Blast from the Past: Bell Pepper Soups

A soup has always been one of my favourite meals and my weakness. It being a typical weather where sunny uncle playing hide and seek in my part of the world, we get solace in slurping big bowls of delicious soups. This week it was all Peppers pepping us up in a form of Red Bell Pepper Soup and Creamy Green Pepper Soup. And they go to my dear buddy Pooja who is hosting two-in-one events JFI & VOV-Bell Peppers. Enjoy these blasts from the past.

Red Bell Pepper Soup

Creamy Green Pepper Soup

Spring Cleaning: Minestrone Soup

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Can of Red Kidney Beans – Check

Two Cubes of Frozen Spinach – Check
One each Red & Green wrinkled Peppers – Check
Fistful of Pasta – Check
One Almost Dead Carrot – Check
Last Few Tomatoes – Check
A cup of Pasatta – Check
Sprinkle of Dried Herbs – Check

Makes -> Delicious & Nourishing Bowl of Soup, a complete meal.

For a notorious hoarder in me who can’t stand the sight of empty shelves, it is always challenging task to empty the fridge/freezer and pantry. I kind of hate late November days when we start packing for our annual trip to India for one full month and I am not allowed to buy any fresh ingredient from mid month itself. It is very nerve-racking experience when we have to cook frozen and canned products skipping my favourite visit to weekend Farmer’s market for freshest of fresh ingredients with bright colours and packed with nutrition.

This weekend I had to go through similar experience. We are leaving to India in 2 days time. Oh, I simply can’t seem to hide that stupid smile stuck on my face since past few days. I have been counting the days and then hours and now minutes. Although it’s a short trip for just 18 days, I have already planned up for each and every day of our stay. I am excited about eating all that delicious food cooked by Amma and Atte, two big functions at home, beach parties, lots of shopping, catching up with all hot gossips with cousins and friends and most importantly enjoy Indian Monsoon and Mangoes.

With our trip to India and lots of other things to think of, this time it was not that difficult to deal with Spring Cleaning. With just few days left for our trip, it wasn’t surprising to see almost empty fridge staring at me. There is hardly enough vegetables to use in curries and we opted for using them in heart warming Soups, next best thing to eat and enjoy. And what is better than delicious bowl of Minestrone Soup packed with flavours and nutrition. We used the ingredients based on what we had on hand rather than strictly following the recipe. We ended up with enough soup for two dinners which indeed was one complete satisfying meal. Please free to use any vegetables and beans of your choice and enjoy this bowl of goodness.

Minestrone Soup

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Minestrone Soup

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1-2 Flakes of Garlic, finely chopped
2-3 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large Carrot, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 Green Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
1 Red Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
½ cup French Beans, chopped (Optional)
1 cup Spinach, fresh/frozen
1 cup Pasta (I used Bow tie pasta, use any pasta of your choice)
1½ cups or 1 can cooked Kidney Beans/Rajma, drained and washed
1 cup Pasatta/1 tbsp Tomato Paste/½ cup Tomato Puree (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Mixed Dried Herbs/Italian Seasoning (Adjust acc to taste)
5-6 cups Vegetable Stock/2 cubes of Vegetable Stock (Optional, can use just plain Water)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Minestrone Soup

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped Garlic and Onions. Saute it for 1-2 minutes on a medium flame.
Now add dried Mixed Herbs or Italian Seasonings, crushed Chilli Flakes and mix well.
Mix in chopped tomatoes and sauté till it becomes pulpy, approx 1-2 mins.
Add vegetable stock or water, carrot, beans, red kidney beans, peppers, french beans, pasta and mix well. Cook on a medium flame till pasta is cooked well for about 5-10 minutes.
Mix in Pasatta or tomato puree (if using), spinach and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot with toasted bread slices and enjoy this nutritious bowl of soup.

Minestrone Soup

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Note:

You can also use other vegetables like potatoes, courgettes, green peas, corn etc of your choice. Any beans like Chickpeas, Pinto Beans etc can be used.
Sprinkle the soup with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Click Here for other heart warming Soups posted in Monsoon Spice.

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Wishing all the readers of Monsoon Spice a very Happy Vishu, Baisaki and Shubho Naboborsho.
Happy New Year to you all...

