Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

Lights. Food. Fun. Family. Festivity. The festival of Diwali brought with it wonderful celebrations this year.

The festival of Diwali calls for special food. Mom's and grandmom's get together in the kitchen to make yummy faraal of crsipy chakli, spicy chiwda, decadent laddoos, flaky karanjis... oh, such delicious food! 

It's food of festivity. It's food of family togetherness. It's food that you can't resist. It's food you HAVE to eat.    

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

Now that Diwali is gone, it is time to put the stomach to a bit of rest and detox the body a little. Soups are a great way to do this!

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

This mixed vegetable soups has many different types of vegetables and is full of nutrients. The browned garlic and cinnamon powder add two layers of flavours. It has very little oil and no carbs. And it is very filling. 

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

6 medium sized tomatoes quartered
3 medium sized onions quartered
1 cup diced yellow pumpkin
1 cup diced bottle gourd
2 carrots diced
2 tsps cinnamon powder
2 cups water divided
2 tsps oil
8-10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method

Pressure cook the vegetables with 1 cup of water and the cinnamon powder for about 10 minutes.

Puree this mixture to make a thick soup of it. Sieve this mixture.

In a pan heat the oil. Lower the flame and add the finely chopped garlic to it. Fry it slowly over the low flame till it turns brown.

Now add the soup mixture and mix well.

Cover and simmer on a low flame for 5 minutes for the flavour of garlic to seep through the soup.

Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot!

Top 10 Rainy Day Foods

Mumbai has finally seen some rains yesterday and today after a few erratic showers that marked the beginning of the monsoon a month back. As I sit in the balcony with a large mug of hot tea, rainy day food cravings hit me!

There are so many things I wish to make and eat that I came up with my list of Top 10 Rainy Day Foods... and here I am typing it away. So what would be on my mind on rainy days? Here goes

1. Kulhad Masala Chai

Hot and spiced full-bodied Assam tea, boiled to strong perfection with milk and sugar, served in a rustic earthernware kulhad - that's your Kulhad Masala Chai

Kulhad Masala Chai

The fragrance of the earth as you touch the kulhad to your mouth for a sip, followed by the minty and gingery sweetness of the tea just about defines perfection to a tea-lover like me. 

2. Bhajiyas/ Pakoras

Nothing can beat the combination of hot crispy onion bhajiyas (pakoras) and chai on a rainy day. Thin slivers of onion dipped in a gram flour batter spiced with corriander powder, red chilly powder, garam masala and turmeric powder and fried to golden brown perfection... oh sigh! 

Palak Kanda Bhajiya with Dipping Sauce

I also make this different version of bhajiyas- Palak Kanda Bhajiya with a dipping sauce which mesh the interesting tastes of spinach and onion and are served with a dipping sauce that has minty and corriander tastes added to your regular ketchup.

3. Wada Pav

Wada pav is Mumbai's most famous snack and street food and I strongly believe it must have been invented on a rainy day for rainy days! 

Wadapav

Wadas have a potato filling that has boiled and mashed potatoes cooked for quite some time with ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. This filling is then enveloped in a gram flour batter and deep fried. The prepared wada is served hot in a pav (a local bun) with a fresh green corriander and mint chutney and date and tamarind chutney Though you will find a wadapav stall at every nook and corner of the city, the best wadas are always the homemade ones... and they're so easy to prepare and gobble down! 

4. Thukpa Soup (Vegetarian)

Thukpa is a noodle based clear soup from the North East region of India. Usually served with a piece of meat, I have made a vegetarian version of the soup at home.

Thukpa Soup (Vegetarian)

This garlicky clear soup with hints of ginger and pungency and loads of noodles to twirl around your fork makes it a fun and must-have meal for when you are watching the rains from your balcony! And of course because of the noodles and less spiciness, kids love it!

5. Cutlets 

Ooooh cutlets! My favourite rainy day morning breakfast when I was at St. Xavier's.

Healthy Cutlets (but don't tell the kids that!)

A cutlet is a very simple patty of boiled potatoes and myriad vegetables cooked with spices which is then coated with semolina and fried or shallow fried. This little patty packs many flavours and enveloped in a pav (bun) it makes for such awesome rainy day comfort food. 

6. Bread Butter Jam

Rainy days can make you really hungry at times and then you want nothing but a quick fix! At these times there can't be anything better than warm, toasted bread served with butter melting on it with a dollop of jam for sweetness.

Bread butter with Apple Cinnamon Jam

One of my favourite jams to have is my home-made apple cinnamon jam which is fruity, sweet and has the perfect note of spice from the cinnamon in it!

