Prawn Mee Soup / Penang Hokkien Mee Soup- Our Way

As promised, here is a recipe, a more local recipe this time. Penang is part of Malaysia and this region is also blessed with diverse cuisine habits and culture, mainly Chinese influence as many early settlers in this region came from China. Although many settled here and adopted native languages, local food habits, inter-mingled with local populations, but somehow they also carried their food legacies with them where ever they went. I haven’t been to Penang myself, so I am not sure how Prawn mee is made in a traditional Penang home, but then it’s also a very popular street food/hawker food with many variations. I happened to taste it first when we went to a restaurant here in Kuala Lumpur. That warm and delicious prawn noodle soup lingered on my mind and my taste-buds for many days. I started looking for the recipe in internet, but couldn’t recall the name of the recipe. Then when we went again, second time in that same restaurant, I made sure to memorize the name this time- so the name was Prawn Mee/Har mee …...and that stayed with me…the name and the flavour.

Here I tried to re-create that taste in my own apartment kitchen. I really don’t know how authentic it can be, but the flavour of the noodle soup reminded me of that deliciously cooked prawn mee soup I had earlier in that restaurant. I have tried to make this soup with whatever I had at the time of making it and also to please our Indian taste buds so little variation is there. There are other authentic recipes out in internet as well.- Like this.

I also found out other minute details slowly with our endeavours during our weekend excursions. Penang Hokkien mee is what the soupy prawn noodle is known as Prawn Mee over here in KL. And when I ordered Hokkien mee here in KL, the dish turned out something different- more of drier stir/fry/ version which my daughter just loved it. There you see a very minute difference and the entire recipe turns out something else for you. Anyhow this is how I made it- Prawn Mee soup aka Penang Hokkien Mee Soup aka Har Mee soup. And Btw ‘Mee’ is dish containing noodles in it, word origin is Chinese. 

This is how we made it -

Prawn Mee- egg noodle soup recipe/ Penang Hokkien mee/Har Mee recipe

Cooking time – 1hr

Recipe requirements

(Serves 3-4)

For prawn stock

About 20-25 prawns – head and tails is also required

2-3 tsp of oil

 1tsp of fish sauce

Salt as per taste 

For chilli paste/spice paste

5-6 blanched prawn (head and tail removed)

4-5 garlic pods

8-10 birds red chillies

Salt as per taste

 For the main soup

 About 200 – 250 gms of thick rice noodles/ or yellow noodles/ egg noodles

2- 3 tsp of cooking oil

2 tsp of prepared spice paste

½ tsp of red pepper powder (add if you need spicier version)

2-3 tsp of palm sugar

6-7 shallots – or 2 onions

 3-4 garlic pods

½ inch ginger

2- 3 dry red chilly

2-3 tsp of cooking oil

Vegetables of your choice

Any green leaves - choi sum/Ong Choi/ amaranth/spinach etc. (blanched)

1 medium size carrot

1 cup of chopped yard long beans – 2-3 inch in length

 1 cup of bean sprouts

 Any other vegetables

 Hard boiled eggs to garnish (optional)

Method

Home-made prawn stock- base of Prawn Mee soup recipe- made the soup with shrimps

 Take about 7-8 cups of water in a big heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add in salt, and cooking oil.

As the name suggest Prawn Mee , prawns are the main ingredients. Remove head and shells from prawns, clean it well in water. Blanch these cleaned and de-veined prawns for about 3-4 mints in above simmering water. Take out and set aside.

Now add in removed prawn heads and shells in to the above simmering pot. Add in fish sauce. Put the flame to medium-low and let it simmer for about 40- 50 mints. Take out and discard prawn heads and shells. This is your home-made prawn stock and it tastes absolutely delicious. (Many times pork fat or chicken pieces are also added)

Now add in all the vegetables of your choice, let it cook for 6-7 mints or till they just start turning pale. I like when they retain bit of crunchiness. Take them out and keep aside in separate bowls. We will use these blanched vegetables at the time of assembling the Prawn Mee soup.

In a separate pan, boil egg noodles/rice noodles or yellow noodles, whatever you are using for the soup. I have used thick rice noodles which takes longer to cook. I have added bit of turmeric powder to the simmering rice noodles, so that it soaks bit of colour. Tip- You can use any thick instant noodle as well available  in India- like ramen/Maggi/chef/patanjali etc.….

Now prepare the shrimp/spice paste

Blanch 4-5 prawns in the above simmering pot and take out in a bowl.

 In a food processor, blend 4-5 blanched prawns, garlic and red chilly together.

Put the fry pan on flame, add in cooking oil and fry this spice paste for about 8-10 mints at medium-high flame or till the oil separates out. Take out and put in bowl. Use 2 tsp of this paste for the prawn mee recipe and if you have left-over, store in fridge. This can be served with the soup as an accompaniment also. TIP- You can use ready-made sambal- chilli paste as well.

Chop all very finely –onion+ ginger+garlic. If you think a paste will work fine then you can do it as well.

In that fry pan, add more cooking oil, fry onion, garlic and ginger evenly. You can make a spice paste out of this also and mix it with above mentioned prawn spice paste.

Preparing Vegetables and Prawns for the soup

Add in all the blanched vegetables, blanched prawns, palm sugar, adjust salt and last but not the least shrimp spice paste. You can use sambal chilli as well if you don’t want to make home-made shrimp paste. Basically any paste which has dried shrimp paste can also be used. This shrimp paste adds the extra shrimp flavour. Coat all the prawns and vegetables well with the spices. Green leafy vegetables like – spinach, Ong choi, can also be added but they need to be cooked/blanched separately.

Assembling Prawn Mee soup

Now put cooked noodles, then top it with your choice of cooked vegetables and prawns, add in cooked prawn stock and garnish with cilantro and hardboiled egg.

