Broa de Milho - Portuguese Corn Bread | We Knead to Bake #36

Broa de Milho is a slightly sweet crusty Portuguese bread made from a mix of rye, wheat or corn. It is a dense bread which goes well with soups and stews. The method of cooking is slightly different with the corn or maize flour paste being made with hot water and then added to other ingredients.

I had tried out Aparna's version of broa adapted from KAF site last month itself for We Knead to Bake. I had used Makai ka aatta / Maize Flour available in India. But thanks to exams, couldn't post it till today. I am forcing myself to post it today when I took a break from exam and mommy duties else I will forget my blog itself.. As usual I have halved the recipe and baked a beautiful bread.

Ingredients:

Maize Flour/ Makai ka aatta: 1/2 cup

Boiling hot water: 6 tbsp

Warm milk: 4-6 tbsp

Instant Yeast: 1 tsp

All Purpose Flour: 1.1/4 cup + more for dusting 

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Honey: 1 1/2 tsp

Olive Oil: 1 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Put cornmeal in a bowl and add hot water to it.Mix together with a fork and then add 4 tbsp of milk. Mix everything to get a paste adding more milk if needed. Let it sit until it cools a bit.

To this add the remaining ingredients and knead together to form a smooth and slightly sticky dough. Mine was not sticky -- just very lightly sticky..

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning it once to coat well. Cover loosely and let it sit until it turns puffy and risen for abut 1-1.5 hrs.

Turn out the dough onto a dustled counter and shape it into a round ball after kneading it lightly for few times. 

Place the ball onto a lined/greased baking sheet and let it sit under a loose plastic wrap or kitchen towel for an hour or so until it becomes more puffy.

Just before baking, you can optionally make 3-4  slashes about 1/4" deep on the top of the dough. Spritz the top lightly with water and bake in a preheated oven at 230C/ 450F for about 10 minutes. After which reduce the temperature to 200C/400F and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Take out. Cool. slice and serve with soups preferably..

A healthy bread which is yellow in colour thanks to the corn flour /maize flour. You can replace half of the all purpose flour with wheat flour which will make it more denser or heavy.

Lets see how Aparna did her broa.

Spiced Yam Soup | GoodBye Winter

Some of you might not have heard or tried this vegetable -yam aka elephant yam, chenai/chena suran, khamalu, chapri alu and also karunai kilangu in someparts of TamilNadu. This is a tuber which comes in different varieties an colours in different continents and most of them edible to eat and is starchy and has good levels of potassium, manganese, thiamine and dietary fiber while being low in sodium and  saturated fat. 

At the same time I have heard that vegetables like pumpkin and yam is not good if arthritis runs in your family. But still it is a vegetable that can be turned into a snack or curry or even cake if you check out this page on Wiki.

Yam has been a part of my regular routine cooking and yes I enjoyed it in different forms even  tikkis Chettinad Style. During Onam in Kerala, chena/yam plays an important role being a part of aviyal, kaalan,thoran,fritters etc and these days I have heard of payasam or kheer as well.It is cultivated all year round, but actual season is November mid -December. The traditional dish of "Thiruvathira Puzzhukku" made on "Thiuruvathira Day" where they celebrate Lord Shiva's Birthday has yam and other seasonal tubers taking centrestage and offcourse the tubers play their role excellently. 

I have loved yam in various ways but have never tried/ made a soup out of it. So I decided to try out the yam soup with fennel seeds from Chef Vikas Khanna's Hymns from the soil. I loved the soup and it was easy to make as well. I have definitely become a fan of Chef Khanna. 

Ingredients:

Oil: 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp

Onion: 1 medium sized finely chopped

Fresh Ginger: 1" pieces peeled and chopped/minced

Garlic: 2 cloves peeled and minced/chopped

Powdered Cumin : 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Fennel Seeds: 1tbsp

Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp + 1-1.5 tsp or as per taste

Green Chili: 1 coarsely chopped

Yam/Chenai: 1 pound or 1/2 kg or 2.5-3 cups peeled and cut into small pieces

Vegetable Stock: 3 cups

Cream: 1/2-1 cup

Cilantro: for garnishing

Preparation:

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a deep pan and saute onion,ginger and garlic until soft and the raw smell goes for about 3-4 minutes.

Add in cumin, turmeric, fennel seeds, green chilli, 1/2 tsp of chilli powder,salt and yams and cook for few minutes until the flavours and blended. Pour in the stock and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer under cover until the yam is cooked through for about 20 minutes. If you are doubltful about the time, feel free to cook it in the pressure cooker for 2 whistles atleast.

Remove from heat and let it cool a bit. Stir in the cream and blend the mixture to a fine puree in batches if needed.

Meanwhile in a small pan, heat the remaining 1-1.5 tsp of oil. Remove from heat and stir in the reminder of chilli powder as per taste.

Congratulations, you have made a chili oil which can be used as a garnish not just for this soup but for whatever dishes you like.

Ladle the soup in bowls, drizzle chili oil and also sprigs of fresh cilantro/coriander. Enjoy the chili night with a warm filling bowl of yam soup thinking what else you can turn the yam into.

An easy to make gourmet soup made from a rustic or country vegetable. Never thought I would enjoy the combo  of yam with fennel seeds. Try the recipe and enjoy.

