Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

It is only the beginning of Autumn and there's already chill in the air. A bowl of your favourite hot soup is the best way to get comfy in such a weather. Classic tomato soup has always been one of my favourite soups but I have started getting adventurous in soup making, so now I make roasted tomato soup instead.

The process of making this soup is long and bit tedious but I don't mind spending more time in the kitchen these days. At the end of all the work that has gone into it, you are rewarded with something so good that you feel it's worth putting in the effort. Roasting tomatoes gives it a fuller and concentrated flavour. I first made this soup based on a recipe I found on Waitrose's website but followed Delia Smith's method for roasting tomatoes. In addition to the tomatoes, I also use a red pepper which is also roasted and gives a different dimension to the taste of this soup.

I like to serve the soup with chunky garlic croutons prepared from Ciabatta bread.


Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

Main Ingredients

1/2 kg of Ripe Red Tomatoes
1 Red Pepper
1 Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
25 gms Basil Leaves

You'll also need:

Olive Oil
1 ltr Vegetable Stock (I use Knorr Stock Cubes to make stock)
1 tsp Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

• Wash the tomatoes and red pepper.

• Now you need to blanch the tomatoes in hot water so that the skin comes off easily. For this, give a criss-cross cut on top of tomatoes and keep them immersed in hot water for couple of minutes.

• Take the tomatoes out from water and peel the skin off. Cut each tomato into half.
• Peel the onions and cut them into wedges/quarters. Cut the red pepper into two parts and remove the seeds.
• Grease a roasting tin with olive oil. Also coat the tomato halves, red pepper, onions and garlic with oil and arrange them on roasting tin.

• Sprinkle salt and pepper over the vegetables.
• Roast them in pre-heated oven at 200 C for 40 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
• Bring the vegetable stock to boil in a sauce-pan. Add the roasted tomatoes and onions to the stock. Peel the skin off the red pepper and then add it to the stock. Garlic becomes very soft on roasting, so you'll just have to squeeze it out of its skin and add it to the stock. Also add the basil leaves and sugar to the stock. Simmer it for about 10 minutes.

• Either using a handheld blender or a food-processor, liquidise the soup in batches. If you are using a normal blender, then you have to be very careful when you start the blender to prevent the soup from splasing out. I take a tea-towel to cover the lid and keep it pressed firmly to minimize splashing.
• Heat it before serving and serve with Garlic Croutons.

Ciabatta Garlic Croutons

Ingredients

Ciabatta Bread - 4 nos
3 garlic cloves - crushed to paste
Olive Oil

• Take some olive oil in a bowl and add 3-4 crushed garlic to it. Mix well and keep it for 1-2 hours.

• Cut the Ciabatta bread into bite-size chunks and coat them with Garlic Oil.

• Roast them in oven at 200 C for 20 minutes.

Mango Delights - Ten Dessert Inspirations using Mango Pulp

Mango has a place of honour in India and is often called as the "King of Fruits" - such is the popularity of this golden fruit! However, in India you get to enjoy mangoes mainly in the summer season. Ironically, in UK you can buy fresh mangoes all the year around in your local super-market - they are sourced from the various tropical countries around the globe. The Indian mangoes are available at Indian grocers here during the Mango season in India. To tell the truth, I am not big fan of this fruit and I do not miss it so much that I'll go out of the way to buy Indian mangoes here which most of the times are not as good as the ones you get back home...

The only variety of this fruit that I like is the Alphonso which comes from Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra - this is the best variety in my opinion but is difficult to find it in UK. The Alphonso Mango Pulp is easily available though, so I always have a tin or two of Mango Pulp in my kitchen for emergency dessert situations! Here are a few dessert inspirations using Mango pulp:

Aamras

This is a  popular dessert during the summer season in India due to availability of fresh Mangoes. It's made by squeezing out the Mango pulp by hand and is sometimes sweetened. The canned Mango pulp makes it really easy to enjoy this dessert - just serve it straight from the can :-) which is what we do most of the time! You can adjust the sweetness or add desired flavours like Cardamom or Nutmeg.