7. Ragda Patties

I can have chaat any time and anywhere! And I am sure there are many people like me! While pani puri is my go-to chaat at all times, rainy days call for some hot chaat that is filling too... and so on rainy days I make ragda patties.

Ragda Patties

Ragda patties has soft potato patties served with a spicy white chickpea curry (ragda). This is then topped with date and tamarind chutney and mint and corriander chutney, sev, chopped onions and fresh corriander. Hot ragda patties with lots of sweet and tangy flavours makes for a great rainy day chaat!

8. Paranthas

Imagine a cool rainy day when the skies are grey and you are served a hot parantha right off the tawa with a big dollop of butter... sounds just about right, doesn't it?

Delhi ki Paranthe Wali Gali Ke Paranthe

Paranthas are flatbreads, usually spiced, that are made either with or without filling. On rainy days I like making these Delhi ke Paranthe wali Gali ke Paranthe. These flaky, crispy flatbreads spiced with dry spice powders between the layers are really yummy, especially when served with loads of butter!

9. Corn Chaat

Rainy days call for corn! I cannot think of any time when we've gone and got wet in the rains and not ended the day with bhutta (corn on the cob roasted on coals and served with lime juice, slat and red chilly powder rubbed all over it).

Corn Chaat

At home, I prefer making corn chaat on rainy days with lots of boiled sweet corn, chopped onions and tomatoes and masalas for the twist and taste.

10. Oats Upma

Oats upma can be one of those healthy yet yummy things people on a diet can have on a rainy day. A large bowl of this upma can make for a great breakfast or a light lunch or dinner when watching those rains fall away.

Oats Upma

Oats upma is a recipe I tried when I was craving upma but there was no rawa (semolina) at home. So, I made the upma in the traditional way and just substituted oats for rawa and voila! I had another tasty and very healthy dish ready to eat!

So here's my list of favourite rainy day dishes... what are your's?

Curried Lentil Soup

Since I am a food blogger here and a restaurant reviewer on Spicerover India with a new excuse to eat out (the golden period after engagement), I tend to eat heavy meals outside at least 4-5 times a week. So, when I am eating at home, I try to have light meals to maintain a balance (and my weight!).

Curried Lentil Soup

A lentil soup makes for a great one-dish meal for a diet. A bowl of this soup is quite filling. It is made with very little oil, it has no carbs (unless eaten with some form of bread) and has lots of proteins. The only downside for the Indian palate is that is has very little spices in it. Therefore, the other day, I read through some basic lentil soup recipes on the internet and I added my twist to it to make a tasty curried lentil soup.

Curried Lentil Soup

The recipe for this yummy soup is as follows:

Curried Lentil Soup

Preparation Time: 2 hours (to soak the lentils)

Making Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow toor dal (split pigeon peas)
1/2 cup green moong dal (split green gram with the skins on)
1/2 cup udad dal (split black gram)
1/2 cup masoor dal (split red lentil)
4 cups water
1 tbsp olive/ peanut/ sunflower oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 medium sized tomato finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsps red chilly powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Lemon wedges to serve


Method

Wash all the lentils well and then soak them in 3 cups of water for 2 hours at least. Cook all the lentils in a pressure cooker for about 15 minutes till done. Roughly mash them a little after they are done.

In a deep pan heat the oil and temper with the cumin seeds.

Once the cumin seeds begin to crackle, add in the asafoetida powder and let it sizzle in the oil for about 10 seconds.

Now add in the ginger paste and garlic paste and fry in the oil for another 15 seconds.

Reduce the flame to a medium high and add in the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and cumin powder. Fry the mixture for about 1 minute till the tomatoes release the oil and are tender.

Now increase the flame to high and add in the cooked and roughly mashed lentils.

Bring the mixture to a boil and add in the salt and black pepper powder. Reduce the flame and let the lentil soup simmer with the spices for about 10 minutes.

Serve hot with a dash of lemon juice.

Pumpkin Soup with a Mirepoix Base

I am a big soup person. Which means that the short so-called winter in Mumbai is not really my good friend. When I had made this soup about a week back, there was still some semblance of winter in the air, but now it is already summer in Mumbai. And I already miss the 'cold' weather. Anyways, people around the world who are still enjoying winters can always make and enjoy this soup! And I can for health reasons!

Pumpkin soup with a mirepoix base: the reason why I tried this recipe was I had celery to use up from my recent shopping trip at the Crawford Market about which I have already written in quite some detail. And I am so glad I had that to do that! It gave me the push I needed to try using mirepoix at least once as a base for some soup!

