Vegan Carrot, Cauliflower and Tomato Soup with Optimum Vac2 Vacuum Blender Review

Learn how to make Pressure Cooked Vegan Cauliflower, Tomato and Carrot Soup

When Froothie contacted me in April to try their latest Optimum Vac2 Vacuum Blender, I was in a middle of packing and moving houses from Cornwall to Yorkshire. They sent me the blender as soon as we shifted to our new house but it took me over a month to give it a try. I was so caught up with unpacking, turning the house into a home, buried under a pile of paper works and settling the kid into a whole new place and school that before I could blink it was summer holiday and we left to India to spend all of the summer break with our family. When we returned from India, I finally got time some time to try the blender to its full potential by making smoothies after smoothies along with using it for making nut butters, curry pastes, spice blends, pasta sauces and even dosa and idli batters. So here is the detailed post about my experience with the Froothie Optimum Vac2 Vacuum Blender after using it rigorously over the last 3 months.

Optimum Vac2 Vacuum Blender

Froothie Optimum Vac2 Vacuum Blender comes with a blender base, BPA free 2 liters jug with 6 stainless steel wet and dry multi-purpose blade assembly, two-part lid, heavy duty tamper tool for improved processing and mixing, spare vacuum seals and instruction manual. It also comes with a recipe book with over 70 mainly vegan recipes. Vac2 blender comes in 3 colour choices (red, black and silver) and has 8 different speed settings and has some preset buttons that will set the time and speed for you like smoothie, veg and fruits, pulse, nuts, and soup. It has the option to turn the dial to set the timer yourself. The bright blue LED screen on the blender base shows the speed and time setting. Pretty straight forward.

South Indian Style Beet Greens and Stems Dal Recipe | Quick and Easy Dal Recipes

Learn how to make South Indian Style Beet Greens and Stems Dal ~ Beet greens and stems cooked in a spicy and sour lentil gravy

Fresh green leafy vegetables are part and parcel of Indian cooking. With easily available spinach, coriander leaves, mint, dill leaves to special greens like fresh fenugreek leaves, red and green amaranth, Malabar spinach, drumstick leaves and wide range of seasonal and wild greens, the Indian home cooks have incorporated variety of fresh greens in their day to day cooking.

Growing up in a small town meant easy access to fresh farm produce every single day. Apart from many home grown veggies that my parents grew in our small but well maintained garden, we would get steady supply of seasonal fruits and veggies from our farm as well as many other farms and orchards of our relatives. I come from a family who have very deep and strong roots in farming and had a privilege of eating the best organically grown produce without a drop of pesticide in sight. Things that I took for granted have become a luxury now.

Khatta-Meetha Lauki Dal | Sapori Product Review and A Giveway

Learn how to make Khatti-Meethi Lauki Dal ~ One pot sweet and sour bottle gourd lentil soup

A week before the madness of Christmas holidays began, I received a large box of parcel from the Forma House, a UK based company specialising in unique home ware products sourced from around the globe. With all that running, organising and buying mini truckloads of presents for the family and friends, it was a pleasant surprise to receive something special during the festive season. The package contained two beautifully crafted pieces of Sapori Collection from the well-known brand La Porcellana Bianca; Sapori Potato Pot and the Sapori Casserole Pot in a beautiful shade of red. This post is about my experience of using this elegant cookware extensively in my kitchen for the last one month and also about how you can enter a giveaway to win this striking Sapori Casserole Pot worth £55!

I normally work with brands which are best fit for my blog readers and usually take couple of weeks to extensively test the products in my kitchen before posting an honest review as I don't believe in misleading the blog readers with false information. It has been little over a month since I started using the Sapori pots in everyday cooking and it was not difficult to fall in love with such beautifully crafted pieces of cookware. Both products came with very useful instruction manual as how to clean the product before using. The Sapori collection is created to meet the needs of people who are constantly looking for ways to enhance the flavours without compromising the nutrition quotient of food. It is designed for those who want to rediscover the joy and real taste of traditional recipes, whilst still being healthy.

Sprouted Peas Dal Recipe | Kid Friendly Dal Recipes

Learn how to make Sprouted Peas Dal ~ Sprouted green and yellow peas cooked in sweet and sour split pigeon peas lentil gravy

It was a dull day yesterday. What looked a promising week full of sunshine and high temperature; it was dull, grey, cheerless and just blah! I didn’t sleep on previous night and the light headache that I woke up to gave me company through out the day and became a really-big-headache kind of headache by the time we reached home! And the fact that I missed 2 successive days of my exercise regime to get in shape and beat hubby at bike race just added more guilt and bruises to my pride.