Amrakhand

This is the mango-flavoured version of Shrikhand - a popular sweet-dish of Gujarat and Maharashtra. I have made Shrikhand on many occasions at home but never tried making Amrakhand. Shrikhand/Amrakhand is very easy to make - the only preparation needed is hanging the yoghurt in a muslin cloth for 6-8 hours or overnight until all the water has drained from yoghurt. The yoghurt solids left in the muslin are called yoghurt cheese (Chakka in Marathi). You just need to add sugar, mango-pulp and ground cardamom (optional). I find it easier to use caster sugar which gets easily blended into the yoghurt cheese if you use an electric whisk.

On Ice-Creams:

Drizzle it over plain vanilla ice-cream to add an interesting twist...

Mango Shake

Just whizz up the Mango Pulp with milk until it is frothy. Add ice-cream/cream to make it creamy.

Mango Sheera

Make mango-flavoured Sheera (a sweet dish made from Semolina) by adding a little mango pulp.

Mango Fool

Another no-fuss dessert using only three ingredients: mango pulp, caster sugar and whipping cream. Add sugar to the cream and beat it using an electric-whisk until it starts stiffening. Blend in the mango pulp and serve it in dessert glasses and top it with couple of teaspoons of mango pulp.

Mango Mousse

Never tried making it myself as I could not find a suitable vegetarian setting agent. The Vege-Gel I bought recently does not have clear instructions about usage. If you up for an adventure, then this is for you :-) Check out some recipes on the net!

Mango Cheesecake

Another excellent dessert. I would like to try it sometime...

Mango Burfi

So this is what I made today using left-over Mango pulp:

In a saucepan, heat a tablespoon of Ghee. Then add some condensed milk (I used a tin of Nestle Carnation Condensed Milk 397 gms), about 150 ml Alphonso mango pulp, 6 tbsp sugar, a teaspoon of cardamom powder and a teaspoon of saffron. Keep stirring it on low-medium heat until the mixture starts coming together.

Transfer the mixture into a greased tin or moulds, add some chopped pistachios and almonds on top and cut it into squares when it is set. I used silicone cupcake cases as moulds, here are some pictures of the Burfi made today:

Mango Coconut Burfi

The recipe is similar to Mango Burfi, just add some dessicated coconut to the condensed milk and adjust the sweetness.

English Rice Pudding à la India

I had never tasted English Rice Pudding before, so I watched with interest when Brian Turner cooked English Rice Pudding with Blackberry Compote on a TV show last week.  I realised it resembled its desi version Rice Kheer in method of cooking and ingredients, so I got inspired to try my hand at making this pud at home.

There are some minor differences between English Pudding and Indian Rice Kheer: Rice Pudding is made from pudding rice (a short-grain rice) and has cream added to make it richer/creamier. It is flavoured with Vanilla/Nutmeg and is often served at room temperature with strawberry jam or fruit compote topping. Kheer on the other hand is usually made from Basmati rice and whole-milk and slow-cooked until milk has reduced to get the creamy consistency. Kheer is usally flavoured with Cardamom/Saffron and has dry fruits/nuts added to give a crunchy texture.

So although the inspiration for cooking Rice Pudding came from the TV show, I added my own twists to the English Rice Pudding to give it an Indian soul. :-) I followed the English recipe - but replaced the Vanilla with Cardamom and Saffron and instead of the compote, I added Mango Pulp. Here's the full recipe for your reference:

Here's another view:

Rice Pudding à la India

Ingredients (for 8 servings):

150 gms Pudding Rice
1 ltr Whole Milk
250 ml Double Cream
100 gms Sugar
8 Green Cardamoms - seeds removed from pod and powdered
Few Saffron Strands (optional)
1/2 cup Mango Pulp
Pistachios - sliced

Method

• In a heavy-bottomed pot, add Milk, Cream and Rice and cook it slowly taking care not to boil over milk. Also you need to stir it at regular intervals so that it does not stick to bottom/sides of the pot.
• When the milk starts boiling, add Sugar, Cardamom Powder and Saffron. Mix well. Continue to simmer for about 40 minutes until the rice is cooked and the pudding has a creamy texture.
• For serving, spoon it into bowls, add 2-3 tsp of Mango Pulp on top and sprinkle few pistachio slices to finish off.
• Serve at room temperature (I prefer it chilled though).