Sweet Potato Peanut Bisque | Soup Saga Continues

Now that rains have decided to show up (better late than never!) , I thought I would post another soup or bisque. A bisque is a creamy and thick pureed soup made using seafood and these days even vegetables or fruit. Bisque is usually a term associated with seafood though the veggie ones are not behind in taste and wholesomeness.

This time I tried out another bisque made using sweetpotato and peanutbutter. I was searching for African recipes when I chanced upon this recipe here which sounded good and though sceptical I tried it out without much changes and found it very filling and warm.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato : around 3-4 cups chopped

Olive Oil: 2 tsp +
Onion: 1 small chopped
Garlic: 2 small cloves  minced

Green Chillies: 1-2 medium size chopped

Fresh Ginger: 2 tsp minced
Allspice: 1/2 tsp ground

Vegetable Stock/ Water: 1 cup +as needed
Peanut Butter: 6-8 tbsp as per preference

Salt &Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:
Cook the sweetpotatoes either in steamer or microwave. You can even roast the sweetpotato and then chop it. Choose the sweetpotato accordingly to get roughly 3-4 cups.Peel and chop the sweet potatoes  and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep bowl and saute onion until its transparent and start to brown. Add in minced garlic and saute till raw smell goes. Then add in the green chillies, ginger, allspice and the tomato juice. Bring the mix  to boil and let it cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add half of the cooked sweetpotato to the pot and continue  cooking. Add the rest to a blender or food processer along with peanut butter and veg stock/water and puree until smooth. Add this puree to tho the soup pot and let it continue to simmer for few more minutes.

Adjust salt and pepper and other seasonings and serve warm optionally garnished.

A simple soup which is very filling. You can thin it down with more stock/water or even tomato juice as per taste.Peanut butter leaves a hint of taste in it and never overpowers. We get a mix of sweet potato and peanut flavour from the soup.Maybe you can add more peanut butter if you so prefer as per your taste.

 The sweetpotato pieces added  give something to chew or bite into. But its my opinion that you can actually puree the whole of the cooked sweet potato and add to the soup.The soup will be very thick though. Instead of peanut butter you can go with peanuts also though I am yet to try it.

Roasted Butter Nut Squash Apple Soup | Bye Bye wintry Nights

Sometimes I buy ingredients and then wonder how to cook it. This used to happen on a regular and by the time I decide from a list of recipe, the vegetable would have said bye bye to this world.  Finally I purposefully stopped buying such vegetables and even different types of lentils and this worked well and I was happy that one headache was dealt with.

Till a  few days ago when my hand accidentally picked up a lovely butternut squash from the grocery store near home. Now my mind wandered from soup, snacks,breads and even kheers!. I know, some of you might have started laughing already about how undecisive I am . But this status went on till  I chanced upon  a cookery show on TV where the host - a lovely model turned chef/restaurateur was cooking a roasted pumpkin soup. It looked soooo hassle free  that I decided to try it with butternut squash. 

And not just that a little search in my cooking bible FoodNetwork and up popped Ina Garten's roasted apple and butternut squash soup. Both recipes are almost similar and I incorporated the easier methods from both and got a perfect soup to beat the chills.

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash/ Pumpkin : 1 medium -large size 

Onion: 1 big one

Apple: 1 medium- big 

Garlic: 1-2 cloves

Salt , Pepper : as per taste

Fresh/Frozen Thyme : as much as u want

Chilli Flakes: as per taste

Olive Oil: for drizzling

Vegetable Stock: 3 cups +

Roasted Cashews / Other nuts/Scallion greens : for garnishing (optional)

Preparation:

Halve the squash lengthwise, remove the seeds and other fleshy things, slash it lightly with knife  and keep it ready for baking in a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle salt and pepper and chilli flakes and also add as much thyme in and around the squash. Drizzle with oil and make sure the oil and spices go deep inside the marks made. 

Drizzle onion and apple with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. Cover garlic cloves with foil and place in baking sheet. 

Roast the items in a preheated oven at 200 C for about 25-35 minutes until the juices burst out of the apple

and the squash becomes fork tender. In between make sure to check the garlic within the first 10-15 minutes and remove it from the oven as it might burn. You can even roast the garlic directly above the gas flame or saute it as you like.

Take out the roasted items and let these cool a bit. Scoop out the fleshy tender part of the squash onto a blender jar. Squeeze out the onion and garlic from the skins and ad it to the jar. Apple you can either remove the peel or simply deseed and add to the blender.

Once the items are ready in the blender/mixer/ food processor bowl, add in enough vegetable stock and blend to a fine puree.

Add the puree to a deep bowl and add more stock and heat it on medium. Bring it to a slight boil and then let it simmer till your choice of consistency is reached. Adjust the salt and spices or add more seasonings of your choice. The soup thickens on sitting. 

Warm it little if serving at a later time. Serve garnished with more thyme, roasted nuts, scallion greens etc.

A hearty soup to beat the chills. Its very filling and you can do more to this basic simple recipe. Like adding your choice of spices, additional ingredients like oats, rice etc and turn it into a hearty meal itself. You can avoid apple and instead add honey or stevia or your choice of sweetner and even cream .