Vegan Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup Recipe | How to Make Simple Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Learn how to make Vegan Creamy Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup ~ Quick and easy roasted bell pepper and tomato soup with caramelised onions and garlic

The temperature outside continues to drop in spite of we officially stepping into spring since last week! This weekend we will set our clocks 1 hour forward across the European countries to mark the spring daylight saving so that evenings have more daylight. In less than a month’s time the sun will rise before 6 am only to set after 7 pm! And in two months time we will have the difficulty to convince Lil Dumpling to go to bed at 7 pm as he will be left wondering why one needs to go to bed when the sun is still shining bright till 10 at night only to wake up at 4 in the morning to find sunrays streaming through the curtains!

Vegan Leek and Potato Soup Recipe | Quick & Simple Soup Recipes

Learn how to make Vegan Leek and Potato Soup

So this season’s first snow is here. With dropping temperature and many cold frosty nights, we kind of expected it to snow anytime! Probably snow is one of the best things about winter as the little girl trapped inside my grown up woman’s body come out with mischief in her mind and twinkle in her eyes!

Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup Recipe | Hot & Sour Veg and Tofu Soup

Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup

This has to be the shortest autumn here in my neck of wood. We enjoyed long, sunny and unbelievably warm summer this year. Just when the leaves turned to gorgeous shades of yellow, red and orange, the gushing wind and heavy downpour undressed the trees and now they stand almost naked with few leaves hanging there for their dear life. With dropping temperature and cold wind blowing at high speeds, UK is officially ready to welcome winter. Brrrr….

Creamy Sweet Corn and Spinach Soup: Do you like your 'Greens'?

Creamy Creamy Sweet Corn and Spinach Soup

After days of glorious sunshine and top temperature, it was a welcome relief when rain drops hit the dry, broiling mother earth. It wasn’t some heavy pour with thunderstorms but a gentle drizzle which urges you to venture out without an umbrella. You can feel the green grass blades dancing with new lease of life when your bare feet touch them. As they tickle your bare feet, you curl your toes and lift your face to the vivid blue sky dotted with few heavy grey clouds. And then suddenly your are transformed to magical wonderland when your eyes blurred by the water droplets covering your lashes catches one of the most wonderful sights created by the nature, bright and colourful rainbow. You can’t help but wonder about the tales of pot of gold buried at the end of this colourful arch told umpteen numbers of times by your nana…

Palak/Spinach Soup: Have You Had Your Greens Today?

Palak/Spinach Soup

Who says we can’t slurp steaming hot bowl of soup in middle of summer? If you are living in a place where this shining, burning sun decides to take a hike (literally) and leaves behind grey clouds, cold breeze and never stopping rain then you have no choice but switch from cold salads, pastas, chilled drinks to hot soups, warm breads and spicy curries!

Spicy Lentil & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup: Winter Warmer

Spicy Lentil & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Half butternut squash….
And half minded me…
Half finished office work…
Half hearted-ness for cooking…

And half an hour later….

2 full, big bowls of soup…
And two satisfied people…
And two big Dagaar’s, ahem, burps…

Now all the mathematicians hear me loud and clear… it’s time you come up with a new theorem that proves ½ = 2… And all you nursery, primary, secondary, higher secondary, college students… time for you to learn another maths theorem… Mu ha ha ha ha…

Ok, I don’t have anything to say today… So without much dilly-dallying with my usual rants and ramblings let me give you today’s recipe.

Remember this Risotto I had posted few days back? Yeah, the very same Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto. I had used half of butternut squash in that and was left with other half. No, not my other half but other half of butternut squash. Since I loved the taste of roasted butternut squash I thought of making another batch of risotto. So I chopped the butternut squash and coated them with oil and pepper and salt. After that I popped them into oven to roast I realised there was no Arborio rice. No it didn’t vanish just like that. I simply forgot that it got over last week itself. My boss is to be blamed for this. No silly, he didn’t take that risotto rice but he is responsible for truck load of work on my desktop and by the time I get back home I look and talk (?) like a zombie.

Since I had no risotto rice I had to think of some other way to use all those delicious roasted butternut squash. I found it difficult to think with my half dead brain and half asleep grey cells. But thankfully other half grey cells were still awake and reminded me of some Soup recipe on some cookery show which I had watched during my usual finger exercise sessions a.k.a. channel surfing sessions. My other half grey cells could vaguely remember some of the ingredients used; some lentils with some spices and some pumpkins…. So with this precious information I went on to make this Spicy Lentil & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. Yeah, much like our Indian Dal if you ask me with little twist and surprises thrown in between… Very much Fusion cooking… But hey, it is lot simpler and tasted heavenly. And full heartedly I am sending this to Suganya who is hosting Vegan Venture.