Winter Warmers: Carrot-Coconut Shorba

Warm, cold, cold, cold, warm, warm, cold, warm, cold…

No, I am not chanting some mantra nor I have gone mad. Well, it’s my usual grumbling about the weather here in Britain. I guess I can write a thesis on changing weather and still be left with much more thing to talk about. Two weeks back it was earthquake and now its flood warning!!! Mother Earth is really angry at us and I am not surprised! Even 5 year olds are talking about Global Warming and its consequence!!! When I was of their age all I talked about was how snow white got her price charming and thinking of getting married to my prince charming. I even remember asking my parents for coloured television as my wedding gift!!! Ah!!! My first love, an Idiot Box.

I did it again, drifted away from current topic. Well, what was I talking about?! Oh yes, weather. We are experiencing quite unusual change in weather once in every few hours. Don’t be surprised to see if it starts to snow just when the sky was clear a moment ago with bright sunshine kissing the lovely daffodils. At once you see sun shining and next moment he is hiding behind the black clouds. It feels like weather god is busy playing games with us but not everyone is amused with his little games here. It’s very common to see people falling sick as the weather changes. With truck loads of work on my desk and deadline fast approaching I try not to take any risk when it comes to health. So we have been cooking and eating food which are good source of anti-oxidants and help in keeping us fit. If you are planning to visit us be prepared to be welcomed with big steaming pot of broth cooking in our kitchen. It’s a common to see piping bowl of soup and warm bread direct from oven in our household.

K and I both enjoy soup with bread. We both love experiment with the ingredients and use fresh produce from farmer’s market. Last weekend we bought big basket full of carrots from farmer’s market and decided to make soup. As carrots are rich source of vitamin A and C and also anti-oxidants we use them quite often, be it raw or cooked. Carrots are considered to be the ‘best vegetable’ for balanced diet. Sometime back I had watched Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe of Carrot-Coconut Shorba which immediately caught my attention. Carrot and coconut, a marriage made in heaven!!! He used king of spices and Indian spices to spice up this sweet vegetable and creamy coconut milk. No more convincing was required to cook this for our dinner. Although carrot and coconut milk are the main ingredients which are sweet in flavour, the real punch comes from black peppercorns, chilli, fresh cilantro and other spices. The burst of flavour you experience when sipping this bowl of soup is makes this recipe a keeper. I am sending this Carrot-Coconut Shorba to Holler of Tinned Tomatoes who is hosting March edition of No Croutons Required and the theme is Spicy Vegetarian Soups.

Carrot-Coconut Shorba

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Carrot-Coconut Shorba
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Sanjeev Kapoor

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Ingredients:
4-5 medium Carrots, peeled and sliced to ½ cm pieces
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 medium Onion, roughly sliced
1 tsp Black Peppercorns (Adjust acc to taste)
2-3 Green Chillies (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Few Curry Leaves
1 tsp Oil
4-5 cups Water
Salt to taste

Soup for the Soul: Pak Choy – Noodles Soup

Where else could you catch a massive cold, if not in wet and cold Britain? I was surprised to see how I survived from Jan to mid Feb from the clutches of cold and flu when colleagues in my office were walking around with a tissue stuck to their nostrils!! Just when it seemed like we are going to celebrate early springs with daffodils smiling at clear blue skies, the temperature plunged to -10 degree celcious. Ha!!! Serves me right for planning my early spring shopping. Once I stocked up enough of cold remedies and boxes of Kleenex, I tried to research the latest findings on how best to tackle the illness that is still eluding the pharmaceutical industry. Well, what else I could have expected. As usual the results were not very encouraging. It seems there is actually no remedy for cold and one wise (wo)man even mentioned "Medicate a cold and it will be gone in 14 days; ignore it and it will be gone in two weeks." So if the cold usually lasts for two weeks then there is not conclusive proof that popping Vitamin C or zinc supplements is gonna work for you. These supplements might simply mask the cold but they don’t actually cure you.
With my nose looking like that of a buffoon’s, blood shot eyes watering continuously due to my coughing night concert, and tissue dangling from my nostrils I usually rely on some tried and tested recipes like pepper rasam, kashayam or bowl of piping hot soup. After all, there is nothing more comforting than boiling few tomatoes with little spices and a good pinch of salt or boiling a glass of water with tulsi (holy basil) with few crushed peppercorns and honey/jaggary. Well, it’s also all you likely to feel up to if you have a really nasty cold. But if it’s your hubby dear who is cooking for the poor you, then you as well give yourself a special treat;)
We created this Pak Choi-Noodles Soup using the ingredients which is sure to comfort me and clear the congestion. Who says creativity can't kick in when your nose is blocked? It's just your nose that is blocked not brain;). This sunshine coloured soup doesn’t require any fancy ingredients or too much of time and energy to prepare. The ingredients used are lemon grass stalk, ginger, black pepper corns and garlic which is a natural remedy for cold and a splash of soya sauce and lemon juice for tingling taste. Addition of noodles, pak choi, and red bell peppers make this filling as well as very comforting meal. I am sending this bowl of Sunshine to Lisa who is hosting No Croutons Required event and she wants us to make a soup that even the most carnivorous diner would drool over. Thank you Pooja for the tip:)