Chili con Elote -Chili with Corn | Mexican comfort for chilly nights

Now that its raining at nights, I thought I better prepare something that will keep us full and warm. I was thinking of good ol' chili when Aunt Google showed me chili with corn or Chili con Elote. I was under the impression that chili sin carne or meatless chili which has corn was the ultimate. But curiosity made me try this 'sweet corn only no other veg' chili  from here and it hit the tastebuds like anything.  Seriously its easy to prepare and goes well as a soup or with rice and/ or breads.

Ingredients:

Onion: 1 chopped (almost 1 cup)

Garlic: 1 medium size chopped

Green Bell Pepper : 1 medium :chopped into bite size pieces

Vegetable Stock / Water: 2 cup +/-

Tomatoes: 1 cup chopped 

  OR

Tomato Paste : 2 tbsp

Fresh/ Frozen Sweet corn : 2 cups +

Cooked Red Kidney Beans: 3 -4 cups

Paprika / (Mexican) Chili Powder: 1/2 -1 tsp

Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

Oregano: 1 tsp + 

Salt: as per taste

Oil: for sauteing

Preparation:

Saute onion and garlic in oil until transparent and aromatic. Add in green pepper pieces and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the spice powders, little salt,corn and tomato chopped/ tomato paste along with water/stock and bring to boil. Also add in the cooked beans mashed coarsely.

Reduce heat and let it simmer for bout 20-30 minutes till it thickens a bit and reaches your choice of consistency. Do taste test and adjust the salt and spices.

Serve as a soup, side with bread/roti/rice and also as tortilla filling or bread spread or even as a dip if you grind it coarsely

A simple spicy gravy or curry if you prefer so. I liked it as a soup as well. An easy one too if you have cooked beans sitting in the fridge waiting to be used. No hassle of chopping other vegetables too. You can refer the other varieities of chili - sweetpotato and chocolate if you prefer to add veggies or go different from the usual.

Fakesoupa | Comfort Greek Style

Come rains and I think about soups. Nothing can beat the comfort provided by soups on rainy night. Though tomato is a regular favourite, I try to make something or other always. This time is the Greek style lentil soup - "Fakes" soup adapted from Souvlaki For the Soul. An easy to make simple yet perfect with brown lentils, basic stock and spices and drizzle of red wine vinegar and Olive oil to round it off.

Ingredients:

Whole Brown Lentils (whole masoor dal): 1.25 cups

Onion: 1 finely chopped ~ 1 cup

Carrot: 1 finely chopped ~ 1 cup +

Garlic: 3 medium cloves finely chopped

Dried Bay Leaves:1-2 big leaves or 1 tsp as per taste

Dried Oregano: 2 tsp

Water: 4 cups +  as needed

Tomato Puree : 1 cup 

Tomato Paste : 1 tbsp

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Red Wine Vinegar + Extra Virgin olive oil: for drizzling

Parsley: for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

In a deep pan saute onion, garlic and carrot in little olive oil till transparent.

Stir in the picked, washed and drained lentils. Add in the rest of the ingredients except oil and vinegar and bring to boil on medium heat.

Reduce to simmer and let it cook for 30 minutes or more until the lentils are cooked yet the teexture is to our taste and the flavours mingled well. 

Serve garnished with red wine vinegar and extra evoo and fresh parsley.

If you find the time too much, you can use precooked lentils and add them to the onions and thus reduce the cooking time. If you don't have tomato paste, then add more tomato puree based on your tanginess quotient.

Greek oregano is much preferred in this though you can go for the regular Italian one like I did. Taste will be slightly different in this case. But still the soup was great and we lapped it up. 

You can play around the ingredients and add small pasta, potatoes, choice of herbs etc.

Creamy Chickpea Soup | Easy Lazy Soup

Winters always call for soup. These days its getting chillier and I love making soups. Filling soups but easy ones. I had planned to make a simple chickpea soup mostly Morrocan style like Serrouda but I found this one here whic seemed a spiced up version of the original one. Its quick and easy and easy and I made it in a pressure cooker. You can have it as such if you are lazy to puree but then it won't be a soup. It will be just a thin watery stew with chickpeas. 

Ingredients:

Chickpeas/Kabuli Chana : 1/2 cup pre soaked

Olive oil: 2 tsp + 1-2 tsp for garnish

Onion: 1 small finely chopped

Garlic: 1 small clove minced/grated

Ground Cumin: 1/2 tsp + as per taste

Ground Coriander: 1/4 tsp + as per taste

Salt: as per taste

Garnish:

Lemon Juice : drizzle

Fresh Mint

Preparation:

Heat oil in a deep pan or pressure cooker. Add in onions, and cook till tender and transparent for a few minutes . Add in garlic and spices and cook till fragrant. Add in chickpeas,salt and water and bring to boil.  

If it is a pot then reduce the heat to simmer and cook till the chickpeas are tender for about 1 hour. If it is a pressure cooker, cover and cook for two or three whistles.

Puree the soup in batches if needed and put back on medium heat. Add in the remaining oil and lemon juice and adjust the salt and seasonings. 

Serve in bowl garnished with chopped fresh mint and optionally more lemon juice/ olive oil.

Simple filling and easy soup for everyone. Even those who feel soups are work or plain lazy :). 

