Showing posts with label Soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soup. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 07, 2020

The Indian Vegetable Stew or Bangali r Sobji Jhol

Come fall and then winter, my feed gets populated with soups. Every one is making a soup. And I agree, they are delicious and warm and perfect for those chilly winter evenings.



My grudge is this.

If you can have a bowlful of Minestrone Soup and take a photo and post recipes and raise a whole lot of brouhaha, why not have a bowl of Sobji Jhol ?

What you ask is a Sobji Jhol or Indian Vegetable Stew? It is a light soupy dish with a medley of vegetables. In winter, that would be cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, green beans, green peas in their pods. But then there is no set recipe, it can be anything you want to add.

This jhol was in the background of all dishes that my Mother cooked throughout the year. In one form or another it always arrived at our dining table.

The vegetables in the jhol would tell you the season you were in. Winter always made brighter with tightly packed fair cauliflower, orange carrots, ruby red beets, green pearl like peas in their pods.

The spicing determined by time and my Mother's mood. Sometimes it would be freshly pounded cumin and ginger, on other days a sprinkle of Kitchen King from a box. It was "everything goes" kind of a dish and how we loved this runny, soupy dish with some rice.

I make a big pot of this "jhol" or vegetable stew often. Mixed with rice and a squeeze of lime juice, my girls happily eat the vegetables. I can eat a big bowl of this just by itself but it does taste best with some rice.

The Indian Vegetable Stew or Bangali r Sobji Jhol

The Vegetables

Cauliflower -- Chop 1 Cauliflower in medium sized florets.

Carrot -- Chop 1 big Carrots in cubes

Green Beans -- Trim and Chop 12-15 green beans in 1" pieces

Cabbage -- 1 Cup of chopped cabbage

Green peas in pod -- a fistful, washed

The Indian Mirepoix

Onion -- 1/2 of an onion chopped in small pieces (Optional. I skip onion most of the time)
Tomato -- 2 medium tomato quartered
Green Chili -- 4 green chili sliced
Ginger -- 2" piece of ginger grated

Paanchphoron (Five Spice Mix) -- 1/2 tsp

The Spices

Kitchen King Masala -- 1 tsp

If you don't have Kitchen King use 1 tsp of Cumin-Coriander Masala.

Salt -- to taste

Mustard Oil -- 2 Tbsp (You can also use Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil)

Fresh Coriander leaves -- for garnish

How I Make It

Heat Mustard Oil to smoking in a deep bottomed pot.

Temper the Oil with 1/2 tsp Paanchphoron and 4 green chilli

When the spices start sizzling, add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Next goes in the tomatoes and ginger. Saute them for the next couple of minutes until tomatoes are soft.

Now add the vegetables in this order
Cauliflower florets -- sprinkle 1 tsp of Turmeric powder and saute florets for 1 minute
Carrots -- mix and saute for 1 minutes
Green Beans and Peas -- Saute for 1 minute
Cabbage -- Mix and saute for 1 minute

Now add
1 tsp of Cumin+ Coriander Powder
OR
1 tsp of Kitchen King Masala
Mix with the vegetables with a sprinkle of water.

Add enough water so that the vegetables are just covered by water. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium

Cover and simmer until vegetables are all done. The vegetables should not be cooked to death. They should retain a little crunch.

Adjust for seasoning and add salt, red chili powder or garama masala powder as needed. I finish it off with some fresh chopped coriander leaves and couple of chopped green chili.

Serve like a soup in a big bowl with a squeeze of lime juice. Add a little cooked rice to add more body to the thin soup.


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Thursday, November 02, 2017

Spicy Kale Soup with Potato and Sausage


The weather around here is getting positively chilly. It had been a fabulous couple of months with great weather, festivities in the air, glittering lights and overload of sweets. The trees near my house are now preparing for winter, their leaves turning a rusty red, though this year we did not get the gorgeous colors like other years.

This is also the time when I start making soups. Soups that can be sent in a thermos for school lunch, soups that can be served with dinner. Now, the thing is there are millions and billions of soups and soup recipes out there, but my girls like only a few of them, and so those are the soups I make most often. Until they get tired of them that is.

In this whole gamut of soups, or rather a fraction of whole gamut of soups, both my girls seem to have taken a certain liking towards Kale soup.

Yes, you heard it right. K-A-L-E soup. It is a pretty, mossy green looking soup but it tastes delicious. I add little bit of potato to it and even carrots. I might or might not add sausages but sausages are definitely a plus. And garlic, oh yes garlic, lots of it please.

For a spicier, kind of Indianized version of this soup, I make a paste of coriander and green chili and then add it towards the very end to the soup simmering gently on the stove.



You see there are plenty of directions this soup can go. It is for you to decide which road to take.

Monday, March 09, 2015

Potato Carrot Bean Sausage Soup -- soupy days






As Big Sis and Little Sis grow older I have been trying to have them responsible for some simple chores around the house. Both are very helpful in their own ways but when it comes to chores we have not been very successful to maintain a regularity. Like say Big Sis is responsible for folding her clothes and then putting them away. She does this diligently. But, yes there is a but, when once in two weeks, I randomly open her dresser drawers, clothes jump on me and spill out in a manner they should not. Big Sis would rather make scrambled eggs than fold her clothes.

Little Sis is much more organized when it comes to folding and organizing her clothes drawer. However she does not do it in a regular manner. She would rather pull a step stool besides me in the kitchen and roll luchis. Which is wonderful but someone has to do the other work too.

To start her on a simple job routine, I asked her to clean up the shoes that lie cluttered in the laundry/mud room at the end of each week. She did it with enthusiasm for a few weeks. Mind you I do not pay them for these chores so there is no incentive other than that of a job well done. After the first few weeks, Little Sis started forgetting about her chore in a pretty regular manner. I kept thinking she would get back to it. Nothing happened. Finally after a month I decided to remind LS of the chore that she was supposed to do every week. I also decided to imaprt some gyaan.

"LS," I said, "a chore is something you are responsible for. You cannot just do it one time and think it is done. You are supposed to arrange the shoes every week but I have not seen you doing it even once in the last month. What happened?"

LS looked at me and said "But I cannot do it."

"Why?"

"I have been fired from the job. Now I cannot do it anymore!"

And with that she moved on to live a life of leisure.

I wish, I could have clear reasons like that to skip all my daily chores and sit down with a book. But that will not happen. And I will make soup.

Every winter I find a new soup recipe that we love. I still make the old ones but some are clearly cooked more often than the other. Like this Tomato Soup wins hands down every winter. Sometimes we add crusty bread to it. On other days some basil pesto makes it a tomato-basil soup.



