Lemon Coriander Soup

I am sure you all must have tasted this delicious soup in some Indo-Chinese restaurants. It is a very simple soup to make it will get ready in about 20 minutes. Add some quinoa/barley into the soup it will become a one pot meal. I tasted this for the first time when our friends Venu and Usha took us to a restaurant near their house. So, without further adieu, i give you the recipe for this light yet satisfying soup.

Perp time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: upto 20 minutes

Serving: upto 3

Ingredients:

1. Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup
2. Coriander - a handful, not too much though.
3. Green chili - 2 to 3 (more if you like it  very hot)
4. Vinegar - upto 3 tsp
5. Garlic - 4 pods grated/minced or upto 3 tsp paste
6. Water - upto 6 cups
7. Tofu - 1 cup diced (optional)
8. Mushroom - 1/2 cup finely chopped
9. Spring onions - 1 bunch, finely chopped
10. quinoa/barley - 1/4 cup (optional) [if you choose to use barley, soak it for 4 hours prior to use]
11. Corn Starch - 2 tsp (use only if not using quinoa or barley)
12. Salt - to taste
13. Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a pot which can hold all the ingredients.
• Saute garlic and spring onions for a minute.
• Add Mushroom and saute for a minute.
• Add water and 2 tsp vinegar and add quinoa or barley if you are using them and let it boil. 
• In the mean while, take the coriander, green chili, 1 tsp vinegar and two pinches of salt and make a paste of it.
• Add tofu and the paste to the soup and stir to mix well.
• Now add the paste, salt and boil for 5 minutes.
• If you are not using quinoa or barley, mix the corn starch in cold water and mix it in the soup while adding water in the beginning. 
• Add half of the lemon juice, stir and give it a taste, if it is not sour enough, add more till you get your desired taste. Add salt mix and enjoy this soup hot.

Tip:

If you do not eat green chili, you can eliminate it and use pepper powder instead. just add some cracked pepper in to the soup after it cooks and stir well.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup

Roasted bell pepper soup needless to say is very tasty. One sip and you will be a fan of this delicious sweet, sour and peppery soup. It takes few ingredients and is also very easy to make. You can either roast all of your vegetables and make a smooth puree of them or just roast the bell peppers and saute the rest of the ingredients. Either way, this soup will taste good. If roasting all the vegetables, you will reduce cook time to a large extent. 

This soup can make a good starter, it is not too heavy. To make it more tasty, use a little sour cream or cream. 

So, let us see what it takes to make this soup.

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 to 40 mins depending on the method you choose.

Servings: about 4

Ingredients:

1. Red bell pepper - 2 big ones
2. Tomato - 4 medium
3. Onion - 1 small
4. Celery - 1 stalk
5. Garlic - 2 pods or 2 tsp paste
6. Salt - to taste
7. Parsley - 1 tsp dry or finely chopped fresh leaves
8. Basil - 1 tsp dry or finely chopped fresh leaves
9. Black pepper powder - to taste
10. Sour cream or cream - upto 2 tsp per cup (optional)
11. Oil - 3 tsp

Method:

• You can roast bell peppers or all the vegetables 4 ways, 1. on the stove top, 2. In the oven, 3. Grill and 4. In the broiler. Whatever method be, you have to put the roasted bell peppers and vegetables in a container after roasting and cover the lid, let it cool and then peel off the skin from bell peppers and tomatoes.
• If you choose 1., then just roast pepper on the flame. If you choose to do it in the oven, rub oil on the bell peppers, wrap them in an aluminium foil, place them on a cookie sheet or a oven safe container and roast them at 450F for about 30 minutes in the mid rack of the oven. If you grill them, make sure to drizzle a little oil over them to retain moisture. If you choose to broil them, rub them with oil, line a broiler safe sheet with foil and broil for 10 to 12 minutes.
• For roasting vegetables in oven or broiler, chop them into rough chunks, apply oil, put them on a sheet lined with foil and roast in the oven for 25 mins at the same temperature as bell peppers. To Broil them, do it all just the same except you will be roasting all the vegetables including bell peppers all at once for 10 - 12 minutes. For garlic in both the cases, do not peel the skin off, just rub some oil and put them with the rest of the ingredients to roast. After it is done, garlic will slide out when you gently squeeze it.
• After peeling tomatoes and bell peppers, blend them all in the blender and follow the rest of the instruction after blending from below.
• If you do not roast all the vegetables, then saute all the rest of the vegetables one after the other in the following order. Heat oil in a pot which will hold all of the ingredients plus some more water. Now saute, grated/paste garlic, coarsely chopped onion, coarsely chopped celery and coarsely chopped tomatoes. 
• To the above ingredients, add peeled roasted bell peppers, salt, black pepper and saute for  2 minutes, turn the stove off and let it cool for a 10 minutes.
• Blend all the ingredients in a blender and transfer it to the pot in which you have cooked them. add a little water to thin the soup if it is too thick. Turn the stove back on. Add parsley and basil, cook for 5 more minutes.
• Garnish with croutons or parsely and basil or cream or all of them and serve hot to enjoy.

