Creamy Roasted Root Vegetable Soup - Vegan, Gluten Free

Blogging seems to have come to a stand still for me. I keep trying to revive it and try and post a few recipes. But somehow life comes in the way. Last week or so, I have been experimenting with a lot of new things and I feel some of it needs to go in my blog.. I am not sure if I have any more followers. But I have decided to post a few recipes atleast so I can go back and reference them later!

It's march and there are parts of the world where people are already talking about summer and recipes to beat the heat. Here in England, we were almost ready to welcome spring. We even had a couple of glorious days where jackets were not necessary. My spring allergies are coming back. And then out  of the blue, another snow storm came along. And for a cold cozy day, there is always soup and bread in our kitchen.

I have made many variations of this soup before. But what I liked the best about this is the oven roasted vegetables. The boys agreed it just took the soup to a new level

Creamy Asparagus Soup - Vegan, Gluten Free

Soup and Bread is a match made in Heaven. Nothing beats a good hearty dinner like a bowl of soup, some warm bread and butter. This soup uses some fresh ingredients. And you would not believe how creamy it is considering I have not used any cream or milk. There is no flour to make the roux either. The taste of Asparagus is predominant. The potatoes add to the creaminess of the soup. You can add some chilli flakes while serving the soup to add a subtle spiciness.

Mor Keerai - Spinach cooked in a coconut and yogurt sauce - Spinach Soup

Mor Keerai is a traditional recipe from Palakkad region of Kerala (in India). As I have mentioned before my one stop for all Palakkad recipes is Palakkad Cooking by my friend Kaveri. This is also adapted from her recipe.



Though traditionally served as a side dish, one other way I loved eating this was as a soup! I call it my Spinach soup with Chilli Oil dressing!

Spicy Tomato and Orzo Soup - Vegan

Winter is nearly on us. Here the temperature is touching 4 C. Well, I know it is not much when compared to some parts of the world. But we are getting used to the English weather and so it is cold for us. I have fished out my scarfs and gloves. Am now dreading the morning when I have to scrape ice of my car's windshield. That is another 10 minutes added to the morning.

Quinoa and Summer Vegetable Soup - Vegan

Summer is a wonderful time when the vegetables and fruits are available in plenty. When I had a bunch of vegetables on hand, I decided to try this soup and totally loved it. Makes a complete meal.

If you are wondering what that bread is, just hang on for a couple of days. I will post the recipe for an awesome Potato Onion Seeded Bread.

Ingredients

Onion 1
Garlic 4 pods
Celery 4 ribs
Carrots 3
Potato 3 small
Peas 1/2 cup
Sweet Corn 1/4 cup
Zucchini 1

Tomato 1 can

Quinoa 1 cup dry (about 3 cooked cups)
Water 6 cups (or use broth)

Basil leaves a few

Oil and salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Heat a little oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and garlic. Saute till it starts to brown.

2. Add chopped celery, carrots, potatoes, peas and corn. Saute for a minute.

3. Add 3-4 cups of water (or broth) along with the can of tomato and salt.

4. Bring to boil and simmer till the veggies are nearly cooked. Add the zucchini at the end.

5. In the meanwhile, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add the quinoa. Simmer and cook till all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is cooked.

6. When the soup is nearly ready, add the cooked quinoa and basil. Stir well. Boil for 2-3 min.

Serve with some crusty bread. 

Carrot Soup - Indian Restaurant Style - Vegan

Growing up, we never made soups at home. They were usually a restaurant thing. And they are served quite differently. Usually they are very thin and the purpose of soup is to create appetite for the main course that is going to follow. As kids we almost always got full up with the appetizer and soup. So never understood the idea of soup creating Appetite.

Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Winter is nearly over, there is still time to tuck in with some warm soups. This soup has been in my drafts for a while. I had started writing the post as 'winter is nearly here'. So here I am a couple of months later changing that to winter is nearly over. :-)

This is a very hearty soup with loads of flavours going on. Don't worry, the flavours are all in your mouth, there is hardly any ingredient in it. That is the beauty of this simple soup. Pair it with some freshly baked bread and dinner is served.

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter Stew - Vegan

Do you have days when you want to make a dish and it kind of never happens? This is one such dish for me. I have been planning to make this for quite some time now. And even bought sweet potatoes a couple of times. Each time it was turned into some other dish (tasty, but not this dish).

The finally I got a chance to make it. To be honest, I am not sure how authentic it is! Cause I have never been to Africa or eaten in many African restaurants. The only cuisine I know is Ethiopian. Oh Wow, that is some food. Well, that is a discussion for another day.