Spicy Lentil & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Spicy Lentil and Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins (Including Roasting time)
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 cup Masoor Dal/Red Lentils
1 small Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
½ inch Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Garam Masala or Any Curry Powder
1-2 tbsp Lemon/Lime Juice (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tbsp Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

For Roasted Butternut Squash and Seeds:
½ medium Butternut Squash, peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes
1 tbsp Oil
Little Salt and Pepper Powder

Spicy Lentil & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Method:

Pre heat the oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6. Take cubed butternut squash, oil and salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Spread them in a baking tray lined with an aluminium foil and place it on a middle rack of oven and let it roast for 10 minutes. Take it out from the oven and gently mix again and place it on the top rack and let it roast for another 5-10 minutes till it is cooked through.
To roast the butternut squash seeds, simply spread them in a baking tray and place them on a top rack of your oven and let them roast for 3-5 minutes till they turn golden.
While the butternut squash is roasting, wash and cook the masoor dal with turmeric, few drops of oil and 1½ cups of water. Add little water in between if needed and cook till the lentils starts to fall apart, about 10-15 mins.
Take half the amount of roasted butternut squash and add it to the cooked lentils. With a help of stick blender, grind this mixture to smooth. If using food processor or mixer make sure that the dal and squash have cooled little bit. You can also use potato masher to mash lentil and squash mixture. Keep it aside till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When it starts to sizzle and turn golden red, add finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté till onion turns translucent, about 1-2 mins.
Now add mashed lentil and butternut squash mixture, 2-3 cups of water or vegetable stock and garam masala. Let it cook uncovered for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and add more water if needed.
Switch off the gas and mix in other half of roasted butternut squash and lemon juice. Serve them hot garnished with roasted butternut squash seeds and spring of coriander leaves and enjoy with freshly baked bread or even Tandoori Roties.

Blast from the Past: Bell Pepper Soups

A soup has always been one of my favourite meals and my weakness. It being a typical weather where sunny uncle playing hide and seek in my part of the world, we get solace in slurping big bowls of delicious soups. This week it was all Peppers pepping us up in a form of Red Bell Pepper Soup and Creamy Green Pepper Soup. And they go to my dear buddy Pooja who is hosting two-in-one events JFI & VOV-Bell Peppers. Enjoy these blasts from the past.

Red Bell Pepper Soup

Creamy Green Pepper Soup

Spring Cleaning: Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

Can of Red Kidney Beans – Check

Two Cubes of Frozen Spinach – Check
One each Red & Green wrinkled Peppers – Check
Fistful of Pasta – Check
One Almost Dead Carrot – Check
Last Few Tomatoes – Check
A cup of Pasatta – Check
Sprinkle of Dried Herbs – Check

Makes -> Delicious & Nourishing Bowl of Soup, a complete meal.

For a notorious hoarder in me who can’t stand the sight of empty shelves, it is always challenging task to empty the fridge/freezer and pantry. I kind of hate late November days when we start packing for our annual trip to India for one full month and I am not allowed to buy any fresh ingredient from mid month itself. It is very nerve-racking experience when we have to cook frozen and canned products skipping my favourite visit to weekend Farmer’s market for freshest of fresh ingredients with bright colours and packed with nutrition.

This weekend I had to go through similar experience. We are leaving to India in 2 days time. Oh, I simply can’t seem to hide that stupid smile stuck on my face since past few days. I have been counting the days and then hours and now minutes. Although it’s a short trip for just 18 days, I have already planned up for each and every day of our stay. I am excited about eating all that delicious food cooked by Amma and Atte, two big functions at home, beach parties, lots of shopping, catching up with all hot gossips with cousins and friends and most importantly enjoy Indian Monsoon and Mangoes.


With our trip to India and lots of other things to think of, this time it was not that difficult to deal with Spring Cleaning. With just few days left for our trip, it wasn’t surprising to see almost empty fridge staring at me. There is hardly enough vegetables to use in curries and we opted for using them in heart warming Soups, next best thing to eat and enjoy. And what is better than delicious bowl of Minestrone Soup packed with flavours and nutrition. We used the ingredients based on what we had on hand rather than strictly following the recipe. We ended up with enough soup for two dinners which indeed was one complete satisfying meal. Please free to use any vegetables and beans of your choice and enjoy this bowl of goodness.