Now I was supposed to send it yesterday for No Croutons Required as the theme this month is blended soups. I missed the deadline as we are ahead in time but since the linky tool is yet to be closed I thought why not - let mine be the last but never the least in the blended soup heaven at Tinned Tomatoes.

Cucumber Mint Yogurt Soup | Be a Cool Cucumber

Soups for me meant tomato soup. Warm creamy tomato soup seasoned perfectly was the first thing I looked forward/ ordered whenever I went to a restaurant.Based on the taste and texture I used to like or dislike the restaurant. And this was before my blogging and even food review days. 

Ofcourse the preference still continues. Even when it hot outside, I still prefer my warm tomato soup sitting under a high speed fan or air conditioner. :)

But jokes apart, I was at first surprised to learn about cold soups.There are ofcourse a wide range of these cold soup and these days I have taken a liking for these as well.

Recently I tried a simple minty cucumber yogurt soup and it was much better and appetizing. There are several version for these and given below is my simple version.

Ingredients:

Cucumber: 1 big or 2 medium lightly peeled and coarsely chopped
Shallots/ Small onion: few (4 or 5) (OR) Red onion: 1/2 of a small
Fresh Mint Leaves: a handful
Yogurt: 1/2 cup medium thick
Water: 4 tbsp +/- as needed to get choice of consistency

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Extr Virgin Olive Oil: for garnish (optional)
Fresh Mint: for garnish

Preparation:

Blend together lightly peeled and coarsely chopped cucumber along with other ingredients except those for garnish and even pepper. Do the taste test and adjust the salt. You can also add other spices like coriander or cumin to make it spicy as per your taste.Even you can add fresh dill instead or along with mint to make it more herby and different. Also adjust the thickness of the soup by adding more water or even thick yogurt.

Chill in fridge and serve in small cups as appetizer soups garnishing with pepper, mint leaves and drizzling with olive oil.

The soup is really light and appetizing and is perfect for parties as well And you can play with ingredients a bit as well.I didn't go for oil while taking pics. But it definitely adds flavour and look to the soup.

The soup is perfect not just for summer but also for NCR: starter soups/ salads at Lisas. Do hop there and take a look at the appetizing entries and do vote for your favourite.

Smoky Beet Tomato Soup

It seems to be the last few days of winter here.The sun has started showing its fury and I have started keeping bottles of water in the fridge to chill and also double tray of ice cubes.Plans are on for the types of iced desserts to make and the air conditioner has already been turned on.Appetites are less and we prefer liquids or something light -light on stomach and something easy to cook to avoid the heat.

But sometimes the weather changes back to a lazy climate where you feel like not entering the kitchen and lounge on the sofa with your current read. 

Whatever the climate is this is a simple soup which is perfect for you.Serve it warm if its cold outside or chilled when hot. Not heavy on the tummy as well. I have adapted it from Food and Wine and changed as per time and taste.

Ingredients: 

Olive Oil: 3-4 tsp

Onion: about 6 tbsp chopped

Tomatoes: chopped almost 2 cups

Beets: grated almost 1.5 cups

Tomato Paste: 2 tsp

Roasted Cumin Powder : 1 tsp +/-

Veg Stock: 1/2 -1 cup

Water: 1-2 cups 

Salt and Pepper: as per taste

Sour Cream/Creme Fraiche/Thick Yogurt : for garnish (optional)

Fresh Herbs: Garnish

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a deep pan and add the finely chopped onions. Saute till transparent and then add chopped tomatoes and grated beets.

Add little salt,pepper and about 1/2 tsp of cumin powder and let them cook for few minutes till they start to soften.

Add in the tomato paste,water and stock and bring to boil.You can adjust the amount of water and stock.

Reduce, cover and let it simmer till the veggies cook and the water is reduced to almost one fourth. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.

Blend in a blender to a smooth puree and return to pan. 

Adjust the salt and seasonings -might need to add more cumin powder.Add more stock if too thick and heat through. 

Serve warm else chill in the fridge and serve in bowls garnished with any fresh herb, toasted cumin seeds and a layer of thick yogurt or sour cream.

An easy tangy red spicy and slightly sweet soup. The smokiness of the cumin seeps through the tongue.

If talking in a filmy context, the main hero (ine) is  beet who has acted very well,but the tanginess and the smokiness added by second heroes tomato and cumin powder respectively compliment the hero and film definitely needs character actors to upgrade the hero's performance. 

The soup is spicy enough to visit NCR:Spicy soups at Lisa's where she is planning a Spicy Birthday Party this entire month. And March is my daughter's Birthday month as well and she loved the soup; :)

' Pisceans can be a bit handful when it comes to food ! Gone are my days when I could entice her into eating  anything and everything on plate. Ha, the grievances of growing up ! OOPs, just my thoughts ... Enjoy the soup :D

And BTW, for the simple Birthday Party I menu would include Caramelized Onion,Rosemary and Tomato Flatizza as starter along with this soup obviously, Peanut Butter Pasta for mains and Tutti Frutti Bread with Strawberries and Cream as Dessert. Caution: This is planned with the kids in mind! Do feel free to choose from the wider menu (blog)!

Creamy Celery Soup

The winter is slowly receding what with the days getting hotters and the nights warm. But still there is a nip in the air and the cold winds that sometime take your breath away. Ofcourse you still need sweaters or jackets sometimes and those times you come home and stuff yourself warm soups that are filling and also make a quick yet perfect supper. 

