Edible Bowl

It’s incredible how we cook frantically at times, to fix a quick dinner or a short lunch. But often times, we crave for a delicious meal, slow cooked and simmered to perfection, with an enormous touch of seasoning. I suppose in those days, women spend most of their time in their kitchen, relaxing and taking their own time to cook. And I suppose that’s one of the best workouts, which keeps them fit all through.

Today often we eat out at work, microwave some pre-cooked foods or worse, grab a burger from a fast-food restaurant. Not really knowing (or rather caring) what's good and what's not. I suppose this is mostly the daily happenings with working women.

But, for all those days of fast-food, for all those days of eat-outs, for all those days of unhealthy-meals,
here is something with a difference. Inspired and adapted from Panera Bread’s soup in a bread bowl, dear friendly friends, I present you, savored and sweltered onion soup in an incr(edible) bowl.

SOUP IN A BREAD BOWL
[Serves 2]

• 2 medium Onions- thinly sliced
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup beef or chicken broth[Optional]. Use 1/2 cup Vegetable stock instead.
• a small piece of ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 firm round bread loaf/preferably sour dough bread.
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp oil or more
• 1 tbsp shredded cheese(Optional)

Slice the bread at the top, just to make a slight opening at the top. Scrape out the soft bread carefully from inside the loaf. It should look like a hollow bowl. Place the bread bowl under broiler for 1 minutes(or less), just to harden the surface. This is done to avoid the bread from absorbing the liquid from the soup.

In wide pan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the onions and leave it to cook till tender[do not stir in between]. Once tender or lightly browned, fry the onions over medium heat, till they become nicely browned(dark golden brown).

Add the vegetable stock and beef or chicken broth if using, along with the ginger and bring to boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix in the chopped cilantro.

Spoon in the soup into the bread bowl, and top it with cheese if using and broil for just 30 seconds or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with corn or tortilla chips.

Savoring Curry

So, there I stood. Right in the kitchen. I hesitantly took a peep at my pantry. One fat onion was boldly starring at me. And that's it. No tomatoes. No Eggs. No Greens. May be a few leftover vegetables. What could be much worse than your pantry missing few important ingredients, especially tomatoes, especially when your friend is joining you for lunch?

And what could be better than calling mom and asking for suggestions? And what else could be better than the simple mix matches she gives? And so, there I stood. Right in the kitchen. I hesitantly mix matched the ingredients. I was boldly looking at the simply, but enormously savored vegetable curry.

 

VEGETABLE CURRY/KURMA

For Grinding

• 1 small stick Cinnamon
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Cardamom
• 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 small green chili
• 1/2 cup Coconut grated or more
• 1 tbsp Pottukadalai (Split Roast gram dhal)

Grind the above ingredients to smooth paste adding little water or more as required.

For the Kurma

• 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
• Curry leaves: 3 or 4.
• 2 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• Onion-1(finely chopped)
• 1 cup Mixed Vegetables [I used 1-Potato ,1- Carrot, and more Beans]
• Water as required
• Coriander leaves (for garnishing)

In a hot pan, add oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions and fry till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Add the vegetables, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are done.
 
Add the grinded mixture along with water and bring to boil for about 10-15  minutes. Switch off. Garnish with Coriander leaves.[Which my pantry was missing this time:( ]

Can go well with rice, chapathi, or as a soup by itself.

P.S And my friend loved it a lot, so much that she took the left over with her- sparing me the empty vessel :(

Sending this recipe to Cooking with Seed-Cardamom event hosted by Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

Comforting Sip

If there is any food, that seems comforting and calming, its definitely a warm bowl of soup. A sip of warm, creamy, flavorful soup during the winter is heavenly, as most of us would agree.

Adapted the recipe from here. There are quite a few versions of making a lentil & carrot soup, like adding whole veggies or lentils to the soup without blending. Even the type of lentil used might give a different taste. But, I liked this one, a modified version with a hint of ginger and sourish yogurt at the finish. And hence sticking to the same!

P.S.In all the excitement, I forgot to add the turmeric! That would be the reason for my 'pale' yellowish soupy!

CARROT LENTIL SOUP

• Ginger - small piece peeled and grated
• Cumin seeds - 1tsp
• Red chili flakes - 1tsp
• 1 medium onion - finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots - peeled and grated
• Red lentils - 3/4 cup [Masoor Dal]
• Fresh Vegetable stock - 2 to 3 Cups
• Coriander leaves - 4 or 5 stalks
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp
• Pepper powder - freshly grounded 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Dry roast the cumin seeds in pan over a medium heat and ground the cumin coarsely, using a grinder or a mortar-pestle.

Heat oil in the same pan, add the ginger pieces and onion and fry till browned. Add the vegetable stock along with the grated carrots, turmeric and lentils and cook over a medium heat, until the lentils are tender.

Stir in the grounded cumin. Switch off and let it cool. Blend smoothly in a blender. Transfer the soup to the pan and re-heat for about 3-4 minutes. Add some more vegetable stock if the soup is too thick.

Serve sprinkled with coriander leaves, red chili flakes and pepper powder and yogurt.

Sending this recipe to Usha's Healthy Inspirations event.