Minestrone Soup

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Minestrone Soup

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1-2 Flakes of Garlic, finely chopped
2-3 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large Carrot, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 Green Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
1 Red Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
½ cup French Beans, chopped (Optional)
1 cup Spinach, fresh/frozen
1 cup Pasta (I used Bow tie pasta, use any pasta of your choice)
1½ cups or 1 can cooked Kidney Beans/Rajma, drained and washed
1 cup Pasatta/1 tbsp Tomato Paste/½ cup Tomato Puree (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Mixed Dried Herbs/Italian Seasoning (Adjust acc to taste)
5-6 cups Vegetable Stock/2 cubes of Vegetable Stock (Optional, can use just plain Water)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped Garlic and Onions. Saute it for 1-2 minutes on a medium flame.
Now add dried Mixed Herbs or Italian Seasonings, crushed Chilli Flakes and mix well.
Mix in chopped tomatoes and sauté till it becomes pulpy, approx 1-2 mins.
Add vegetable stock or water, carrot, beans, red kidney beans, peppers, french beans, pasta and mix well. Cook on a medium flame till pasta is cooked well for about 5-10 minutes.
Mix in Pasatta or tomato puree (if using), spinach and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot with toasted bread slices and enjoy this nutritious bowl of soup.

Minestrone Soup

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Note:

You can also use other vegetables like potatoes, courgettes, green peas, corn etc of your choice. Any beans like Chickpeas, Pinto Beans etc can be used.
Sprinkle the soup with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Click Here for other heart warming Soups posted in Monsoon Spice.

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Wishing all the readers of Monsoon Spice a very Happy Vishu, Baisaki and Shubho Naboborsho.
Happy New Year to you all...

Winter Warmers: Carrot-Coconut Shorba

Carrot-Coconut Shorba

Warm, cold, cold, cold, warm, warm, cold, warm, cold…

No, I am not chanting some mantra nor I have gone mad. Well, it’s my usual grumbling about the weather here in Britain. I guess I can write a thesis on changing weather and still be left with much more thing to talk about. Two weeks back it was earthquake and now its flood warning!!! Mother Earth is really angry at us and I am not surprised! Even 5 year olds are talking about Global Warming and its consequence!!! When I was of their age all I talked about was how snow white got her price charming and thinking of getting married to my prince charming. I even remember asking my parents for coloured television as my wedding gift!!! Ah!!! My first love, an Idiot Box.

I did it again, drifted away from current topic. Well, what was I talking about?! Oh yes, weather. We are experiencing quite unusual change in weather once in every few hours. Don’t be surprised to see if it starts to snow just when the sky was clear a moment ago with bright sunshine kissing the lovely daffodils. At once you see sun shining and next moment he is hiding behind the black clouds. It feels like weather god is busy playing games with us but not everyone is amused with his little games here. It’s very common to see people falling sick as the weather changes. With truck loads of work on my desk and deadline fast approaching I try not to take any risk when it comes to health. So we have been cooking and eating food which are good source of anti-oxidants and help in keeping us fit. If you are planning to visit us be prepared to be welcomed with big steaming pot of broth cooking in our kitchen. It’s a common to see piping bowl of soup and warm bread direct from oven in our household.

K and I both enjoy soup with bread. We both love experiment with the ingredients and use fresh produce from farmer’s market. Last weekend we bought big basket full of carrots from farmer’s market and decided to make soup. As carrots are rich source of vitamin A and C and also anti-oxidants we use them quite often, be it raw or cooked. Carrots are considered to be the ‘best vegetable’ for balanced diet. Sometime back I had watched Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe of Carrot-Coconut Shorba which immediately caught my attention. Carrot and coconut, a marriage made in heaven!!! He used king of spices and Indian spices to spice up this sweet vegetable and creamy coconut milk. No more convincing was required to cook this for our dinner. Although carrot and coconut milk are the main ingredients which are sweet in flavour, the real punch comes from black peppercorns, chilli, fresh cilantro and other spices. The burst of flavour you experience when sipping this bowl of soup is makes this recipe a keeper. I am sending this Carrot-Coconut Shorba to Holler of Tinned Tomatoes who is hosting March edition of No Croutons Required and the theme is Spicy Vegetarian Soups.

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Carrot-Coconut Shorba
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Sanjeev Kapoor

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Ingredients:
4-5 medium Carrots, peeled and sliced to ½ cm pieces
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 medium Onion, roughly sliced
1 tsp Black Peppercorns (Adjust acc to taste)
2-3 Green Chillies (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Few Curry Leaves
1 tsp Oil
4-5 cups Water
Salt to taste

Carrot & Coconut Milk for Shorba

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add jeera and sauté.
When jeera starts to sizzle, add roughly sliced onion, whole green chillies, black peppercorns and sauté for a minute.
Mix in sliced carrots, salt to taste and close the lid. Cook the carrots covered without adding any water for five minutes, sautéing in between.
Add water, coriander leaves and cook for further five minutes over a medium heat till carrots turn tender.
Drain the water and reserve. When it is cool enough to handle grind carrot mixture adding little reserved stock at a time to smooth paste.
Transfer reserved stock, ground carrot paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. Mix in coconut milk and cook for another 2-3 minutes on a medium flame.
Adjust the seasoning and serve hot garnished with a splash of coconut milk and enjoy.

