Spicy Tomato Soup

I love our spicy Indian tomato soups and since I've been down with some cold and cough, I wanted something hot to soothe my throat and also wanted it to have some tang, so I could taste it :) Sniffly-nosed, I pulled out some ingredients and made a soup that satisfied all my needs and was done in a jiffy... The colour of the soup may not be much, but the taste definitely worked out for me.

SPICY TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:

Roma Tomatoes - 4 or Big Tomatoes - 2, chopped

Onion - 1/3 of a medium onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

Bell pepper - 1/4 of a medium sized one, cut into 1 inch pieces

Carrot - 1, medium, cubed

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves

Chilli powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Bay leaf - 1

Clove - 1

Cornstarch - 2 tsp

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Butter - 1/2 tbsp and more to serve

Tomato Ketchup - abt 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

1) In a stockpot, heat the half tbsp of butter and add the clove and bay leaf, add the chopped onions, garlic & ginger, saute till they soften.

2) Next add the capsicum and carrot and fry for a few more minutes... then add the tomatoes, salt and chilli powder and cook till they turn a bit mushy.

3) Add about 3-4 cups of water and allow this to come to a boil. Simmer on a low to medium flame for about 15 minutes.

4) Pour this through a sieve, fish out the clove, bay leaf & discard them, puree the remaining solids in a blender/mixie till smooth.

5) Mix this paste and the stock and return to the pan. Heat this and add some cornstarch dissolved in water along with ketchup (if using) and allow this to boil, till it thickens to the right consistency.

6) Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with some additional butter and crunchy croutons.

Vengaya (Onion) Pakoda

The weather here is just perfect for some Onion Pakodas - in the teens and early 20s (C) with some showers.... Paired with a cup of tea, it's the ultimate way to relax and unwind.

I've used the following recipe from Mr. Hemant Trivedi's website so many times and it has always resulted in perfect pakodas. I love the passion with which he describes the food and the recipe itself. So, here's yet another winner of a recipe... which is always a hit.

VENGAYA MASALA PAKODA

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 150 gms

Besan (kadalai maavu) - 150 gms

Onions (big) - 3 to 4, sliced lengthwise into 2 inch pieces

Green Chillies - 4 to 5, chopped

Curry leaves - 3 stalks, chopped

Oil - 3 to 4 tsps + enough to deep fry pakodas

Baking Soda - a couple pinches

Chilli powder - 1 to 2 tsp, or to taste

Salt, to taste

Method:

1) Mix the rice flour and besan with salt and chilli powder. Now toss in the sliced onions, green chillies, curry leaves and mix this.

2) In a small bowl, mix the 4 tsps of oil with the baking soda thoroughly. Add this to the onion-flour mixture and combine.

3) Heat the oil to deep fry the pakodas and when it's at the right temperature (test by dropping a small piece, it should sizzle, fry and float up immediately), take a batch from the onion-flour mixture and add as little water as possible to just dampen and hold it together.

4) Now drop this batch into the hot oil (as small pieces) and deep fry till crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels and serve hot. Repeat this with the remaining onion-flour mixture, remembering to dampen each portion just before dropping them in oil.

Sambar for Idlis

Hello everyone, we are back from our trip home and enjoyed it thoroughly inspite of the unrelenting heat. It was great to be around for the mango season and every variety tasted so sweet and delicious in comparison to the ones we find here, even the ones my mom declared as 'ok, not too good' were received with oohs and aahs by us. We also had massive amounts of mango icecream and refreshing 'ilaneer' (tender coconut water). And during our short trip to Singapore, we sipped (and chewed) cups and cups of bubble tea, attacked the roti paratas, claypot dishes and many of the favorites I missed all these years.

It's good to blog again .... and I intend to blog-hop and catch up on the many posts I've missed...

Coming to the recipe of the day... though my well loved, oft-used sambhar recipe is simpler than this version and requires no grinding, this recipe results in a very flavorful complement to idlis and is worth the extra effort that it demands, so wanted to share this.

This is a Mallika Badrinath recipe with some modifications...