Pak Choi - Noodles Soup

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Pak Choi – Noodles Soup
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2

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Ingredients:
4-5 cups Vegetable Stock
1-2 Pak Choy/Pak Choi, cut into bite size pieces
Handful of Noodles (I used medium noodles)
1 small Red Bell Pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1 small Onion, finely chopped (Optional)
4-5 stalks of Spring Onion, sliced
1 inch Ginger, crushed
2-3 Garlic flakes, sliced thinly
¾ tsp Lemongrass Paste/1 stalk of Lemon Grass, outer skin removed and bruised
Few Black Pepper corns, crushed
1-2 Green Chillies, slit (Optional)
¾ tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Sambal Olek (Optional)
Few Basil, roughly chopped
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Pak Choi - Noodles Soup

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion and sliced garlic. Sauté it on medium flame till onions turns translucent.
Pour in vegetable stock and add bruised lemon grass stalk, sambal olek, slit green chillies and crushed ginger. Bring it to gentle boil.
Mix in noodles, red bell pepper, crushed peppercorns, soya sauce and salt to taste. Cook on a medium heat till noodles are cooked.
Add pak choi, spring onion and cook for another minute or two.
Switch off the flame and discard the lemongrass stalk and crushed ginger. Mix in lemon juice and basil and serve hot.

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Update:

With my nose and brain blocked, I kind of forgot to thank Sig for sending me this cute You Make Me Smile Award. Thank you sweetie for this award (You can send me the confession mail stating whether I really make you smile. I cross my heart and promise not disclose the contents of your mail). Well, it really means a lot to me when somebody says I make them smile and I take it as a great compliment. And the big surprise (read shock;) was there are some people who really read my l-o-n-g posts filled with everything under the sun. Boy!!! You guys really have patience ;) So thank you for reading my rants and continue to knock on my door in spite of driving you all mad with my non stop talking. Now to keep my reputation I think I need to post some jokes instead of my monologues dialogues to make you all smile! And I am passing this award to all you people who make me smile with your wonderful comments, suggestions and feedbacks. So spread the smile around because that’s what the world really needs.

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Winter Warmers: Thai Clear Soups