Carrot-Coconut Shorba

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Reminder!

An Ode to Potato ends on 15th of March (GMT Time). Send in your entry before the deadline and join us in the singing. Bake, boil, mash, fry, sauté, grill, stuff, cook... The choice is endless.

Deadline: 15th March, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of Potato dish.

Click Here to find out more information on this event.

Soup for the Soul: Pak Choy – Noodles Soup

Pak Choi - Noodles Soup

Where else could you catch a massive cold, if not in wet and cold Britain? I was surprised to see how I survived from Jan to mid Feb from the clutches of cold and flu when colleagues in my office were walking around with a tissue stuck to their nostrils!! Just when it seemed like we are going to celebrate early springs with daffodils smiling at clear blue skies, the temperature plunged to -10 degree celcious. Ha!!! Serves me right for planning my early spring shopping. Once I stocked up enough of cold remedies and boxes of Kleenex, I tried to research the latest findings on how best to tackle the illness that is still eluding the pharmaceutical industry. Well, what else I could have expected. As usual the results were not very encouraging. It seems there is actually no remedy for cold and one wise (wo)man even mentioned "Medicate a cold and it will be gone in 14 days; ignore it and it will be gone in two weeks." So if the cold usually lasts for two weeks then there is not conclusive proof that popping Vitamin C or zinc supplements is gonna work for you. These supplements might simply mask the cold but they don’t actually cure you.

With my nose looking like that of a buffoon’s, blood shot eyes watering continuously due to my coughing night concert, and tissue dangling from my nostrils I usually rely on some tried and tested recipes like pepper rasam, kashayam or bowl of piping hot soup. After all, there is nothing more comforting than boiling few tomatoes with little spices and a good pinch of salt or boiling a glass of water with tulsi (holy basil) with few crushed peppercorns and honey/jaggary. Well, it’s also all you likely to feel up to if you have a really nasty cold. But if it’s your hubby dear who is cooking for the poor you, then you as well give yourself a special treat;)

We created this Pak Choi-Noodles Soup using the ingredients which is sure to comfort me and clear the congestion. Who says creativity can't kick in when your nose is blocked? It's just your nose that is blocked not brain;). This sunshine coloured soup doesn’t require any fancy ingredients or too much of time and energy to prepare. The ingredients used are lemon grass stalk, ginger, black pepper corns and garlic which is a natural remedy for cold and a splash of soya sauce and lemon juice for tingling taste. Addition of noodles, pak choi, and red bell peppers make this filling as well as very comforting meal. I am sending this bowl of Sunshine to Lisa who is hosting No Croutons Required event and she wants us to make a soup that even the most carnivorous diner would drool over. Thank you Pooja for the tip:)

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Pak Choi – Noodles Soup
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2

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Ingredients:
4-5 cups Vegetable Stock
1-2 Pak Choy/Pak Choi, cut into bite size pieces
Handful of Noodles (I used medium noodles)
1 small Red Bell Pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1 small Onion, finely chopped (Optional)
4-5 stalks of Spring Onion, sliced
1 inch Ginger, crushed
2-3 Garlic flakes, sliced thinly
¾ tsp Lemongrass Paste/1 stalk of Lemon Grass, outer skin removed and bruised
Few Black Pepper corns, crushed
1-2 Green Chillies, slit (Optional)
¾ tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Sambal Olek (Optional)
Few Basil, roughly chopped
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Pak Choi - Noodles Soup

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion and sliced garlic. Sauté it on medium flame till onions turns translucent.
Pour in vegetable stock and add bruised lemon grass stalk, sambal olek, slit green chillies and crushed ginger. Bring it to gentle boil.
Mix in noodles, red bell pepper, crushed peppercorns, soya sauce and salt to taste. Cook on a medium heat till noodles are cooked.
Add pak choi, spring onion and cook for another minute or two.
Switch off the flame and discard the lemongrass stalk and crushed ginger. Mix in lemon juice and basil and serve hot.

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Update:

With my nose and brain blocked, I kind of forgot to thank Sig for sending me this cute You Make Me Smile Award. Thank you sweetie for this award (You can send me the confession mail stating whether I really make you smile. I cross my heart and promise not disclose the contents of your mail). Well, it really means a lot to me when somebody says I make them smile and I take it as a great compliment. And the big surprise (read shock;) was there are some people who really read my l-o-n-g posts filled with everything under the sun. Boy!!! You guys really have patience ;) So thank you for reading my rants and continue to knock on my door in spite of driving you all mad with my non stop talking. Now to keep my reputation I think I need to post some jokes instead of my monologues dialogues to make you all smile! And I am passing this award to all you people who make me smile with your wonderful comments, suggestions and feedbacks. So spread the smile around because that’s what the world really needs.