Vegan Black Bean and Vegetable Soup

Soups are just the thing for a cold winter day. A bowl of warm soup, some bread and a book to cozy up with. This soup is very precious to me. Want to know why?

Well, you might think it is funny. It is cause of the black beans. When we lived in US, I used to get black beans when ever I needed it for Soups, Mexican food, Burgers etc. Here in the UK, I found out the hard way that you do not get Black beans at all. Yep, you heard me right. So where did I get this one from?

Vegetarian Chili with Quinoa - Vegan

Chili Con Carne or Chili as it is popularly known as is made of beef and spicy peppers in a tomato sauce. Ofcourse, being a Vegetarian means that I have to adapt this recipe to fit our dietary needs. Usual substitution for any mexican style beef or chicken based dish is beans. So it is no surprise that this version has some in it. Black beans would have been great along with kidney beans. But I could not find any, so settled for just kidney beans. Now for an interesting twist. Saw this recipe and knew I would love it. She had used Quinoa in the Chili. We are big fans of Quinoa at home ever since we first ate it and I always stock it in my pantry.



Vegetarian Chili had been in my list for a long long time. A few years ago, when I was pregnant with my little one, I had to travel on business. I already have a lot of dietary restrictions and add the morning sickness to it and it was a scary trip. On the top of that, it was a meeting at a client location and we went to Philadelphia. I somehow wanted to skip lunch and not be embarrassed in front of the client. But somehow got pulled into the lunch. It was the best lunch I had ever eaten and yes, you guessed it right. I did eat a Veggie Chilli  there and it was just out of the world.

You can serve this as a meal or like a soup with some bread or eat it with some Tortilla Chips!



Can I tempt you with some??



Ingredients

Quinoa 1/2 cup cooked with 2 cups of water
Onion 1
Garlic 4 pods
Tomato 1 can
Tomato Puree 100gms
Green Pepper 1
Big Green Chilli (Jalapeño) 1
Big Red Chilli 1
Water 2 cups (or as required)
Cocoa Powder 1 tsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Coriander Powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder 1 tsp
Salt 1-2 tsp (or as required)
Sugar 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
Frozen Sweet Corn (thawed) 1 cup
Kidney Beans 1 can
Juice of Lemon 1/2
Coriander leaved a handful

Method of preparation

1. Heat a little oil in a pot. Add onions and saute for a few minutes.

2. Add chopped garlic and saute for another minute.

3. Add peppers and chillies (finely chopped) and saute till it starts to cook.

4. Add tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Add the cocoa powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, pepper salt and sugar along with water.

5. Bring to boil and then simmer till everything is cooked and the sauce thickens.

6. Cook the quinoa in a separate pan. Add it to the simmering stew.

7. Finally add the corn, beans, coriander leaves and lime juice. Mix erevything together and simmer till it is all heated through.

This post is for the Palooza (Anu, Radhika and Me) Theme this month. We will be making some awesome soups to suit the season.

Sweet Potato Soup

Wondering about that awesome soup that you saw when I posted the bread Khaliat Nahal? Here it is. It is a super simple soup with sweet potato as the main ingredient. I saw this online and tried it with a few variations.

A perfect soup for Fall/Autumn.



Ingredients

Sweet Potato 2
Onion 1
Garlic 2 pods
Ginger 1 inch piece
Red Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp

Oil and salt to taste

To Serve
Avacado
Tortilla Chips

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Slice the sweet potato into 2 vertically. Brush with a little oil.

2. Bake for about 45min till it is well cooked.

3. Scoop out the meat of the potato (or just peal it)

4. Heat a little oil in a pan. Saute chopped onions, garlic and ginger till it starts to brown.

5. Cool and grind to a smooth paste along with the sweet potato.

6. Add some milk and/or water/broth till the desired consistency is reached. I needed about 3 cups of liquid.

7. Simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with some avacados (optional) and tortilla chips. You can also add some herbs on top. I forgot to add :-) 

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

I have had my share of soup in my life and I have to say, this is by far one of the best soups I have ever had. Do you see me saying this quite often? Well, I guess I must love my soups :-) Now the challenging question is when it comes to having Soup for Dinner, Am I attracted to the soup or the bread/butter that comes with it! The answer in most cases is the bread. Even in this case that would not have been wrong cause it was soooo good. But the soup beat the bread this time.

Wondering what that bread is? It is a Savoury Kugelhopf baked as a loaf. Check out the recipe, it is an awesome bread.



You don't need a lot of Ingredients or spices to make super tasting Soup. Just the right combo is the key. Totally loved this combination. I will never look at Butternut Squash the same way again. Go on, try it.. I know you want to!