With the mercury hitting south in our part of the globe, our kitchen smells of sizzling pots of soups, rasams and dals. Sizzling bowl of soup with warm bread straight from the oven or steaming cup of rice with hot Rasam/Dal is what we crave for. After my successful attempt at making Thai Curries, I was keen to learn and cook something new. Thai food is greatly influenced by its neighbours, India, China, Malaysia and Laos. No wonder our Indian taste buds start singing and dancing when tasting Thai food, an explosion of salty, spicy, sweet and sour flavours that sparkle with personality. The four main Thai flavour groupings are salty (from fish sauce), sweet (from coconut and palm sugar), spicy (from dry and fresh chillies) and sour (tamarind, lime, lemongrass), with the less used bitter as a fifth primary flavour. These five primary flavours are the characteristics of Thai cooking, something to touch and delight every taste bud.
As I said in my earlier post, don’t get intimidated by the unfamiliar ingredients used in Thai cooking. There are good substitutes available which you can use if few ingredients are not available in your local shop or you can omit those ingredients which you are not very fond of. And more importantly, don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste. While cooking Thai food at home, we found that the food tasted much better than the one from local Thai restaurant. And why it shouldn’t, with freshest of fresh ingredients used, homemade curry pastes and spices made a whole difference. You will never get to see the liberal use of fresh ingredients in any restaurant as at home. Many people shy away from cooking Thai food under the misconception that it takes lot of time and ingredients which are unfamiliar to them. Something magical is created when you cook Thai food or any foreign food over time and the ingredients which were aliens in the beginning become more familiar. I find the time consuming dishes more rewarding. Believe me when I say it is as close as meditation when you get to use mortar and pestle and pound out day’s anxiety.
With today’s recipes we want to prove that Thai cuisine can be as simple as it can get and you need not use many ingredients to taste some authentic Thai fair. By planning ahead and little preparation everyone can cook delicious Thai food which sure to please every taste bud. Make sure you use the best and freshest ingredients and be flexible. Cook with an air of playfulness, experiment with flavour and learn to balance. If you are not sure and nervous, follow the recipe strictly and pay careful attention to the final result. As you taste the dish, think to yourself: is it spicy/sweet/sour/salty enough? Does it suit your palate? Most importantly, remember to please yourself-cook the food the way you like it because it should taste good to you and enjoy the whole process. Every time we experiment and cook, we learn something new. Cooking is as refreshing as meditation with delicious food as a reward and nobody can say no to this delicious reward :)
Armed with our new acquisition Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott to our empty cookbook rack we tried two Thai clear soups, Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu and Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic. As author says, “Soup is an essential component of almost every meal, served and savored along with rice and its accompanying dishes. In keeping with Thailand’s Chinese culinary ancestry, soup functions as a beverage, a liquid refreshment that cleanses the palate between bites and makes way for further rides on roller coaster of tastes that make up a classic Thai meal.” Most of the Thai Vegetarian recipes are also perfect for Vegans and I thought these soups will be a perfect entries for this Vegan Month. These two Thai Clear Soup goes to Suganya's Vegan Ventures Event.

Nancie says, “Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu is a one bowl celebration of Thailand’s sparkling cuisine. Spicy hot with roasted chilli paste and sharply fragrant with lemongrass, wild lime leaves, and a squeeze of lime, tome yum sounds an inviting reveille to your senses.” And I totally agree with her. This delicious flame-colored broth studded with green herbs and vegetables with exotic citrus perfume is a pure delight to one’s senses. Serve hot with a bowl of jasmine rice and enjoy its healing power.

Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

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Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Makes: 3-4

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Ingredients:
4 cups Vegetable Stock
2 Lemongrass Stalks
3+2 Kaffir Lime Leaves, cut into long stripes
1 inch Galangal/Ginger, sliced (Optional)
3 tbsp Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
3 Spring Onions, thinly sliced
1 Green Chilli, thinly sliced
1 cup Tofu, cut into 1cm cubes
1 cup Button Mushroom, thinly sliced
½ cup Carrot, julienned (Optional)
½ cup Red Bell Peppers, cut into i cm pieces (Optional)
1-2 tbsp Sambal Olek
1 tbsp Basil Leaves, finely chopped (Optional)
2 tsp Palm Sugar
1-2 tsp Soya Sauce
Salt to taste

Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

Method:
In a large pan bring vegetable stock to boil over medium heat.
Meanwhile, trim the lemongrass stalk by removing upper hard, dried skin leaving smooth stem. Cut the stalk into 2 inch pieces and lightly bruise the stalk with pestle and mortar.
Add bruised lemongrass , 3 kaffir lime leaves strips, galangal to boiling stock and reduce the heat to low. Let the ingredients simmer for 5-8 minutes till lemongrass stalks turn into khaki green and nice citric aroma fills the room.
While the soup simmers, combine spring onion greens, 2 kaffir lime leaves strips, green chilli slices and lime juice and place them into serving bowls and keep aside.
Scoop lemongrass stalks, galangal from vegetables stock and discard. Add tofu, mushrooms, carrot, bell peppers, basil leaves, sambal olek, soya sauce, sugar, spring onion and salt to taste and increase the heat to high.
When the soup boils again, remove it from heat and pour it on serving bowls and serve at once with Jasmine Rice.

Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

Nancie says, “Rice soup is comfort food in Thailand, simmered up from leftover rice to nourish a family member who is ill. It is also popular as a hearty breakfast or midnight snack. Cold, fever, aches, hangover and heartbreaks all seem to soften their edge just a little when a generous steaming bowl of Kao Tome appears.” And how can we not try this soup which claims to have medicinal properties and can be served as one-dish meal to satisfied our taste buds. We omitted Wheatballs or Wheat Gluten which the recipe calls and made few changes to suite our taste.

Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic

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Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 tbsp Garlic, coarsely chopped
½ tsp freshly ground Pepper
¼ cup Coriander Roots or Steams, coarsely chopped
5 cups Vegetable Stock
1 cup Mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ cup Carrots, shredded
½ cup Sugar Snap Peas, cut into 1 inch pieces (Optional)
1½ cups Cooked Jasmine Rice
¼ cup Spring Onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp Crispy Garlic in Oil (Recipe follows. Original recipe used ¼ cup)
1 stalk Lemongrass (Optional)
½ inch Galangal/Ginger (Optional)
½-1 tsp Palm Sugar
Salt to taste

Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic

Method:
In a blender, combine 1 tbsp garlic, pepper, coriander roots/stems with little vegetable stock and grind to smooth paste.
Heat vegetable stock in a pan and mix in ground paste over a low flame. Add bruised lemongrass stalk, sliced galangal if using and bring the stock to boil in low flame.
Meanwhile, deep fry or pan fry sliced garlic pieces till they are crisp and golden and transfer to paper towel till required.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan and add mushrooms. Toss them for about 3-5 mins until they are shiny and tender and keep them aside.
Discard lemongrass stalk and galangal from vegetable stock and add sautéed mushrooms, carrots, sugar snap peas, sugar and salt to taste and cook for further 5-8 minutes over low heat.
Add cooked jasmine rice, spring onions and cook for further 5 minutes.
Serve hot or warm soup garnished with crisp fried garlic and coriander leaves and enjoy this one-dish meal.

Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic

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Notes:
To check substitutes for different ingredients used in Thai Cuisine and also read more of Thai Cooking at Monsoon Spice Click Here. Also Read
Thai Vegetarian Red Curry
Thai Veg and Tofu Green Curry
How to cook Jasmine Rice
How to make Thai Red Curry Paste
How to make Thai Green Curry Paste
Also Check Jugalbandi’s Thai Pantry.

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Winter Warmers - Cream of Broccoli Soup

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP!

-Lewis Carroll

Remember this poem from Lewis Carroll’s magnificent creativity Alice in Wonderland? The story has always intrigued me ever since I was a small kid. I loved the strange and absurd things that happens in the wonderland and the amazing creativity behind it that never failed to take me to my own wonderland, playing with Dinah and singing and dancing with bizarre characters from Wonderland. Oh yes!!! I grew up as a kid with wild imaginations, just like Alice. I laughed at absurdity and loved Alice’s curiosity and cheered her courage when faced with difficult phases. Carroll opened the new world, a wonderland, to me and made me see the beauty in the unknown.

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“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”

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At first, the story of Alice in Wonderland would sound quite mundane. However, if you read the story carefully you will realise its not just any ordinary child fiction. Alice in Wonderland is a story filled with underlying philosophy and many secrets. It’s these strangeness and nonsensical ideas which are quite compelling. Remember the annoyingly witty Cheshire Cat? That’s one character I loved to hate. He would put Alice in trouble and yet his wittiness and that stupid grin never failed me to grudgingly adore him. Some characters made me laugh and some scared me, some of them are funny and others are rude. However, all the characters are quite colourful and will always remain part of my childhood memories be it stupid Dodo or foul tempered Queen of Hearts and her diminutive husband the King of Hearts or eccentric White Rabbit and many more…

Coming back to present from my wonderland, I was singing “Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!“ while making Cream of Broccoli Soup and soon hubby dear joined me when slurping this warm and delicious bowl of soup. Simple soup with few ingredients and very little preparation needed is a joyous song to my soul ;) Little chunks of broccoli are simmered in hearty vegetable stock and milk and lightly flavoured with garlic and a peppercorn is sure to win everyone’s heart. When served with herbed garlic baguette it becomes one satisfying meal all together.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Garlic Baguettes