This is a simple yet healthy celery soup that I have tried from Vidya's blog as a part of the Blog Hop Wednesdays new edition. This was the first time I was trying celery as a main hero(ine ) rather than an aromatic and greeny side kick. I was sceptical, but the soup was perfect -creamy and comforting and very aromatic.

Ingredients:

Butter: 1-2 tbsp

Celery : chopped about 1.5 -2 cups (leaves and stem)

Onion: 1 medium size chopped

Garlic : 1-2 small cloves minced

Potato: 1 medium size chopped finely 

Milk: 1/2 cup +/-

Vegetable Stock: 1/2 cup + as needed

Water: as needed

Salt, Fresh Black Pepper and White Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:

Melt butter in a deep pan and add in the chopped onion,garlic and celery. Saute for a few minutes till it emanates nice aroma and the onions are transparent. Then add chopped potatoes, milk and stock and/or water along with little salt and both the peppers. I used a mix of stock and water and just enough milk and then brought it to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook covered till the potatoes are done or fork tender. This may take about 20-25 minutes or so and once done allow it to cool a bit.

Puree the soup in batches if needed and put back into the bowl and heat through. Add more stock/water or milk if needed to adjust the thickness and also check for salt and seasoning.

Serve by ladling into bowl along with grilled breadsticks or your choice of accompaniments.

Simple delicious and filling soup with all the comfort needed in winter.

Hoppin' John - for a Lucky 2012!

Hoppin' John is a Southern American comfort  version of a rice and bean stoup (stew+ soup) originally from Africa. You can have it as a side or main as per choice -atleast thats what my version is. Eating the dish on New Years Day is supposed to to bring you luck and prosperity and the beans are supposed to represent pennies or coin!.Typically dish has rice,black eyed beans and pork or ham or any choice of meat. A vegetarian version can use choice of substitutes. I have adapted the recipe from WholeFoodsMarket where I have replaced the tempeh with soy granules. It is spicy and as thick as a pudding/porridge and is very comforting.

Ingredients:

Black Eyed Beans: 1/2 cup soaked

Onion: 4-6 tbsp chopped

Dried Thyme: 1/2 tsp +/- as per taste

Long Grain Rice: 1/2 cup 

Soy Granules: 1/4 cup prepared as per instructions

Green Bell Pepper: chopped 4 tbsp

Cayenne Pepper: a small pinch 

Fresh grated Pepper & Salt: as per taste

Tabasco or any hot sauce: optional / as per taste

Preparation:

Soak the beans overnight and the next day wash it and cook it on stve top adding chopped onion and thyme till almost done. Add the rest of the ingredients except tabasco and cook till the rice is tender and done. Adjust the seasonings and serve ladled in bowls garnished with greens and tabasco.

You can actually take everything and cook it in the pressure cooker and this will considerably reduce the cooking time and process and you can make it more soup like. It thickens on sitting as well. A quick comfort food for the wintery nights and ofcourse looking forward to the future with lots of optimism and wishing lots and lots of prosperity.

Wish You All a Happy & Lucky 2012!!

Gingered Mango Soup

I have heard of fruit shakes,but never fruit soups.But it seems there are fruit soups which are enjoyed throughout Europe especially the Nordic countries and I thought I too would try out this one from Chef Ingrid Hoffmann found here. I actually thought they would be like shake only and still feel that there is just a thin line between the shake and the soup. 

Ingredients:

Mango: peeled and chopped :1 cup

Ginger: 1 big piece peeled and chopped

Coconut Milk: 1/4 cup+/- (I used thick milk)

Water: 1/2cup +/-

Lemon Juice: a big squeeze 

Garnish: 

Cream/Yoghurt

Mint Leaves

Cucumebr chopped etc

Preparation:

Blend together mango and ginger to a smooth paste and stir in coconut milk and lemon juice. Chill in atleast an hour for flavours to blend. Serve at room temperature or chilled. 

Garnish with thickened yogurt/whipped cream and mint leaves. You can also go for gazpacho type garnish with cucumbers and tomatoes and serve it chilled for a hearty summertime entree.

I used thick coconut milk and had to add more water to get to a pourable consistency. But still it was more like smooth soup consistency rather than liquidy shake. But what the heck,enjoy it as anything as long as the taste is good.

Perfect goodbye to the summer king Mango,. I know most of you will be missing the King of Fruits,but a break does a world of good as well. We can move on to other fruits now. I can already see the blue eyed seducer berry making an expensive appearance at the supermarkets. Lets see how we can use it. :)

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Pictures speak more than words. Sometimes we fall in love with visuals more than the reality that we may refuse to accept the real situations despite it hitting our face. To speak of myself, I fell in love with the pic of a particular brand of mushroom soup which not only looked creamy white,but had fresh parsley in it- at least the pic had. The pic urged me so strongly to buy it and taste it and lo -the soup did not have any parsley. I know ,you may think of me as a nutcase,but that actually urged me to make a soup with parsley in it. The recipe given below is a slight adaptation of the creamy champignon(mushroom) soup seen in an old issue of Uppercrust magazine.