Then there is this Noodle Soup in Coconut milk. I call it a Khao Soi but it is not exactly a Khao Soi. Whatever it is, it tastes glorious.



This winter we found a new soup to love. I have a book of soup recipes which I bought from the library sale many years back and every winter I spend a good amount of time poring over the book. I end up making only a couple of them every year.

This year I decided to make this Potato Bean Sausage Soup and it was the best thing that could have happened this winter. It is much loved and even when I am making other soups the girls request this again and again. It is easy and I can make it pretty quickly in the pressure cooker. With some bread it serves as the perfect one-pot meal.

I am sure you will love it too.


I have simplified and added variations to this soup for my own good.

Firs we need a few vegetables.

I have used
1 potato -- peeled and chopped in cubes
1 large-ish carrot --- peeled and chopped in cubes
half of an onion
half of a fennel bulb -- chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic

Next we need a can of red kidney beans and some vegetable or chicken stock. If you don't have stock, don't fret, you can use soup bouillons or just plain water.

The star of this soup is of course sausage. I have used andouille chicken sausages. About 4 of them. Defrost and cut up the sausages.

First heat a tbsp of Olive Oil in  a pressure cooker.

Add the sausages and saute until they are browned. Remove and keep aside.

Now to the same oil add 2 cloves of garlic minced and half-of-an onion chopped. Saute until the onion is soft.

Add a tsp of Tomato Paste.

Add the potatoes and carrots and saute for a minute. If you have fennel you will add some of the chopped fennel bulb now. Saute for a couple of minutes.

Next add enough stock or water so that the vegetables are immersed. Add salt to taste.

Close the pressure cooker lid and at full pressure cook for 3 minutes.

When the pressure is released, open the lid. Now add the kidney beans and the sausage. Adjust for salt and sugar. Simmer until the flavor is well blended.

Serve with some crusty bread.












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Monday, February 24, 2014

Salsa Soup -- in search of Spring

"In Search of Spring" is what I am after.

And after what seems like ages, this weekend did bring a weather where I was not under the illusion, regarding our relocation to the North Pole. 
"Are we moving to North pole or are we not?"

And if you squint your eyes and peer at this picture, you will even see a robin in those bare branches. And see the snow is melting off those roofs. Maybe we are not at 90.0000° N, 0.0000° W after all.



Since my rants about the weather in every post might seem a tad boring,let me give a positive spin to this whole snow storm thing. Though on the onset this whole pile of snow, piling over with each storm, might sound like a bad thing, it has its own advantages. Like it renders driving around to fulfill "life's necessities" unnecessary. This means you get a lot of time to realize how unnecessary those necessities really are.

This meant that I could spend two whole days, holed up, doing nothing but drinking tea and finishing "Gone Girl".

I could also spruce up the study and bring some order to the chaos of what is called crayons, markers, glues and other crafty stuff.

And then when the roads were deemed fit, I could go to IKEA to get these orange clamp lights which I think is one of life's necessities.As is IKEA.


This corner reminds me of friends who have moved continents and are enjoying warm weather while we freeze. They are missing all the fun.

I also made lots of soups these season. And last weekend, made a big batch of this Salsa Soup. It is light, tangy, spicy and very refreshing. Kind of like Rasam with a beat. I had blogged about it earlier but never took decent pictures of it, so here goes some vibrant pics of the salsa soup. If you are feeling very lazy and do not want to make your homemade blend, go ahead and open a jar of  ready made salsa to make this soup. But nothing beats the fresh taste of the tomato, green chilli and coriander, so spend couple of extra minutes and try to make the home made speedy salsa for this soup

Make homemade speedy salsa for the soup



In a blender add
2 firm good quality juicy tomato roughly chopped,
2 clove of garlic,
2 hot green chili pepper
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Process till chunky.

Add some minced coriander leaves to the prepared mix.Use this speedy salsa for the soup.

Make the Soup

Heat 2 tsp Olive Oil in a deep, heavy pan.

Add a pinch of red chilli powder and about 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds to the oil and let them briefly sizzle.


When the cumin sizzles, add chopped onion(half of a medium sized onion) and fry till soft.

Now add your salsa. If you don't have the home made salsa, open a store bought jar. If you like it hot add chili powder or use a HOT salsa.

Cook the salsa for couple of minutes, stirring constantly so that it does not burn or stick.



Add the black beans, and the corn. I used a can of black beans.
NoteI prefer using canned beans for this soup and I almost always skip the corn. If you are using dried black beans, I suggest, you soak the beans overnight and cook them before adding to soup.

Next, add 3-4 cups of organic low sodium vegetable stock and stir all to blend well. If you don't have stock use plain water. You can add a packet of seasoning or a bouillon cube if you wish. I used this seasoning from Goya

Add salt to taste.

Bring this soup to a full boil and reduce heat to medium low.

Squeeze in a few drops of lime.Simmer the salsa soup until the corn/bean is completely cooked. For me this happens quick as I always used canned beans.

Turn off heat and stir in a bunch of chopped cilantro.

Ladle your finished salsa soup into individual soup bowls. Top with avocado chunks and toss a bit of cheese on top of that. I don't add any cheese as we like this soup light.

Top with a few tortilla chips or papad instead of croutons.


Monday, February 03, 2014

Bengali Mutton Stew -- and a song for Saraswati

Bengali Mutton Stew
Bengali Mutton Stew adapted from Lila Majumdar's Brown Stew

When I was a small child, I did not sing. Rather I assumed that "I cannot sing". It must have been a true assumption since years later when I tried to sing lullaby to my daughters, they protested and later told me to not sing when they are trying to sleep!

However my father, like all fathers, did not believe in my lack of singing talent as a 5 year old. He was a connoisseur of Rabindra Sangeet and though he himself could not sing a single note in key, he made it up by being an ardent listener. Rabindra Sangeet was the only music that played in our house in those days. The few Hindi songs that I heard were either over the neighborhood loudspeaker or on Binaca Geetmala on Bibidh Bharati. The only voices that boomed through our tape recorder was that of Debobroto Biswas, Suchitra Mitra and Kanika.

This overdose of Rabindra Sangeet at home, made me kind of detest Tagore's Songs. Yes, a blasphemy, but honestly I did not get most of the Tagore songs as a child. There were few like "Purano sei diner kotha" and "Aakash bhora surjo tara" which I really liked but most others, played day in and day out sounded monotonic to my ignorant ears.