Note-

This soup is known as Penang Hokkien Mee in Penang. In KL it is knowns as Prawn Mee or Har mee. However, if in KL and Singapore you order Hokkien Mee – they will serve you with fried noodles with prawn and it will be different as compared to Penang Hokkien Mee.

Happy Cooking Friends

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup- Mediterranean Inspired

As we see autumn slowly winding up its vigor near our vicinity, and this makes us feel, for the onset of winter ahead. Although we still want to cling on to those colorful autumn colors that brought such visual treats to us, but it isn’t going to happen anymore. The winter hibernating trees or dormant trees have shed their last leaves, preparing themselves for the harsh winter ahead.

So, to speak, I thought may be a spicy soup with autumn’s favorite vegetables is must. I have started using butter nut squash more, in our day-today cooking these days. It’s not that I am going over the board to make this vegetable almost everyday, but occasionally I do like the sweetness it adds up to any dish – be it a soup or a simple stir/fry.

I always dread the cutting part that accompanies with butter-nut squash, but slowly I am getting used to the cutting part as well. Another good way to easily eat them, is to roast them in oven, but then that requires time and of course  it is a different recipe.On the other hand, you may use a sharp edged knife and it works fine, however be careful while cutting and peeling it.

I thought it should taste something very similar like pumpkin, but it has little variation- sweetish to taste and at the same time a nice chunky texture as well. A simple stir/fry recipe goes well also. But then my mind was more into a Mediterranean inspired cooking. There, it’s very common to use pumpkin in many soup preparations. I had butter-nut squash and I wanted to use it up differently, what followed later on was a search for a soup with Mediterranean influenced pairing and spicing up.

I had everything in my pantry that I possibly can imagine for this soup; I wanted to give a nice tangy and sweetish flavor to the soup, so it came down to tomato and butternut squash dotting on to the line. Then it was easy to assemble spicing it up with ginger, cumin and a slight hint of fennel. Actually adding fennel is just my way of playing around with the ingredients, as I do really like the soft flavor it has. Although it is up to you, if you do not wish to add in, then skip it altogether.

Here is how we made it, spiced butternut squash soup, now who doesn’t like a warm bowl of soup with a heart attached to it, at least I don’t. 

Now to the recipe

Spiced Butter Squash and Tomato Soup Recipe (Mediterranean inspired)

Recipe requirements

1 whole butternut squash

½ tsp of fennel seeds

 3 tsp of cumin seeds

1 large tomato

 ½ inch fresh ginger / or 1 tsp of dry ginger powder

1 tsp of dried herbs like thyme or parsley

1 tsp of salt or as per taste

½ tsp of black pepper powder or to taste

2-3 tsp of cooking oil

 1 tsp of corn starch

Method

Peel the skin of butter nut squash with a sharp edged knife. Be careful while peeling the skin. Now cut into chunks out of it, discarding all the seeds. Chop tomato as well.

Now heat up a pan, add in cooking oil, and add in finely chopped ginger. Add in squash and tomato. Keep on stir/fry till the tomatoes and squash become soft. If you want to use dried ginger powder then add in after the vegetables have turn soft.

In a separate pan, dry roast fennel seeds, cumin seeds and dry grind the seeds to get spice powder. Add this dry mixture to the above pan.

Take the content off from the heat. Transfer the entire content in a blender. Add in 1 cup of water, and blend all well, preferably in batches so that it does not over-crowd the blender. If you do not want a thick soup, and then add in more liquid. You may even use chicken stock as well.Add in dried herbs of your choice if you wish to.

Now in half cup of water, dissolve 1 tsp of corn starch. Reserve it to add later on.

Put the entire blended content again to cook. Let it simmer slowly for about 10-15 mints.

Add in corn starch water and give a nice stir. After 4-5 mints it will start to thicken. Remove from further cooking.Adjsut salt and black pepper now. Serve hot with any bread. I have used double cream for garnishing and served with crackers.sometimes I like to add red chily flakes in place of black pepper for the extra heat.

Note

You may replace butternut squash with pumpkin as well. Replace yogurt in place of double cream for even healthy option.

Happy Cooking Friends

Leek and Potato soup

I know you all will be wondering what happened to this lady. Sshh! lots of happening but then I will leave it to that only, lots of happenings! Well, it just that I don’t blog about much or update the blog, that doesn't mean I am off on cooking or off with my other daily responsibilities. Cooking is an integral part of me now, cooking and feeding three hungry souls and tummies.
We also had a nice break from our mundane daily life and a holiday; a long awaited one, to one of the most beautiful places on earth, Switzerland. Now that we are back many moons ago, we wish someday we will get another opportunity by God’s grace to re-visit the place all over again. Now, who doesn't like to have a quiet holiday away from the maddening rush of the city, some where near in the laps of mountains and valleys, lost and hidden…

Anyhow, as of now a glimpse of Switzerland that I had to share with you, there you see mountain peak Matterhorn, playing hide-n-seek with clouds. Now start dreaming and gushing……

Summer has started and within this period, last week UK saw some of the hottest summer days, something that it is so unruly of British summer here. This week as it seems weather will be moderate, and let’s hope in India; summer turns out bearable soon, as what ever I am hearing from my family back there, the heat is unbearable. Stay safe, avoid day time extreme sun-rays exposure, drink lots of fluids to re-hydrate and replenish yourself. Protect little kids and senior citizens from extreme heat. Now, waiting for monsoon to arrive soon.

I am also including in this post, a simple leek potato soup recipe. We have been utilizing leeks in many ways, like in leek Chorchori, leek/potato/mushroom stir/fry, leek rotis/paratha and leek- carrot –pasta bake etc, but then if we talk about leek, then how can I forget to add leek and potato soup here.
Sometimes a simple bowl of hot piping soup is all, which is needed to feel warmth and cozy inside us, and if you are like us, believing in simplicity and nutritious meals, then go ahead and make it immediately.

