During the Christmas season, we are always extra busy in Bad Ems, and this includes our kitchen: the cooking is even more dynamic and creative than usual.
As a small Christmas gift for you, we have put together an entire New Year’s Eve menu.
The menu opens with a
lemongrass and coconut soup
with chickpea dumplings;This is followed by a
quinoa salad
with a side dish of
cucumber raita, paneer and saffron mousse.For the main course, you’ll enjoy a
lasagna of baby spinach and broccoli,
framed by a tomato and bell pepper vegetable dish and falafel.
We recommend that you enjoy this delicious menu as early in the evening as possible, so that you can then move lightly and easily into the new year.
We wish you a lot of fun with the preparation
and bon appétit!
Lemongrass and coconut soup with
chickpea dumplings (falafel)
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 2 celery stalks
- approx. 1,5 l water
- 4 stalks of lemongrass
- 1 small ginger root, peeled
- 1 small turmeric root, peeled
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 small celery tuber, finely diced
- 1 zucchini, finely diced
- 1 small cup of cooked chickpeas (soak overnight or ready in a jar)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 red chili pepper, whole
- 0,3 l coconut milk
- turmeric powder
- some salt, grated nutmeg, black pepper and cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Chives, finely chopped
- A little cornstarch
- 1 packet of cress
Preparation
Puree water, lemongrass, ginger, chili pepper, turmeric and celery stalks in a blender and strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Bring the liquid to a boil with the chickpeas and the diced vegetables (celery root, zucchini) and spices; simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender. Add the coconut milk and lemon zest, bring to the boil again and thicken with cornstarch to the desired thickness.
Now strain the soup again and spoon the vegetables into warmed soup plates. Place the cress on the vegetables and carefully pour the soup. Chickpea dumplings go very well with this as an additional soup garnish.
Chickpea dumplings (falafel)
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 200 g chickpeas cooked (soak overnight or ready in a jar)
- 1 small bunch of cilantro (coriander leaf), chopped
- ½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 pinch each of turmeric, ground coriander and cumin seeds
- salt to taste
- 1 pinch of black pepper
- 2 slices of grated spelt toast
- 4 tablespoons of chickpea flour
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- Ghee or oil for frying
Preparation
Blend all ingredients – except the Ghee or oil, the chickpea flour and the baking powder – in a food processor until smooth. Then mix in the chickpea flour and baking powder and let it rest covered for 15 minutes.
Form small dumplings from the mixture. Fry them in hot Ghee or oil for about 3 minutes, remove and drain on paper towels.
Quinoa-salad with cucumber raita, paneer, and saffron mousse
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 200g red quinoa, cooked
- 1 carrot, finely grated
- 4 radishes, finely grated
- 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of ginger, finely diced
- 1 pinch each of salt, black pepper, paprika powder and jaggery
(palm heart sugar) or cane sugar.
Preparation
Mix all the ingredients together well and leave covered for at least 1 hour.
Cucumber Raita
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 1 cucumber
- 125g yogurt
- 1 tomato
- 1 tsp each of coriander seeds and cumin seeds
- salt, pepper
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Preparation
Peel the cucumber, cut it into quarters lengthwise and remove the seeds. Grate the cucumber finely, sprinkle with a little salt and let it stand. Dry-roast the coriander and cumin on low heat until they are lightly browned and become fragrant, then grind them in a mortar or coffee grinder.
Quarter the tomato, remove the seeds and finely dice the flesh. Drain the juice from the cucumber. Mix the cucumber with the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. It can be served with roasted cashews.
Paneer (fresh cheese)
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 1 liter of fresh organic whole milk 3.8% fat
- 200g fresh organic natural yogurt 3,8% fat
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp. Ghee
Preparation
Bring the milk to a boil in a high saucepan. When the milk boils, add the yogurt and a pinch of salt, bring to the boil again and simmer for a while.
Now the whey separates from the milk protein and Paneer is formed. Place a tea towel in a colander and strain the boiled milk. The whey can be kept and drunk. Drain the Paneer in the tea towel (squeeze well) and let it cool.
After about an hour or two, cut into the desired form or cut out shapes. Heat the Ghee and fry the Paneer briefly on both sides.
Saffron mousse
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 100ml coconut milk
- 3 or 4 saffron threads
- 125g crème fraîche
- 1 pinch of rock salt
Preparation
Boil the coconut milk with the saffron. Remove the coconut milk from the heat, add the crème fraîche and a pinch of rock salt and whip everything up with a hand blender.
Lasagna of baby spinach and broccoli with a tomato and bell pepper vegetable dish and fried zucchini
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 6 lasagna slabs
- a little olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
- 500 g baby spinach
- 500 ml tomato puree
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 1 pinch of asafoetida powder
- 1 large broccoli, cut into small florets
- 250 g crème fraîche
- a little grated nutmeg
- 1 bunch basil, finely chopped
- some white sesame seeds
- 1 large zucchini, cut into diagonal slices
- some Ghee
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp. of roasted sesame seeds
Preparation
Heat the olive oil, sauté the garlic briefly and add the spinach. Sauté while stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, asafoetida and pepper.
Blanch the broccoli briefly in boiling salted water. When cooked, immediately quench in cold water. Puree the broccoli (except for 4 florets) with the crème fraîche and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Grease a baking dish well with olive oil. First spread a layer of broccoli puree, then the lasagna sheets (raw and dry) and on top the spinach. Repeat this twice.
Cover the lasagna and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 degrees. Spread the four broccoli florets, basil and sesame seeds on top and bake for another 5 minutes without the lid.
Tomato and bell pepper dish
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 4 tomatoes
- one green, one yellow, and one red bell pepper
- 1 Tbsp. of Ghee
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- ½ tsp coriander, ground
- ½ tsp cardamom, ground
- 1 Tbsp. of grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp. of tomato pulp
- 0,1 l cream
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch of oregano
Preparation
Peel the tomatoes and peppers with a peeler, twist the skin of the tomatoes into florets and set aside for the plate decoration.
Cut the tomato and bell peppers into small cubes. Now heat the Ghee and roast the mustard seeds first. When they start to pop, add the other spices and roast them briefly as well.
Now add the ginger, tomato pulp, tomatoes and bell pepper and pour in the cream. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and mix in the oregano leaves.
Download this New Year’s Eve menu as a PDF file.
© Maharishi Ayurveda Privatklinik Bad Ems