As a result when my Father wanted me to learn Rabindra Sangeet, as most Bengali Fathers would, I protested. I said "I cannot sing", which might have been true but not something that could not have been worked on with some training. But I steadfastly refused any training and even with an opportunity to learn at Tagore's ChitraBhanu, I did not succumb to the pleasures of learning music. Even at the compulsory music class in school, I mouthed words, keeping my voice low, assuming that I cannot really sing.

Many, many years later, I kind of started appreciating Tagore's songs. I partly understood the words, the poetry and the music or at least I thought I did. My understanding was not even close to my Father's love for Tagore's songs but at least I realized why he might have wanted me to learn Rabindra Sangeet.

So, as most Bengali Mothers are wont to do, I enrolled my daughters in a Bengali music class.



I have always heard that most parents want to fulfill their wishes through their children. I thought it was a selfish thing to want. Now, I know, it is not always so. With their years of trudging through the swirling waters of life, when parents eventually realize what happiness those wishes and trainings could bring, they want to plant a love for that wish in their child's heart. So a parent who dropped out of school makes sure that the offspring gets to finish academics, the one who hardly practiced the piano and wishes she could play music for her own solace persuades her child to practice piano every day and the one who never learned to sing wants her daughters to sing.

It is not that we parents want our children to become like us, we think it will do them good to be what we aren't.



With that wish in my heart, I suggested gaaner school aka music school to my daughters. Of course my father has been subtly suggesting the same all along.I must say that I was lucky enough to find a music teacher in my neighborhood, who is not only fantastic but also knows how to work with kids very well. So once a week, after school, in the evening, she fills my daughter's life with music they don't hear everyday.She teaches them children's songs along with Vedic songs often interspersed with Rabindra Sangeet. The result is that both LS and BS look forward to their Friday Bangla Gaaner school where they go along with little friends they have known since birth.

For this Saraswati pujo, their music teacher has taught them Tagore's "Modhuro Dhwoni Baaje". And when these little kids sing this difficult Bengali song, pronouncing the words just right, my heart is filled with an unknown happiness.

My Dad was in tears hearing their rendition which I had sent him over e-mail.After all they are little kids, growing up far from Tagore's land and probably do not understand meaning of half of the words of this song. Their singing is not perfect but it is beautiful.

For my father, it is probably a wish come true.

Modhuro Dhwoni Baaje by Little Sis



Now back to this very Bengali Mutton Stew which LS loves. BS too loves the stew as long as she does not have to eat the mutton. She is turning into a vegetarian these days. In winter vegetables like carrots and beet makes this the perfect winter stew.

Usually I make the stew this way. But this time I followed the recipe for Leela Majumdar's "Brown Stew" narrated in her inimitable style, from her cookbook which I read more for the comfort it brings than recipes. This is truly the most heart warming soup you can make, with minimal effort on your part. It tastes best with mutton but is good enough with chicken too.





Bengali Mutton Stew


Bengali Mutton Stew


Prep

Though the recipe does not suggest, I always marinate my meat. Marinate Mutton/Goat meat in ginger paste, garlic paste, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. I usually marinate all the mutton I get and then freeze in portions. For this stew I used about 10 piece of that marinated mutton (about 1 lb)

Wash and chop the following vegetables for stew
1 carrot
half of a large beet
2 small red potatoes in halves
about 8-10 string beans
a small portion of green papaya
half of a red onion
As the author says, do not overload this stew with vegetables. The vegetables should be in proportion with the meat you use.

Cook

Heat about 1 Tbsp of Vegetable oil in a pressure cooker

Temper the oil with
2 small Tej Patta
2 clove
2 green cradamom
a small stick of cinnamon
10 whole black peppercorns

When the whole spices sputter, add the mutton pieces. The  pieces should be in a single layer and not crowd the pan.
Saute at high heat until the mutton pieces are browned. If the mutton releases water, cook until the water is dried off and the mutton has lost its raw coloring. Take out the mutton and keep aside.

To the same oil, add the onion and fry for 2-3 minutes until onion softens a little.




Add all the other chopped vegetables, sprinkle salt and let the vegetables brown a little. It is not really necessary to fry the vegetables, just gently saute for a few minutes.

Next make a roux by mixing about 1/4th cup of flour mixed in 1/4 Cup Milk + 1/4 Cup Water(whole wheat atta or maida). Pour this and toss the vegetables around. The original recipe had suggested adding the flour along with the mutton but I add it with the vegetables

Now add the browned mutton pieces.

Add about 3-4 cups of water, salt to taste and mix everything with a ladle.

At this point add 2 fat clove of garlic chopped in slices and an inch of ginger grated. Add a tomato if you wish. Let the stew come to a simmer.

Close the pressure cooker. After the first whistle or once the pressure is built up, lower the heat and let the stew cook at low medium heat for about 10 minutes. After that raise the heat and cook for 5-6 more minutes. Switch off and let the pressure cooker release steam naturally.

Once the pressure cooker lid can be opened, carefully open the lid and check if meat is done. If not, you have to close the lid and cook for another 6-8 minutes.

If the meat is done, taste the stew and add freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste. If the stew looks a bit runny, open the lid and put it on heat again to cook off some of the excess water.

Serve with a dollop of butter and with a piece of crusty bread or rice on the side..

Similar Soups and Stews from my blog:

One more Mutton Stew

Chicken Stew for the Kids -- Chotoder Chicken Stew

Kerala Style Chicken Stew

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Easy Tomato Soup with chunks of bread


The days have become real cold here. There are some beautiful warmer days scattered in between but mostly it is cold. My Mother says this winter in Kolkata is unusually cold too. But I am sure it is nothing like here. There, the cold has a distinct fragrance. If trapped in a bottle and named "Le Winter" it would smell like wood smoke, laced with sweet nolen gur, spiked with a hint of citrus-y komla-lebu, all layered on an undertone of napthalene scented kashmiri shawls.

Okay, you might also bring in smog but I like to think that the winters I spent in my Dida's house years ago almost always smelt like this. Also of slightly burn toast with orange marmalade.



Here, it just smells clean and crisp and not cold at all if you are indoors on a sunny winter day. But then you slide open the glass door to the backyard an inch and through the fine wire mesh comes the cold, brutal and sharp. But we have gotten used to it. Except for the gloomy cold days, which I dread, we kind of like the sunny wintry days. It is always about the sun , isn't it ? We get by, neither fearing winter as much as I did earlier nor looking forward to snow with as much excitement as my first  time.