Winter Warmers: Thai Clear Soups

Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

With the mercury hitting south in our part of the globe, our kitchen smells of sizzling pots of soups, rasams and dals. Sizzling bowl of soup with warm bread straight from the oven or steaming cup of rice with hot Rasam/Dal is what we crave for. After my successful attempt at making Thai Curries, I was keen to learn and cook something new. Thai food is greatly influenced by its neighbours, India, China, Malaysia and Laos. No wonder our Indian taste buds start singing and dancing when tasting Thai food, an explosion of salty, spicy, sweet and sour flavours that sparkle with personality. The four main Thai flavour groupings are salty (from fish sauce), sweet (from coconut and palm sugar), spicy (from dry and fresh chillies) and sour (tamarind, lime, lemongrass), with the less used bitter as a fifth primary flavour. These five primary flavours are the characteristics of Thai cooking, something to touch and delight every taste bud.

As I said in my earlier post, don’t get intimidated by the unfamiliar ingredients used in Thai cooking. There are good substitutes available which you can use if few ingredients are not available in your local shop or you can omit those ingredients which you are not very fond of. And more importantly, don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste. While cooking Thai food at home, we found that the food tasted much better than the one from local Thai restaurant. And why it shouldn’t, with freshest of fresh ingredients used, homemade curry pastes and spices made a whole difference. You will never get to see the liberal use of fresh ingredients in any restaurant as at home. Many people shy away from cooking Thai food under the misconception that it takes lot of time and ingredients which are unfamiliar to them. Something magical is created when you cook Thai food or any foreign food over time and the ingredients which were aliens in the beginning become more familiar. I find the time consuming dishes more rewarding. Believe me when I say it is as close as meditation when you get to use mortar and pestle and pound out day’s anxiety.

With today’s recipes we want to prove that Thai cuisine can be as simple as it can get and you need not use many ingredients to taste some authentic Thai fair. By planning ahead and little preparation everyone can cook delicious Thai food which sure to please every taste bud. Make sure you use the best and freshest ingredients and be flexible. Cook with an air of playfulness, experiment with flavour and learn to balance. If you are not sure and nervous, follow the recipe strictly and pay careful attention to the final result. As you taste the dish, think to yourself: is it spicy/sweet/sour/salty enough? Does it suit your palate? Most importantly, remember to please yourself-cook the food the way you like it because it should taste good to you and enjoy the whole process. Every time we experiment and cook, we learn something new. Cooking is as refreshing as meditation with delicious food as a reward and nobody can say no to this delicious reward :)

Armed with our new acquisition Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott to our empty cookbook rack we tried two Thai clear soups, Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu and Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic. As author says, “Soup is an essential component of almost every meal, served and savored along with rice and its accompanying dishes. In keeping with Thailand’s Chinese culinary ancestry, soup functions as a beverage, a liquid refreshment that cleanses the palate between bites and makes way for further rides on roller coaster of tastes that make up a classic Thai meal.” Most of the Thai Vegetarian recipes are also perfect for Vegans and I thought these soups will be a perfect entries for this Vegan Month. These two Thai Clear Soup goes to Suganya's Vegan Ventures Event.

Nancie says,

“Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu is a one bowl celebration of Thailand’s sparkling cuisine. Spicy hot with roasted chilli paste and sharply fragrant with lemongrass, wild lime leaves, and a squeeze of lime, tome yum sounds an inviting reveille to your senses.”

And I totally agree with her. This delicious flame-colored broth studded with green herbs and vegetables with exotic citrus perfume is a pure delight to one’s senses. Serve hot with a bowl of jasmine rice and enjoy its healing power.

Print This Recipe

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Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Makes: 3-4

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Ingredients:
4 cups Vegetable Stock
2 Lemongrass Stalks
3+2 Kaffir Lime Leaves, cut into long stripes
1 inch Galangal/Ginger, sliced (Optional)
3 tbsp Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
3 Spring Onions, thinly sliced
1 Green Chilli, thinly sliced
1 cup Tofu, cut into 1cm cubes
1 cup Button Mushroom, thinly sliced
½ cup Carrot, julienned (Optional)
½ cup Red Bell Peppers, cut into i cm pieces (Optional)
1-2 tbsp Sambal Olek
1 tbsp Basil Leaves, finely chopped (Optional)
2 tsp Palm Sugar
1-2 tsp Soya Sauce
Salt to taste

Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

Method:
In a large pan bring vegetable stock to boil over medium heat.
Meanwhile, trim the lemongrass stalk by removing upper hard, dried skin leaving smooth stem. Cut the stalk into 2 inch pieces and lightly bruise the stalk with pestle and mortar.
Add bruised lemongrass , 3 kaffir lime leaves strips, galangal to boiling stock and reduce the heat to low. Let the ingredients simmer for 5-8 minutes till lemongrass stalks turn into khaki green and nice citric aroma fills the room.
While the soup simmers, combine spring onion greens, 2 kaffir lime leaves strips, green chilli slices and lime juice and place them into serving bowls and keep aside.
Scoop lemongrass stalks, galangal from vegetables stock and discard. Add tofu, mushrooms, carrot, bell peppers, basil leaves, sambal olek, soya sauce, sugar, spring onion and salt to taste and increase the heat to high.
When the soup boils again, remove it from heat and pour it on serving bowls and serve at once with Jasmine Rice.

Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

Nancie says, “Rice soup is comfort food in Thailand, simmered up from leftover rice to nourish a family member who is ill. It is also popular as a hearty breakfast or midnight snack. Cold, fever, aches, hangover and heartbreaks all seem to soften their edge just a little when a generous steaming bowl of Kao Tome appears.” And how can we not try this soup which claims to have medicinal properties and can be served as one-dish meal to satisfied our taste buds. We omitted Wheatballs or Wheat Gluten which the recipe calls and made few changes to suite our taste.

Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic

Print This Recipe

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Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 tbsp Garlic, coarsely chopped
½ tsp freshly ground Pepper
¼ cup Coriander Roots or Steams, coarsely chopped
5 cups Vegetable Stock
1 cup Mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ cup Carrots, shredded
½ cup Sugar Snap Peas, cut into 1 inch pieces (Optional)
1½ cups Cooked Jasmine Rice
¼ cup Spring Onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp Crispy Garlic in Oil (Recipe follows. Original recipe used ¼ cup)
1 stalk Lemongrass (Optional)
½ inch Galangal/Ginger (Optional)
½-1 tsp Palm Sugar
Salt to taste

Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic

Method:
In a blender, combine 1 tbsp garlic, pepper, coriander roots/stems with little vegetable stock and grind to smooth paste.
Heat vegetable stock in a pan and mix in ground paste over a low flame. Add bruised lemongrass stalk, sliced galangal if using and bring the stock to boil in low flame.
Meanwhile, deep fry or pan fry sliced garlic pieces till they are crisp and golden and transfer to paper towel till required.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan and add mushrooms. Toss them for about 3-5 mins until they are shiny and tender and keep them aside.
Discard lemongrass stalk and galangal from vegetable stock and add sautéed mushrooms, carrots, sugar snap peas, sugar and salt to taste and cook for further 5-8 minutes over low heat.
Add cooked jasmine rice, spring onions and cook for further 5 minutes.
Serve hot or warm soup garnished with crisp fried garlic and coriander leaves and enjoy this one-dish meal.

Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic

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Notes:
To check substitutes for different ingredients used in Thai Cuisine and also read more of Thai Cooking at Monsoon Spice Click Here. Also Read
Thai Vegetarian Red Curry
Thai Veg and Tofu Green Curry
How to cook Jasmine Rice
How to make Thai Red Curry Paste
How to make Thai Green Curry Paste
Also Check Jugalbandi’s Thai Pantry.

Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum Soup

Yeah, yeah… It’s still soupy soup season for us here. Unlike other parts of the world where everyone is basking in golden sun and sand, we, not so privileged ones are snuggling under cosy blanket with a bowl of hot soup and dreaming of all that glorious sunshine. I just have to close my eyes to feel that cool breeze from palm-fringed beaches and lush green fields in my native. We are almost there… Right now while writing this post I can see the sun peeping out of the clouds and smiling. Oh!!! When will he grow up and stop playing that silly peek-a-boo. May be he did hear me grumbling about the same thing again and again. It’s strange as how the weather can be so deceptive. We had early spring in this part of the world and according to the weather forecast (here they come) we are on the way to one of the hottest summers in the history and I am waiting for the day when I can start grumbling about hot and sweaty summer days. Oh!!! Let me stop sulking and come back to my favourite subject.

Here is the recipe of Green Pepper Soup which I found in one of my cook books by an anonymous author. I tweaked it to suite my taste and preference, as I usually do most of the times, to create a filling, good tasting bowl of soup. Although it’s little fattening with that cream I sneaked into it, you can always lighten it my using milk in place of cream and modify it to suit your needs. The peppery taste of green capsicum is mellowed with cream which gives it extra richness and taste. Serve this hot bowl of soup with some bread and boiled vegetables tossed in your favourite herb/spice mix. The recipe below makes 3-4 servings of soup.

