Carrot, Squash and Chickpea Soup

Winter is well and truly here, and in fact it was quite a shock to get back from Kerala to a rather chillier climate. I have been attempting to warm up with a variety of warming soups and spicy dishes. Rasam and dal have become top lunchtime fare, carried to college in a thermos to keep them toasty, and soup has often been appearing at breakfast.


Here's a vegetable packed winter-warmer that's sure to help you keep warm on a chilly day.

Ingredients:
100g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (I used kala channa, which made the soup darker)
400g chopped carrot
400g chopped butternut squash flesh
400g chopped potato (you can use sweet potato to carry on the orange theme, but I did not have any)
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt, to taste
1-2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
A large pinch of asafetida
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
Lemon juice, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Method:
Drain the chickpeas and bring to the boil in a pan of water along with the ginger. Turn to a simmer, and cook until the chickpeas are tender.

Add the vegetables, ground spices, salt and enough water to make up the soup. I am not giving exact amounts of water, as I find personal preferences vary. You are going to blend the soup, so you need to add enough water or it will be thick and gludgy, but not so much that you make a watery soup. Cook on a gentle simmer until the vegetables are just tender, but not too mushy.

Blend the soup, adding a little more water if necessary.

Heat the ghee in a small pan. When hot, add the spice seeds and asafetida. When the mustard seeds pop, pour the spices into the soup. Add the chopped coriander and lemon juice and stir to mix.

Serve piping hot, with plenty of black pepper and perhaps extra lemon wedges on the side.

Back from Kerala

Sorry guys, been back from Kerala for nearly two weeks now and haven't posted anything! I've got exams at the moment, and what with Christmas coming up I've been very busy.


Had a very good time in Kerala. The wedding was amazing, and the food was fabulous too.


I'm blaming these little babies and prodigious amounts of chai for my weight gain! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I can't resist a good vada or aloo bonda.

I stayed at the Bharat Hotel in Kochi, on Durbar Hall Road. Lovely hotel with clean rooms and helpful staff, not to mention delicious vegetarian food. Only slight drawback was that the hotel is right opposite a temple, and firecrackers starting at 3am in the morning were rather frightening on the first morning I heard them, particularly as that was 26th November! However, once I knew what the horrible explosions were, I was quite capable of sleeping through them. Not sure the temple elephant was very impressed though!

In terms of eating in Kochi, I still don't think you can do better than Fry's lunchtime meals. They're excellent value, though at Rs. 45 for a veg meal I think they've gone up a tad, and the quality is superb. I would have taken photos but I am too embarrassed to do that at restaurants!

For those who are concerned about hygeine (ahem, that's definitely not something I let get in the way of devouring every kind of street food in sight!), the Grand Hotel does very good lunchtime meals for under Rs. 200. You pay extra for a higher class setting and I can assure you that hygeine and quality are absolutely top. And they still have my vote for the best ice-cream in the world - their Arabica Surprise is a heavenly mixture of dried fig ice-cream sprinkled with chopped dates and drizzled with honey sauce. It gets better everytime I eat it.

For deliciously fresh coconut water and tender coconut flesh, I recommend strolling along to where the park is just next door to the path to the main jetty. There are always plenty of coconut-wallas there. As for fresh juice, well you have plenty of options there. My favourites are pineapple and grape, and I prefer to close my eyes to any sugar and ice that may go in, because frankly I like it sweet and cold. Those of you with different inclinations can try asking nicely!

Snack wise, make sure you fit in plenty of the aforementioned vadas (hey, don't blame me for your expanding waistline!) and there's also this fantastic sweet ball which seems like a very spongy sweet dough that's been deepfried. Chewy, sweet and delicious when munched on with some South Indian style coffee.

Those of you who wonder at the pink water you are served with your meals, fear not. The water is boiled with herbs and spices, including pathimukham, which is responsible for its pink colour and distinct taste. Some tourists seem to think it an acquired taste! Well, I acquired it, and if you do too, then you will be pleased to know that you can buy pathimukham and other spice mixtures for water at most general food stores.

Just wanted to add that I flew by Emirates for the first time ever, and I was very pleased with the service. The staff were all very friendly and helpful, and my Asian vegetarian meal was not too bad.

What else is there to say? Only that Kerala is indeed god's own country, and that you should definitely find time to visit. Relax, eat well, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. In fact, go soon, as all signs point to heavy tourism taking over in the next few years.

Quick Homemade "Pizza"

Sorry I haven't been posting very frequently, I have been busy preparing for my holiday and my exams, as well as creating and photographing recipes for my new book.

Tonight, I was trying to fit in packing and revising all at the same time, so I needed to make a really quick supper. Mum fancied pizza, but also garlic bread, so we decided to get some garlic ciabatta bread from the shops, and top it with some pizza-like toppings.


First we spread tomato puree on the bases (which were already seasoned with garlic, parsley and butter), followed by some blanched spinach. Next came green olives, sliced artichoke hearts and finally slices of mozzarella. We only had enough mozzarella for two pieces of ciabatta, so the final piece had cheddar slices instead. Everything was well seasoned with black pepper and salt. They went in the oven for about 10 minutes, at 200°C.


Whilst the pizzas were cooking I made a quick raita. I finely chopped tomatoes, red onion and cucumber and mixed them with some plain yoghurt. Then I heated a little oil in a pan and when it was hot I popped some mustard seeds in it, and poured them into the raita.