Simply Irresistible Fast Food - Vada Pav

Literally translated Vada Pav is "bread-roll(Pav) with spicy potato balls(Vada)". This is quintessentially a Maharashtrian street-food very popular in the bustling cities like Pune and Mumbai where the fast-food is a norm. Vada Pav is the star of street-foods because it is not only yummy but it is also filling , cheap and easily available! No wonder there are people who cannot live without it. It is a snack that is very hard to resist, even for the very diehard calorie conscious species!

The likes of us who live away from home are the Vada-Pav deprived folks - the Indian restaurants here cater more to the English taste and often overlook the expats who miss their favourite foods from back home.  You can prepare it at home but it's not the same as eating outside. Also, I do not like deep-frying that much as it is a messy affair. The other day when we were watching a Marathi movie, a glimpse of these yummies was enough for my DH to start reminiscing about Vada-Pav we get in Pune. So we decided it  about time we fulfilled this craving at home!

There are three components to this snack: Batata Vada, Pav and chutneys. I bought the bread-rolls (the smaller kinds) from local super-store and prepared the Vada and chutney to go with it at home.


Batata Vada

Ingredients (for 14 lemon-sized vadas)

For filling:
4 large potatoes
1 onion
6 Green Chillies
6 Garlic Cloves
1 inch piece of Ginger
2 tbsp chopped Coriander
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt taste

To make the batter for coating Vada

1 cup Besan (Chickpea/Gram flour)
3 tbsp hot oil for shortening
1/2 tsp Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
Enough water to make a thick batter
Oil for frying

Method

• Boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to mash - this is easier in a Pressure Cooker.
• Remove the potato skins and mash them.
• Grind chillies, ginger and garlic to make a paste. Take about 3 tsp of this paste (the vadas should be very spicy) and add it to the mashed potatoes.
• Add chopped coriander, onions, lemon juice and salt to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
• Divide the mash into balls - the size depends on how big you want your Vadas.

For the batter:

• Take the flour in a heat-proof container and add the hot-oil to it and mix well. Adding the hot oil makes the vada cover crispy and light.
• Add the spices - turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder and carom seeds and mix well. Add salt according to your taste.
• Add water and mix well ensuring no lumps are formed.

To fry Vadas:

• Heat oil in a deep and wide pan on medium heat.
• Dip each potato ball into the batter to coat it all over and release it carefully into hot oil.
• Fry the Vadas until they are golden and take them out on a tissue paper.

Assembling Vada Pav

You will need:

Batata Vadas
Bread-rolls (as many as the vadas you have)
Peanut Chutney
Fried Green Chillies (optional)

To serve:

• Cut the bread rolls into half leaving one end intact.
• Spread the chutney on the bread-roll.
• Place a Batata-Vada in the Pav and flatten it slightly.
• Now press the bread-roll.

The Vada-Pav is now yours! Tuck in to your heart's content :-)

If this isn't enough, here are some pictures to inspire you:

You can look at other blogs for better photos. Hey, you can't expect great photos when the Vada Pav is waiting to be eaten...

Back to Basics - Peanut Chutney

Peanut is the most humble of the nuts but its popularity is unparalled by any other nut in the world! Not many people are aware that India is one of the leading producers of this nut. Most of the Peanut is produced in Western and Southern parts of India. In Maharashtra where I come from, Peanuts are used extensively in cuisine in various forms - Peanut Oil is the main cooking medium and ground Peanuts are added to curries. Not only that, we also have dishes where Peanut is the main ingredient - such as Chikki (Peanut Snaps), Shengdanyachi Amti (Peanut Curry), Shengdanyachi Chutney (Peanut Chutney) and even Shengdanyachi Poli (Flatbreads with sweet Peanut Stuffing).

