Creamy Potato Leek Soup

While it is hardly soup weather here in Atlanta, I wanted to try and make this soup for the No Croutons Required event this month over at the Tinned Tomatoes. Ever since I made a home made bouillon after reading about it here and here, I have been dying to make quick soups using it. Quick is exactly what this soup is - at least in terms of hands-on time.

While the Potato-leek soup idea fit the Allium theme at No Croutons Required very well, there was another inspiration. We first tried this soup at our favourite soup-and-salad buffet and loved it. It was mild and yet full of flavour, and particularly soothing during fall/winter. When I found a recipe for this soup in Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest (one of my favourite cookbooks), I decided that hot weather should not stop me. I modified her recipe slightly to suit my tastes.

Ingredients

2 large potatoes, scrubbed and diced
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
4 C vegetable stock (with home made bouillon)
1/4 t dried thyme
1 C milk
1 t pepper, fresh ground
Salt to taste

Start by boiling the stock in a large soup pot. Add diced potatoes and sliced leeks. I peeled the potatoes, but I imagine with new red potatoes, one can leave the skins on. I discarded most of the dark green portions of the leeks since they were too tough. Boil the vegetables in the stock for about 30-40 min on medium heat, until they are tender. Allow it to cool and then puree. Add the thyme, pepper and the milk and reheat gently, not allowing it to boil. I didn't add salt since the bouillon base had plenty.

This soup was very quick and is completely oil/butter free! It tasted very similar to the one in the restaurant and that pleased me quite a bit.

Pal Payasam

Pal Payasam is traditionally served at Tamil wedding feasts. It is quite a challenge to drink up every single drop of this divine dessert when it is running all over the banana leaf! The taste of Pal Payasam is elevated to exquisite, in my opinion due to the simplicity of the ingredients. Milk, Sugar and Rice. No added flavours - no Cardamom, Saffron, Raisins, Nuts etc - typical components of Indian desserts.

I followed the recipe from Ammupatti's blog. She has provided detailed instructions for making quick Pal Payasam in a Pressure Cooker, and has some interesting stories about the Kerala-style Pal Payasam. Since this dish was cooked entirely in a pressure cooker, I am submitting this to the Blog Bites: Cookers event at the One Hot Stove.

Since I followed Ammupatti's detailed instructions, exactly, I am not repeating them here. If you are fond of simple desserts, this one is for you.

My Thai Green Curry

I love to recreate dishes I try at restaurants at home.. it is the challenge of working with new ingredients, learning something about a completely different cuisine and also most importantly, being absolutely sure of what goes into your food. The last reason motivated my spin on the wonderful Thai Green Curry. I wanted a version without too much coconut milk or oil, and also skip the fish sauce. At this point, I'd like to make the disclaimer that this is completely my adaptation of the Thai dish and may not be authentic at all. Jugalbandi has a detailed recipe and some useful links to other versions of Green Curry. One thing that I've found with Thai curries is that it involves several specialty ingredients.. galangal, kafir lime leaves, lemon grass etc. If you live near an Asian market, use some other recipe that calls for all these ingredients since I suspect they all contribute to the explosion of flavours you get in traditional Thai curry.

Ingredients : My Green Curry Paste
1 C Thai Basil leaves, packed
1 C Cilantro (leaves and stems), packed
1/2 medium Red Onion, chopped (or 3-4 shallots )
10-12 Thai Green Chillis
3 cloves Garlic, smashed
1 inch piece of Ginger, chopped
1 T lime zest
1 T Coriander seeds, toasted
1 t Cumin seeds, toasted
1 stalk Lemon Grass ( use juicy portions at its base, discarding the dry woody parts )


Green Curry
1 T oil
4 T Curry paste
1 C Broccoli florets
1/2 C Carrots, sliced
1 C mixed peppers ( green, red etc )
handful of green beans
1/2 block of tofu
1 small Can Coconut Milk 
1 T Soy Sauce
1-2 Thai Green Chillis, slit


Grind the ingredients for the paste coarsely. This paste freezes very well. For the curry, fry the curry paste in the oil until the raw smell from the onions and garlic disappears ( or for about 5 minutes on medium heat ). Add the carrots, beans and peppers and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the soy sauce, green chillis, tofu, broccoli and coconut milk and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Garnish with a few fresh torn basil leaves, if desired. Serve with fresh cooked jasmine rice.

Spicy Cornbread

I don't usually look forward to Cornbread. To my palate it has always seemed a little bland and the one time I made it, it turned out a little dry and heavy. Recently, to go with a hearty chickpea stew, I decided to give it another go. I loosely followed Mark Bittman' s recipe and added a few things to liven it up. This time the cornbread turned out moist and delicious and didn't need copious amounts of butter. I even had a bit for breakfast a couple of days later and it was still good!