Ingredients (Serves 3-4 as a meal with bread)

Butternut Squash 1 medium
Onion 1
Potato 1
Red Pepper 1
Garlic 4-5 pods
Ginger 1 inch piece

Chilli Powder or Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Cut the butternur squash into 2 vertically. Brush a little oil and bake in a preheated oven at 150C for 45 min. Scoop out the flesh and keep ready.

2. In a pan, heat a little oil. Add onions and let it brown a little.

3. Add chopped garlic and ginger. Saute for a couple more minutes.

4. Add chopped pepper and potato. Saute till it is cooked. You can add a little (2-3 tbsp) of water if needed.

5. Let the mix cool and make a fine paste. Puree the squash as well.

6. Pout everything back into the pan. Add some salt and garam masala (or chilli powder or pepper powder).

7. Add 1.5 cups of water/stock/milk to it and mix. Bring it to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with some bread!

Potato Leek Soup

Winter seems to be lingering here for too long. Some days are sunny and nice and some days feels like Winter is back. This soup is a perfect one for those cold rainy days.

Whenever we were travelling, soup and bread for lunch is a great option to have in local cafe. Its quite amazing how I avoided this soup all my life. But last month when we were in Lake District, we were literally starved after a long walk and this was the only Vegan option in that cafe. So I decided to have it. That is when I knew what I was missing in my life. It was simply out of the world.

I decided to recreate the same when I came back home and we all loved a hearty soup.



Ingredient (Serves 8-10 big bowls)

Potato 8 medium
Leek 2
Butter 1 tbsp
Olive Oil 1 tbsp

Salt and Pepper to taste
Italian Herbs 1/2 tsp (optional)

Water/Stock/Cream/Milk as required

Method of Preparation

1. Peal and chop the potatoes.

2. Chop the leek and clean it well.

3. Heat a pot and add the butter and oil to it.

4. Add the potato and leek. Saute for a few minutes. Season with some salt and freshly ground pepper.

5. Add 1/2 cup of water/stock. Cover and cook in medium flame till the veggies are cooked.

6. Grind into a paste adding a little water/stock as required. You can leave it a little chunky of you choose to or grind into a smooth paste.

7. Bring it back to the pot. Add some more stock/water or some cream/milk and bring it to the desired consistency.

8. Bring it to boil and simmer for a few minutes.

9. Optionally stir in some Italian Seasoning. Serve with some bread and butter.

I added a combination of water and milk. As I mentioned earlier, you can choose to use a combination of water/stock and milk/cream. Adding Stock and Cream makes it more flavourful and creamier.

Cream of Turnip Soup

Have you read the story of the Enormous Turnip?

A grandfather plants a turnip, which grows so large that he cannot pull it up himself. He asks the grandmother for help, and they together still cannot pull it up. Successively more people are recruited to help, until they finally pull the turnip up together. At the end they all enjoy a meal of Turnip Soup.

If you prefer to watch it, here you go.

After reading the story to my son, my husband and little one had been after me asking me to make a Turnip Soup. To be honest, I am not a big fan of that vegetable. Not that I hate it or anything, my brain does not quite work when I want to make something with it.



For this attempt, I have my husband and little one to thank. But for their persistence, I would not have made this amazing soup. You can make it Vegan as well by skipping the milk. The recipe below will make 4 big bowl of soup.

Avant Garde Cookies are making Soup this month. While Summer in India has driven most in the group to some cold soups, the sub zero temperatures here made this warm soup a perfect meal.

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a meal).

Turnip 4 (about 200gm each)
Potato 1
Onion 1
Celery 1 stack
Carrot 1
Bay leaf 1
Water (or stock) 3 cups
Milk (or cream) 2 cups
Chilli powder/pepper powder 1/2 tsp
Oil and salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. Peal and chop the potatoes, carrots and turnip. Chop the celery and onions.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaf. When it sizzles, add all the chopped veggies. (Time saving tip : While making soup, you can always keep chopping and adding to the pan. Try and add the ingredient with the longest cooking time first).

3. Saute till the veggies are cooked. Switch off and let it cool. If you have an immersion blender, you can purée it directly. (I do not). Transfer to a mixie/blender and puree it.

4. Transfer back to the pot. Add some water and milk. You can use stock and cream as well if you want. Add only as much liquid as needed, checking the consistency.

5. Bring to a boil. Add chilli powder (or pepper powder) and salt. Simmer for a couple of minutes.

Serve with some Warm Rustic Bread. We enjoyed it with the Zucchini Bread I posted last week.