SAMBHAR FOR IDLIS

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
Small Onions - 1/2 cup, peeled (OR) 1 red onion - sliced thinly into 1 inch pieces
Red Radish - about 8 or so, sliced into thin rounds
Green Bell pepper (capsicum) - 1/2, cut into 1 inch cubes
Tomato - 1 medium
Tamarind - 1 lemon sized, soaked in warm water and juice extracted
Green chillies - 2, slit vertically
Salt, to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Musard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a few pinches
Curry leaves - few

To Roast & Grind:
Coriander seeds - 2.5 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1.5 tsp
Cumin seeds - 0.5 tsp
Channa Dhal - 2 tsp
Red Chillies - 8
Fenugreek (methi seeds) - a pinch
Black Pepper - abt 8
Pottukadalai (Dalia) - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 small to medium, sliced
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp, grated

Method:
1) Cook toor dhal in a pressure cooker with some turmeric and asafoetida with sufficient water till soft. I normally pressure cook the sliced radishes as well.

2) Heat a tsp of oil and fry coriander seeds, urad dhal, cumin, channa dhal, red chillies, pepper and methi till golden. Next add the sliced onion and when browned a bit, add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes with a pinch of salt. Finally, grind the above (when cooled a bit) with the pottukadalai (dalia) and coconut to a smooth paste with little water if necessary.

3) In a big pot, heat oil and season with mustard seeds, urad dhal, hing and curry leaves, add the onions and g. chillies and fry till pink. Now add the capsicum with some salt and when tender add the chopped tomato as well.

4) Add some water and allow this to cook till the vegetables are tender. Now add the tamarind exract, mashed dhal, cooked radish and the ground paste with sufficient salt and water. Allow this to boil until thick enough.

5) Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and swirl in a tsp of ghee at the end for aromatic, yummy sambar and serve with soft, spongy idlis or crisp dosais for a satisfying meal.

Banana Nut Choc Chip Waffles

I wanted something different for a weekend breakfast but didn't have a lot of time to whip up something fancy so reached out for my waffle iron - I have a non-stick one that is no-mess and is super easy to clean up when done. It also has 6 settings which determines how light or dark I want the waffle to be.

I also had some Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake mix that had to be used up so started with that and added some toppings. This batter is very versatile and can be made into pancakes if you don't have a waffle maker or even made into small kuzhi paniyarams.

BANANA NUT CHOCOLATE CHIP WAFFLES

Ingredients:

Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake Mix - 1 cup

Water - 3/4 cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Banana - 1 large, mashed

Walnuts / Almonds - 1 to 2 tbsp, chopped

Semi sweet Choc Chips - 2 to 3 tbsp

Sugar - 1 tbsp (optional and can be skipped if serving with syrup)

Method:

1) Combine the pancake mix, water and oil in a bowl and stir until there are no big lumps. Allow this to rest for 4-5 minutes, during which time, pre-heat the waffle iron (I use setting 4)

2) To the batter, add the mashed banana, chocolate chips and nuts, stir in gently.

3) When the waffle is hot enough (light turns green) add about 1/3 cup of batter in the middle and close down, it will spread automatically.

4) Cook until done (light turns green again). Serve with syrup or as is.

The above measurements make 4 flower shaped waffles / 20 waffle hearts.

We will be leaving for a month long trip next week and so I'll be on a break after this post. Will catch up with you all after I get back in May.... Ciao.

Pasta with Creamy Veggies

Wanting a quick dinner, I used this recipe of Rachel Ray's as a base and modified the ingredients to suit what I had on hand. The result is a yummy, wholesome pasta with lots of veggies and a creamy taste.