Of course the kids bicker about wearing jackets and boots and ear muffs and zipping the jacket all the way and other such clothing issues, I bicker about cold tiled floors and not having enough drapes for the windows yet, the husband bickers about my need to rush outside or rather make him rush outside for all kinds of groceries at odd hours.


"Why do you need vine ripened tomatoes at 8 in the evening ?", he asks.

As if, there is a time for such things.
As if the need for firm, ripe on the vine tomatoes arises after consulting the Ponjika for the right muhurtam.
As if just because tomato soup was never my thing, I can't crave a bowl of warm tomato soup now.
As if just because the only tomato soup I would ever have was the creamy deliciousness at Nagarjuna in Banglaore and whose recipe I do not know, I can never try to make another one.
As if, if a recipe is easy and can translate to quick dinner I will let that opportunity pass. 

Do I look like a fool ?

But this day I had only one tomato in my refrigerator and half a can of Hunt's Diced tomatoes. And I craved a tomato soup, a hot (as in the temperature) one. Of course no sympathetic soul was venturing to get me vine ripened tomatoes shipped from Florida and currently in residence at the neighborhood grocery store.  So when I saw this tomato soup, I took the plunge. And good I did, and good I had the canned version too, for this soup with a Michelin tire tomato would have not tasted half as good. Too many "good" there but that is how this soup is. The bread makes it special.



And surprisingly both the girls ate it with much eagerness. Either they were very hungry for it was a school day or this soup was good. I am sure they will refuse to eat it by the fourth time or the fifth. I can't stretch my luck. But hopefully by then I will move on to another soup.


Tomato Soup with chunks of Bread

Adapted from here

Heat some Olive oil in a deep, heavy bottomed pot.

Add 2 cloves of garlic minced  and a medium sized onion finely chopped.

Saute till the onion has turned soft and pink. I also added a carrot peeled and cubed to add some sweetness to the soup but it is not in the original recipe.


Now add the tomato. I added 1 medium sized tomato chopped and about 3-4 cups of diced tomatoes from a can. Note: In an alternate version you can cut plump, juicy tomatoes in half, dust them with salt, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes in the oven for 350F. I throw in some cloves of garlic along with the tomatoes. Yellow and Red sweet peppers are another great choice.

Sprinkle salt to taste, a little paprika, 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and mix. I also added a bit of cajun seasoning which I happened to have.

Now let the tomatoes cook at a low medium heat. Stir in between and wait for the raw smell to just go evaporate.

Next add a cup of water and about 1/2cup of milk and stir to mix everything. With an immersion blender, blend the soup. Let the soup simmer to a boil. Taste at this point and adjust for seasoning.

Meanwhile, cut chunks of bread, douse them with olive oil and throw them in the toaster oven to toast. Lightly toasted is what you want, not crisp like croutons.

While serving ladle the soup out in a bowl, add grated parmesan and toss in the chunks of toasted bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and eat it to warm your chilled bones.



Pressure Cooker Version: Updated on March,16th, 2017

Heat some Olive oil in a pressure cooker.

Add 2 cloves of garlic minced  and a medium sized onion finely chopped.

Saute till the onion has turned soft and pink. I also added a carrot peeled and cubed to add some sweetness to the soup but it is not necessary.

Now add the tomato. I added 1 medium sized tomato chopped and about 3-4 cups of diced organic tomatoes from a can. NoteIn an alternate version you can cut plump, juicy tomatoes in half, dust them with salt, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes in the oven for 350F. I throw in some cloves of garlic along with the tomatoes. Yellow and Red sweet peppers are another great choice.

Sprinkle salt to taste, a little paprika, 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and mix. I also added a bit of cajun seasoning (optional) which I happened to have.

Saute for a couple of minutes for the raw smell to just go evaporate.

Next add 2-3 cups of organic vegetable stock, salt to taste and close the lid of the pressure cooker. If you don't have stock, go with water.
Cook until -- In a whistling pressure cooker, 3 whistles and in the other kind, 3 mins after full steam.

Once it cools and you can open the pressure cooker lid, with an immersion blender, blend the soup.

Taste at this point and adjust for seasoning. Add 1/2 Cup of milk and let the soup simmer for 2 more minutes.

Meanwhile, cut chunks of bread, douse them with olive oil and throw them in the toaster oven to toast. Lightly toasted is what you want, not crisp like croutons.

While serving ladle the soup out in a bowl, add grated parmesan and toss in the chunks of toasted bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and eat it to warm your chilled bones.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Curried Noodle Soup -- almost like Khao Soi

"Khai Se" -- said with an East Bengal accent followed by scratching of head or any other decent body part translates to "Oh My Gosh(OMG)"

And no not the "OMG!OMG!!! you look so pretty" said to the bride.

Rather "OMG! #$%#$%!!! I am so sorry. I spilled my greasy butter paneer on your wedding saree" kinda "OMG".

KhaoSoi1

So I wanted to say I made "Khao Soi" because that is what my heart was set on. And I did make "Khao Soi", at least what I thought was Khao Soi. But what I thought might not be exactly what the Burmese thought or the Northern Thai people thought. If they ate my "Khao Soi" in all probability they would say "Khai Se".

I really, honestly did not want to take a Burmese grandmother's curry noodle dish and make a "kachumbar" out of it and then screw up their Gross Hapiness Product. I do not have the guts to do it. I love happy grandmothers. So my "kachumbar" henceforth will be referred to as Curried Noodle Soup -- almost like Khao Soi; the almost saves it. Burmese or Thai grandmothers might find this by Chez Pim more close to heart.

I roughly followed this beautiful recipe from Veggie Belly, rough being the keyword in all I do. She has b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l pictures. The pictures are so beautiful that I skipped steps and even then managed to make the most delicious soup ever.

I wanted the soup to be vegetarian. Not fond of chicken in my soup. Was tilting towards shrimp but stopped and went total veg. It was a delicious soup. Really good. So good that I didn't even share it with anyone. Now that it is all over I thought I can share with you maybe.


Read more...






Heat 1 tbsp oil in a soup pot. Flavor the oil with a clove of garlic. When the garlic starts turning brown, remove it from the oil

Now add some vegetables like mushroom, zucchini, carrots, colorful bell peppers etc. I went with finely sliced carrots and thin semi-circular discs of zucchini and orange bell peppers very finely chopped. Saute all of this for a couple of minutes

Next add 1 tbsp of red curry paste and 1 tsp of curry powder. Now homemade-shome made is best but honestly I just went with store bought. With a sprinkle of water mix it with veggies and cook for 2-3 minutes

Now soy sauce time. Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce and then 1 tsp of dark brown sugar.