Ingredients:

Fresh Button Mushroom: sliced 1.5 cups 

Butter/Olive Oil: 1-2 tbsp

Red Onion: 4 tbsp finely chopped

Grated Potato: 4-6 tbsp

Fresh/Frozen Flat Leaf Parsley: 2 tbsp + chopped

Vegetable Stock:1.5 -2 cups 

Low Fat Cream : 2-4 tbsp

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:

Melt butter in a deep pan and saute fine chopped onions till transparent.

Add in sliced mushrooms and saute for another minute or two till they start sweating. Add in the grated potatoes and chopped parsley and mix well and cook for another minute or two till they start to cook.

 Add in the veg stock - I used around 1.5 cups - bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes until the ingredients are fully cooked and the liquid reduces to almost half. Remove from heat and stir in creams and salt and pepper. Keep aside.

Cool and then blend to a fine or chunky consistency as you like and also add more stock/water and heat through Adjust the salt and pepper and serve warm with your choice of accompaniment like croutons or bread rolls. I served this with olive oil rolls. 

A fuss free soup thanks to the ad :). Perfect treat for rainy evenings. The original had thyme instead of parsley,but since I wanted parsley I used it. You can adjust the potatoes with cream and also reduce stock and increase water or whatever way you like. I have not added any water just simple veg stock.You can even add milk instead of water/stock and go for a perfectly white soup.

Grilled Tomato, Cashew & Rosemary Soup

This is a herby twist I made with the usual hearty tomato soup. I grilled the tomatoes stovetop and then used cashews as a healthy thickner and seasoned it with fresh rosemary which is fast becoming my favourite.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes: 3-4 big/sliced/halved
Onion: 3-4 tbsp sliced/halved
Garlic: 1-2 cloves as per taste
Fresh Rosemary: 2 tbsp atleast
Cashew : 3-4 tbsp
Sugar: a pinch
Water/Stock: 2 cups +/-

Preparation:

Slice/halve the tomatoes and onions.Drizzle with salt,pepper and olive oil. Leave the garlic cloves whole. Heat a stovetop grill and place the tomatoes and onions, close with an appropriate cover and let it grill until it is tender and cooked and the grill marks are there. On the still hot grill, place the garlic cloves a nd let it grill for about 1minute till browned. Allow to cool.

Grind together, cashews,rosemary,tomatoes and onion with little sugar,salt and pepper. Put back in deep pan and bring to a boil adding water/stock. Reduce to a simmer and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes until the flavours blend, and the required thickness is reached.

Serve warm with appropriate accompaniments. I loved it with baked Tortilla chips.

Simple soup where tomato and rosemary shine through. Sugar is added to add a little sweetness to the tangy tomatoes. It is completely optional though.  If you like tomato basil soup/salad then you will surely like this one.

A warm bowl goes to NCR:Grilling.

Shakalaka - Its Chakalaka !

Chakalaka is a South African spicy vegetarian gravy made with onion,tomatos,peppers and beans. It can be a side dish or a sauce or whatever way you like it. For me it is a side dish to be served with rice/breads and also as a soup in itself. You can have a chakalaka whatever way you like. I have adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients:
Red Kidney Beans: 1/2 cup  presoaked and cooked

Onion: 1 almost big: chopped finely
Green Bell Pepper: 1 medium size chopped into bite sized pieces
Garlic: 1-2 cloves minced
Fresh Hot Chillies: 1 -2 small chopped /slit lengthwise

Curry Powder: as per taste
Tomato: 1 chopped into cubes
Tomato Paste: 1-2 tbsp

Salt and pepper: as per taste

Preparation:
Cook the beans and keep aside. You can use canned beans or even baked beans in tomato sauce, in which case avoid the tomato and paste.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add in onion,garlic,fresh chilli  and bell pepper cubes. Cook till the onions are transparent and the raw smell of the peppers disappear stirring occasionally to prevent burning for a few minutes.

Add in the curry powder,saute till the raw smell goes -just about another minute and then add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and little salt and pepper. Mix well and cook till the tomatoes turn pulpy and then add the cooked beans along with the water in which it was cooked. Adjust the salt and pepper and cook for another 15-20 on simmer till the flavours blend and the required thickness is reached.

Serve warm with rice/rotis or enjoy as a soup with optional accompaniments.

A simple comforting soup or a hearty side stew. Normally it is served as accompaniment to meilie pap (rice porridge). I loved the stew I had made and found it similar to the several chilis or tomatoey stews I had made earlier.

Chocolate Chili

I love chili and can have it anytime of the day. I try out different versions as well.You can see two versions already posted  here and here and few else are in queue waiting for their turn.  Long time back I have heard about the use of chocolate in traditional Mexican chili recipes and recently tried out the recipe from Vegnews which had not just chocolate but coffee as well. It was simply IRRESISTABLE.

Ingredients:
Dried Beans: 1/2 cup presoaked and cooked or canned beans (I used pinto beans and pink beans)

Olive Oil: 2-3 tsp
Onion: chopped 1 small : around 4-5 tbsp
Carrot: 1/4 cup cubed /minced
Garlic: 1-2 cloves

Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp +
Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp +/-
Paprika: 1/2 tsp +/-
Oregano: 1/4 tsp
Pepper: 1/4 tsp +
Salt: as  per taste

Tomato: 1/2 cup chopped

Tomato paste: 3-4 tbsp  OR Puree : almost 1/2 cup

Chocolate: 1/2  oz semi sweet or dark, grated

Chipotle in adobo sauce: 1 small or as per taste (chopped /minced)

Sugar: 1/4 tsp + (omit if using semi sweet)

Espresso Coffee :2-3 tbsp or more as needed
Water: as needed (I used the water in which the beans were cooked)

Preparation:
Presoak the dried beans overnight and cook till  done in the pressure cooker or stovetop as per convenience.Keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep pan,add onion,garlic and carrots and cook for a few minutes until they soften. Add in salt,pepper and all the spice powders and also sugar (if using dark chocolate). Saute for a minute. 

