Bok Choy(Pak Choi) - Thin Soup

Of all the plants I grew for Fall harvest, Kale seems to be the most popular. But the one whose leaves I have plenty of is Bok Choy or sometimes called Pok Choi because they grow prolifically for one thing. I have also been using the cut and come again technique as opposed to cutting the whole plant and with a few timely showers this plant has been growing leaps and bounds literally.

A simple sauteed Pok Choi with its peppery taste is my go to method for cooking it. I only avoid adding soy sauce if this stir fry is a side for an Indian meal. Don't ask me why but I feel soy sauce and Indian food don't go together.

My mom came up with this soup idea. It was a cold day, DD was finishing her first half marathon and some soup was in order. Absolutely minimal work but with fantastic results.

I do not like thick gooey soups perhaps aggravated by the addition of flour or corn starch to thicken the soup. In this soup the thickening agent is roasted-cooked-mashed moong dal. This soup is marked brilliant just for that fact.

Get the bok choy leaves ready. In a pressure cooked add the bok choy leaves, onions, tomato, garlic and pepper powder and 3 cups of water. Let cook for 3-4 whistles.
Get the moong dal cooked till mushy. Let the cooked bok choy leaves cool down a bit.
Extract the liquid from the leaves.
Blend the moong dal with milk. In a medium flame mix with the greens liquid and add salt to taste. Turn off heat.

If you do not have Bok Choy use a combination of green beans - carrot and peas in place of the greens.

Bok Choy (Pak Choi) Thin Soup
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 15-20 leaves of Bok Choy cleaned and chopped, stems included - 4 cups tightly packed
2. 1/4 cup of dry roasted moong dal (paasi paruppu)
3. 1/4 - 1/2 cup of chopped onions or shallots
4. 3-4 garlic cloves chopped
5. 3 -4 tbsp tomatoes chopped
6. 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
7. 1/2 cup of milk /coconut milk
8. salt to taste

Method

1. Cook the moong dal till it is mushy. Set aside to cool.
2. In a pressure cooker add the greens,onions, tomatoes, garlic and pepper along with 3 cups of water and cook for 3-4 whistles.
3. Using a strainer and a masher or a big spatula, strain the liquid out. As for the strained leaves - see note:)
4. Blend the cooked moong with the milk without any lumps.
5. Transfer the contents back to the pressure cooker and mix the blended moong-milk mixture and gently bring to a boil. Add more pepper if required and salt as per taste.
6. Note:The strained leaves could be blended into chapathi dough or dosai batter for some fiber filled chapathis and dosais.

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