A very easy and simple soup with leeks
Leek and Potato soup
Recipe requirements
2-3 large leeks
2 medium size potatoes
½ cup of whole milk
1 tbs of butter
1 tsp of crushed black pepper
Salt as per taste

Method
Clean leek stalks in running water to get rid of mud if any and cut them roughly. If still there is traces of mud, then soak the cut leek stalks pieces and leaves in ample water for about 10-15 mints, and then drain it later on. Cut potatoes into cubes.
Put a saucepan over medium heat, and add in butter.
Now add in chopped leeks and potatoes.
Stir/fry them for about 4-5 mints or until the leeks shrink in size and starts releasing water.
Add salt and black pepper to the above. It would be nice if you can use freshly crushed black pepper corn.
Add in milk and about 2 cups of water now. Let it slowly simmer and cooked into a mushy textured soup. Now you can pulse through half of the soup mixture or can puree it entirely depending on your preference. We like to puree half the soup mixture and then retaining some chunks of cooked potatoes and leek leaves.
Serve warm with cream or butter and garnish with dried herbs of your choice.
Refreshing leek soup is ready.


Let’s cheer our favorite teams in football world cup currently being hosted in Brazil...May the best team win…

Happy Cooking friends

Laksa Soup - Our Way

 Most of the time when it rains or if it’s getting dark and gray, we often make hearty warm soups. This makes us feel rejuvenated even after having a tiring day out. I have loved probably most of the soup recipes which have loads of veggies or pearl barley soup or even a spinach soup.Curry Laksa soup was always on my mind since the time I happen to read it in a cook book which featured many other Oriental recipes. And from then the bug of having home-made warm Laksa soup hit me hard.

I seldom read cook books and even if I happen to read cook books, I generally forget about everything written once I put down the book. It is rare that something gets stored in my mind and tops in the “to-do-list”. Yes, you read it right I rarely read cook books. But then there comes some good cook books which is sort of food bible to most of us and it’s not that easy to jump pages quickly, well it does keep you engrossed. And then I wonder why on earth I didn't get a chance to read it beforehand. While we were in library one fine day and I happen to read a cook book by a famous food writer, where I got to read the recipe for laksa soup.

What I read, I liked it and then imagined myself, I was sitting on the lap of snow-clad mountains some where near in Bhutan- a place near to Bengal , wearing that traditional dress of those nice Bhutanese people , relaxing with a warm bowl of fresh home-made laksa soup( oh! Laksa is more of a Malay or a Singaporean meal and has many variations specific to particular region.)And that made-up picture itself was so rejuvenating.So, while coming back to home; I promised to myself I am sure going to make it. And then that curry laksa soup was introduced for the first time in our dinner menu that day.

And then it just happened few days back that I made Laksa soup again, so thought of writing the recipe here before this thing slips out of mind or if I forget to take snaps. The basic recipe for Laksa soup is little modified here to suit our Indian taste –buds, so I happen to add red pepper powder to make it spicier. I don’t have the usual ingredients like “belacan”- which is dried shrimp paste, galangal and lemongrass in my pantry, but then I replaced them with what ever I had in my pantry. Fresh root ginger, lemon juice and fish sauce that is what I had and yes it has all of them. I guess it is more or less a refined version of "Johor Laksa" which comes from southern Malaysia.
Please use the recipe as just mere guidelines and if you are looking for traditional laksa soup, then visit some other place. But come to think of it “traditions”, is all about what one believes in and what ever we happen to pass on to next generations ahead of us. My family tradition might be slightly different form yours , but the core of the thing is “believing” in it and “practicing” it.

Laksa Soup
Recipe requirements

• About 2-3 nests of fine egg noodles or
• 2-3 nests of Rice noodles
• Half a can of thick coconut milk
• 200 Gms of shrimps
• 3-4 cups of broth or water
• 2 cups of 2 inch long cut strips of green beans
• Any other vegetables of your choice like
• Bean sprouts
• Bok choy
• Baby corn etc 
• For the spice paste of laksa soup

• 6-7 shallots
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• ½ inch fresh ginger root or galangal
• 5-6 blanched almonds
• 2 whole dry red pepper
• ¼ tsp of shrimp paste or
• ½ tsp of fish sauce
• 2 tsp of lime juice
• ½ tsp of turmeric powder
• ½ tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of red pepper powder
• 1 tsp of sugar
• ½ tsp of salt or as per taste
• 3-4 tsp of cooking oil

 Method

1. Marinate cold water cooked shrimps with turmeric powder and salt. We mostly get  cooked shrimps which are already cleaned here. But if using fresh shrimps then it’s necessary to properly clean and de-vein shrimps, removing shells as well. Keep aside for half an hour.
2. Now heat up a fry pan and sauté them for 2-3 mints. Take them out and reserve it to be added at the time of assembling the soup.
3. Now prepare the laksa paste
4. Since I didn’t have shrimp paste also known as “belacan” at the time of making this soup and also I generally don’t use them either. Instead I like to use fish sauce in any Oriental inspired recipes. But we needed the meatiness of shrimp as well. So, while preparing the masala paste for laksa, I did add sautéed small shrimp which provided that meaty texture of the paste.
5. In a blender, blend in shallots, garlic, ginger, about 7-8 sautéed cold water shrimps, blanched almonds, whole dried red pepper, lemon juice, fish sauce and oil. Blend all to form a uniform laksa paste.
6. Now heat up a deep bottom pan, add in water and let it come to boil. Add in egg noodles, little bit of salt and a tsp of cooking oil. Cook the noodles and make sure they don’t get soggy. Even if they are partially cooked; they will be cooked once being added to the simmering soup.I personally like egg noodles but you may even use spaghetti noodles as well.Egg noodles cook quickly as compared to spaghetti pasta noodles.
7. Drain the water and reserve cooked noodles.
8. Now add cooking oil in a heated deep bottom pan and add in prepared laksa paste.
9. Stir/fry the laksa paste well for 6-7 mints.Add in red pepper powder and cumin powder. Adjust it with salt and sugar. Since fish sauce is salty which we already have added ,take precaution while adding salt to soup at this time. It will be appropriate to taste soup at this time and then add in salt if required.Even belacan is also bit salty in case you are using it.
10. Now add in coconut milk, mix all well. Let it slowly simmer a while.Then add in about 2-3 large cups of warm water or broth if using it.
11. While the soup is simmering, stir/fry other vegetables like beans, bean sprouts, baby corn or bok Choy just for 3-4 mints to retain the crunchiness. Note- to retain color of green vegetables , put them with cooking noodles in hot water, take them out 2-3 mints later and then proceed to sauté them for a short time about 3-4 mints. This way they will retain the green color and also will turn out crispy. Then add them as garnishing at the time of serving laksa soup.
12. After about 10-12 mints when the soup has blended well with the fried laksa paste. Add in cooked noodles. Take it off from the flame.And keep it covered.
13. Now have and serve with other garnishing such as fried shrimp, green beans and a slice of lemon wedge.
14. You can even add sautéed chicken breast strips or cooked crabs.