Ta-Da. Every one's favorite coconut milk time now. Add 1 cup of C.Milk + 1 cup of water.Add salt to taste and let it simmer.

Meanwhile cook some noodles to al-dente. Once the noodles are cooked I immediately wash in cold water and toss with just a tiny drop of oil.

Once the veggies are done and soup is ready, pour soup in a bowl, add some noodles to the bowl and then garnish, garnish, garnish. Wait I forgot to garnish !!! All I did is add some lime juice and then a hot chili-garlic sauce.
You my dear reader is supposed to add crispy rice noodles, pickled mustard greens, green onions, lime and such.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Vegetarian Sweet Corn Soup

Sweet Corn Soup2

Everybody and their nephew must already know how to make a Sweet Corn Soup. I didn't. Before Jan 16th that is. I didn't even want to know. Sweet Corn Soup wasn't the kind of soup I ordered at a restaurant. At a restaurant I usually skip the soup. Except of course if it is Thai where I can practically live on the soup. And if it is Panera where I go to torture myself.

But on Jan 16th after all the PatiShapta and whatnot I went to the gym. It was a miracle that I remembered the co-ordinates given that I was going there after months.

And then I did something I should have never, ever done.

No, not steal towels silly. I stepped on the shiny, new digital scale there.

For a fraction of a second there was dead silence all around, the Zumba ladies froze with their clenched derrieres suspended in mid-air, the treadmills came to a stand still, the spinners hunched on their shoulders forgot to look up, the water drop from the water fountain forgot to drip. And then amidst clanging bells a voice from nowhere said "Beti jao, soup piyo" Translated in English "Go home and drink soup" but the Hindi actually has more punch to it.

Sweet Corn Soup4

I went home enlightened.

Before that I bought two small cans of sweet corn.

And then I told Mom: "Ma, today I will cook and then we will drink only soup for dinner"

Ma: "Ok, but after you eat rice and maacher jhol"

Me: "I guess you didn't understand me. ONLY soup for dinner. NO rice. I need to lose the whole 3 lbs that I gained since November to go back to a weight that was far from ideal in the first place"

Ma: "Why, what is wrong with rice. What has it to do with weight?"

Me: "Rice is grains and that translates to Carb. Dear lady have you not heard of South Beach-Palm beach-Myrtle Beach and such where humans do not eat rice and thus achieve a figure like Priyanka Chopra."

Ma: "That is okay, Priyanka Chopra is much younger than you. You eat Ruti. You know our neighbor in Kolkata, the Sen's, since her son relocated to Gurgaon they only speak Hindi and eat Ruti"

Me: " But Maaa...Ruti=Wheat=Grains. What did I say?"

My Mother gives me the royal ignore: "Do whatever you want. It is your house, your kitchen. but at this age don't tell me that eating rice one gets fat. It is exercise that you need to do."

Sweet Corn Soup3

Enter BigSis: "What soup are you going to make Mommy? The Thai Shrimp soup?"

Me: "Nope.Sweet Corn Soup. Remember in 2008 March you had it at N's house and loved it. Well that is what I am going to make for dinner today. Ta-da."

BigSis: "You know what, I am actually full. Didun gave me maacher chop after school. I really don't need dinner today"

The husband man knew the menu that comes up in January and so is already on the first half of his extended travel plan where they do meetings in BeerGartens.

Sweet Corn Soup1

So I made a huge vat of soup and am eating it or drinking it (what ever is grammatically correct) all by myself for three days. I can do anything. I am also having the maacher jhol and bhaat. And then day before actually had dinner at a Portugese place where I ate paella and clams and lobsters. In between the soup is keeping me warm.

The recipe I kinda followed is this one here, but I did not add chicken or ajino moto or eggs.Instead I added thinly sliced carrots. Mushroom would have been good but I did not have any. I also used garlic, soy sauce, chilis and vinegar. I used the Sweet Corn Cream Style in a can and so the whole thing was pretty effortless. It actually tasted pretty good too and BigSis did have a bowl of it.

Heat 1 tsp Olive Oil. Add 1 fat clove of garlic minced to flavor the oil. Add some finely chopped green chili and then the thinly sliced carrots. Next add 1 tsp of Soy Sauce and a splash of the stock or water. Cover and let the carrot cook. Once the carrots are almost done add the sweet corn, about 1 cup of it.

Next a little vinegar followed by 1 whole can of chicken or vegetable broth. Meanwhile mix 1 tbsp of Corn flour with 4 tbsp of cold water. Add this to the pot. Add salt to taste. Let the soup simmer to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with chopped scallion.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Butternut Squash Soup with Red Curry paste

It snowed. In October. After Diwali and Before Halloween, even before daylight saving set in. And all because when I heard of Colorado having a "White Diwali" I thought to myself "Thank God, I don't live in Colorado".

Yes, go ahead and blame me for this freak of nature. And the worst part is it happened on a Saturday instead of a lovely Monday when it would have served the perfect excuse for not turning up at work.

What it meant is staying home all through Saturday though, which is not necessarily a good thing when six people of different ages are in the picture. Unable to venture out and in absence of carving experts, the kids decorated their pumpkin which actually meant LS pouring glitter glue over anything BigSis attempted to do. This ensured in a lot of screaming and horrific activities best suited for Halloween night.

BSquashSoup1.1

Then was the issue of the Halloween costume. I have nothing against them really and I love 3-4 year olds in their cute ladybug and tinker bell fairy dresses. But the deluge of princesses has done me in. I have had my fair quota of them and I put my feet down this year, very firmly. "Be a scientist", I told BigSis, as if it was that easy. I was actually thinking of an over-sized coat and glasses from the dollar store and thus a one dollar costume.
She however refused. "I only know of Edison, Newton(yes, the apple guy and btw the hand washing scientist was Ignaz Semmelweis) and Einstein and they are all guys. I don't know of any girl scientist and so I won't dress up as one" was her logic. And she didn't want any tom-dick-sally scientist, she wanted famous female scientists and all I could think of was Madame Curie and finally Jane Goodall.

These are the times I really wish that I should have gone for that Nobel Prize. Okay, the Ig Nobel at least. Darn it.

BSquashSoup2

Hee Haw

Finally she decided to dress up as an artist, a painter to be precise.She made her own costume from an old white T-shirt, made a palette from a brown cardboard, borrowed the beret from grandpa and looked perfectly the part. The little one just wanted to be a frog. At her age Frogs are far more charming than any handsome prince.

So the painter and the frog collected enough candies to start their own retail site jailibeen.com. Anyone interested please sign up and order.

