A Newyear - 2014 - London

Happy New Year from LONDON -2014

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday., mine truly was action packed . We welcomed the NewYear by watching the amazing display of Fireworks that London had to offer.

With the New year comes new resolutions and i did have a couple of things in mind like " i will string my wallet a lot tighter,exercise more yaada yaada yaada" and incidentally i happened to read this article 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10539135/Five-New-Year-resolutions-you-really-shouldnt-make.html

Resolutions are passé huh?!!! Here is to exploring and experimenting with more flavors and enjoying life.

I love Thai Food and flavors. And i love the pretty orange discs - Red Lentils. Sometime ago, i had Thai Red Lentil Soup at my favorite Soup shop and wanted to replicate the same at home.This soup is a casual meal in a bowl, with layers of flavor,perfect as a low GI energy fix and is wallet friendly too.

Here is how i made it.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic chopped
1inch piece of Ginger grated
1 Onion - finely chopped
1 Carrot - finely chopped
1/2 a Red Bell Pepper - finely chopped
3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
250gms appox.Red Lentils
1 stock cube
200mls Coconut milk
Spring Onions or Corriander for Garnish
500mls Water
Juice of 1 lime or lemon

Method:

1.Fry the Garlic and Onions in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft.Then add the Carrots and Bell pepper to soften along with the grated Ginger. Stir in the red Thai curry paste,depending how hot you want it you could increase or decrease the quantity.

2.Add red lentils and mix to coat in the paste.Add Water the stock cube and simmer for about 20 mins until the lentils are tender or You could Pressure cook the lentils separate in a Pressure cooker until done and then add to the softened Veg.

3.Stir the coconut milk to the simmering lentil mix, bring it to a boil and Done.

Remember: the stock cube and the store bought Thai curry paste have salt in it add accordingly.

Garnish with Coriander or Spring Onions and dash of Lemon to the soup adds that nice zing.

Cauliflower Soup

When nights are chilly and tootsies are cold, nothing is better than a warm bowl of soup.
Cauliflower isn't exactly the most exciting vegetable in the world. It’s colorless, it does have much of a smell, and if boiled or steamed it has a very bland flavor.When James Martin announced that he was going to make Cauliflower soup on Saturday Kitchen et voilà my solution to the large head of Cauliflower that was sitting on my Kitchen Counter.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of  milk

1 teaspoon butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 head of cauliflower made into florets or  roughly chopped

1 liter of vegetable stock or 2 Stock cubes

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp coriander cress or  garlic chives

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method :


Melt the butter and the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion,garlic and cook until nearly transparent. Add the cauliflower and roast a bit. Add the stock or a liter of water with stock cubes and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft.

Puree the soup until smooth.I like to use my hand blender right in the pot. You can also puree the soup in batches in a regular blender. Return the mixture to the pot.

Stir in the milk and whisk over low heat until the soup is heated through. Do not let it boil  Add some freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

Serve in warm bowls garnished with freshly snipped coriander cress or chives,  and  a drizzle Balsamic vinegar if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

And oh., Christmas is fast approaching and if you do not have an immersion blender, put one on your Christmas list. They work so much better than putting hot soup into a blender!

Caramelized Onions & Pumpkin Soup

Summer has almost come to an end and Pumpkins are finding their way to the Markets... -Good Bye Summer.. Hello Autumn/ Fall.

Here is something warm and hearty for the windy/chill evenings.

Ingredients

3 cups of Pumpkin

125g Butter or 3 table spoons Olive oil

1 medium Onion, finely chopped

1 Cinnamon stick

Freshly grated Nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground Black pepper

2 cups of Water or Vegetable stock

1 cup of Whole milk

3 table spoons of Cream

Preparation method

Cut the top off the pumpkin and Scoop out the seeds and fibres from the middle and discard.

Using a sharp knife and a spoon, carefully hollow out the pumpkin, removing the flesh and setting aside.

Roughly chop the scooped-out pumpkin flesh.

Melt the butter/olive oil in a large pan with a lid over a low heat and add the onions. Cook the onions gently for 10-15 minutes, until they are softened and golden-brown.

Add the pumpkin flesh, the cinnamon and nutmeg, and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Increase the heat to medium and cover with the lid. Cook for 40minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the base from burning, until the pumpkin is cooked through.

( or Pressure cook the Pumpkin with water and a little salt )

Add the water or stock and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Return the soup to the pan and bring to a low simmer and cook for a further half an hour with 1 cup of Whole milk and 1.5 table spoons of Cream.

Ladle into bowls and serve topping it off with some cream/olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper.

..Getting Started

It’s finally getting done! :D And i'm almost there... a BLOG. You mite want to know what it is about and *much,much* more. Who am I? What do I/ We do? And while you are waiting ………

Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

And when you want some thing quick and easy you say S-O-U-P-Y :D

Go ahead and try this!

A hearty Bean soup.

I really, really,really love Soups. There I said it :D

There are numerous varieties of Soups available in todays market( now thats for one of those lazziiee days ). But then when we can make it better and fresher and so much more delectable at home why go and reach for the can?

With ingredients for this soup being available all year its easy, colorful,fresh,lively and has a lovely texture.A simple supper or a main course soup the beans in it gives an amazing depth.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 2tbsp-Olive oil
• 1/2tsp-Garlic powder
• 1/4tsp-Cumin powder
• 1/4tsp-Coriander powder
• 1/4tsp-Paprika
• 1/4tsp-Sugar
• 1bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• 2-Onion
• 2-Carrot
• 2-3-Tomatoes, medium sized
• 4-5 Chard leaves
• 750ml-Vegetable stock
• 1Can(appox.200gms) - Cannellini Beans / White Beans
• 3-4tsp of Parmigiano-Reggiano
• A small bunch of Coriander to garnish

Lets get started, here is how i make it :

• Begin by adding the Olive oil to the Pot over medium heat.
• Add the bay leaf,roughly chopped onions,carrots and stir them around until they are soft,but not brown.
• Next goes the tomatoes and the sugar.Bring the heat to a medium low stir occasionally for the next 5minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
• Once the tomatoes are soft add the Spices- garlic,cumin,coriander,paprika and give it a quick stir and pour the stock in ( or stock cubes if using them )
• When the stock comes to a boil add the beans,the chard leaves and salt to taste and let it simmer for 5 -7minutes. (If using canned beans rinse a couple of times or you can soak a cup of white beans over night in water.Next morning drain the water from the soaked white beans,rinse and add fresh water and place the beans with fresh water in a large bottomed pan and bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer on medium heat until cooked or to speed up the process use a pressure cooker)
• Add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and garnish it with fresh Coriander leaves...YUM

To Serve: Generously ladle the Soup in a bowl crack some Black pepper and enjoy it with a ciabatta or a slice of fresh baguette with a couple of drops of Olive oil over it.