Note-

This recipe for laksa soup is adapted to suit our taste buds. Traditionally laksa soup is made with- dried shrimp paste, galangal and lemon grass. I have used fresh ginger root in place of galangal, and fish sauce in place of shrimp paste. Lemon grass was replaced with fresh lime juice. Shrimp paste is available now in many super-markets, if you really want to use it then sure go ahead.You can even try it out with any ready-made Thai red curry masala paste.Watch this youtube video to know more about it.

Happy Cooking Friends

Curly Kale Lao Diye Dal- Dal Cooked with Curly Kale and Bottle Gourd

Sometimes I wonder there are so many recipes hanging out till eternity in this wide world web that if you start counting, it can may easily exceed the count for all the stars and satellites in this Milky Way. And probably in coming years many new recipes will be added and will continue to do so. 

And this dal recipe with curly kale and bottle gourd is just another addition to it.

Imagine yourself in a 3 dimensional zone and recipes floating out all around you, and you picking up a recipe when flashed in front of your eyes.Ok I know that seems gross and a scene straight lifted from a sci-fi movie, well my intention is not something to make you shiver with horror, but to make you realize that these are texts and pictures only and they are hanging till eternity in this place we call “WWW”.So, slow down friends when it requires and take it easy on blogging.

There are many recipes out here on internet, some talks about exotic ingredients, and then their breath-taking pictures, food styling, presentation, props and what not.So everything neatly presented, pictures composed, even photo shopped, and well balanced taken into many technical aspects - white balance, shutter speed, aperture etc , and in between all this the poor food, which becomes cold and the lovely family waiting patiently.

Can’t we blog about simple home-food without getting deep into the technical aspect of a gadget .The kind of real food and home-made ,which we eat regularly, showing our messy kitchen counter-top, kitchen cupboard, messy or grubby stove-top or is this too boring for most of you. I don’t know when the day will come when we will jump to see a picture of dal and roti instead of three-layered chocolate cake or tiramisu or calzone or creme Brule or whatever.

And even we as food bloggers ,don’t want to look back some recipe again and make them again, that’s true in any case but we are sorry I keep on doing it. Once written, seen and read then the chapter is closed.You know kind of recipes which you can tick in the box as show-stopper recipe, or a show-casing recipe, all eyes glued on to it.

And then there are recipes, that requires no rocket science or algorithm, even you don’t have to remind yourself  of any trigonometric functions, or the aperture speed, focal length, white balance, day light or night light, evening time ,morning time etc and still you can do it fine with a picture clicked just on an auto mode.

And this dal recipe is one among those home-made simple foods, and you know the end product will be edible and comforting. It’s just like you can cook it the way you make your morning tea in a microwave and/ or driving a car in an auto mode cruising along a highway.

Give me any day a bowl of hot, piping dal and warm cooked rice, and I will be the happiest person.

Curly Kale Lao’er dal –Dal Cooked with Curly Kale and Bottle gourd

Recipe requirements (measurements are approx)

•  1-2 cups of moong dal
• 2 cups of Bottle gourd /lauki/Lao/ghia chopped in cubes
• 1 bunch Curly kale, leaves and tender stalks chopped
• Seasonings and tempering
• ½ tsp of red pepper powder
• ¾ tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamoms
• ½ inch cinnamon
• 2-3 dry red pepper
• 2-3 tej patta or bay leaves
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• Few methi or fenugreek seeds
• Pinch of hing/asafetida

Method

• Wash the lentils very well. Put the pressure cooker on at medium flame/gas mark-5 or 6.
• Add in lentils and enough water to cover up lentils very well. Discard white foam forming afterwards.
• Now add in chopped bottle gourd/lauki /Lao cubes. Add in chopped curly kale also. Alternately you can blanch the green leaves and add later on while tempering the dal. Note- While I would recommend pressure cooking the curly kale leaves with lentils as this way it will retain the nutritional water coming out from the leaves. Otherwise both ways Curly Kale needs proper cooking as compared to spinach leaves which cooks very fast.
• Now add in salt and turmeric powder.
• Pressure cooks it for one whistle. Open it few mints later; don’t wait for the pressure to subside, as it may turn lentils and lauki/lao to be over-cooked and a mush. Run some cold water over pressure cooker to open it quickly.
• Add in 2 cups of water now and some chopped tomatoes. Adjust with sugar now.
• Now for the tempering/tarka/phoron
• Heat up a small saucepan, add mustard oil, and add in hing, cumin and fenugreek/methi seeds.
• Add in dry red pepper and tej patta.Add in cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.Stir/fry them 1-2 mints.
• Now add in chopped tomatoes. Fry them well till tomatoes become a pulp sort.Add in red pepper powder.
• Now add in this tempering/tarka/phoron into the cooked dal. Let it cook at medium flame for 5-7 mints.
• Take it off when all have mixed well.
• Serve with warm cooked rice of roti.-Note- increase the water content if you wish to make soupy preparation of this dal.