Peanut Chutney is an essential item of a traditional Maharashtrian Thali and is used as a condiment. Just a teaspoon of this chutney is enough to perk up an entire meal! Unlike in UK, in India Chutney is a term used loosely for any dry or wet spicy condiment. Peanut Chutney is a dry preparation of ground peanuts with chillies as the main spice.

Peanut Chutney is very easy to make if you have a spice grinder. I learnt to prepare Peanut Chutney from my mother. Before electric mixer-grinder came into our household, mum used to make chutney the traditional way which involves grinding roasted, skinned peanuts using pestle and mortar. I used to find this process fascinating and often used to insist on doing it myself. So this is one of the first things I learnt to make :-)  It is a hard-work grinding on pestle and mortar... These days, you have so many gadgets in your kitchen that you sometimes wonder how difficult life would have been without them! Peanut Chutney preparation is a breeze now - thanks to availability of roasted peanuts and electrical gadgets to easily grind them!

There are two types of Peanut Chutneys I make:

Red Peanut Chutney

Ingredients

1 cup roasted, skinned Peanuts
1 tbsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp salt (or to your taste)
5-6 Garlic Cloves

Method

Grind all the above in a spice grinder to get a coarse loose powder. Store it in an air-tight container.

Green Peanut Chutney (or Shengdanyacha Thecha)

Ingredients

1 cup roasted, skinned Peanuts
6-8 Garlic Cloves
6 Green Chillies (or according to your taste)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp oil

Method

• Crush or grind chillies with garlic. Add salt to this paste.
• Make a coarse powder of Peanuts in a spice-grinder.
• Heat oil in a pan and lightly fry the chilli-garlic paste.
• Add the ground Peanuts to the pan and mix well to combine with chilli-garlic paste. Keep roasting the Chutney for 5-6 minutes or until the Peanuts start turning brownish in colour.
• Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice to chutney and stir to combine well.

A word of caution - Keep the kitchen windows open and cooker extractor on when preparing this as the chilli fumes can make your eyes water.

This chutney keeps well in refrigerator for a week.

Peanut chutney can be served as accompaniment to Varan Bhaat (Steamed Rice with Plain Dal) or can be  eaten simply with Chapatis.

Petticoat Tails

Another baking day and today I've decided to make Petticoat Tails. This is a type of Shortbread - a crumbly biscuit that has origins in Scotland. It is a rather funny name for a biscuit but it is so called because of its shape. I have also often wondered about the word "Shortbread". As per my understanding, this biscuit is so called because of shortening added to it to make it crumbly (short). Shortening is a type of fat added to biscuits.

Shortbread is similar in taste and texture to Nankhatai - its Indian cousin made with Ghee and sometimes has nuts added to it. Nankhatai has a moreish taste and I've always loved it which explains my affinity towards Shortbread :-) I've also baked Shortbread at home and most of the time the results have been to my satisfaction. I say "most" because I've had accidents couple of times... Although the procedure is simple, you need to follow the recipe exactly and have to be watchful when you are baking Shortbread as it can brown quickly.

The three main ingredients of Shortbread are Sugar, Butter and Plain Flour. The recipe I usually follow includes Rice flour which is added to make the texture even shorter. Cornflour or Semolina can also be added. I sometimes also add Vanilla essence to make Vanilla Shortbread. You can give it any shape you like as long as you have the cutters/tins of correct size. I usually make Petticoat Tails in a 8" round cake tin with removable bottom because I do not have square/rectangular tins.

Petticoat Tails

Ingredients

100 gms Caster Sugar
150 gms Unsalted Butter
180 gms Plain Flour
55 gms Rice Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Essence (optional)

Method

• Take the Butter out from the refrigerator few hours before you plan to make Shortbread to bring it to room temperature. You can measure the required amount of Butter and cut it into small pieces to speed up its softening process.