Tip:

• While using broiler in apartments, please open the oven door and turn the exhaust fan on at full speed. Otherwise, it will get too hot to stand anywhere in the kitchen.
• Fire roasting vegetables gives a smoky flavour, so try roasting them for this soup and see if you like the flavour.

Sushi

Need I say more? Sushi in Japanese means vinegared rice, contradictory to wide belief that it is "raw fish". The thing about sushi is except the rice everything else is raw in it. Sometimes the "nori", which is sea weed used is roasted. I am totally in love with this. I can eat it anytime anywhere. The wasabi and ginger served with this makes it more kickin' ... In my experience with wasabi, it can clear the most severe of sinus blocks... the kick it packs is out of this world... You won't be able to handle it unless you take a bite of vinegared ginger along with wasabi.  To drink you must try "sake" rice wine... it is sort of sweet and tart at the same time, best had when warm. We tried suhi in a Korean restaurant once which was good then we had sushi in a vegan restaurant and fell in love with it. If you ask me, I fall in love with tasty food very easily, my weakness I suppose. So let me not dealy anymore in giving out the recipe of Sushi..

Prep time: 45 mins

cook time: 25 mins for rice

Servings: 24 pieces

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 2 cups, use very starchy rice.

2. Nori sheets - 4 [sea weed sheets, I bought them at whole foods store]

All Raw vegetables are Julienne sliced. Julienne is nothing but match stick thin slices. You can use a wide array of vegetables. Do not use something like potato or starchy ones. There is already rice in it. You can also use flavoured or just plain firm tofu...

3. Carotts: 2

4. Red bellpepper - 1/2

5. Green bell pepper - 1/2

6. Avacado - 1

7. Spring onions - 1 bunch

8. Ready wasabi paste or powder[prepare it according to insturctions on the box] or a horse radish (which has to be peeled, chopped and run in the blender to make a paste. Add a little salt, sugar and vinegar)

7. Raw ginger - 1 medium sized piece

8. Rice vinegar or white vinegar - up to 3/4 cup

9. Sugar - 4 tsp

Method:

Cooking rice:

• Wash rice and put it in a filter to drain all the water and let it stand for an hour.
• Now boil 4 cups of water in a vessel in which you would cook rice. 
• Add rice and cook till well done and all water gets evaporated.
• After the rice cooks, transfer it into a large plate in which you can move it easily.
• Mix 2 tbsp of vinegar and 2 tsp sugar till all the sugar dissolves.
• Add 1 tbsp of this sugar-vinegar mixture and thoroughly mix in the rice by fannig on the rice with one hand. If you have a table fan, then switch it on and mix the rice and vinegar.
• After 1 tbsp of it is incorporated, add the next tbsp and repeat the process till rice and vinegar gets mixed well. The point of the whole fanning process is to get the water to evaporate from rice faster and making rice more workable, this process makes rice sticky and soft enough to hold any shape you make it in to and cuts easily. Set this aside and let it completely cool. Keep in mind, you don't have to use all the vinegar. If you think rice is getting watery, stop using Vinegar.

To prepare Ginger:

• Boil 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 tsp sugar in a pot till sugar dissolves in it. cool completely before using.
• Younger the ginger root the better. 
• Wash the ginger root and peel out it's skin and throw it away
• Now peel ginger in to strips, add it to cooled vinegar sugar mixture.
• Soak it atleast 2 hours before you would use it.