And Happy Cooking Friends

Baby Spinach and Beet Lentil Soup

We have been trying many new soups these days. Our traditional Bengali moong masor’er dal got recently a new twist. I happened to have some beet and baby spinach, in pursue of introducing healthy vegetables in to our meals, I decided may be I should go ahead and try adding them in dals or lentils.

Now I am sure everybody has their own versions of these dal or lentil soup. The recipe below is my way of incorporating flavors together. I skip tempering the dal with onion, ginger and garlic, instead I do like to add them right with the lentils and pressure cooks it. It saves whole lot of effort and flavor wise tastes wonderful.

Now to the recipe

Baby Spinach and Beet Lentil Soup

Recipe requirements

• 1 large bowl of baby spinach
• 1 large beet with tender leaves if possible
• ½ cup of massor dal/red lentils
• ½ cup of dhuli moong dal/yellow lentil
• 2-3 tbs of pearl barley
•  1 medium size onion
• ½ inch ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 medium size tomatoes
• 1 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of crushed black pepper

Method

• Chop and wash beetroots. Wash and clean baby spinach leaves well in water.
• Now chop in garlic, ginger, onion and tomato roughly.
• Clean and wash the lentil mixture of moong and masoor dal , couple of times in water.
• In a pressure cooker, add enough water say about 3-4 cups . Add in lentil mixture, when a white froth appears, scoop out and discard that.
• Now add in all the chopped vegetables- beet, tomato, onion, ginger and garlic and also pearl barley. I have added barley to give a little more filling touch otherwise it’s not necessary to add it. Do not add spinach now.
• Now lock the pressure cooker and put it to cook. One whistle at high, lower the flame – 1-2 mints and then takes it off from the flame.

• Open the lock once the pressure subsides. Add in baby spinach leaves. As spinach leaves are tender, it will get cook easily.
• Now adjust the seasonings, add salt and also add freshly crushed black pepper. This imparts a great flavor.Or you may add cayenne pepper for some extra spice in the soup.
• Let it cool a little bit, then pulse thro half of the soup mixture in a grinder/mixer, reserving the beet root pieces. Otherwise leave it and serve without making a puree whichever way you prefer. Personally I do feel making a puree adds some great color and texture to the soup, making it more creamy sans cream and thick.
• At the time of serving, sprinkle some dried herbs over it. Even Kasoori methi can work great here as an alternative to Italian dried herb or oregano.

Sending this soup recipe to Priya's  Healthy Diet Event- Warm Soup at Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes...............

                                                        **********************

These two pictures below were clicked by our DD, while we were roaming around in a park in Cambridge.

Aren't they gorgeous!! 

Well can’t believe entire week has gone and now it’s finally Friday.Enjoy your weekends friends...and 

Happy cooking friends.

Pearl Barley Sweet corn and Carrot soup

How many times you can watch a movie? Two times .Three times. I ,we have been watching “Lion King” for 10 times now and each time we see it, we find something new and amazing about it.

We slowly have started liking, watching cartoon films (yeah that is how most of our weekend evenings are spent now).Credits goes to our adorable DD who insists on watching it with us.

But interesting thing to mention here is that each time we see it, there is always some hidden message. So, will go with what Timon and Pumbaa sings “Hakunamatata”…You will think we have gone nuts. But trust me “Hakunamatata” philosophy does help…so for the time being I am in that mood “problem free philosophy” even in cooking food. So, I do think soups needs less tension and time to be prepared but when it comes to nutrition and benefits they excel...don’t they...

This week it’s soup week here. Barley as you all know is a healthy alternative to rice or wheat. So, whenever I feel like having something different other than eating rice for lunch, most of the time I end up eating soups made with barley.

Sweet corn and carrots do add nice and healthy nutrients and some color also to this soup. And this is really will be great way to eat healthy after last week’s filo pastry indulgence.

Pearl Barley Sweet corn and Carrot soup

Recipe requirements

• ½ cup of barley
• 1 cup of sweet corn
• 2 carrots
• 8-10 penne pasta
• 1 tomato
• 2 garlic pods
• ½ inch of ginger
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of crushed black pepper

Method

• Cut and chop vegetables roughly. Finely chop garlic and ginger.
• In a pressure cooker add in 4-5 cups of water. You can use vegetable or chicken broth in place of plain water.
• Now add in all the chopped vegetables- tomato, carrots, garlic and ginger. Adjust the seasonings with salt and crushed black pepper. Add in sweet corn.
• Now add in washed barley and also penne pasta.
• Lock the pressure cooker and let it have one whistle. Lower the flame and cook for 3-4 mints. Switch off, open when the pressure subsides.

Serve warm with some toasted bread.

Sending this soup to Priya's Healthy Diet Event- Warm Soup at Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes...............

Happy Cooking Friends

Winter Vegetarian Pearl Barley Soup

As gusty wind is hitting furiously in our neck of the woods past two days, temperature has predictably gone low. Well in this weather all we need is this comforting bowl of piping hot soup. Luckily it was sunny today but there was a sudden amount of chill in the air.

I was doing grocery shopping the other day and when I passed near the world food cuisine section, I picked up my favorite couscous as usual. And then my eyes got stuck on simple white shinning grains. When I picked it up it looked more like wheat kernels but then they were white not golden yellow.
I looked up the label and it said pearl barley. Pearl barley is -well why I should tell you. Jokes apart read read here in wiki  to know more about it.
Not to be confused with hulled barley where the outer important shield is retain which gives even more nutrition.

