Warm Pumpkin Soup for cool autumn nights

Pumpkin soups are absolutely satisfying and can replace any other dinner alternatives. There are several variations of this recipe. What I have here is one of the simplest.

Just 8 ingredients in 30 minutes can produce a meal. Check it out on swamyskitchen.com.

Tomato Pickle - South Indian style

Taste this simple, spicy tomato pickle from Swamy's kitchen.

A great spread for sandwiches, tomato rice dishes, or as a tasty condiment for Dosa, Idli, Adai, or Indian breads.

Lentil Flour Burfi for Lord Krishna's birthday

A simple and quick dessert for Krishna's birthday.

Gokulashtami/Krishna Jayanthi was supposed to be yesterday but I could celebrate it only today.

I tried this Lentil flour burfi for the first time. This is only a trial version as I am preparing to make a larger quantity for another occasion.

Results: Although it tastes good, it needed to be less like halwa and more like Mysore pah or maybe somewhere in between. So, I placed the tray inside the refrigerator for an hour. The consistency turned out perfect.

Try this recipe from swamyskitchen.com.

Roasted Beets with Gorgonzola cheese

Beets are definitely not a favorite vegetable of mine. They most often taste like chemicals and I believe their thin layer of skin absorb the smells as well. The best way to get rid of the taste and smell is to use a strong, flavorful ingredient like garlic while roasting in an oven or cooking them over stove.

Test this easy recipe, a flavorful dish of beets with Gorgonzola cheese. Here's a list of some of the nutritional benefits of beets.

1. A natural aphrodisiac used by the Romans.
2. High in Potassium, magnesium, fibre, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine and folic acid.
3. Removes toxins from the body.
4. Good for mind health.
5. Lowers blood pressure.

Tomato rice, flavorful, fluffy and mildly-spiced

This is a vegan dish in which spice and other ingredients may be altered very easily to suit your taste. The proportions I have in my recipe are for a mild to medium-hot palette. If you want just a hint of flavor, cut back the chillie to 1 or completely omit them.

Here's the recipe from swamyskitchen.com.

A side dish from Kerala - Sweet Mango with Coconut & Yogurt

This is a popular dish from Kerala called Pulisseri. Kerala, is a south-western state of India. Just about every dish from Kerala uses coconut. This is a mixture of sweet mango, spices, coconut and yogurt.

Find the recipe from swamyskitchen.com.

Provençal Spinach Gratin

One of the less talked about vegetables is Spinach and is taken for granted around the world. Let me sing the praises of Spinach just a bit.

The green color of spinach is beautiful, vibrant, cooling to the eyes, full of life and inviting. It serves as a great display layer for presenting food. And, besides being available throughout the year and throughout the world, here are some excellent health benefits we get from Spinach.

• Restores energy
• Improves red blood cells 
• Loaded with iron
• Helps DNA synthesis
• Great source of vitamins K, A, C, manganese, magnesium, iron and B2
• Packed with folic acid

Here's is delicious recipe from SwamysKitchen. The recipe is borrowed with a bit of variation.

Mysore Bonda

I always wondered why Mysore Bonda was called by that name. The answer is obvious, because it originated in Mysore. For some reason I thought there was a much deeper explanation such as history, or related to the ingredients or to the Maharaja. There's nothing meaningful about the name but the taste is far from boring.

There are several way to make this appetizer but the recipe I have here is the original recipe. Simple, quick, tasty and nutritious; if your discount the oil part of it. Some people add baking soda, all purpose flour, cumin... and so on. But they are all quite unnecessary.

Test it out from swamyskitchen.com.

Kothu Paratha

Southern India, particularly where I come from has this incredible-tasting fast food called Kothu Paratha. When I was growing up, it used to be sold by the roadside shops . Now, I dare not go anywhere near. Knowing too much about hygiene is sometimes a negative thing. Not only am I too picky about cleanliness but I've also lost immunity and have had no exposure to these eateries for several year. Moreover, I will probably think of all the illnesses I could be getting rather than enjoying. But with very little effort this can be enjoyed at home.

There are quite a few formulas and varieties for this creation. I have given you an easy, yet tasty version in my recipe. I have used eggs but Kothu Paratha can be made without. Try it right from swamyskitchen.com.

A simple chickpea flour dessert

Check out this easy dessert. I hesitated using chickpea flour (besan) for creating this. It actually turned out good. Reducing the sugar will make you feel less guilty but may leave you wanting more. Heavy cream is the only negative aspect of this dessert, but then again show me a dessert that is less sinful than this!

Chickpeas flour dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 cup, Chickpea Flour (find in Indian grocery stores)
• 2 cups, Sugar
• 1 cup, Heavy Cream
• 1 cup, clarified butter (ghee)
• 1 cup, shredded coconut (fresh or frozen)
• Few shreds of saffron
• 1/5 cup shredded almond


Method:

Roast the flour in a wok^ in medium heat until you get the aroma but be sure that the flour doesn't turn color. Transfer the flour to a plate and set aside

In the same wok^, add the ghee, almonds and coconut. Mix in the sugar, cream and flour. Stir well until the mix starts to bubble. Lower heat and continue stirring until the mix gets to the consistency of a cake mix.

Prepare a greased plate/pan about 8" wide. Transfer the flour mix, shake the plate until the mix spreads evenly. Sprinkle the saffron on the top. Let it cool for a few minutes. Place the plate in the refrigerator for a couple hours. Then remove, cut into squares and put the plate back into the refrigerator for another about 8 hours before serving.