agents to build up immunity. 

Here we share a few recipes using these ingredients.

PEPPER RASAM

Ingredients:

Coconut oil: 50 ml

Mustard seeds: 2 gms

Cumin seeds: 5 gms

Peppercorn: 25 gms

Garlic (crushed): 100 gms

Ginger(crushed): 100 gms

Curry leaves: 2

Coriander leaves: 2

Tomato: 1

Jaggery: 25 gms

Chilly powder: 20 gms

Coriander powder: 30 gms

Tamarind pulp: 30 gms

Water: 500 ml

Salt: to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan. 
• Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Add crushed pepper, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, tomato and sauté well.
• Add chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and mix well.
• Then add tamarind pulp and jaggery; add water and allow it to boil for 15 minutes.
• Check for seasoning and serve hot after sprinkling chopped coriander leaves.

Recipe: Chef Jayaprasad, Ente Keralam

CORIANDER SOUP WITH GINGER, HONEY SALSA

Ingredients: 4 

Fresh coriander leaves: 250 gms

Ginger: 20 gms

Garlic: 2 cloves

Green Chilli: 1 tsp 

Salt: to taste 

Vegetable stock: 1/2 cup 

Black pepper crush: ¼ tsp 

Dry coriander seeds crushed: 1 pinch 

Oil: 4 ml 

Lemon wedges: 1 pc 

Honey: ½ tsp

FOR GINGER AND HONEY SALSA

Ginger diced: ¼ tsp 

Honey: 1 drop 

Tomato medium size: 1 pc 

Fresh coriander chopped: ¼ tsp

Lemon juice: Few drops

Method:

• Clean and peel all left-over vegetables and make a stock. 
• Peel and slice garlic, ginger, coriander and chilly. 
• In large pan, add some oil and put it on gas stove in medium heat. Add all sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 5 to 10 minutes, until it softens. 
• Add vegetable stock, crushed pepper and coriander seed in it and stir. Bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add seasoning. Serve in soup bowl with lemon-ginger salsa (recipe below).

SALSA: 

• Cut ginger, tomato and coriander. Mix in bowl, add honey, lemon juice along with some seasoning.

Recipe: Chef Satish Chandra Bhartiya, The Residency Towers

GINGER AND HONEY CUSTARD

Ingredients:

Cream: 300 gms 

Milk: 300 gms 

Honey: 100 ml

Ginger: 100 gms (peeled/ washed and chopped) 

Vanilla essence: 5 ml 

Eggs: 4 

Egg yolk: 1 

Brown sugar: 20 gms

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
• Place the cream and milk in medium saucepan set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add in ginger, cook the mix in low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, allow it to cool, blend the mix and strain the mix.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, eggs until well blended and it just starts to lighten in colour. Add the cream mix stirring continuously. Add in vanilla essence. Pour the liquid into a ramekin bowls. Place the bowl into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 
• Bake in the preheated oven just until the custard is set for 25-30 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate overnight.  
• Remove the ramekins from the fridge for at least 30 mins, prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the sugar equally among the dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a blow-torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the custard to sit for 5 mins before serving.

Recipe: Chef Jacob Justin, Courtyard by Marriott Chennai

KALI MIRCH AUR LASOON DHAL SHORBA

Ingredients:

Toor dhal, cleaned and washed: ½ cup 

Moong dhal, cleaned and washed: ½ cup 

Chopped garlic: 1 tbsp

Pepper corn: 2 tbsp 

Coriander seed: 1 tsp 

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp 

Lemon juice: 2 tbsp 

Oil: 1 tbsp 

Green chillies, chopped: 1 

Turmeric powder: 1 tsp 

Coriander leaves, chopped: Handful 

Salt to taste

Method: 

• In a medium saucepan, boil both the dhals with turmeric and salt (5 cups of water).
• Simmer for 15 minutes, till it becomes soft, removing scum from dhal time to time.
• Blend the dhal mixture and strain. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan; add cumin seeds, green chili, peppercorn and coriander seeds and sauté till seeds crackle. Add in the garlic, and sauté till its golden brown.
• Add pureed dhal and coriander leaves bring it to a boil. Check for seasoning. Adjust consistency by adding water, if required. Strain the mixture and add some lemon juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

STRAWBERRY AND BEETROOT SALAD

Ingredients:

Ribbon carrot: 30 gms

Ribbon beetroot: 30 gms

Fresh strawberry wedges: 30 gms

Frisee lettuce: 10 gms 

DRESSING 

Green tea powder: 5 gms 

Honey: 15 ml 

Cinnamon: 3 gms 

Cloves: 3 gms

Lemon juice: 5 ml 

Pepper: as per taste 

Olive oil: as per taste

FOR STRAWBERRY AND BEETROOT PUREE 

Strawberry, fresh: 20 gms 

Beetroot: 30 gms

Ginger: 10 gms

Honey: 5 ml 

Procedure:

• Mix all the ingredients above the puree section. Keep aside. Cook and blend all the ingredients in the puree section. 
• Take the mixed salad. Add a dollop of strawberry and beetroot puree. Serve.

Recipe: Chef Nihil Kumar, Colony, The Raintree, St Marys Rd

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