There is nothing royal about this recipe, no exotic ingredients being used, but believe me this taste just heaven. I mean a simple soup can really fill you up and it’s ridiculously simple, what more can I add about it. I really wonder why I haven’t come across this great source of nutrition earlier.
DH finished his bowl of soup like hot cake and helped himself with second helping. Then it was my DD’s turn to have her second helping. And I was so delighted that how a simple dish like this can bring our dinner table alive. I started wondering why pearl barley hasn’t received its due credit.

I searched our reliable source internet for various barley recipes. And many of them have beef, or lamb or chicken, but were looking for a vegetarian option. So came up with this recipe. However I would suggest reading this, this and this   post for other interesting pearl barley soup recipes as well.

Although any root vegetables like carrot/parsnip etc or leek/celery is used to make barley soup, but I had none at the time of making this soup. When I opened my fridge I saw some mushrooms and carrots. Well of course I had onion and garlic. So, based on these ingredients I started to make this soup.
I do think pearl barley need 35-45 mints of proper cooking. I was in hurry so, I pressure cook the pearl barley. And it was ready in 10 mints.

All you people just try making it, you won’t be disappointed.

Winter Vegetarian Barley soup

Recipe Requirements (Serves 3-4 )

• Pearl barley- Roughly  1 to 1 and half cup
• 1 cup of pasta ( fusilli or penne works fine)
• Vegetables of your choice
• I happen to use about 2-3 large carrots and
• About 200 gms of mushroom
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2-3 large tomatoes

Seasoning

• 1and 1/2  tsp of Salt
• ½ tsp of Crushed chilly flakes or 1 tsp of black pepper powder
• 2 tsp of dried thyme or fresh thyme which ever is available
• Little bit of sugar (optional)

Method

• Chop all the vegetables roughly into equal size.
• Pressure cook barley for one whistle at high. Stop the flame and then open when pressure subsides properly.
• Meanwhile chop tomatoes in half and make roughly 4-5 slices. Transfer them to baking pan. Drizzle cooking oil over them.
• Preheat oven at 200 deg and roast tomatoes for 20-25 mints.This way they tend to retain even more flavour.
• Now bring a large pot with water to boil. Add all the chopped vegetables, pasta and half of roasted tomatoes.
• Open the pressure cooker lid; add in other half roasted tomato. This time add more water about 2 large cups.
• Mix the ingredients in two pots in to a large cooking pot. Cover and cook until pasta is tender , about 10 mints.
• You may wish then puree the ¼ part of the soup for the thick and creamy soup version.
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Note -

• One thing should be kept in mind is that since this soup has barley and pasta both this tend to soak the gravy a lot. So, you may see that at the time of serving it turns out thick. So, keeping in mind this it’s necessary to add enough water or any broth/stock before hand in ample amount.
• You may use ready-made vegetable or chicken broth for this soup. I didn’t wish to do, so I made it all from scratch.
• Serve warm with some cheese. I didn’t like it with cheese but my daughter likes this soup with mozzarella cheese. Enjoy this warm bowl of soup after a day’s hard work or even just for yourself as a real soul warming treat.Don't tell me you need a reason for that.

Have a nice weekend and Happy Cooking Friends.

Quick and Easy Carrot Soup

As promised in  last post , here is simple, quick and easy  carrot soup recipe for you. About a fortnight ago when it was raining and temperatures were not much high, we used to have this carrot soup often. As we were all down with seasonal cough and cold. This steaming hot bowl of soup was so refreshing and soothing for our sore throat infections as well. Ginger and black peppers as you all know are considered good remedy for sore throat infections and cough and cold as well.

Carrot Soup

Recipe requirements

1 large carrot

2 medium size tomatos
1 medium size potato
1 onion

2 garlic pods

½ inch ginger root

Seasonings

1 tsp of black pepper powder

½ tsp of cumin powder

1 tsp of salt

Method

• Wash carrot, tomato well in water.
• Then with the help of potato peeler, shave the outer rough parts of carrot.
• Now in a pressure cook, fill in about 3-4 cups of water.
• Add in chopped tomato, potato, carrot, onion, ginger and garlic.
• Adjust the seasoning with black pepper powder, cumin powder and salt.
• Lock the pressure cooker, one whistle at high flame, lower the flame and cook further for 5-7 mints.
• Let the pressure subside, and then open the pressure cooker lid.
• Let it cool a little bit. About half an hour later, pulse this entire gravy with vegetables in any food processor.
• Adjust the seasonings. Add butter, ginger juliennes and finely chopped green chilies.

Serve steaming hot.

Happy Cooking Friends

Black and White Wednesday - Carrot Soup

I have tried to capture black and white photos rarely but whenever I did I was amazed how it changes the basic mood of the picture.

Below photo was taken in colored mode but changed into black and white thro Windows picture editing software.And I never knew carrot soup can look so elegant in black and white mode.

I do not own a professional camera or DSLR, so hopefully I have tried my best to do full justice in capturing this picture.

Sending this photo to Susan’s lovely food event details Here , which is a very popular food event  in food blogging world.

Recipe Coming Soon ....

Happy Cooking Friends

Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup -Made Easy

 

A very easy breezy recipe for mushroom and chicken soup. Usually flour is added with milk to give a thick texture for the cream of soup. But I have made in a different way and short-cut way .Penne pasta is pressure cooked with chicken legs and mushroom. When they all are cooked well, made a puree in a food processor and viola it’s ready to be served.
You may use potatoes in place of penne pasta to make a thick soup.