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Cream of Broccoli Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 small Broccoli (approx 3 tightly packed cups)
½ medium Onion, very finely chopped
1-2 Garlic Flakes, very finely chopped
1-1½ tbsp Corn Flour
1 tbsp Butter/Oil
¼ cup Cream (optional, I used single cream)
1 cup Milk
4-5 cups Vegetable Stock (Broth)/2-3 Veg Stock Cubes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Method:
Chop the broccoli head and stems to very fine pieces and keep them aside.
Heat butter/oil in a pan and add finely chopped garlic flakes and sauté them till they turn light golden.
Now add very finely chopped onions and sauté them for 2-3 minutes over a medium flame till the raw smell disappears and they turn light golden.
To this add vegetable broth and finely chopped broccoli. Cover and cook for 10 minutes till the broccoli becomes tender.
At this stage you can cool the stock completely and blend it into smooth puree without any lumps. Or else if you like some body to the soup and don’t mind the broccoli pieces like me continue the following steps.
Add milk, salt and pepper to taste and simmer the flame. Keep stirring the soup for few more minutes so that the milk doesn’t curdle.
Dissolve cornflour in ¼ cup of cold water without forming any lumps and pour slowly to the soup. Keep stirring the soup so that no lumps are formed.
Add cream and simmer and cook for another 5-10 minutes till the soup thickens and bubbles are formed on the surface. Serve hot with garlic baguettes and enjoy.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Garlic Baguettes

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Tips:
If you prefer thick soup then increase the amount of corn flour used.
Adding fresh cream gives extra smoothness and body to the soup. Addition of cream is optional if you don't prefer heavy soups.

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Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum Soup

Yeah, yeah… It’s still soupy soup season for us here. Unlike other parts of the world where everyone is basking in golden sun and sand, we, not so privileged ones are snuggling under cosy blanket with a bowl of hot soup and dreaming of all that glorious sunshine. I just have to close my eyes to feel that cool breeze from palm-fringed beaches and lush green fields in my native. We are almost there… Right now while writing this post I can see the sun peeping out of the clouds and smiling. Oh!!! When will he grow up and stop playing that silly peek-a-boo. May be he did hear me grumbling about the same thing again and again. It’s strange as how the weather can be so deceptive. We had early spring in this part of the world and according to the weather forecast (here they come) we are on the way to one of the hottest summers in the history and I am waiting for the day when I can start grumbling about hot and sweaty summer days. Oh!!! Let me stop sulking and come back to my favourite subject.

Here is the recipe of Green Pepper Soup which I found in one of my cook books by an anonymous author. I tweaked it to suite my taste and preference, as I usually do most of the times, to create a filling, good tasting bowl of soup. Although it’s little fattening with that cream I sneaked into it, you can always lighten it my using milk in place of cream and modify it to suit your needs. The peppery taste of green capsicum is mellowed with cream which gives it extra richness and taste. Serve this hot bowl of soup with some bread and boiled vegetables tossed in your favourite herb/spice mix. The recipe below makes 3-4 servings of soup.

Green Bell Pepper Soup

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Green Bell Pepper Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:

3 Green Peppers/Capsicum, finely chopped
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
¾ tbsp Maida/All purpose flour
4-5 cups Vegetable Broth (or use 2-3 cubes of Veg Stock)
½ cup Fresh Cream(adjust as per taste)
1 tbsp Lime/Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Butter/Oil
1tsp Dry Mixed Herbs
Black Pepper & Salt to taste

Green Bell Pepper Soup

Method:
Heat butter/oil in a pan and add finely chopped garlic and onions. Sauté it at medium flame till onion turns translucent.
Now add chopped green peppers and sauté them continuously for about 5-6 minutes till the pepper become soft and skin starts to wilt.
Mix the Maida and cook on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of Maida is gone.
Next add about 2 cups of vegetable broth and bring it to boil. Remove the pan from flame and let it completely cool down a bit.
Transfer the contents to a food processor and puree the mixture to smooth consistency without adding any more of water.
Transfer this puree back to the pan and add vegetable broth, dry mixed herbs and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Simmer and cook uncovered till the bubbles are formed at the surface, stirring in between.
When the bubbles are formed, mix the fresh cream, lime/lemon juice and adjust the seasoning per taste. Cook this for further 4-5 minutes in medium flame.
Garnish with microwaved pepper rings and serve with boiled vegetables and roasted new potatoes and bread of your choice.

Green Bell Pepper Soup

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Did You Know?
The bell pepper is low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium and high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Manganese, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid and Magnesium.
Green, sweet bell peppers have 2 times as much vitamin C as oranges; red and yellow bell peppers have 4 times as much.
The nutritional value and health benefit of bell pepper makes it ideal for maintaining optimum health and weight loss. So don’t include too much bell pepper in your diet if you are interested in weight gain.
(Source: www.great-workout.com)

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Green Bell Pepper Soup

PS: Have you noticed a new Foodie Blogroll created by lovely Jenn of Leftover Queen which is for people who have a passion for food? Click here for more information about Foodie Blogroll and join the ever growing community of all the Foodies around the world.