Add in tomatoes chopped,tomato puree/paste and chopped/minced chipotle. Stir well and cook for a few more minutes till the tomatoes start to cook.

Add in the beans,coffee and the water to this and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and let it cook uncovered for about 30 -45 minutes stirring occasionally so that the tastes are well blended and the required thickness is reached. 

Serve as a side with rice/tortillas or as a wholesome soup topped with lowfat cheese slice  and garnished with chocolate gratings.

I enjoyed it as both and everybody licked their bowls clean. Ummmmmmmmm.. 

The aroma while adding the chocolate is GREAT.You savour the feeling as if you are savouring a cuppa of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and chilli on a snowy day. It truly lifts your mood. Chipotle as usual adds the smoky authentic chili taste and overall it has all the qualities and taste needed for a comforting chili.I am not sure about the coffee addition as the coffee added just a  mellowed sharpness and it could be because I had add just 2 tbsp of it - I had mixed 1/2 tsp powder with 2 tbsp of water and added to the gravy. But it does blend with the total taste of the gravy and does not stand out of line. 

Go make your own and enjoy as the few spoonfuls I have saved goes to AWED:Mexico,at MyTastyTreats, an event by DK.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Watermelon for me is always sweet.I go for pops or juices or sorbets but enjoys it as such most of the times.  I never experiment with watermelon despite being inspired by several savoury recipes that I see in blogosphere. But this summer I thought I should try a simple gazpacho with it just for a change.

A gazpacho is a raw tomato based soup from Spain and watermelon gazpacho is an equally popular variation of the traditional one.I have adapted Tyler Florence's recipe from the FoodNetwork snd it turned out to be good or much better than expected. I was apprehensive before tasting it and was surprised that I could relate to the taste.

Ingredients:

Tomato: 1 small or 1/4 cup chopped
Watermelon: cubed 2 cups +more for garnish (optional)
Red onion: 2-3 tbsp
Cucumber: 2-3 tbsp + more for garnish

Garlic: 1 small clove
Green Chilly: 1 small(hot) or as per taste
Mint leaves: few as per taste

Salt, Pepper: as per taste

Red Wine Vinegar: 1 dash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 2 tsp

Preparation:

Puree the melon,tomato,cucumber and onion together with little quantity of mint,garlic and chilly. Add salt and pepper and adjust the chilly. Make sure the garlic and mint are not overpowering. Add in red wine vinegar and EVOO and give a final blend.Do the taste test and adjust the seasoning.

You will be having a tangy,red,thick and spicy liquid.Chill till serving time. Garnish with cubed cucumber/melon croutons and serve as a cold starter.

A tangy and cold red soupThe mint leaves an understated refreshing taste. Instead of mint, dill leaves can be used and are more popular in gazpachos.The watermelon is there for colour and a hint of sweetness. Again it depends on the ratio of ingredients that you have used.

I won't say the soup was excellent,but it was nice and palatable.My daughter did not touch this  but yes, the official head of the family gave his stamp of approval and had more than his fair share. :) A nice twist to the sweet melon and good for summer too. Atleast people who love tanginess should try it out.

Sweet Potato Chili

These days the weather is such that you feel like putting your  head in the fridge in the afternoon,but come night,its chilly weather. Such fluctuations does call for soups -they can be cooked fast or atleast I feel so and  provide warmth dduring the night. Chili does com in th category of stew and can be used as a side dish as well as a hearty soup. I normally stick to the vegetarian chili I had posted previously,but these days I am trying out different chili recipe like this Vegetarian Chili from Jamie Oliver which he made using roasted sweet potato. I could never think of such innovations. The recipe was super simple and only changes I made was the use of three types of beans,and regular green peppers available with me.

Ingredients:
Sweet Potato: 1 atleast :  or peeled and cubed.1-1.5 cups

Cayenne Pepper/ Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp+ more for sprinkling
Cumin Powder : 1/2  heaped tsp + more for sprinkling
Cinnamon Ground: 1/2 tsp + more for sprinkling
Olive Oil ,Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Onion: 1 chopped fine :around 1/4 cup +
Green Pepper: 1 big: cubed
Fresh Red Chilli: 1 small
Fresh Green Chilli: 1 small or as per taste
Garlic: 2 -3 small cloves

Red Kidney Beans: 1/2 cup
Pinto Beans: 1/2 cup

Tomatoes: Peeled & chopped : 3 ripe
Tomato Puree: 4  tbsp +

Fresh Cilantro: 1 small bunch

Preparation:

Peel,and cube sweet potato. Sprinkle with salt,pepper,cinnamon,chilli powder and cumin.Drizzle with olive oil and toss well to coat. Layer in a lined baking sheet and roast in a preheated oven at 400F for 20+ minutes or until browned.