 

Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup-Made Easy My Way

Serves-5-6
Recipe requirements
2 chicken leg pieces or chicken breast cubes
1 box of mushroom or 250 g of mushroom chopped
1 carrot
1 tomato
2 onions chopped
2 garlic pods
Few tsp of ginger
1 cup of penne pasta
1 tsp of black pepper powder
2 tsp of salt
1 tbs of butter
½ cup of cream

Method

1. Chop all mushroom, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato and carrot.
2. Add in 1 tbs of butter. Sauté the chicken and vegetables for two to three minutes.
3. Now fill in about 5-6 cups of water in a pressure cooker pan.
4. Add in black pepper powder and salt as per taste.
5. Lock the pressure cooker lid with the whistle. At high flame one whistle and then lower the flame, cook it at low for 7-10 mints.
6. And then stop the cooking process, turning off the burner/hob.
7. Let the pressure subside completely. Unlock the pressure cooker lid from the pressure cooker pan.
8. Let it cool a bit. Then puree it in the blender or food processor.
9. At the time of serving add in cream and little bit of more butter reheating the soup again.
10. You are ready with easy cream of chicken and mushroom soup. Now do you really need the canned soups anymore ?

Will see you all next week, enjoy your weekend.

 

Happy Cooking Friends

Creamed Spinach Tomato and Chestnut Soup with some Bhartiya Touch

With the kind of fluctuating weather we have these days, everybody around us is falling sick here. I am also down with cough and cold. So, it’s just some warm hearty bowl of soups these days for us.
Last time we had this Spiced Lentil Soup. This time it’s creamy spinach and tomato soup. I have used more of spinach than tomatoes. And we all know spinach is very healthy.

I have added some cashews also. The other day when I made it again, I added some roasted chestnuts also. Roasted chestnuts have similar taste of a sweet potato and it enhances the creamy texture of the soup also.Chestnuts are rich in carbohydrates and low in fat.

We went for some outings way back in Autumn last year and we collected some conkers from our long walk near the Windsor castle.

But these are Horse Chestnut and are not edible chestnuts unless you want to copy squirrels. And if you wish to follow some old British tradition then end up using these in your games also. Just tie them with thread and hit on your opponent’s conkers.

Anyways now back to the recipe-If you wish you may add some sautéed paneer cubes in this thick soup to have more or less easy breezy palak paneer.

Creamy Spinach tomato and Chestnut Soup

Recipe requirements
About 400 Gms of baby spinach leaves or 1 bunch of spinach leaves
2 medium size potatoes
2-3 medium size tomatoes
5-6 cashews/ 4-5 roasted chestnuts
½ inch ginger
2 garlic pods
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1-2 tsp of black pepper powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of sugar
1-2 tbs of butter (optional)
¼ cup of cream

Method
Wash and clean spinach leaves in water to get rid of dirt or sand.
Chop potatoes into cubes and chop tomato also. It’s not necessary to cut them finely and accurately and anyways it’s going to be pressure cooked so you will end up with a mush whatever way you cut the vegetables.
In a pressure cooker, add all the things-spinach, potato, tomato, ginger, garlic.
Add the seasonings-black pepper powder, red pepper flakes, coriander powder, sugar and salt.

How will you toast the chestnuts

Mark an “X” mark on every chestnut with a sharp knife. And on a foiled baking tray roast the chestnuts at 180 deg C for 15-20 mints. Take out in between and stir it. This will become dry and roasted. Keep it in an air tight container and use accordingly. Peel the whole outer hard shell with the brown outer lining to get the white portion of chestnuts which will be used in this soup.
If you wish you may dry grind these roasted chestnuts and keep it in air tight containers to be used accordingly in your recipes. Well Supermarkets do keep ready-made chestnut puree as well if I am not wrong. If you want to avoid all this hassle you can use ready-made puree also.

Add chestnuts or cashews what ever you prefer.
This soup is very flexible and spinach, tomato and chestnut ratio can be altered according to individual or family preferences.Make it 1:2:1 or 2:1:1 or 1:1:2 Ok, I should stop now ..and let you decide for a change.

Now add about 2 cups of water. And lock the pressure cooker lid.
After two whistles, take it off from the flame. Let the pressure subside and then open the lid.
Pulse thro in a food processor to get a smooth puree.
Add in cream and make a good stir. Reserve some cream for decorations. Add butter if you feel like otherwise it’s not necessary.
Enjoy this heart vegetarian creamy soup.

Note-

In India you may wish to substitute toasted chestnuts with almonds or cashews which are readily available there unless you come from Kashmir or northern UP where I guess chestnut is available during the onset of winters if I am not wrong.
This is probably another no oil, no onion, less spiced version of palak paneer if you put some paneer pieces into it. So go for it that way also.See I am telling you many variations of this recipe.
If you wish you may add 1 tsp of garam masala for some more flavor.

Happy Cooking Friends

Spiced Lentil Soup with Bengali Touch

Its being seven days that the New Year ushered in, and I am still in my holiday mood. I couldn’t bring me to write a simple post here. Add to that the winter holidays here in school which means some very relaxed mornings and afternoons for the past two weeks which we the mother and daughter duo seems to enjoy to the fullest. And with that idyllic approach I find it extremely uncanny for me to write here. In case you were waiting for a little update on this blog, you must not disappoint now. Well schools have opened yesterday here so now it’s back to normal routine as of now.

Yesterday was a rainy and cold day. And when it rains we really like to feed our Yin and Yang  both with hearty and warm bowl of soup so that both remains happy and contented.

We are very fond of having biulir dal or korai’er dal or urid dal with warm cooked rice.And we all know aloo posto, korai'er dal (urid dal ) and garam bhat is a classic Bengali Niramish meal combination.
But this time I just made the dal in bulk pureed the entire thing in a food processor and viola we were ready with a hearty and warm soup to accompany our dinner.

Fennel ( mouri) and ginger ( ada bata ) are the two key ingredients in this soup as these are the base ingredients which adds flavour to a typical Bengali Korai dal or Biulir dal . This lentil soup is very healthy and filling by itself. Potato has been added to give a thick consistency.

