I am glad to introduce to you, my new website vegbuffet.com (@veg.buffet), where you can find amazing lip smacking veg recipes! 
Of course, vegsoups.in will live on, and continue its journey of healing of mind, body and soul – after all that’s what soups are about!  

Speaking of healing – I am introducing a mini series of recipes based upon food items recommended by Dr. Arora of Sir Gangaram hospital (in his viral video), to increase your immunity and combat COVID-19.

So fantastic foodies, go ahead and check-out vegbuffet.com
…and hey you healthy hearts, I’ll keep sharing at vegsoups.in 

Immunity Booster Foods

As the times are tough, so lets be tough by healing both mind and body. Healing of body comes with relaxed mind and positive thoughts. With all the negativity around, its not easy to maintain a positive stream of thoughts, specially when we receive fearful messages on daily basis. I believe we have to be head strong to have a calm mind and an immune body to remain safe. Achieving part one can be done by yoga, meditation and simple breathing exercises at home. For gaining the immunity:

• one can have homemade food and avoid outside food specially processed foods.
• Have warm water
• Gargle with salt or turmeric water with water
• Include Ajwain, Black Pepper, Ginger, Garlic in your foods
• Include Pumpkin, Amla, Sweet Lime, lemon, curd, fresh fruits, desi ghee
• Have Tulsi Kadha
• At bedtime, have turmeric milk or haldi doodh.

Pumpkin Recipes to combat COVID

In his viral speech, Dr. Arora recommended Pumpkin to be included in daily diet in order to gain immunity and fight against the on-going COVID disease. There are several recipes that can be easily made using pumpkin. Pumpkin is a wonder fruit with several names like Kaddu, Kashifal, Sita Phal, etc. Some say that Sita Phal is not pumpkin rather a fruit named custard apple. Amidst the name confusions, one fact remains constant that Pumpkin is a nutrition-packed fruit.

1) Pumpkin Sauce Pasta:

Pumpkin Sauce Pasta. Its a simple and one-pot recipe that is flavoured with Garlic, Spices and Pumpkin Sauce. What a simple recipe that is done in 15 minutes and tickle your taste buds!!

.

2) Pumpkin Halwa / Kaddu Halwa:

Who doesnt love sweet? I believe most of us would say yes without a blink of an eye. I am a religious person and belong to a super religious family. I remember my college days as they have a special memory attached to this sweet delicacy. Pretty much around July, when monsoon hits Delhi, we have Sharavan month thats is dedicate to Lord Shiva and thats the first time I started keeping fast. Honestly, at that time I had no demands, not that I demand too much from him now. At that time, fast meant eating special food and some special treatment on those days too. This kaddu halwa was made as an evening snack as I was allowed to have only sweets and no salt for this fast. I must also mention that he has blessed me in amazing ways and mere thanking him daily wont suffice!!

3) Pumpkin Icecream with Mango

Summer is at its peak and at that time, Ice creams are a relief and delicious food. Specially when its homemade as we can customize its ingredients as per the age and health needs of family. Some want more creamy, some want more sugary, others just love few flavours combined together. Pumpkin Icecream is a delicacy truly!!

Well, I think I am just not over with pumpkin love. Speaking of pumpkin, do you know that 95% of pumpkin grown in US is harvested in Illinois soil so much so that its called the “Pumpkin capital of the world“. I thought to mix this super food with king of fruit and see, we had an awesome combo..

4) Pumpkin Cutlets

5) Pumpkin Paratha

I never thought I would make Pumpkin Paratha till I actually made it. I woke up this morning to make Aloo parathas in the breakfast. It seems Dr. Arora’s word were echoing in my mind whole through the night and food items that he suggested were resonating and I keep coming back to pumpkin. I am not done with it yet. To include it frequently in diet means that I cant make Kaddu subji again, so I figured out a way that why no try pumpkin in recipes which I already make. So this amalgam of pumpkin added to wheat dough, lead to crispy and spicy parathas and what a wonder choice… When kids in the family give a smile while having food, purpose is achieved!! So go on and give these utterly healthy and delicious parathas a try!!

6) Pumpkin Spice Latte

Who knew a tea lover would become a coffee lover so soon? Well I am totally a tea person specially Ginger tea..Yes even in summers, my day begins with a cup of hot tea and paratha, upma or sandwich. Not that I dont have coffee but occasionally in winters. Since I am on this drive to discover pumpkin recipes, I must share my amazing experience of making latte… Well in Italy, latte means milk. So Pumpkin Spice latte is an awesome combination of Milk, fresh Cream, coffee, pumpkin puree and the spices..Wait..these spices are not the red or green chilly. They are basically Pumpkin pie spices that include cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, dried ginger powder. So next time you think of heading to Starbucks, You may give a try to this easy and delicious Pumpkin Spice latte. Trust me You would just not stop making it!! Thats what happened to me!!

7) Pumpkin Radish Soup

How wonderful and soothing is a hot bowl of soup??

I know what you are thinking.. Summers and soups. Well, first that soups are hot but important thing is ingredients used to make soup. Are those ingredients very heated in nature? If yes, then soup is surely going to create heat in body. As far as pumpkin is concerned, its a cool food that is a food for summers. Given its basic nature, it will be cooling for the body. Second, we need to gain immunity and for that we have to understand that very cold or ice-based drinks will not help us achieve that. Immunity is gained by having fresh fruits, vegetables and warm drinks. Those who think that they catch heat soon, they may take these soups in less quantities ( and not very hot). They may also include foods that cause cool in the body like watermelon, curd, cucumber, Mint dhaniya chutney. Avoid having fridge cold water. I have earthen pot and I barely keep any water in refrigerator for cooling. These days we have no visitors due to COVID, else everyone knows in my family to remind me to keep cold water when they have to pay a visit. Just to mention that those who think ice is summer food may like to know that ice is heated in nature. So next time you plan for a iced drink, weigh your options.