You can also go for 450F and lesser roasting time.Take out the roasted potatoes and keep aside. I actually had few pieces one they cooled a bit just to see whether they were seasoned properly. :) You can go for just salt and pepper roasting and optionally add the spices when they are out of the oven and are still hot. Or ust add the spices in the chili. I went for salt and pepper roasting and then added the spices in the chili.

Presoak and cook the beans till done. Chop the onion roughly into small pieces.Mince/crush the garlic.Cube the bell pepper.Blanch,peel and chop the tomatoes. You can also use tomato paste instead of tomatoes + puree. Separate the cilantro leaves from the stalk and chop and keep aside each separately.Here we are using the cilantro stem for additional flavour.

Heat Olive oil in a deep pan,add onion,peppers and garlic and cook till the onion changes colour and the peppers start to cook for about 5 minutes.

Add coriander stalks/stem ,slit chillies and spices (cumin,coriander and  cinnamon).Cook for few more minutes.

Add the cooked beans along with little water in which they are cooked,salt, tomatoes chopped and the tomato puree and mix well. You can add little coriander leaves as well. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer,cover and cook for 15-20 minutes more when the required consistency is reached. If too thick add more water.

Just before taking off the heat,stir in the roasted sweet potatoes. Heat through. You can mash a few pieces of sweet potatoes and beans to make it look thick. On sitting it thickens a bit as well. Taste and adjust the spices and salt.

Serve as a side dish or dip with tortillas/breads/rice.

I loved it both as a side as well as a thick soup.Mine had thickened more than needed and the pic shows a very thick chili. I topped crackers with this and enjoyed it. A warm,comforting and hearty dish.A sure shot winner as well.

Golden Broth

You think of soup mostly when you are going through a cold-recovery cycle.Especially soups which are quick and easy to prepare with available ingredients. I saw this golden broth from Tarla Dalal's Soups and Salads, remember I talked about it in my last post? It is a simple soup with carrots,onions and potatoes topped with sauteed spinach.Hearty to the core.

Ingredients:
Broth/Soup:
Carrots: peeled & chopped: 2 cups
Onions: chopped: 1 cup
Potatoes: 1/2 cup

Topping:
Butter: 1 tsp

Onion: finely chopped: 1/4 cup
Spinach: chopped :1/4 cup +/-
Milk: 1/4 cup warm
Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:

Peel and chop carrots,onions and potatoes into small peices.Add in 5 cups of water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles. Let it cool and then blend to a get an orange coloured soup.

Heat butter in a pan,add in fine chopped onion and spinach,saute for a few minutes till the raw smell goes.Add in the soup,boil for a few minutes.You can keep aside few spoons of the sauteed mix for garnishing. Add in milk (preferably low fat,but I used regular). Add salt & pepper.Serve hot topped with more spinach and onion along with your choice of accompaniments.

A simple hearty soup. It is more orangeish in colour than seen in the pic. It is wholesome and rich in Vitamin B.The soup is not spicy as such and the heat/spice is obtained from pepper only.Enjoy the warm soup.



Creamy Cauliflower Walnut Soup

The winter always brings in its own vegetables and herbs. The last month of the year always brings in fenugreek leaves and assorted herbs and greens,cauliflowers, capsicum(bell peppers),carrots,brussel sprouts,leeks etc. I know these are available throughout the year,but these are basically called winter vegetables as they are harvested during winter.Anyway, we can see a dip in the prices and sacks /boxes of these almost everywhere. I myself purchase these in bulk and thus was left with 2 large cauliflowers and decided to make a simple yet creamy soup. I adapted the soup from Ganga of A Life(time) of cooking  and you can see the original here.The original is supposed to be from Soup Bible.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower: chopped: 4 cups

Onion: coarsely chopped: almost 1/2 cup

Garlic: 2 small cloves

Water/Stock : almost 2 cups or as needed

Walnuts: handfuls

Milk: 1 cup +/-

Nutmeg: 1/2 tsp +/- (optional)

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Paprika/Chilli powder: for garnish

Walnuts: toasted for garnish

Preparation:

Clean the florettes and coarsely chop the onions and crush the garlic. Heat water/stock/combo in a deep pan/vessel and bring to boil. Add the florettes,onion,garlic and little salt,cover and let these simmer till soft for about 15-20 minutes.

Add around 1/2 cup of milk,walnuts and nutmeg and let it simmer again for around 5 minutes. Remove from heat,cool and blend in a mixer/blender to get a fine puree/paste.

Add in more milk/water as needed and heat through.Adjust the salt and add the pepper and serve warm garnished with paprika/chilli powder and toasted walnuts.You can also go for a chunky version,by partially blending the soup and leaving small florettes to munch on while enjoying the soup.

The soup even without adding milk is creamy and thick. And it thickens more on sitting.I added barely half cup of milk as I went for a thicker version.You can increase the water/stock adjusting the milk depending on how you want it.Even soy/coconut milk works for a vegan version.

The addition of garlic and nutmeg is optional and not there in the original. Nutmeg I found goes well with cauliflowers and provide warmth and comfort.Garlic also has its own benefits.

This simple creamy soup is on way to NCR:Creamy Soups & Salads hosted this month at Tinned Tomatoes.