Check out the other AGC thoughout this week 
Anusha, Jayanthi, Kavitha, Priya M, Radhika, Priya S

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Mushrooms are a family favourite. My husband and son love mushrooms. So when I wanted to make a quick lunch for them, i made this soup. Paired with some homemade bread and pasta and it was a complete meal.



Ingredients (Makes 2 bowls)

Mushroom 3 cups
Onions 1/4 cup
Butter 2 tbsp
Flour 2 tbsp
Milk 1.5 cup (or cream)
Water 1 cup (or stock)
Basil 1 tbsp (or thyme)
Dried herbs a pinch
Pepper a pinch
Garlic powder 2 pinches (or garlic pods 2)

salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Add the mushrooms to a microwave safe bowl and cook till it is done. I left it for about 12 min. Once it is done, chop it into smaller pieces if need be.

2. In a pot, add butter. Add in the chopped onions.

3. Once sauted, add the mushrooms and saute for another minute. Now add the flour and stir for a minute.

4. Add the water or stock a little first. Stir till it creams up. Add more and keep stirring.

5. Then add the dried herbs, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well. If you are using garlic, add it with onions.

6. At this stage, i took about a cup of the mix into a mixie and blended it. Add back to the pot. If you have a hand blender, you could just go in and give it a rough blend.

7. Now add the milk and simmer till it is heated up.

8. Add in the basil leaves and mix well.

Serve with some crusty bread or a garlic bread.

Tomato Shorba - A soup from Maharashtra

Bored of the same old soup? Shorba is basically an Indian Version of soup. This one is made of tomatoes and coconut milk which is then mildly spiced.

AGC are making dishes from Marathi cuisine this week. Though I was tempted to make a Sabudana Khichdi or a chaat item, I saw this recipe in a Tarla Dalal cook book that I have. It sounded interesting as I usually don't make soups without the usual celery and onion starter.



Ingredients

Tomatoes 10
Coconut Milk 1 cup
Besan/Chickpea flour 2 tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Curry Leaves few
Green Chilli 2
Coriander leaves 2-3 tbsp to garnish
Ghee 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Roughly chop the tomatoes and boil in 2 cups of water. Once cooked, cool and make into a puree.

2. Mix the besan and coconut milk and keep aside.

3. In a pot, add the ghee. Add the jeera. When it sizzles, add the curry leaves and green chilli.

4. Add the tomoto puree and coconut milk mix along with some salt and simmer for a few minutes.

5. Garnish with some coriander leaves.

Yummy Shorba is ready to be served.

Check out the other AGC thoughout this week 
Anusha, Jayanthi, Kavitha, Priya M, Radhika, Veena, Priya S

Minestrone Soup

Minestone is one of my favourite soup. Boston area has quite an array of Italian restaurants, especially in the North End area. We have eaten our share of awesome italian food. In addition to making pasta, this is one thing that I love making at home. It is full of nutrition - veggies and protein. Not to forget the super filling nature of it. It is a complete meal - just add some soft garlic bread and you will be in heaven. Do check out the recipe for garlic bread in this blog. Bet it is the softest bread you have eaten.



Ingredients

Tomatoes 12
Onions 1
Carrots 2
Potato 1
Garlic 2 pods
Celery 4 stalks
Kidney beans 1 can
Macaroni Pasta 1 cup (or any small pasta)
Basil leaves handful

Dry herds for tomato 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp for soup
salt and pepper

Oil for roasting tomatoes and for cooking

Method of Preparation

1. Cut the tomatoes into 2. Arrange on a baking tray. Brush with a little oil and sprinkle some dried herbs on it. Preheat the oven to 175C and roast the tomatoes for 1 hour.

2. Take out, let it cool and peal. Then with a spatula mash it till it is a chunky paste. Keep aside.

3. In a pot, heat a little oil. Whenever I made soup, I think of the chop and drop that Racheal Ray says while cooking. No prep time. Just keep chopping and adding to the pan :-). Chop the onions and add to the pot.

4. Add finely chopped garlic as well. Mix.

5. Next goes the celery, potato and carrots. Mix everything well.

6. After a few minutes add a little water and mix. Close lid and let the veggies cook.

7. In the meanwhile, heat a pot of water and when the water comes to boil, salt it. Add the pasta. Cook for about 10-12 min according to package instruction stirring in between. Drain and keep ready.

8. Once the veggies are almost cooked, add the tomato puree and finely chopped basil leaves.

9. Then add 4 cups of water (or broth). Bring to a boil.

10. In goes the drained chickpeas and kidney beans. You can use any beans of choice.

11. Add some more dried herbs to taste. Also add pepper and salt to taste.

12. When it is almost ready, add the cooked pasta. Mix well.

You can add some grated parmesan before serving.

