Tomato Soup with Herbed Croutons and Garlic Butter

As days are passing by, it is getting colder here. The most comforting thing you can have in such weather is a hot bowl of soup. This soup is by far my favourite soup and gets a place in my menu very often. Here is how I make it.

Ingredients:

6 medium sized tomatoes
1 small onion
1 large carrot
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Sugar to taste, optional

1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic grated
A generous pinch of Italian mixed herbs or basil

2 slices to breads
A splash of olive oil, about 1 tbsp
1/2 tsp mixed herbs

Process:

1. Chop the tomatoes in large chunks. Peel the carrot and chop it in chunks. Slice the onions and mince the garlic. Add all these in a pressure cooker and add about 200 ml of water and cook it till 1 whistle on medium high.
2. While it is cooking mix butter, grated garlic and mixed herbs/basil and prepare a flavored butter.
3. Remove all the edges from the bread and cut into small equal pieces. Toss them with olive oil and mix herbs and spread them on a lined bling tray. Put them in a a oven preheated at 180 C and bake for 3-4 minutes. Toss them again and bake for another 3-4 minutes. Keep an eye, as they get burnt very easily. When baked, they will be crisp and light golden in color.
4. One the ingredients in the cooker are cooked. Cool them a bit and then churn into a fine purée.
5. Sieve the purée to make it smooth. Heat a pan and add the liquid mixture into it. Add salt, sugar and pepper to taste. If you want the soup to be thinner, add water accordingly.
6. Serve it hot topped with a little flavored butter and herbed croutons.

Tip: If your soup gets thinner than you like then it can be rectified in the following way. Mix about 1/2 tsp of corn flour( or more to make it more thick) in 3-4 tbsp of water to make a smooth paste. Add it to the boiling soup. Keep stirring and the soup will get thick.

Enjoy this soup on a cold evening!

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Onion Bhajji ~ Crisp Onion Fritters

These savoury onion fritters are a crowed pleaser. It is one of the popular street food in India. I love to have them hot with a cup of tea. I had made them to take it to my work place and every body enjoyed it a lot. Few of them even remarked that they were really moist and flavourful unlike the ones you get in shops, which tend to be very dry when cold. The secret to it is adding a pinch of baking soda to the batter, it gives the inside of the bhajji a soft texture. I also add a couple of spoons of rice flour in the batter which gives a crispy crunch outside.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour, shifted.
1 cup sliced onions (About 2 medium onions)
3 tbsp rice flour
1 green chili, de seeded and chopped
11/4 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp ajwain/carom seeds
2 tsp crushed kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp baking soda.


Process:
1. Peel the onion and cut it into four halves. Slice them thinly. Put the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with the salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Add the chickpea flour, rice flour, chile powder, cumin, turmeric, ajwain, coriander leaves, baking soda,kasoori methi, green chilli and stir well. Add a couple of tablespoon of water to form a thick batter. Do not add water add water all at once, add spoon by spoon and stir with a spatula to check the consistency.
3. Heat 500 ml oil in a frying pan. When bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan lower it to medium. Drop tablespoon of batter into the hot oil. Fry 5-6 bhaajis at a time. If the pan is too crowded they will not cook evenly. Fry them till they are golden in colour. Stir it occasionally so that they are fried evenly.
4. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towel. Serve hot with coriander chutney or tamarind chutney. It can also be served with ketchup, pairs best with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Notes:
1. Shifting chickpea flour helps in avoiding lump.
2. Make sure baking soda also has no lumps. Once the batter is made, don't let it sit for too long. Start preparing the bhajis in 5-7 minutes.
3. It is best to drop the batter in the oil using your finger. It can be a bit messy but helps in getting uniform shapes which in turn helps in uniform frying.
4. You can make them in advance and heat them in the microwave before serving.

Have a nice weekend. 

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Dahi Vada ~ Holi Delicacies ~ Happy Holi

At the very outset wish you all a very happy, safe and colourful Holi. Today is also International Women's Day. So, to all ladies out there, have a great day, celebrate womanhood! Cheers!

I guess people in India are celebrating Holi with full fervor. We too will have our share of celebration but not until the weekend. Till then, I can obviously gorge on the holi special delicacies. I had made this Thandai Syrup some times back and have been enjoying it since then. DH has asked me to make these Samosas. I have more snacks and sweets on the menu! Food is such an integral part of our festivals that you can't simple do without them.

These Dahi Vadas are a hit in my house and holi is just an excuse to make them one more time. As both of us are 'nuts' lover, I throw a handful of chopped cashews and raisins into the vada batter. If you don't like them, you can leave them out. I always made them in excess as they keep well for 2-3 days in fridge. Lets hop over to the recipe now.

This recipe makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Urid Dal (Skinless, Split Black gram)
1/4 cup of chopped cashews
1/4 cup chopped raisins.
1 tsp of minced ginger.
2 green chilies chopped finely.
Salt to taste.

Oil to Deep Fry

750gm yogurt
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
salt to taste


To garnish
Tamarind Chutney
Roasted crushed cumin seeds
Red chilli powder.