BSquashSoup3


In midst of all this there was Butternut Squash of course made into a soup which people feared to tread upon. Once they did though they agreed it was pretty good if not "very good" or "the best soup on earth good". At least it was good, next time it will be better and then one fine day it will be the bestest soup in the universe. Go try. Measures are rough and add coconut milk if you have some.

Heat 2 tsp of Olive Oil

Add 1/2 tsp of minced garlic, saute for half a minute. Add 1/4 cup of chopped onion, 2 green chili slit and saute till onion is softened.

Add 2 tsp of Thai Red Curry paste and saute for 2 minutes with sprinkle of water. Next add 1 tsp of curry Powder, 1 tsp of All Spice(optional). Add about 2-3 cups of chopped b.squash and 1 small apple peeled and chopped. Saute for 4-5 minutes till spices coat the squash nicely.

Now add about 3 cups of warm water(substitute with thinned coconut milk), 1 tsp of lime zest, salt to taste, sugar to taste and let the b.squash cook in it. Puree and bring it back to boil again.

Meanwhile saute some shrimp with sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Once the soup is ready add some lime juice, fresh black pepper and the sauted shrimp. Give it a simmer for a minute. Serve hot.

Serve this soup with chunks of some good bread on the side or some pasta tossed in butternut squash if you will.

Go here for more recipes on pasta sauce.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup -- spiced up


"Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."

Who in the frickin blue blistering barnacles drafted this thing ? It is so dang complicated, I don't even have something concrete to base my argument upon.
Who brought on this topic about gender equality and equal opportunity ?

Yeah, please Sir/Ma'm,  I want some amendments.

All that equal opportunity has done for me is to make me work outside the home, inside the home, in the periphery of home and everywhere foreseeable. I have been given enough opportunity to work. Thank you.

Now I want the finer points ironed out. Like who gets the opportunity to fold the laundry or say pack lunch or plan dinner every night ? Whose fundamental freedom is it to watch Hulu while the kids are being taken care of ? Who gets the opportunity to be depressed when the baby says "Mummy four o clock e asbe" every single day ? Who has the exclusive rights to check and sign homework every night ? Who gets the "once in a lifetime" opportunity  to research & pick the nearest, cheapest Taekwondo center/Gymboree/Swim Class/some class in town ?

If in simple English, maybe bullet points, someone could take care of these, and in printed letters put it to UN or where ever you do such stuff, I would be ever obliged.

Ok, I am having had a bad day, so what ?

* The UN has intervened since this was drafted (on Monday) and some sort of a treaty has been reached but I want a signed official document.


Fall is practically Winter to my tropical soul, the kind of Winters I like, mild, pleasant with the sun on your back, and cold enough to bring out the woolens. But it getting colder and windier and a sweater is not enough.

Everyday that my Dad calls he asks, whether we need a jacket outside. "Yes, we do", BS says. My Dad sighs and grumbles about how difficult the cold must be for the kids. They don't mind all that much, except for the winter jacket. Yeah they don't like winter jackets and we are not yet discussing mittens and scarves.


A bowl of warm soup with the colorful winter vegetables warms up the heart though. It is a perfect way to welcome the cold.With some bread brushed with olive oil this made a lovely Sunday night dinner, a calm end to an otherwise hectic weekend. BS loved it and had two small bowls, though LS insisted that "Ami soup khai na"(I don't drink soup).

I don't know where or how I came up with this soup. It all started off with the lone sweet potato and then I was inspired by my previous Moroccan Lentil Soup.


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Serves 4, measurements are eyeballed

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup

Peel and roughly chop 1 sweet potato, 1 small-ish beet root and half of an yellow squash, ok any squash, ok, ok no squash

Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Arrange flat on a baking tray and bake at 400F for 30 minutes till you see the veggies shrivel a little.. These are my small toaster oven settings

Heat Olive Oil in a deep stock pot

Add half a cup of chopped onion. Saute till onions are soft and translucent.

Add 2 tsp of fresh ginger-garlic paste and fry for half a minute. Add one small peeled tomato along with some juice. I used canned else chop one small.

Add 1/2 cup of chopped baby carrots(or regular). Cook till carrots are soft.

Add the roasted vegetables. Wash and add about 1/3 cup of Red lentils

In a skillet dry roast 1-2 tsp of cumin and then grind to a fine powder. I usually do a whole batch of this and store it in an air tight jar. Add 1 heaped tsp of roasted cumin powder and 1/2 tsp of dry ginger powder to the stock pot. Add a dash of adobo chile powder(optional). Ok, honestly you do not need adobo chile powder. What does adobo have to do with this soup anyway. It is just that I have a bottle of it and wanted to use it 'coz it sounds nice. No pressure.
Give everything a good stir and saute for a minute or two.

Add enough water and salt to taste.Cover and cook till lentils and vegetables are done. Squeeze a little lime juice and adjust seasonings to taste.

Puree with an immersion blender. Season with fresh ground black pepper.

Serve with some crusty bread or enjoy a warm bowl by itself.

More Heart Warming Soups:

Oven Roasted Tomato Soup

Healthy Moong Bean Soup

Thai Vegetable Soup

Salsa Soup

Moroccan Lentil and Carrot soup

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Moroccan Lentil & Carrot Soup -- Indianized





Sometimes I feel I am the right parent at the wrong age or maybe the wrong parent at the right age. At least never the right parent at the right age.

I am so archaic in comparison to the new age hip parents that sometimes I feel I should have paid heed to the ever well wishing relatives, you know the ones who wanted me to get married young and have kids early and keep a fast every alternate Saturday. If I had my kids really really early, early as in right after ummm high school, I might have aimed for grand kids now and then I could at least be the cool grandma instead of the uncool Mom.

Why did such wisdom dawn so late, you might ask. Well because it was only last week that I came to know of TogetherVille, a social networking site for kids under 10. I didn't even know the terms "social networking" and "kids under 10" can be uttered in the same breath.But apparently teeny-tiny kids need a social network and right after school these teeny-weeny kids need to jump onto the internet to connect to friends over the internet and discuss social life and maybe exchange vacation photos and show off Dad's new Mercedes. It is all very safe and protected and Moms/Dads who need to be on FB for their kids to be on Togetherville are raving about it.





Me? I said, I am old. I think the best way for my kid to "social network" is hop across to a friend's place. Naturally, by just going out of the door and knocking on the neighbor's door if you have a neighbor like mine or premeditated, with some effort on the parent's part, by setting up a time&date for play with friends not exactly next door. But definitely NOT online.