Pumpkin Soup with a Mirepoix Base

Mirepoix or a mixture of onions, carrots and celery in the ratio of 2:1:1 is a traditional base used for soups, stocks, stews and sauces. While I have always read about it, I have never tried using it in any of the soups I have made till date. This time I thought, why not? Also, after my success with making pumpkin parathas, I have fallen in love with the vegetable, and have wanted to use it more often and I thought what better way to display the true flavours of a vegetable than making soup out of it.

Pumpkin Soup

This pumpkin soup is a rich, creamy, lightly spiced, delicious concoction is low on calories and high on nutrients. It can be eaten by itself as a meal with just some bread and a bean salad for some proteins and there is your balanced meal. Or it can form a great appetizer to start a meal in a smaller quantity.

Pumpkin Soup

So, here is my recipe of pumpkin soup using mirepoix  as a base.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Time:  30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsps olive oil
100 gms onions finely chopped
50 gms carrots finely chopped
50 gms celery finely chopped
2 bay leaves
500 gms red pumpkin diced
400 ml water
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker heat the oil.

Add in the onions, carrots, celery and bay leaves and saute till the onions turn translucent.

Now add in the pumpkin and saute for around 3-4 minutes.

Pour in the water till it covers all the mixture, close the pressure cooker and cook for about 8 minutes till the pumpkins are tender and cooked through.

Fish out the bay leaves and then blend the mixture using a hand blender till it forms a thick soup.

Put the soup back on the heat. Add in the milk, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

Enjoy steaming hot!

Clear Vegetable Soup

Winter is almost in the air and no other food best suits winter than a warm, comforting bowl of soup. This clear vegetable soup is an easy-to-make, light and flavourful accompaniment  for your winter evenings. 

Hot Clear Vegetable Soup

Clear Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

6-8 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 green chillies finely chopped

1 litre vegetable stock

6-7 leaves of cabbage sliced into 1 inch squares

6-7 leaves of spinach sliced into 1 inch squares

1 medium sized carrot sliced into thin round slices

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

How to cut the vegetables

Method

In a deep pan heat the oil. Add in the finely chopped garlic and fry till it turns golden brown.

The colour of the garlic when done

Now the chopped green chillies go in and are fried for about 30 seconds. Add in the vegetable stock, cover and cook with a lid on simmer for about 10-15 minutes so that the flavours of the garlic and chillies seep through the stock really well.  

Flavours of garlic and chillies seeping into the vegetable stock

Remove the lid and add in the vegetables in this order:

First the carrots because they take some time to cook...

Carrots go in first

After about a minute, the cabbage leaves

Next, the cabbage goes in

At the end, add in the spinach leaves, season with salt and pepper and let the spinach leaves cook for about 30 seconds only. 

The Clear Vegetable Soup

Serve smoking hot right from the pot!

The Fifteen Minute Tomato Soup

Yes, I made this in fifteen minutes flat. It doesn't have oil, it isn't too spicy. No, it isn't bland. It made a perfect lunch for a work-at-home day like today where I was too lazy to cook but had to make something tasty to fill those hunger pangs! Ready? Here is the quick recipe!

The Fifteen Minute Tomato Soup

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 cup water
2 inch cinnamon stick
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Method

Cut the tomatoes and onions into quarters. In a pressure cooker, put in the tomatoes, onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and the water. Cook till one whistle is done. This will take about 8 minutes. Lower the flame and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Tomatoes and onions pressure cook fast!

Remove from the cooker, fish out the whole spices. Blend the vegetables together to form the soup. Strain to remove the tomato skins and seeds. Add some water if you wish to adjust the consistency to your liking.

Season with salt and pepper and voila!Your fifteen minute, no oil spicy soup is ready to slurp!

Simple Fifteen Minute Tomato Soup

Tomato and Basil Soup

I was watching a food travel show focussed on Italy and on it I heard a celebrated Italian chef call tomato, basil and garlic the 'Holy Trinity' of Italian cooking. Since I love Italian cooking so much, I wondered what can I do to combine these flavours? I thought of making it into a soup, and tried it for the first time today. Now I know why tomato, basil and garlic are called the 'Holy Trinity' of Italian cooking. They make for such a great combination!

Tomato and Basil Soup served hot!

Tomato and Basil Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsps olive oil
8-10 cloves of garlic chopped
5 medium tomatoes diced
2 cups water
4-5 leaves of fresh Italian basil finely chopped
Salt to taste

Method

In a pan heat the oil. Add the chopped garlic and saute till it turns golden brown. To the garlic, add the diced tomatoes and cook till they soften a little and release their juices.

Add in water and salt to the tomatoes and cover and cook till the tomatoes cook through. Blend this cooked mixture in a mixer or food processor till it forms a puree. Strain to get your soup.