Process:

1. Soak the dal/lentils for 3-4 hours.

2. Drain off all the water and churn it in a mixer grinder with little water to a fine paste. The consistency of the paste must be thick. Whisk it to incorporate air and fluff it up. Add the chopped cashews, raisins, chopped ginger and green chilli. Add salt as per taste.

3. Heat oil for frying. Drop spoonful of batter in hot oil, fry them till they are light golden brown. Keep the vadas on paper so that the excess oil is soaked out. Then transfer them in a bowl containing cold water.

4. Beat the yoghurt with water, sugar and salt so that it is smooth and has no lumps in it.

5. To serve squeeze out excess water from the vada by placing it between the palms. Place the vadas in a bowl. Pour the yoghurt over it. Sprinkle the roasted cumin and red chilli powder over it. Garnish it one tea spoon of tamarind chutney.

Wishing you all once again a very happy Holi! Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Creamy Veggie Filling In Potato Bowls ~ For Blog Hop Wednesdays ~ From UK Rasoi!

The second edition of Blog Hop Wednesdays is here. This week I am paired with Nupur of UK Rasoi. To give you an insight into how this event works - every alternate wednesdays, bloggers participating in this event are paired with a partner and each of them has to chose a recipe from their partner's blog, prepare it and blog about it. To know more about it and participate check this.

Nupur has a good collection of scrumptitous recipes on her blog and it was a hard choice for me. But finally I decided on her Twice Baked Herby Potatoes. Using this recipe as an inspiration, I created Creamy Veggie Filling In Potato Bowls using the ingredients I had at hand. As, I was preparing them as appetizers, I just used half of the measures as given in the original recipe.

Ingredients:


2 baking potatoes.
2 tbsp butter
11/2 tbsp AP Flour.
1/2 tsp ground white pepper.
 salt to taste.
1 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup or little more warm milk.
2-3 tbsp cream, optional.
2-3 tbsp chopped green pepper.
2-3 tbsp sweet corn.
3 tbsp shredded mozarella.
1/2 tsp mixed herbs.

Process:


1. Microwave the potatoes for 6-8 minutes. Read the instruction given on the packet for cooking them in microwave.
2. Let it cool down. Once cooled, cut them in half and scoop out as much flesh as possible without distorting the shape. Keep the scooped potatoes aside.
3. Heat the butter in a pan and add the chopped pepper and thawed sweet corn and cook it for a minute. Then add the AP flour.
4. Cook it for a couple of minutes stirring, till the raw smell goes away. Add salt, pepper, herbs and sugar and stir. Add the warm milk, stirring all the time. Make sure there are no lumps. Add 3 tbsp of the scooped potatoes. Cook for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Keep the potatoes with the scooped side up. Fill them with the prepared filling and sprinkle the shredded cheese.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 C for 15-18 minutes till they are golden brown.
7. Enjoy them as they are or add a dash of tomato sauce. Serve them fresh from oven.

Check out other Blog Hop Wednesday Bloggers and what they are up with for Blog Hop Wednesday

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Paneer Tikka With Minty Yoghurt Dip and Green Chutney!

Chunks of paneer marinated in spicy masala marinade and then grilled with veggies! Does that sound appetizing!

I can't tell you how my taste buds are watering even when I write this. Paneer Tikka is a perfect barbecue option for vegetarians and it is one of the most popular paneer dishes around. It's non-vegetarian option, Chicken Tikka is more famous in the western world.

I had been searching a perfect tikka recipe and was trying out different ones at a time. After several trials and errors, this one has worked best for me. I have adapted this recipe for SharmisPassions and have actually made it a couple of times. It has been a hit every time. Thanks Sharmi for the recipe. It is definately a keeper for all paneer lovers.

Ingredients:

Makes 5 Skewers

15  1'' cubes of Paneer
15 1'' peices onion cut in squares
15 1'' peices of green pepper cut in squares( You could also use different colour of peppers if you like)

For marinade:

1/4 cup thick yoghurt /greek style yoghurt.

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chat masala

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp grated ginger.

2 cloves of garlic pounded.

Generous pinch of salt.

Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl and add in the paneer cubes and square cut onion and pepper.

2. Cover the bowl with a cling film and keep it inthe fridge for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 12 hours for marination.

3. Pre heat the oven on grill mode at 200-210 C.

4. In skewers (I use wooden, so I keep them immersed in water for 2 hours or more before using) thread pepper, onion and paneer alternately) I use 3 of each in each swekers.

5. Line a baking tray with foil and place them on it. drizzle any extra marinade from the bowl over the skewers.

6. Grill in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins turning them upside down once in midway.

The baking tray will not be the cleanliest thing, but I can assure you on the taste of the tikkas.

7. To check done ness, see if they are charred round the corners. I love the resulting smokey flavor. Take them out and let them cool a bit before serving.

Serve them hot with minty yoghurt dip and (follow link for recipe of green chutney) Green chutney.

 We had Soda Lemonade as a drink with it. Recipe to follow soon!

Minty Yoghurt Dip:

1/2 tsp dried mint powder.
1/2 cup yoghurt.
1 tsp sugar.
Salt to taste.

Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients and dip is ready. Pairs well with hot and spicy dishes as yoghurt and mint together has a double cooling effect.

Linking it to Serve it Grilled . Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!