Curried Sweet Potato, Lentil and Barley Stew

I am hosting a barley event this month and made a yummy stew with some sweet potatoes and masoor dal. This is the first time I am trying anything with sweet potato. I was surprised that it was not too sweet. It tasted awesome. Served with some garlic bread. You can eat it as a complete meal as well, as the barley and sweet potatoes make it quite filling



The photo was taken immediately after making it. It thickened up after an hour or so...

Ingredients

Sweet Potato 3
Onions 2
Cherry Tomato 20
Barley 1/3 cup
Whole Masoor Dal 1/2 cup
Garam Masala 1 tsp
Coriander Powder 1 tsp
Garlic Powder 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Bay Leaf 1

Method of Preparation

1. Soak the barley overnight and pressure cook for 3 whistles with 1 cup of water.

2. Pressure cook the masoor dal with 1 cup of water.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaf and chopped onions. Saute till the onions start to brown.

4. Add cubed sweet potato. Mix and saute.

5. After a few minutes, add the cherry tomato and saute for 2-3 min.

6. Add 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Simmer till the sweet potato is partly cooked.

7. Add the cooked barley and dal.

8. Add turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder, garlic powder and salt. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes.

Linking to my event - Cooking with Seeds Barley, event by Priya

Masoor Dal with Italian Pasta Sauce

Yes, you read it right - with Pasta Sauce. I opened a bottle of Meditteranean Pasta Sauce (red sauce) for making some pasta for my son. I used like 1/2 cup of sauce and the rest of the sauce was sitting in the fridge. The bottle is supposed to be used within a week of opening. I was just 2 days away from having to throw it away and making pasta was not in the schedule. So I just made this dish.

It tasted really good. It can be enjoyed as a side for roti or can be mixed with rice. Another way of using it is to water it down a little bit more using water or vegetable stock, add some barley or quinoa to it and have a soup.

I enjoyed it mixed with warm rice and left overs as a soup.



Ingredients

Whole Masoor Dal 1 cup
Onion 1
Pasta Sauce 2 cups
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves for garnish

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Cook the Masoor Dal in a cooker with enough water till it is well cooked.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and saute till they start changing colour. If you are using as Soup, you can add some celery and carrots to this.

3. Add the pasta sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.

4. Switch off and cool. Make a smooth paste in a mixie.

5. Transfer back to the pan. Add the masoor dal and salt. Mix well. Simmer for a few minutes. Switch off and garnish with some coriander leaves

Linking this to Lets Cook - Lentils and Legumes Event by Radhika

Roasted Tomato and Barley Soup

The idea behind this recipe is the same as that is used in the Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce and the Eggplant Sub. I have added barley as well to the tomoto soup to make it a complete meal. Barley is new member in my kitchen. I fell in love with it when I made this Barley Biriyani

Though basil originally is from India, you hardly see it being used in Indian cooking. It has an awesome smell and taste. Barley is rich in Amino Acids. And tomatoes are so full of anti oxidants. This soup will make a super healthy and filling meal.

Oh! For those of you wondering about the cup - I got it in a car boot sale (British equivalent of yard sale) for 20p (Rs16) :-) And my husband was not too happy with me accumulating junk... So I promised him I will throw it away after I take a tomato soup photo... Am I going to?? No way... Have to find another reason to tell him so that I can keep it :-)



Add a yummy bread to dip!

Ingredients (Serves 5-6 generous cups)



Tomatoes 15
Onion 1
Celery 1 stalk
Garlic 4 pods
Basil Leaves a handful
Barley 1/4 cup
Italian Seasoning 1/2 tsp

Oil and salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. Soak barley overnight and drain the water. Add 3/4 cup of water and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Drain excess water. Keep ready. Or cook barley on stove top.

2. Preheat oven to 175C. Cut the tomato into 2. Place in a baking tray facing upwards. Brush with a little oil on the top. Sprinkle the italian seasoning. Bake for a hour.

3. In a pan, heat a little oil. Add chopped onions and garlic. Saute till it browns a little.

4. Add celery as well and cook for a little bit.

5. Add chopped basil leaves and mix. Cool this.

6. Grind to a smooth paste and transfer back to the same pan.

7. Grind the tomatoes as well in batches and add to this pot. Add any juice from tomato in the baking sheet as well.

8. Add barley and some salt as needed and simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with bread of choice. Bread recipe coming tomorrow! Stay Tuned!




Linking this to Lets Cook - Starters - Event by Radhika
Linking this to I Love Baking