Bring the strained mixture to a boil, turn off the heat and then add in the Italian basil.

Serve hot with some croutons or just as it is!

Thukpa

I have managed to travel less so I try to travel trough food cooked in my kitchen at times. I love cooking dishes from the various regions of India: Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab, south of India and I am exploring more regions as I come across more recipes to cook.

Very recently a friend travelled to North East and was raving about Thukpa: a clear soup with a piece of meat, noodles and shredded fresh vegetables to add. I googled the recipes available for it and got the basics, adapted it to my vegetarian kitchen. Whenever I have this soup I can see the snowy mountains in the backdrop and feel the cold weather of North East, despite the heavy rains of Mumbai! This beautiful, light yet filling and simple yet flavourful soup with depths of textures of noodles, broth and crispy shredded vegetables, has already become a family favourite and is eaten with great relish at least twice a week!

Hot thukpa soup with noodles and fresh vegetables

Ingredients

For the vegetable stock

1 litre water

4-5 leaves of cabbage

1/2 medium green capsicum

1 medium sized onion sliced

2 inch piece of gourd

Salt

For the broth of the soup

1-2 tbsps olive oil

6-8 garlic cloves finely chopped

2-3 green chillies finely chopped

Prepared vegetable stock

Salt to taste

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

For serving

100 gms of plain boiled noodles (rice/ hakka/ Maggi)

1 cup of shredded vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, green capsicum

5-10 corriander leaves 

Method

To make the vegetable stock, add the vegetables and the salt to one litre of water. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes and then drain.

For the broth, heat the pan and add the olive oil. Add in the garlic and fry till it turns golden. Then add in the green chillies and fry for 1 minute. To this add the vegetable stock prepared as above and add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for about 10-15 minutes till the flavour of the garlic and the chillies seeps into the broth.

Cook the hakka/ rice noodles as per packet instructions. If you are using Maggi noodles, bring to a boil 300 ml of water, add in the noodles (and not the masala) and cook till they separate out and cook.

To serve, put in some noodles in the bowl, fill in with the broth and add the shredded vegetables and corriander leaves for garnishing. Enjoy!

All set to be slurped and crunched up!

And now I am submitting this post for my first food blogger's event! Fingers crossed! 

http://indian-delights.blogspot.in/2013/06/event-annoucement-monsoon-temptations.html

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup for the Indian Palate

Winter just demands soups. You cannot have winter without craving for soups, just as you cannot have a rainy day without a craving for pakoras and masala chai.

I am bored of the standard tomato soup though I love it and I wanted to try something different. I found this recipe for roasted red pepper and tomato soup and have adapted it for more traditional Indian palate and a kitchen where there is no oven. It turns out to be a lovely thick soup with a light roasted spicy flavour from the red pepper and the tang from the tomatoes. And it makes a good, healthy one-dish meal for those watching out for their weight.

Ingredients

2 red peppers
2 tbsps olive oil
3 medium sized tomatoes
1 medium sized onion
6-7 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
4-5 whole peppercorns
Salt to taste

Method

Wash the red peppers and dry them, apply some olive oil over them and roast them on the gas stove.

Deskin and deseed them, its easy to deskin roasted peppers. Blend the peppers in a food processor with the onions, garlic and the tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan add the bay leaf and the peppercorn. Add the prepared pepper soup puree and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste. Serve hot garnished simply with a corriander leaf and enjoy the sipping pleasure!

Sunday Evening Dinner: French Onion Soup

So its me and my bro again today for dinner since my mom and papa are fasting this month. I love cooking when its just me and my bro because he is pretty much open to trying new tastes and recipes that I want to try (maybe because I am good at selling whats in my mind to him!) and eats all of it with gusto. And he is also good at giving feedback... which I truly believe is an art!
I made my version of French onion soup today...a recipe which has been in my mind for a longggg time now! With some soft fresh bread to dip in it, it makes a great one-dish meal...well for people like me at least! :-)
French Onion Soup:
3 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
6 cups water
Salt to taste
1 seasoning cube (optional... I used the Maggi vegetarian one which is easily available nowadays)
P.S. Yes its just 5 ingredients!! You read that right!
Thinly slice the onions and separate them at the individual scales such that they are thin slivers.
Heat a pan and melt the butter in it. Add the onions and fry them on slow heat till they turn brown i.e. they are caramelised and release the wonderful buttery sweetish flavour. This takes about 10-15 minutes.
Add the water, salt and seasoning cube and bring to a boil. Voila! Hot lovely soup is ready to slurp!
I made two versions of the soup. I took some out for me before adding the seasoning as I love the flavour of the caramelised onions only and it's just brilliant!