I think kids need to play with friends in real, they need to just go and get some un-organized play, not necessarily a sport, in a jumping-hopping-little pushing-running way. That is how they connect if needed after school, where I am guessing a lot of "social mingling" should get done.





But why would a 6 or a 7 or a 8 year old need to connect to someone, anyone ONLINE ? For the life of me, I am unable to understand this whole Togetherville thing. How uncool of me. How deprived my kids are. And on top of this I make them eat Moroccan Carrot Soup. Yikes !!!

And honestly I have nothing against Mark Zuckenburg or Mandeep Dhillon or Pope Benedict except admiration and a tad envy. I even think Zuckenburg is cute if anyone is hearing.





We have a big bunch of carrots at home, thanks to organic carrots becoming easily available in our price club. This time it was too much though, way too much carrots to anyone's liking. So, I decided to make a carrot soup and most sounded like bleah until I chanced upon this one. The "Moroccan" did it for me. I also added some Lentils, because I love them. I love lentils so much that if given a free reign I will put them in pretty much everything, even dessert. Ok not dessert because I love my dessert more dearly than the lentil.

I also added Garam Masala and Green Chili and did everything to make it the most Indian Moroccan Carrot lentil Soup ever.Morocco are you listening, next time please can you include Garam masala and Green Chili and some Paanch Phoron in your cuisine ? Please, pretty please, I love your food.


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Adapted from this recipe

Moroccan Carrot & Lentil Soup



Heat 1 tbsp of Olive Oil

Add 1 cup of finely chopped red onions and saute till they are soft. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic minced

Add 2 cups of thick slices of carrot and saute till the carrots start browning a wee bit.

Add about 3 tomatoes from a can of whole peeled tomatoes or use 2 medium fresh juicy tomatoes chopped. Saute the tomatoes till they are mushed up and there is no raw smell.

Wash and add 1 cup of brown lentils. Mix everything well together and add about 3-4 cups of water.

Add about 1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder, salt to taste and cover and cook.

In 20-25 minutes the lentils and carrots should be done. Add 1 tsp of honey and mix well. Adjust for seasonings.

Cool and puree in a blender with 2 green chili. Ok, chili is optional. When you puree, save 1/4 of the soup sans the carrots in the pot. Put back the blended soup back in the pot and simmer at low heat.

Dry roast 1 tsp of cumin in a skillet till fragrant and grind to a fine powder. Add this roasted cumin powder and 1 tsp of Paprika to the blended soup. You can add 1 tsp of Lime Juice if you want, I didn't.

Ladle the soup in bowls and serve the soup with a dollop of yogurt.

For a carby version, tear a slice of wheat bread and toss with olive oil, roughly chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Toast in the oven till crisp. Dunk in the soup.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mung Bean Soup -- Moong Dal Ayurveda way





Mung Bean is BIG in Ayurveda. As I read through I see whole green mung(moong) dal referred to having magical and powerful effects. It seems to be as magical as the magical bean of Jack and the Bean Stalk.

"Mung bean soup pacifies all three doshas and is nutritious yet easy to digest. Mung Bean Soup recipe is used to clear even the most chronic, troublesome digestive issues and used to enhance overall health and vitality."

Really ??? You say to yourself. Those tiny shiny green beans and they want you to make a soup of it, a dal actually, and that dal is supposed to get rid of the toxins in your body ??? Whoa, and you fall right into it and before you know you have this big pot of green moong dal bubbling on the stove and you are having a bowl full of it everyday. It does not exactly detox if you follow it up with cut mirchi bhaji and samosas with your afternoon chai but what the...





Actually the green mung(moong) dal is pretty delicious. Made the Ayurvedic way without the onions and garlic, makes it not rich but very tasty. I deviated from the recipe a little and followed my Mom's way,added vegetables like cauliflower and carrots. I think greens like spinach would be a very good idea too.

The split and hulled moong dal, which is the yellow moong dal has equal magical properties and you can use that instead of whole green mung beans. The yellow moong dal cooks faster and is also easier to digest.

When you are making the mung bean soup and you want to follow the Ayurveda detox regime you need to determine which category you fall in. Depending on the dosha you have you have to use different spices. The recipe I have here is loosely based on Kapha Balancing Mung Bean Soup. I have used whole green mung and also the pressure cooker. You can use yellow moong and do it in a regular pot.


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Green Mung Bean Soup




Wash and soak 1 cup of whole green moong beans for couple of hours or overnight. You can skip the soaking if in a hurry.

Pressure cook the beans with double the water, little salt and 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Heat Ghee in a soup pot. I used Olive Oil about 3 tsp

Temper the oil with
1/2 tsp of Whole Cumin/Whole Jeera
1/2 tsp of Whole Fennel/Whole Saunf,
6-7 whole Fenugreek seeds/Whole Methi seeds
and a pinch of asafoetida/Hing
.

If adding vegetables add them now and saute for a few minutes

Add the cooked mung beans

Add 1" ginger grated or pounded in a mortar and pestle

Add 1/2 tsp of fresh corriander powder and salt to taste. Mix well. Add about 2 cups of water and let the dal come to a boil. At this point you can blend the dal to make a puree, I do not.

Adjust for seasonings. Squeeze juice of a lime quarter and enjoy hot.

Alternately

Skip step 2 i.e. do not pressure cook the dal at the beginning. Instead start the whole process in a pressure cooker and pressure cook the dal after adding all the spices.

I am sending this off to MLLA -19 hosted by Simple Indian Food and the brainchild of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Oven Roasted Tomato Soup -- Indian Ishtyle





First day of new school. Bus at 7:30. Too much excitement. Up since 4' in the morning.

Novelty wears off in two days time. Now 6:30 in the morning on a weekday is not a good time to be at our home. There is so much drama that HBO would cower down in shame and the pimply Dish Network guy with the Indian name would never ever call me again saying "Auntie, we at dish network have a great deal".

Ever day and I really mean this, I intend to get up at dark and sneak out before even the clock says 6:30. I really don't want to get caught into the early morning melodrama. The Dad could handle this better I think, he has done this through the last 3 years of pre-school. But to become the Saint Mom is my current short term career goal, so I stay put.

I am up way before 6, cajoling and then shouting at the 5 year old to get up. I am chirping brightly about how the new school is going to be so much fun while the 5 year old clearly thinks otherwise. She misses her pre-school which was way more fun by her standard. I am trying to make b'fast interesting which she refuses to touch and thwarts my attempts at creative lunch making by asking me just pack a sandwich.