Red Pepper/Capsicum Soup

Have you heard of a famous quote which goes like “It’s difficult to predict three W’s in life: Wine, Weather and Woman”. I am not sure about first W because I can’t handle any drinks which have above 0.1% of alcohol. I don’t agree with third W because I am one among them. As for the second W is concerned I don’t have any issue because it is something which changes faster than my mood swings especially where I live;)
Last couple of days we were blessed with bright and clear sky which really cheered me despite the fact that I had badly sprained my ankle during our weekend trekking. Just when I started enjoying the warmth and ice cream, the weather changed as if some witch has spread her black magic. I was duped into thinking that the dark and gloomy days are over. I needed something really good to cheer myself and I was not ready to surrender myself to the temptation of munching my favorite Pringles. To distract my mind and eyes I opened a cook book which I had recently acquired from thrift store and voila, I couldn’t take my eyes off from one particular picture. Red Pepper Soup was the exact thing I wanted for brightening up the gloomy day and gloomy mood. All the magic ingredients were there to make bright, hot, spicy and tasty yummylicious pot of soup.

Red Pepper Soup

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
4 medium Red Peppers/Capsicums
4 medium Tomatoes
1 medium Red Onion Sliced
½ tsp Dried mixed Herbs
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Curry Paste
½ tsp Red Chilli Paste
4 cups Vegetable Stock/Water
1 tsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper for Taste

Red Pepper Soup

Method:
Cut the red peppers into quarter. Remove the seeds and grill or roast them in an oven until its skin blackens and blisters.
Cool the peppers slightly before peeling its skin.
In a mean while, mark a small cross on top of each tomato and place them in a bowl of boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.
Drain, cool and peel the skin of tomatoes. Cut these tomatoes in half and gently scoop out the seeds using a small spoon.
Heat oil in a pan and add crushed garlic and sliced onions and sauté it on low flame for 1-2 minutes.
To this add dried herbs, curry paste, chilli paste, chopped tomatoes, red pepper and vegetable broth and mix well.
Bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for another 5-6 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool.
Place the soup in small batches in a food processor and process it to make a smooth puree.
Return this puree to a pan and add sweet chilli sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Reheat the soup before serving with bread croutons.

Red Pepper Soup

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Did You Know?
Red peppers are one of the few foods that contain lycopene, a carotenoid whose consumption has been inversely correlated with prostate cancer and cancers of the cervix, bladder and pancreas.

In general, all peppers are a good source of vitamin A and C; the red ones are bursting with these two antioxidants. Antioxidants are a group of nutrients that neutralize free radicals in the body fluids reducing the risk of disease.

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Red Pepper Soup

Creamy Corn & Tomato Soup

There are sometimes, or should I say many times, when both feel very lazy to cook. We crave for home made food and yet too lazy to budge from a couch. Having food in restaurants or ordering food from take-away was not very appealing to us. So we decided to make soup thinking it will need very little effort from both sides. It just took few minutes to realise that it was not as easy as we thought. You see, in our home we take more time in deciding what to cook than the whole cooking process itself. And this time again was no exception. My much better half wanted to have sweet corn soup and I wanted to have tomato soup. So the end result after heated discussion was this tangy and sweet Creamy Corn and Tomato Soup. If you like simple, no nonsense recipe which requires few ingredients, little cooking time, and very delicious pot of soup, then friends look no further:)

Creamy Corn and Tomato Soup

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Creamy Corn & Tomato Soup
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 cube Vegetable Stock Powder
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 medium Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 canned Tomato Puree
1 canned Cream of Corn
1 cup Canned/Fresh Corn Kernels
1 tsp Chilli Powder
Salt to taste

Creamy Corn and Tomato Soup

Method:
Heat oil in a large pan and chopped onion and cook until soft.
To this add finely chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns tender.
Now add tomato puree, creamed corn, corn kernels and vegetable stock.
Add half a cup of water, salt and chilli powder to it and mix well.
Cook this on a medium-low heat and bring it to boil.
Serve this hot with dollop of sour cream and crisp bread bites.