8) Pumpkin Seeds

I am still exploring pumpkin benefits and I am amazed to see that they are endless. Well, if you read last posts made by me, you know that pumpkin seeds are beneficial just like the fruit itself. It contains omega 3,6 fatty acids and fiber. It helps lower the cholesterol in the body and is really healthy for heart and liver. Benefits not just end here. They offer a reasonable level of protein, iron, zinc and copper. Pumpkin seeds are high in Vitamin E , Zinc and both zinc and Vit E help strengthen Immune system. A handful of daily is sufficient to have these nutrients. Though they can be eaten raw, but roasted in ghee and spices add flavour to it and doesn’t cause bloating. .

Next time just wait before you throw these sunshine beauties. Take them out and dry in sun. For a sunny day, 2 -3 hours are sufficient for drying up. You may remove the pulp. Though it would be easier to remove it once they dried up. Once they dried up, roast with with little ghee and spices and your healthy snack is ready.

You may also toss them with salads or mix them with dryfruits to have a daily intake of these wonder seeds.

9) Carrot Pumpkin Soup

Making kids eat a healthy food is getting tougher these days! Amidst the ongoing discussions with how to handle COVID and stay safe, I continue single-minded with making easy and immune- boosting recipes. As I have a kid, I can understand why they can binge on chocolate with nausea but cant have half a chapati in similar condition! I have arrived upon a simpler solution. Make healthy food but just dont mention that its healthy. As this buzz word makes them repel from the food somehow. Instead if you make a brown stuff with all the healthy stuff you have and just tell them its chocolate flavoured, trust me upon this they will have it till the last bite. Some with strong taste buds would keep probing if there is a chocolate or not. If you may convince them, not a bad deal. This is one thing on which I have ever lied in my whole life. Actually I have failed terribly at this too as my daughter can judge my face but my husband comes to my rescue and saves the battle!

Not that we can’t have it as adults. Anyone who likes a sweet taste in soup would relish it. Since its a tough task to make kids eat, the easiest choice for mothers is to make it sweet and generally its been observed that kids have high acceptance rate for foods that taste sweet. Now for these mothers, its a quick and healthy recipe as we don’t need to add any artificial sweetener. In winters, we have naturally juicy and sweet carrots. I have used apples also in this recipe which makes it a perfect choice for the kids. Also the pumpkin I have used is really tender and the one with green skin. If you get the other pumpkin (which is with orange skin), thats also fine to use. You can skip apple if you don’t like it sweet and replace it with Potato. Also I have added fresh curd (Dahi) for enhancing digestion and adding little bit of tangy flavour. All these added with Desi Ghee makes an ideal snack for evening. Rich in Fibre and Vit A, carrots are a good choice to eat raw or in soups. Pumpkin is packed with rich nutrients and it boosts immunity. Also people who are on a weight-loss programme, shall include Pumpkin in their diet as it being full of fibre helps in losing weight.

10) Pumpkin Rolls

Who knew that in the pursuit of Immunity booster recipes, I would arrive upon an amazing series of Pumpkin? Isnt it wonderful to know that there are so many ways in which we can use this fruit and none of them will bring a frown on your face. Honestly, I had always had enough of Kaddu as a child, teenager, college student and Assistant Prof. I have always loved it as a vegetable. What I am loving more are these delicious recipes that are healthy too!!

Go ahead and start with these recipes. You can bring your own twist to it always!!

11) Pumpkin Sandwich

A quick and healthy bites. Sometimes when we get bored from parathas, we switch to an easy breakfast. I am a big fan of Plain bread butter. Since everyone likes bread, it makes sense to me to use it to make a healthy treat. This is the first time I made Pumpkin sandwich and must say it was great experience. To find more about it head on to the detailed recipe of Pumpkin Sandwich.

12) Lemon Coriander Soup

The combination of Lemon and Coriander with veggies is perfect source of vitamin C made in a simple way. Be it winter morning or a rainy day, the aroma of this soup makes the weather nicer and even a rough day with cold or flu gets better with it. A friend of mine suggested to add this to my bundle of soups as its her favourite and after googling up I came with my own version of this soup. The best part is the vegetable stock which is made using fresh veggies and NO corn flour or maida is added for the thickness. The great consistency of soup comes from the stock itself. Its good for all age types and people aiming for immunity booster or weight loss have this as a wonderful choice to add to their in-between meals.

13) Pumpkin Aloo Tikki Burger

Pumpkin Aloo Tikki Burger is a simple recipe and honestly its an on-the spot recipe. By that I mean, it was not planned as a part of my breakfast menu. I had boiled potatoes for making Aloo Tikki Burger. My husband loves Burger..

Who doesnt love a burger? You are not accepting that you love it because you think its unhealthy. Well I know its not healthy as a fruit but everyone needs a change and so does our mind and body. If we restrict too much by counting calories, we generally start munching on the cookies, juices and other processed foods. I believe instead of making these foods a forbidden fruit and hence craving more for them, its better to have a cheat meal once every fortnight and not just be obsessed about it.

14) Tulsi Kadha

Today I am sharing a several times tested recipe of Tulsi Kadha which has been suggested by Ministry of AYUSH for boosting Immunity. This ayurvedic kadha is an immunity booster drink that has been made by our ancestors since ages. Its nothing new but may be its just with time, people were lost in the modern ways of living and lost touch with it.