Going at this rate my sainthood is highly jeopardized, the Vatican will not even peruse my resume if I am packing sandwiches with nothing but chicken nugget in them.









Back home to compensate that lunch with a healthy dinner and also use up the bounty of cherry tomatoes, I device a Oven Roasted Tomato Soup. The bold flavor of garlic and sweet scent of tomatoes roasting in the oven is enough to make me feel happy and uplift my spirits.
I decide to go the Indian route and spice up the Tomato soup with some whole cumin and then as a last minute whim add a little of my Red Masoor Dal (Red Lentil). With garlic chives and coriander snipped from the herb pot, the soup definitely tastes tantalizing.





"It is the best Tomato soup we have ever had", says the hungry Dad

"Why is the Tomato Soup orange, I want a red tomato soup", says the 5 year old

The glare and 15 minutes later she says, " It is yummy", while she mops up the dregs with the last piece of bread !!!





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Oven Roasted Tomato Soup



In an aluminum pouch throw together 30-35 cherry tomatoes, 4-5 cloves of garlic, salt and ground black pepper. Drizzle liberally and I mean liberally with olive oil. Put in the oven at 400F for an hour, In my toaster oven it took an hour and then I had it on broil

Heat a deep bottomed pan or a soup pot

Pour Olive oil, this time don't go over the top

Add 1/4 tsp of cumin and when it sizzles add some finely chopped white onion. Saute with a sprinkle of sugar till onion turns a light shade 0f brown

Add the roasted tomatoes & garlic

Add organic vegetable stock and then about 1/3 cup of washed Red Lentils (Red Masoor Dal)

Add salt to taste and let the soup come to a boil. Cook till the lentil is fully cooked

Add fresh herbs of your choice. Definitely coriander and I also added some garlic chives

Cool and puree in a blender

You don't need to strain. Serve with crackers or bread

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Grilled Portabella and a Salsa Soup


Photobucket


I am done with my challenge, it ended on Saturday. I had a glorious lunch to go to on Sunday so I ended it one day early, no harm done.

It was really good this time and I did not crave or miss anything at all. The meals were simple and yet we ate a lot of veggies and also heart-healthy fish. I stuck to eating no grains, no processed food, no sugar and almost no meat. I did bend the rules and ate out on two nights. One day it was salad, the other day a chicken vindaloo which we ordered home. I think bending the rules a bit and also a simpler meal plan helped to do the whole thing without any stress and accept it as a life style instead of one week fling.

If you ask me about weights, honestly I did not weigh in, neither before nor after. The weighing machine at home has given up after umpteen weighing of suitcases whenever the parents are here and gets totally messed up if humans are aboard. The gym whose weighing scales I trust was not visited.

I know I am nowhere near the target weight which the BMI calculators predict for me, man I would rather grow vertically than reach that pathetic low weight. But I do feel lighter and better, I think a week of restricted good eating does that to you anyway. The best thing is I have lost in inches, I can feel it , really.

Ok and the real proof of the pudding is in I could gracefully fit into the saree-blouse my Ma got stitched for me and sent over last week. This is no mean feat if you know my Mom and my blouse fitting saga.

My Mom is a health freak and is either exercising or eating small portions of healthily cooked food. She wasn't always like this but her arthritic knee has made her very watchful of her and consequently my weight. She gets my blouses stitched by the tailor whose template is from my wedding days. So most of the time I am huffing and puffing to get into those wry pieces of fabric which think I am Malaika where in real life I maybe Mayawati.

Now I am not sure if the tailor lost his original template but this time his creation was a much easier fit. A reward worthy of the challenge.

Before I go into the recipe I would like to make it clear that the no-grain diet is not necessary the best thing to and will depend on the individual's health and such factors. As some of the readers have asked, whole grains are definitely good for you in small portions.

Basically the No-Grain Diet is based on the idea that meals high in grains, sweets, and starches promote elevated insulin levels, causing you to become hungry soon after you have just eaten. This is referred to as a "grain addiction" - when the cravings trigger you to eat more of the "wrong foods" and a harmful cycle ensues. So getting rid of the grains reduces your carb cravings.

Back now to two more recipes which are much welcome in our home on no grain days are a Grilled Portabella Caps and a Salsa Soup. I have no pics for the Salsa Soup but trust me, it is a wonderfully tasty soup.


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Grilled Portabella Caps


Remove stems and wipe portabella caps clean with a damp paper towel. Combine Olive oil, Lime juice, Sambal Olek or Hot Chili Garlic sauce, little Honey, Garlic salt and Red Chili Powder.Brush the dressing on the outer side of the mushroom. Place mushrooms on their backs, with dark "gill" side up on the grill. Brush dressing over gills. Grill, gill sides up. serve whole or sliced.


The Salsa Soup is a quick recipe from here. Check the original link for measurements. I made a total vegetarian version with little changes and no Tortilla Chips but papad

Salsa Soup


Heat Olive Oil in a deep, heavy pan. Add a pinch of red pepper and about 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds to the oil and stir briefly.
When the cumin sizzles, add chopped onion and fry till soft.
Now add your salsa. Note: Either home made salsa or the jar will work. If you like it hot add chili powder or use a HOT salsa.
Cook the salsa and oil together for couple of minutes, stirring constantly so that it does not burn or stick.
Add the black beans, and the corn. I used a can of black beans.
Next, add the organic low sodium vegetable stock and stir all to blend well. If you don't have stock use plain water, add salt to taste.
Bring this mixture to a full boil and reduce heat to medium low.
Add Lime juice.
Simmer the salsa soup until the corn/bean is completely cooked .
Turn off heat under the cooking vessel and stir in a bunch of chopped cilantro.
Ladle your finished salsa soup into individual soup bowls
Stir in avocado chunks on top . Toss a bit of cheese on top of that.
Top with a few tortilla chips or papad.

Edited on 01/18/2011: Today I made this soup with a speedy homemade salsa. In a blender add
1 firm good quality tomato roughly chopped,
1-2 clove of garlic,
2 hot green chili pepper
a little cumin powder
Process till chunky to get your own salsa. Add some minced coriander to the prepared salsa.It was delicioso.Use this for the soup.





I will be on a break until next week. I haven't been able to visit blogs as much as I would have liked to the last week and the trend will continue for the next week or two. I am sorry but I will be back.


Trivia: Aztec lords started to make a mixture of tomatoes with chili peppers and ground squash seeds as early as 1521. They used it as a condiment, to be eaten alongside turkey, venison, lobster, and fish. It was Alonso de Molina who first gave the name ‘salsa’ to the mixture, in 1571.