How to roll Sushi?

There are a lot of  videos, this one I found was most user friendly for beginners. She demonstrates with a rolling mat, Actually you don't need one, I did not use one, your bare hands are perfect to roll them.... I made them for the first time, the ones in the picture, not so professional looking... but with practice they will get better... So do not fret too much when they do not turn out to be a perfect shape. They don't hold the shape inside your mouth now, do they? LOL! I am posting a video here as watching it makes it very clear than reading about it... you can google further for more interesting informative videos... This is a very fun recipe to try with kids...Make and enjoy.

 

Serving suggestions:

Sushi becomes so much better with wasabi and vinegared ginger... please try it. The possibilities with sushi are just endless. You can add cucumber, zucchini and many such veggies. Try and experiment. This dish can be experimented a lot with.

Tips:

Never soak the nori sheet with water, it will tear. when you use water to wet your hands, make sure not even a drop lands on the nori sheet. Keep dipping the knife in water while you cut these rolls, or all the rice will stick to the knife making it impossible to cut further and all your rolls will go bad.

Azefa/Azifa [Lentil Salad]

Azefa is an Ethiopian lentil salad. It tastes out of this world and is so healthy. High in protein and high in taste. Very easy to put together and will fill you up as well. Generally Azefa is served with injera,  my bet is it just goes well with any kind of bread or just plain as a salad. Azefa stores well, so you can make it ahead of time and store it for later use. It can be had as a salad, so go ahead and carry it for picnic lunches or just lunch on a work day...It is a starter in an Ethiopian restaurant at NYC... This could be one of those recipes spinsters or bachelors may love for the ease of making it. In the picture as you can see, I have served it with Indian dosa.... Personally, it tasted better with dosa than Injera :)... By the way lentils are just toor in India, not the daal, but the whole toor. In Kannada togari kaalu.

Prep time: 15 mins [if you don't have to soak and cook lentils]

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1. Lentils -  1 16 oz can or 1 cup (soak it for an hour and then cook it with lot of water and 1 tsp salt for 20 mins till it is well done. Do not over cook, it has to hold it's shape)
2. Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
3. Garlic - 2 pods, grated
4. Avocado - 1, finely chopped
5. Lemon or lime juice - 1 to 2 tbsp
6. Mustard - powder 1 tsp or 1 1/2 tsp paste
7. Plain white Vinegar - 3 tsp
8. Parsley - 2 tsp dry or 3 tsp fresh, finely chopped
9. Jalapeno - 1 seeded and finely chopped
10. Oil - 2tsp
11. Salt - to taste
12. Ground black pepper - to taste

Method:

Rinse the lentils from the can after, drain them well, combine all the above ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy. If you have cooked the lentils, Drain all the water and let it cool completely before you combine it with the rest of the ingredients.

Bread Masala Toast

It is simply called toast in Bangalore bakeries. I remember just getting overjoyed whenever someone got us these super hot toasts to eat. I still remember we had to split one single toast between 4 kids and we fought on who got the bigger piece. It was a serious fight back then but now they are all sweet memories. Sad part of it is, now I can buy or make and eat as much as i want to, but it is not as much fun :(... miss my bro and cousins :D. Sorry for getting nostalgic and emotional, let me talk about the toast a bit more. It is good as a snack for kids and adults, good for breakfast too... add some cheese for a little extra flavour. If you are planning a tea party or just an informal get together, this will be a hit with your friends. If you want them to be of  bite size pieces, just cut them after they bake.