Creamy Corn and Tomato Soup

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Here is my contribution to "Kitchen Safety Moments" event hosted by lovely Jyotsna of "Curry Bazaar".
Be careful when pureeing hot soup in the blender or food processor as it can shoot out of the top and scald you (Been there and done that). If possible, cool the soup before pureeing. If you must puree while the soup is hot, do it in small batches. Thin soups may also leak from the processor. The best way to deal with this is to remove the vegetables from the soup with a slotted spoon and process with a spoonful or two of the liquid. Mix the pureed vegetables back into the liquid in the pan.

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Cream of Corn Soup

Other day I was chatting with my lovely cousin who is staying in US. She is a fabulous cook with many healthy and nutritious recipes in her kitty. After we finish with our usual chit-chat, we share some interesting recipes which we have had tried and found quite good:) I was lucky again (as most of the times;) and got this awesome soup recipe from her. When she said she was hooked to this soup I was bit sceptical about it. Thats mainly because the only soup I am really hooked is tomato soup, which I can consume in gallons without complaining. Although I love soups, no other soups have come close to tomato soup. And boy!!! Was I wrong this time. I am quite happy that my soup theory proved wrong:) It was all she mentioned and now like her even I and K are hooked to this delicious hot bowl of soup. So this is a call to all soup lovers out there to give it a shot as I am sure you will love it as much as we do.

Cream of Corn Soup

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Cream of Corn Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time:15-20 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
1 can of Cream of Corn
2 cups of Water/ Vegetable Stock
2 cubes of Vegetable Stock (omit if you are using vegetable stock)
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Corn flour (adjust according to required consistency)
½ cup Carrot, diced into small pieces
½ cup French Beans, chopped
½ cup Cabbage, chopped finely
½ cup Green Peas, cooked or frozen
½ cup Celery, diced (optional)
Salt and Pepper Powder to taste

Cream of Corn Soup

For Garnishing:
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped and kept in vinegar for 1-2 hours
Shredded Cabbage

Cream of Corn Soup

Method:
Pour 2 cups of water into heavy bottomed pan and add veg stock cubes to them.
To this add cream of corn and mix well.
In a mean while, microwave all the vegetables for 2-4 minutes so that they retain their crunchiness.
Add these vegetables to the pan with soya sauce and vinegar.
Take ¼ cup of water and dissolve corn flour in it.
Add this to soup and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed.
Cook in medium flame for another minute and then add salt and pepper according to your taste.
Serve hot garnished with shredded cabbage and chillies in vinegar with any bread or bun.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Every winter,

When the great sun has turned his face away,

The earth goes down into a vale of grief,

And fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables,

Leaving her wedding-garlands to decay

Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses.

~Charles Kingsley

Cream of Tomato Soup

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. And I’m happy when I’m snuggling with my hubby in a couch with warm blanket and slurping a hot cuppa or piping hot bowl of soup watching the world go around slowly… Winter is the best season to enjoy soups with warm freshly baked bread right out of oven. Who says winter is cold and boring? Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories. And we both have so many warm memories to share which makes our days turn into beautiful sunny day.

Mmmm... Winter is beautiful...Cozy...Comforting...Relaxing...AND Soups....

I love soups...but love them more at this time of year. I'm going to post lots of soup recipes and today its Cream of Tomato Soup's turn. My all time favourite... I love it because of its bright sunny colour which always brings smile on my face. It reminds me of bright, lovely sunny days... Its been my favourite soup and will always remain. I dont think I'll ever get bored of this:)

Bright and Sunny... Cream of Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
1/2 Kg ripe red Tomatoes, chopped (Now you know how much I love this soup:)
2 small tender Carrots, grated
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp Corn Flour
1/4 cup Milk
1 tbsp Butter
Salt+Pepper+Sugar to taste

Cream of Tomato Soup with Poppy Seed Bread

Method
Heat butter in a pan and add bay leaf and chopped onions
Fry them for 2-3 minutes and add grated carrots
Stir this for a minute or two and then add chopped tomatoes.
Add enough water to cover the pieces and cook till tomatoes become tender
Take the pan from heat and cool down the mixture and blend it in a mixi and starin well.
Make a white sauce with milk and corn flour.
Heat the soup with salt & sugar till boiling point in reduced flame stirring in between.
Add white sauce slowly while strirring the soup.
Cook in reduced flame for few more minutes.
Serve hot sprinkled with pepper powder along with bread croutons.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Note:
After adding white sauce do not heat the soup for long time.
Always heat any soup in reduced flame to avoid milk curdling.

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”

-Albert Camus