It’s getting cold in my place. So I made this soup and it came out so creamy and yummy. Vegetable soups are a healthy and comforting food to include in our diet. Here I used cabbage to make this soup. This brilliant winter soup really is a complete main course in a bowl and it is rich with onion, tomato and spices like cumin powder and cinnamon, makes the soup fragrant. Cabbage soup are very good for weight loss and you can add any vegetables like potatoes, carrots or mushrooms along with cabbage. Try this weight loss soup and let me know how it turned out.


     Ingredients

        200 gms(7 Ounce) of Cabbage, Finely Chopped
        1/4 Cup of Red Onion, Finely Chopped
        1 Small Tomato, Finely Chopped
        1 Big Garlic Clove, Finely Chopped
        1/2 Tsp of Cumin Powder
        1/4 Tsp of White Pepper Powder
        1/4 Tsp of Black Pepper Powder
        1 Tsp of Salt or to taste
        2 Tsp of Olive Oil
        1 Small Cinnamon Stick
        2 Cups of Water
        1 Sprig of Coriander Leaves(Cilantro)

     Method

• Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, add cinnamon stick, onion, garlic and salt, saute this for 2 mins until it turns golden brown.
• Add cabbage, saute this for 2 mins. Add tomato, saute this for few mins.  Add cumin powder, white and black pepper powder, mix well. Add 2 cups of water, bring it to a boil, simmer it for 10 – 12 mins until the cabbage turns soft and cooked. Turn off the flame. Let it cool down for 5 mins.
• Transfer the sauteed cabbage and water to a blender (mixie), blend it to a smooth puree.
• Serve this in a soup bowl, garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves) and serve immediately.

     Tips

• You can use butter in place of olive oil.
• You can throw the cinnamon stick, if you don’t want to grind.Adjust the amount of spiciness according to your taste.
• If you want little more tangy taste to your soup, add lemon juice in the end.
• If you don’t have white pepper, just add black pepper.

     Health Benefits of Cabbage

• Cabbage has cholesterol lowering benefits when you cook it by steaming.
• It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Good source of vitamin C, K, potassium and fiber.
• Good for weight loss, thereby reduces the bad cholesterol in the blood.
• Prevents cancer and heart disease.
• Good for eyes, bones, cardiovascular, digestive tract and brain health.     

       Cauliflower fry is a simple, quick to make side dish. This simple vegetable stir fry can be made with less ingredients in a very less time. It tastes so good with sambar rice or rasam rice or curd rice or any variety rice dishes like coconut rice. 



    Ingredients

         1 Small Cauliflower, about 1 and 1/4 Cup of Florets
         1.5 Tsp of Sambhar Powder
         Salt to Taste
         Water as needed

    To Temper

          2 Tsp of Cooking Oil
          1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
          1 Tsp of Urad Dal
          1 Sprig of Curry Leaves
         

    Method

• Separate the florets from cauliflower and wash it in tap water.
• Heat oil in a cast iron pan, when it is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves, after it splutters, add cauliflower florets and salt, fry this for few mins, sprinkle some water, mix it, cover and cook this for 5 mins until it turns soft and cooked.
• Add sambhar powder to the cauliflower florets, fry this for a min, in a medium flame, cover and cook this for 5 mins until you get brown spots. Once it done, turn off the flame.
• Serve with coconut rice or sambar rice or rasam rice.

    Tips

• Adjust spiciness according to your taste.
• If you don’t have sambhar powder, add 2 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of red chily powder and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.

        
    Healthy Benefits of Cauliflower

• Excellent source of antioxidants.
• Anti-inflammatory properties.
• Protect against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.
• Clean your digestive system.
• Good source of vitamin B and minerals.