Green Bell Pepper Soup

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Green Bell Pepper Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:

3 Green Peppers/Capsicum, finely chopped
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
¾ tbsp Maida/All purpose flour
4-5 cups Vegetable Broth (or use 2-3 cubes of Veg Stock)
½ cup Fresh Cream(adjust as per taste)
1 tbsp Lime/Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Butter/Oil
1tsp Dry Mixed Herbs
Black Pepper & Salt to taste

Green Bell Pepper Soup

Method:
Heat butter/oil in a pan and add finely chopped garlic and onions. Sauté it at medium flame till onion turns translucent.
Now add chopped green peppers and sauté them continuously for about 5-6 minutes till the pepper become soft and skin starts to wilt.
Mix the Maida and cook on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of Maida is gone.
Next add about 2 cups of vegetable broth and bring it to boil. Remove the pan from flame and let it completely cool down a bit.
Transfer the contents to a food processor and puree the mixture to smooth consistency without adding any more of water.
Transfer this puree back to the pan and add vegetable broth, dry mixed herbs and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Simmer and cook uncovered till the bubbles are formed at the surface, stirring in between.
When the bubbles are formed, mix the fresh cream, lime/lemon juice and adjust the seasoning per taste. Cook this for further 4-5 minutes in medium flame.
Garnish with microwaved pepper rings and serve with boiled vegetables and roasted new potatoes and bread of your choice.

Green Bell Pepper Soup

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Did You Know?
The bell pepper is low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium and high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Manganese, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid and Magnesium.
Green, sweet bell peppers have 2 times as much vitamin C as oranges; red and yellow bell peppers have 4 times as much.
The nutritional value and health benefit of bell pepper makes it ideal for maintaining optimum health and weight loss. So don’t include too much bell pepper in your diet if you are interested in weight gain.
(Source: www.great-workout.com)

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Green Bell Pepper Soup

PS: Have you noticed a new Foodie Blogroll created by lovely Jenn of Leftover Queen which is for people who have a passion for food? Click here for more information about Foodie Blogroll and join the ever growing community of all the Foodies around the world.

Red Pepper/Capsicum Soup

Have you heard of a famous quote which goes like “It’s difficult to predict three W’s in life: Wine, Weather and Woman”. I am not sure about first W because I can’t handle any drinks which have above 0.1% of alcohol. I don’t agree with third W because I am one among them. As for the second W is concerned I don’t have any issue because it is something which changes faster than my mood swings especially where I live;)
Last couple of days we were blessed with bright and clear sky which really cheered me despite the fact that I had badly sprained my ankle during our weekend trekking. Just when I started enjoying the warmth and ice cream, the weather changed as if some witch has spread her black magic. I was duped into thinking that the dark and gloomy days are over. I needed something really good to cheer myself and I was not ready to surrender myself to the temptation of munching my favorite Pringles. To distract my mind and eyes I opened a cook book which I had recently acquired from thrift store and voila, I couldn’t take my eyes off from one particular picture. Red Pepper Soup was the exact thing I wanted for brightening up the gloomy day and gloomy mood. All the magic ingredients were there to make bright, hot, spicy and tasty yummylicious pot of soup.

Red Pepper Soup

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
4 medium Red Peppers/Capsicums
4 medium Tomatoes
1 medium Red Onion Sliced
½ tsp Dried mixed Herbs
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Curry Paste
½ tsp Red Chilli Paste
4 cups Vegetable Stock/Water
1 tsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper for Taste

Red Pepper Soup

Method:
Cut the red peppers into quarter. Remove the seeds and grill or roast them in an oven until its skin blackens and blisters.
Cool the peppers slightly before peeling its skin.
In a mean while, mark a small cross on top of each tomato and place them in a bowl of boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.
Drain, cool and peel the skin of tomatoes. Cut these tomatoes in half and gently scoop out the seeds using a small spoon.
Heat oil in a pan and add crushed garlic and sliced onions and sauté it on low flame for 1-2 minutes.
To this add dried herbs, curry paste, chilli paste, chopped tomatoes, red pepper and vegetable broth and mix well.
Bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for another 5-6 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool.
Place the soup in small batches in a food processor and process it to make a smooth puree.
Return this puree to a pan and add sweet chilli sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Reheat the soup before serving with bread croutons.

Red Pepper Soup

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Did You Know?
Red peppers are one of the few foods that contain lycopene, a carotenoid whose consumption has been inversely correlated with prostate cancer and cancers of the cervix, bladder and pancreas.

In general, all peppers are a good source of vitamin A and C; the red ones are bursting with these two antioxidants. Antioxidants are a group of nutrients that neutralize free radicals in the body fluids reducing the risk of disease.

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Red Pepper Soup