CREAMY VEGGIE PASTA

INGREDIENTS:

Penne (or any pasta) - 6 to 8 oz [I used half whole wheat pasta]
Onion - 1 medium, sliced thinly and into 1 inch pieces
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves, minced
Spinach - 6 to 8 oz (frozen, chopped)
Tomato - 1/2 chopped
Sun-dried tomatoes - 6 halves, reconstituted in boiling water for 5 mins
Zucchini - 1 medium, sliced into half-moons
Bell Peppers - 1 medium, sliced thin
Carrot - 1, slivered into thin matchsticks or Mushrooms - 8 sliced
Milk - 1/2 cup
Vegetable stock - 1/2 cup
Cream cheese - 3 to 4 oz
Parmesan cheese / Pepper jack cheese - 1/4 cup or more to taste
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
All purpose flour (maida) - 1 tbsp
Red Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Dried Basil leaves - 1 tsp
Hot Sauce (Sriracha) - to taste (optional)
Salt and pepper - to taste

Method:
1) In a big pan, heat up lots of water for the pasta and when it boils season with salt and cook the pasta in it until al-dente. Reserve about a cup of pasta water and drain it.

2) Meanwhile, in a big, deep skillet, heat the olive oil and add the garlic and onions first.. cook till the brown a bit, next add the zucchini, bell peppers, carrots (or mushrooms) and saute till the vegetables are tender.

3) Defrost the spinach and wring it so it gets dry. Break it up with your hands and add to the vegetable mixture, along with chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and red chilli flakes.

4) When the veggies are cooked sufficiently, sprinkle the flour and stir for a few minutes before adding the vegetable stock and milk. This will thicken quite rapidly... Add in the softened cream cheese at this point and season with salt and pepper.

5) Add in the cooked pasta, dried basil and the cheese with some hot sauce (if using). Toss this together until the flavours get combined. Add some of the reserved, starchy pasta water if you feel it's drying out. Topp with more fresh basil if desired. Creamy Pasta with a load of veggies is now ready and all done in one pot!

Grape Juice

Grape juice has always featured on my favorite juices list but I've never made it myself and when I saw this post of Lulu's I was craving for some. I had a bunch of grapes on hand and proceeded to juice them.

GRAPE JUICE

Ingredients:

Grapes - 1 cup (I used red seedless)

Water - about 1/2 cup

Method:

1) Wash grapes. Blend them with water until desired consistency is achieved.

2) Refreshing juice is now ready to sip. Strain if you wish, I didn't.

Tomato Dosa

My mom makes these yummy tomato dosas which are tangy, spicy and absolutely tasty. She normally serves this with a simple coconut chutney but I like it plain or with idli podi. This requires no fermenting to boot. I added in a chopped carrot this time, when grinding the tomatoes with no discernible difference in taste and also added green chillies (since I had lots on hand) but just red chillies will be fine. It was a hit with my 2 yr old too.

TOMATO DOSA

Ingredients:
Raw Rice - 1 cup, soaked for about 2 to 3 hours
Tomatoes - 2 to 3 big, cut into big pieces
Carrot - 1, peeled, cut into pieces
Ginger - 1.5 inch, peeled
Green Chillies - 3
Red chillies - 5
Curry leaves - few
Coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Onion - 1 medium, chopped very finely
Oil - to cook dosas

Method:
1) Grind tomatoes, carrot, coconut, ginger, green chillies, red chillies and curry leaves.

2) Next add the drained rice, salt and water as required to grind to a smooth paste ( I
use a mixie for this not the wet grinder).

3) Add the finely chopped onions and stir.

4) Pour the batter in a swirling motion (like making regular dosas) on a hot pan. Drizzle some oil on it.

5) When one side is cooked to a golden colour, flip over and cook the other side.

I would like to send this as my entry to Srivalli's Dosa Mela.

Oats & Peanut Butter

A dear friend (who blogs at Hunger Pangs) suggested this lovely combination of Oats and Peanut butter and I've been hooked on it since. It makes for a yummy and filling breakfast and I even like the texture of it. I've paired this recent favorite of mine with some other good eats for a very satisfying and feel-good breakfast.

OATS & PB Breakfast

Ingredients:
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats - 1/4 cup
Milk (1 %) - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1 tsp
Peanut butter - 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp [I use half]

1) Soak Oats in some hot milk for about 10 minutes. Then microwave it in 1 minute intervals (so it doesn't boil over) for a total of 3 minutes. Adding brown sugar after the initial 2 minutes. I find that it's not too gooey and has a slight bite to it at this point - which is how I like it.