• With help of a hand-held mixer, cream together Butter and Sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add Vanilla essence (if you are using it) and mix well.

• Measure the Plain Flour and Rice Flour, add Baking Powder and Salt to it and mix using a spoon. Then sift the flours into the Butter-Sugar mixture.
• Mix the flours well with the Butter-Sugar mixture. You can use a wooden spoon for this but I prefer to use my hands.
• Grease the bottom of cake tin and transfer the mix into it. Spread the mix evenly on cake-tin and flatten the surface with a spoon.
• With help of a fork, make few marks on the surface of cookie mix - this is to make sure that steam escapes when the Shortbread is being baked.
• Now with help of a knife, lightly cut the Shortbread into eight pieces - similar to Pizza (do not cut it through though)
• Bake it at 170 C for 30-35 minutes. Keep a watch because it browns quickly once it's baked.
• Allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Then take the bottom of cake-tin out and cut it with knife again and separate the Shortbread pieces.

• Allow it to cool. I sometimes sprinkle Icing Sugar on the surface of the Shortbread.

Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani is also known as Kali Dal or Mah Ki Dal - a rich heavy dal (spicy lentil preparation) , often found on Indian restaurant menus. It is of North Indian origin but now popular all over India because of increasing restaurant culture among Indians.

I love it because of its buttery taste and smooth velvety texture. It is little time-consuming to prepare at home as it involves soaking of pulses followed by slow-cooking of the dal itself. I used to avoid making it at home as I thought it was very difficult to make but when I tried it for the first time, I was happy with the result. Now I make it regularly and have never been disappointed.

The two main beans/pulses need for this dal are Whole Urid and Rajmah. Urid is a type of lentils, also known as Black Gram and  is available at Indian grocers in UK. Rajmah is Red Kidney Beans. My version of Dal Makhani is relatively quick and easy as I use canned Kidney Beans and I soak Whole Urid for about four hours only. Most Indian kitchens are equipped with Pressure Cooker which makes cooking of Dal Makhani or any dal for that matter easier. However, this dal can also be cooked in a pot but it will take about an hour for the pre-soaked Kidney Beans and Urid dal to become soft. This dish is ideal for cooking in a slow-cooker although I've never tried it myself.

Dal Makhani is best served with Jeera Rice or Naans.

Dal Makhani / Kali Dal

Ingredients (to serve 4 people)

1 cup Whole Urid Dal - soaked for 4-6 hours
1/4 cup Kidney Beans - soaked overnight (I use canned Kidney Beans)
2 Onions - finely chopped
2 Tomatoes - pureed or 1/2 can of Tomatoes
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 1/2 tsp Coriander (Dhania) Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric
3 tbsp Ghee/Clarified Butter
1/2 cup Whipping Cream
1 Bay Leaf
1" piece of Cinnamon
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method

• Take the Ghee in a Pressure Cooker and heat it. Add Cumin Seeds, Bay Leaf and Cinnamon and roast them lightly.
• Add the chopped Onions and Turmeric and cook them until they are very soft. This may take about 10 minutes.
• Then add the Ginger-Garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the spice powders - Red Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder and Garam Masala and mix well.
• Add the Tomato puree (then add 1/2 tsp sugar to reduce the acidic taste of tomato - optional).
• Cook the mixture until oil starts separating from masala. It takes about 15 minutes to reach this step from the time you start cooking.
• Now add the soaked Kidney Beans and Whole Urid and mix them well with the masala paste.
• Add enough water to Pressure Cooker to cook the lentils. Place the lid on the Pressure Cooker and cook until the Kidney Beans and Urid are softened. The number of Pressure Cooker whistles needed is different for different models. To check if the dal is cooked, press the Urid dal/beans between the fingers - if it can be crushed easily, the dal is ready.
• Take off the Pressure Cooker from stove and allow all the steam to escape from cooker, then take off the lid.
• Lightly mash the dal with back of ladle.
• Pour half the cream and salt to the dal and mix well. Place the cooker back on stove and simmer dal  for 5-10 minutes.
• Finally take it off the heat and transfer it to a serving dish. Spoon over some cream to decorate and serve it hot.