Prep time: 20 mins

Bake time: 15 min

Pieces: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1. Grated carrots: 3 cups
2. Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece grated or 1 tsp paste
4. Garlic - 2 pods grated or 1 tsp paste (optional)
5. Tomato - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
6. Green chillies - 5 to 7 finely chopped (use according to how hot you want the toast)
7. Garam masala - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (use on how spicy you want it to be)
8. Cheese - about 1/2 cup, grated (optional). If you have slices, use them 1 per each slice of bread.
9. Bread - 6 to 8 slice. (any bread of your choice, I used whole wheat.)
10. Coriander/Cilantro - a handful, finely chopped.
11. Curry leaves - 4, finely chopped.
12. Oil - 2 tsp
13. Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat oil on medium heat in a pan and curry leaves.
• Add onions and a pinch of salt and saute till it gets slightly transparent.
• Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute till the raw smell goes away.
• Add carrots and saute till well cooked.
• Add tomatoes and saute till well cooked.
• Turn the stove off, add coriander and mix well.
• Preheat the oven at 350F and on a baking sheet arrange the bread slices and sprinkle cheese on top of them. 
• Spread the curry you just made and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes. [check after 10 mins, bake time may vary depending on the oven]
• If you do not have an oven, toast the bread on a pan over the stove top.  Flip the slice and sprinkle with cheese while the other side gets toasted. Then spread the curry.
• If you toast bread in a toaster, sprinkle cheese when the toast is hot and spread the curry, toast is ready to eat.. Enjoy!

Hummus

Hummus is the easiest and fastest dip/side you can make. Good with any kind of bread, very nutritious and tasty. If you have cooked chick peas, making Hummus takes just 10 minutes. Great for spinsters/bachelors who would want to eat food of value and which cooks in no time. Excellent source of protein and fiber. Good for kids, they will love it. Here goes the recipe. [will upload picture soon]

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

• Chickpeas - 1 16oz can, or a 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas [kabuli chana]
• Garlic - 1 or 2 pods crushed (use less if you don't like garlic)
• Tahini (sesame seeds paste) - 1 -2 tbsp or 2 tsp sesame seeds
• Mint leaves - 4 to 5
• Parsley - 1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dry
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Plain yogurt - 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice - 2 -3 tbsp or 2 tsp lime juice

Method

Drain the chick peas can and rinse chickpeas once in tap water. Add all the above ingredients into a blender and blend it into a smooth paste. If it gets very thick, add a little water to make it smooth running. The consistency of the paste should be like tomato ketchup. 

Serving Suggestions:

Best with Pita bread.  It can go with any bread or you can eat it straight away. Good as a dip for chips and vegetables.

Tip:

You can flavour Hummus with any of your favorite flavours. Add jalapeno's or green chillies to make it hot. Add red chillies to give it heat and colour or add 5 to 6 black olives to give it a olive touch. You can make Hummus taste like anything you want. The above recipe is just the basic one.

Spinach Zucchini & Lemon Soup

Yes, an amazingly tasty and hearty soup for winter. Very easy to make and will certainly make you taste buds tango to the creamy tangy taste. Low fat and low calorie make it  good for health and can be a good starter as well. 

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1. Zucchini - 1 medium, roughly chopped

2. Spinach - 1 whole big bunch, about 4 cups loosely packed.

3. Potato - 1 to 2 medium, chopped

4. Oil - 2 tbsp

5. Garlic - 4 pods, slightly smashed.

6. Oregano - 2 tsp dry or finely chopped fresh

7. Salt - to taste

8. Ground pepper - to taste

9 Jalapeno - 1 seeded and roughly chopped

10. Cilantro/ Green coriander - a handful

11. Olive oil - 1 tbsp [optional]

12. Onion - 1 medium roughly chopped

13. Celery - 2 stalks roughly chopped

Method:

1. Heat oil in a big pot. Add onions, dry oregano and a little salt, let it get transparent. 

2. Add potatoes and garlic and saute till potatoes sweat a little.

3. Add celery, jalapeno and let them sweat a little.

4. Add zucchini and saute till it sweats.

5. Add cilantro and spinach and close the lid till it all wilts and reduces in bulk.

6.  Add salt and pepper and enough water to almost cover all the contents and boil for 10 more minutes till potatoes are really well done.

7. Let it cool slightly and blend all the contents smooth. If you think it is too thick you can add a little more water.

8. Transfer blended soup to the pot, add fresh oregano now if you do not use dry. boil for 5 minutes. Squeeze 1 lemon's juice in to it and add olive oil and stir in the contents. Soup is ready to serve.

Serving Suggestion:

1. You can squeeze lemon  and add olive oil to individual serving bowls as per the individual's taste as well. 

2. Top it with a few croutons to make the soup more likable.

Tips:

Chop potatoes into thin slices to reduce cook time. Thinner cooks faster.