2) When done, stir in the peanut butter.

Scrambled Eggs

1) Heat a non-stick pan and spray some oil, beat 1 egg and 1 tbsp of milk with some salt and pepper. Scramble on a low to medium flame to desire consistency. I like them well cooked and topped mine with some hot sauce.

Serve with fruit of choice.


NUTRITION FACTS: (1 serving - as shown, with Kiwi)
Calories - 310
Carbohydrates - 38 g
Protein - 16 g
Fat - 12 g
Fiber - 5g

I would like to send this as my entry to Mansi's WBB-Balanced Breakfasts which is an event started by Nandita, the Nutritioniste... :)

Microwave Mushroom Biryani

This is among my first few attempts of creating an entire dish in the microwave... I think the only other recipe I've tried was Nupur's Sabudana Khichdi. I chanced upon this recipe on the Arusuvai website, had mushrooms on hand and Srivalli's MEC - Rice Dishes on my mind so decided to give it a try. The resulting biryani was spicy, yummy and a keeper for sure.

MICROWAVE MUSHROOM BIRYANI

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup, washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
Button Mushrooms - 1 (8 oz) Pack ~ 15 mushrooms, chopped
Onion - 1 big, chopped finely
Tomato - 1, pureed in a mixie
Ginger - garlic paste - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped
Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Biryani Masala / Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Cloves - 2 or 3
Cardamom - 1
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Star Anise - 1
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:
1) Drain the soaked rice and add 2 cups of water to it (1:2 ratio). Add the whole masalas (Cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise), a bit of salt and a few drops of oil. Cover and cook in MW for 9 minutes on high and then for another 6 minutes at 75% power. [ I selected Rice on my microwave since it has a sensor cook option].

2) Once cooked, empty out the rice onto a plate and allow to cool. Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth and chop.

3) Heat oil in a microwaveable bowl, cover and cook for a minute to warm it. Now add the cumin seeds and the chopped onion, ginger-garlic paste, stir and allow to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on high.

4) Now stir in chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, cumin and pepper powders and microwave for another 1-2 minutes.

5) Next add the ground tomatoes and cook for about 2-3 minutes on high. Stir in the yogurt, half of the chopped mint and coriander leaves, garam masala/biryani masala and salt. Allow this to cook for another 3 minutes on high.

6) Finally add the chopped mushrooms and cook on high for 4 to 5 minutes or until you have a nice thick gravy.

7) Divide the rice into 3 portions and the mushroom masala into 2. In another microwaveable bowl, layer them thusly - Rice, Mushroom, Rice, Mushroom, Rice. Top with the remaining coriander and mint leaves. Cover this and microwave for about 8 minutes on 75% power. This is to mimic the 'dum' technique.


8) Gently stir the rice and mushroom masala without breaking. Mushroom Biryani is now ready to serve.

As mentioned earlier, I would like to send this as my entry to Srivalli's MEC - Rice Dishes. I finally managed to send in an entry to your super event.... :)

Vazhakai (Plantain) Roast

Here's a quick recipe with Vazhakai (Green, Raw Plantains) and makes for a yummy side-dish. I usually eat a good quantity of this during the process of making it - hot off the pan :) The plantains we get here cook really fast - which according to my mom is not the case in India, so I usually just dice and throw them in the pan directly with no pre-cooking whatsoever.

VAZHAKAI ROAST

Ingredients:

Vazhakais (Plantains) - 3

Sambhar powder - 2 to 3 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tsp + Oil spray

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Asafoetida - few pinches

Method:

1) Peel and dice the vazhakai into small cubes.

2) Heat oil in a wide, shallow pan add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.

3) Toss in the vazhakai cubes, sambhar powder and salt. Sprinkle a few drops of water and cover for a few minutes until the vazhakai is slightly cooked.

4) Remove the cover and let it roast on a medium flame with a few sprays of oil (if required) and toss until browned, crispy and cooked through.

5) Serve hot with rice, rasam and curds.