Chocoholic Special - Chocolate Truffles

I've been away from my blog for the past three days - we spent the long weekend at a friend's place. We had a great time with the kids and my little one enjoyed a lot. I had baked a chocolate-walnut cake on friday to take away for the kids. I have some dark chocolate left from the chocolate-cake which I want to use up today....

The chocoholic in me has been craving for a treat and I've been wondering what to make with the left-over chocolate and cream. So I googled for inspiration and came across a few recipes for truffles. I've always loved truffles but thought they are difficult to make at home. The real truffles are very expensive and are actually a kind of fungus. Chocolate truffles on the other hand are made by melting chocolate in cream and so called because of their appearance. So even though I did not have the required amounts of ingredients for truffles, I still decided to give it a go. One simple rule of thumb to use when making truffles is to use chocolate and cream in 2:1 proportion. I also added some instant coffee powder to the cream to give an extra kick of caffeine to the chocolate truffles.

You can be adventurous with the flavours and coatings for truffles. Truffles look truly gorgeous and are wonderful to give away as gifts. So go ahead and impress your friends!

Coffee Flavoured Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients (to make about 15 small truffles)

80 gms dark cooking chocolate (preferably of good quality)
40 ml double cream
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee

Method

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place them into a bowl.
• Bring double cream to boil. Keep a watch otherwise the cream may boil over.
• When the cream has come to boil, add half a teaspoon of instant coffee powder and mix well.
• Add the cream to the chocolate and keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted completely and mixed well with the cream. The mixture will have a glossy appearance and is known as Ganache (a french culinary term used to describe chocolate-cream mixture)
• Cover the bowl with a cling-film to prevent a film from forming on the mixture.
• Put the bowl away in fridge and allow the mixture to cool down for atleast an hour.
• Take out the bowl from the fridge and with help of a melon-scooper or a teaspoon, scoop out small amounts of chocolate mixture and roll it between your palms to form balls.
• Spread the cocoa on a plate and roll the chocolate balls on it so that they are coated with cocoa.

Your truffles are now ready and they can be stored refrigerated for nearly a week.

I wanted the truffles I made to look special and this is how I packaged them:

My first batch of truffles was a success, so I felt confident about trying couple of variations that I made in the evening. The second batch has been prepared from milk chocolate and flavoured with Cardamom. I also tried couple of coatings - coconut and pistachio.

Milk Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients (to make about 22 small truffles)
150 gms Milk Chocolate - cut into small pieces
5 tbsp Double Cream
Cardamoms - 3 nos ground finely
1 tsp Sugar
Pistachios - ground coarsely/chopped for coating
Dessicated Coconut for coating

Method

• Bring the crean to a boil and add the ground cardamom and sugar. Mix well.
• Add this to the chocolate and mix well till the chocolate is fully mixed with the cream. If you find that chocolate is not melting easily, then place the bowl over another bowl of simmering water (double boiler method) and keep stirring until all the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
• Bring the mixture to room temperature. Then keep it refrigerated for 2-3 hours. I found that the longer you keep the mixture in frige, the easier it is to roll the truffles.
• Take the mixture out from fridge. Take two bowls - one containing coconut and the other containing chopped pistachio.
• Using a melon scooper, scoop out small balls of chocolate mixture and roll them between your palms to form balls. Roll the balls either in coconut or pistachio until they are coated completely.
• Store the truffles in refrigerator.

The Milk Chocolate versions have a really exotic flavour. We really enjoyed them!


Milk Chocolate Truffle with Coconut Coating

Milk Chocolate Truffle with Pistachio Coating

Yet another picture to inspire you :-)