Creamy Lentil Soup
Serves4-5
Recipe requirements
About ½ cup of urid dal/korai’er dal/biulir dal
2-3 tbs of masoor dal or any other dal like moong dal etc
2 medium potatoes
1 tomato or 8-10 cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
4 -5 tsp of fennel seeds lightly toasted/roasted over tava or skillet
2-3 tsp of dried oregano
2-3 tsp of whole black pepper freshly grounded
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1-2 tbs  of butter
About ½ cup of double cream/heavy cream

Method
Wash and rinse urid dal and masoor dal 2-3 times very well but not that vigouresly otherwise whatever minerals left after polishing it will be all gone by the time it’s ready to cook.

Now add about 3-4 cups of water in a pressure cooker.
Add in the washed dales.

Add in chopped tomatoes, potatoes, ginger and garlic.

Potato has been added to give a thick consistency. If you wish you may use corn flour or any other normal flour for thickening the soup. When to add the flour , well that depend, personally I prefer to add at the end and give a quick boil to the soup , stirring it continuously to prevent any lumps in the soup. However since we are using potatoes this will provide that thick and smooth texture we want in our soup.

Add in seasonings-fennel; roast it slightly over tava/skillet

And some freshly crushed or grounded whole black pepper and salt. If you have mortar-pestle then uses it and in case you don’t have like me-crush it with the help of rolling pin over cutting board.
If you wish you may add dried herbs like dried oregano or parsley, whatever suits you. But make sure it doesn’t overpower the flavour of fennel.

Lock the pressure cooker lid.
Pressures cook the entire thing for two whistles and then lower the flame. Cook it for 4-5 mints.Add in crushed red pepper flakes and butter.
Open the lid when the pressure subsides.Now process the entire thing in a food processor and get a puree for the soup.It saves a lot of energy and can be made quickly.And dont forget to clean the weight/whistle and the rubber string of the lid on a regular basis.

Add in cream to the soup reserving little bit for decorations at the time of serving. Give a good stir to the entire soup and let it simmer slowly for 3-4 mints at med-low. When you are ready to serve just warm it a little bit more. Since I have been using cream that is being taken out directly from fridge and being added here so the requirement to simmer for 4-5 mints. But otherwise if you are using cream kept at room temperature then there is no need to again heat it. I often prepare it in bulk and keep it fridge. It stays fresh for 2 -3 days. At the time of serving just reheat it with little bit more of water and fennel powder as it tends to thicken if kept for longer time in fridge.

Serve hot with any bread or even rotis.Enjoy the warm hearty soup to keep you warm and cozy.

Happy Cooking Friends

Ever Versatile Easy Chicken Noodles Soup and Some pictures of Snow

It snowed heavily here yesterday, and nothing can be comparable when it comes to enjoying snowy weather. We went to a park nearby, all covered or should I say packed up very well and enjoyed throwing snow on each other. Below are some of the snaps we clicked on our small walking journey. Hope you all like as much as we enjoyed clicking them.So, sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy this virtual walking tour.

It is Christmas in the heart which puts Christmas in the air.
                                    ---Anonymous

Red and White –Two colors which defines the very nature of being in Christmas mood.

Green and White-Another colors to define Christmas mood.

Now who would have thought of cleaning this much of snow, and then drive?

As many trains, tubes and bus came to a complete halt today, this little make-shift train in children’s park is all decked up with white snow if it could get some passengers. Where are you all?

Anyone out there if you really care to sit in here.

Hello!! My name is Mr. Snowman; hope you have a splendid Christmas and happy New Year.

Frosty and desolate but snow can even glorify a dry tree as well.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, You know when I say - We have been here too . Another Moment captured in our memories forever.

Alright then,
Now to the recipe- very simple chicken noodles soup to keep us warm in this cold weather here.

With this kind of weather a bowl of comforting soup lifts your spirit and energy level also. After a long walk, we were tired and this comforting bowl of soup was just the kind of food we were craving for. There are no special ingredients to make it. This is another ever versatile soup recipe that we like to prepare. Use vegetables as much as you can.

Noodles Chicken Soup

Recipe requirements and method
About 1 egg noodle
Vegetables of your choice
I used 2 carrots
Some3-4 beans
1 medium size potatoes
2 medium size tomatoes
Half an inch of ginger
2 garlic pods
About half a cup of green peas
2 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of salt
2-3 chicken legs or chicken wings or chicken breast  cut into large bite size cubes
Half cup of shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Method
If you have pressure cooker. Then it’s as easy as it can be.
Add in about 5-6 cups of water in pressure cooker.
Now add all the chopped vegetables-potato, tomato, beans, carrots.Add in ginger and garlic.
Add in seasonings-salt and black pepper.
Add in chicken legs/pieces.
Lock the pressure cooker and now put the pressure cooker to high flame. Let it whistle once. Now lower the flame and let it simmer with lid for about 8-10 mints. Take off from the flame.
When the pressure subsides, then unlock the pressure cooker lid.
In a separate pan, bring some water to boil. Add little bit of salt and then add 1 cake of egg noodle and cook.
Add in this cooked noodles over the hot chicken soup. Alternately you can cook all over very low flame with a large cooking pot over 30-50 mints or till the chicken are well cooked.
Garnish with mozzarella cheese and enjoy in this cold weather.

Well since it’s festive time, made this Black Forest Cake too. If you wish you can find the recipe Here.

Note-
It has been brought to my notice by one of my readers that they are not receiving the verification e-mail for feed burner e-mail subscription membership. I personally am unable to fix this problem as this is entirely managed or generated by feed burner.
To all those who haven’t received verification e-mail, I do deeply regret it and apologies for this mis-understanding. I do not wish this should have happened. However I can do very little on that as this is managed by feedburner.Is there any other way we can fix this problem, do let me know friends.


Hope you do enjoy winter and festivity.Stay warm.

 Happy Cooking Friends and a Very Happy Christmas.