Ingredients

2 T Oil
1.5 C medium grind Cornmeal
0.5 C All purpose Flour
1.5 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
1 T Sugar
1 Egg
1.25 C Milk
1 t Black Pepper
1 t Red pepper flakes
0.5 C Green Bell Pepper, diced
0.5 C Red Bell Pepper, diced

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together oil, egg, sugar and milk. Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in diced bell pepper and red pepper flakes. Add a little more milk if the mixture seems too dense. Bake in 375F oven for 30 minutes or until the sides have pulled away from the pan.

Quick Parangikkai Koottu (Pumpkin Lentil Stew)

Being a big fan of Koottu, I'm always looking for ways to make it quickly. Koottu is a wonderful Tamilian stew that is nutritious, low-fat and filling. A good introduction to some of the ways to make Koottu can be found here. While I love the Pal koottus, Mor Koottus and Araichuvitta varieties(ones involving grinding), I'd settle for an easy short cut Koottu on a busy day.

Ingredients

1 C Pumpkin, cut into small cubes
1/2 C Chana Dhal(Bengal Gram Dhal)
2 Green Chillies
1 Red Chilli
1/2 t Turmeric
1 T Sambhar Powder
1 T Coconut, grated
10-12 Curry leaves
1 T Cilantro, minced
1 t Mustard seeds
1 t Urad Dhal
Asafoetida, a pinch
Salt, to taste

Start out by washing the Chana Dhal and boiling it in a pot with 2C water. While the Dhal is boiling, peel and dice the pumpkin, slit the green chillies. After 20 min, when the Dhal still retains the shape, but is mostly cooked, add the pumpkin pieces and the green chillies. Cover and let it cook for 10 more minutes, adding water as needed. Add Sambhar powder, salt and turmeric and cook for 5 more minutes. Prepare a tempering by heating the oil, sputtering mustard seeds, Urad Dhal, Red Chilli, Asafoetida and Curry leaves. Add to the cooked Dhal and pumpkin mixture and remove from the heat. Add the grated coconut(frozen works okay) and the cilantro.

This koottu tastes delicious with Rice/Chapattis. Using a pressure cooker would make the cooking process even faster and more energy-efficient.

Katthirikkai Thogayal ( Brinjal Chutney )

Though this recipe is nearly the same as what appears in Meenakshi Ammal's priceless gem, I thought I'd post about this thogayal anyway. I enjoyed it so much and it was so delicious, that it really does deserve a post! People who aren't fans of brinjal seem to like it as well. This is usually made with the Indian brinjal, roasted on a flame but I tried it with a big eggplant. While it doesnt taste the same as with the brinjal, it is pretty good.

Ingredients

1 large Eggplant
1 T Urad Dhal
2 Red Chillis, Dried
1 t Mustard seeds
1 t Tamarind paste
1 T Oil
Asafoetida
Curry leaves, a sprig
Salt, to taste

Smear the eggplant with a little oil and roast in the oven for about 30 min at 375F, or until the skin gets blistered and dark. Let the eggplant cool, and peel the skin. Meanwhile, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, Urad Dhal and red chillies. Once the seeds pop and the dhal turns reddish brown, add the curry leaves, asafoetida and tamarind and remove from the heat. Add the peeled eggplant to this and grind to a coarse paste with salt. Check for sourness and add more tamarind as desired.

Roasted Butternut Squash Red Pepper Soup

This soup reminds me of fall.. it uses butternut squash (which is a winter squash, usually harvested in September - October). Also, with the addition of roasted red pepper, the soup is a gorgeous reddish orange, reminiscent of the beautiful crimson and gold leaves on trees in fall. I tried a new technique on an old recipe and it turned out to be quicker and tastier.

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash
1 Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper
1-2 stalks Celery, chopped
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1-2 Bay leaves
1 tbsp + 1tsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Garam Masala( I used Kitchen King)
3 C water

Halve the Butternut squash, Red Bell Pepper and quarter the Onion. Toss in 1 T Olive oil and roast in an oven at 375F for about 30-45 min. Place the Squash with the skin side facing up. The red pepper and onions get roasted much faster than the squash (in about half the time), so watch carefully to avoid burning. The red pepper is done when the skin gets charred. The squash is done when it is fork-tender. Place the roasted red pepper in a covered bowl, letting it sweat for about 10 minutes. After that, the skin slips off easily. Peel the Squash skin as well and cut into large chunks.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a soup pot and add the bay leaves and celery. After about 3 minutes, add the roasted squash, peppers and onions, cinnamon, rosemary, nutmeg, Garam Masala and water. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Cool and puree to desired consistency. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt, or a swirl of cream, a topping of toasted sunflower/pumpkin seeds or just as is.

The sweetness of squash and red bell pepper, intensified by roasting, worked really well in a soup that is alive with flavors. A great meal starter.