The "pizzas"came out of the oven hot, cheesy and delicious. Although raita may not seem a natural accompaniment to pizza, it certainly worked well here. I highly recommend you try this combination next time you don't have much time to cook!

Roasted Cauliflower and Almond Soup

Roasted cauliflower is one of the most delicious, fairly plain vegetable dishes that exist. So what happens when you make it into a velvety smooth soup with some almond milk? It becomes a delectable warming winter soother.


I highly recommend that you make your own stock for this soup. If you want your soup to taste just like mine did, here's how I did it.

I took 100g toor dal and put them in a pan with 1.5 litres of water. I brought the pan to the boil and then simmered it for 40 minutes. Then I added two chopped carrots, two chopped sticks of celery, one chopped onion and a few cloves, cardamom pods and bay leaves, as well as a bit of salt. I cooked this mixture at a simmer for about 40 more minutes. Then I strained it, and was left with 600ml. If you have slightly less, you can top it up with a little water.

Next, on with the soup.

Ingredients:
100g blanched almonds
300ml whole milk
600ml vegetable stock (see above)
550g cauliflower florets
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Olive oil
2 teaspoons ghee
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Nutmeg, freshly ground to taste
Salt, to taste


Soak the almonds in the milk overnight. In the morning, put the mixture in the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.


Preheat the oven to 220°C. Spread the cauliflower florets and garlic in a baking tray and drizzle generously with olive oil. Toss to mix. Roast in the oven until the cauliflower is golden and tender.


Put the stock and the almond milk in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for a few minutes. Then add the roasted cauliflower and garlic, and simmer a few minutes more.


Using an immersion blender, blend the soup till smooth. Taste for seasoning, and reheat if necessary.

Heat the ghee in a small pan. When hot, add the cumin seeds. Allow to sizzle for a few moments, then add to the soup. Add freshly ground nutmeg to taste. Serve hot.

Even my cauliflower-hating Mum (she had a traumatic experience as a child, involving home-grown cauliflower and caterpillars) loved this!

Delicious, Moist Eggless Chocolate Cake

First of all, let me say that I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. What with organising myself to go to Kerala in around two weeks, studying like a maniac for exams and trying to write and take photos for my next book; I've been a bit busy! In way of apology, I offer you a gorgeous chocolate cake recipe.



It looks slightly brownie-like, because of its cracked top, but it's actually more cake-like in texture. However, it's moist and soft as well as being spongy. I think it's perfect warm, straight out of the pan, but be warned that it doesn't slice very neatly if you don't wait for it to cool, as you can see from the above photo. The batter is also delicious raw....and as it's egg free, you can let your kids at it with no worries!

Ingredients:
200ml milk
150g good quality 72% chocolate
200g cream cheese (choose a good quality, preferably organic, cream cheese with no added stuff like carrageenan)
200g sugar
100g fine wholewheat flour
100g rice flour
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
50ml extra milk
2 teaspoons baking powder

Put the 200ml milk in a small pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, break up the chocolate and put it in a jug. When the milk comes to the boil, pour it slowly over the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. Allow to cool.

When the chocolate mixture has cooled, preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream them. Add the flours and the coffee, and mix well. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture, mixing all the time. Add the extra milk to the jug you had the chocolate in and stir it around to get all of the chocolate off the sides, then pour it in to the batter. Mix well until smooth, then add the baking powder and mix again.

Pour into a prepared baking tray (I used one that was 7 inches by just shy of 11 inches) and bake for about 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.


Devour hot, or be incredibly patient and wait for it to cool before slicing! Some whipped or poured cream would be delicious with this, but even custard would work well.

ETA: Just had some more of this cake cool for lunch, and it is utterly delicious, really rather brownie-like in it's moist fudginess.

Turkish Style Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Tonight was another pancake making night, but I also wanted to make a warming, comforting soup. This soup may not look particularly special or attractive, but it tastes delicious and is very easy to make.

Ingredients:
250g split red lentils (masoor dal)
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium potato, chopped
A big bunch of parsley, chopped
Salt, to taste
Olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
A large pinch of asafetida
4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and minced
Lemon wedges and black pepper to serve

Cook the lentils in plenty of water until tender. Then add all the chopped vegetables and simmer till they are also tender. Stir in the parsely and turn off the heat.

Heat some olive oil in a small pan. When hot, add the cumin seeds and asafetida. When the seeds begin to sizzle, add the garlic. Stir and fry for a few moments, and then add to the soup.

Serve hot, with plenty of black pepper and lemon wedges.

Great Day Out in Bath

We had a fantastic day out in Bath today. We spent the morning exploring the Roman Baths, which was fascinating, especially with the very informative audio guide that we got free with our entry tickets.

Then on to lunch. I will now reveal the best place in Bath to eat lunch. Arabesque is a fantastic little Lebanese place on the first floor of The Podium shopping centre. At lunchtime they do an amazing buffetfor only £6.95. There's a huge range of cold and hot dishes, and lots of options for veggies. In fact, all the cold dishes are vegetarian, and most of the hot ones are too, although there are some delicious (so I am told by my Dad) meat dishes for the carnivores. Fill up your plate as many times as you want, making sure you get plenty of the delicious fried cauliflower and spicy potatoes, and also extra helpings of the fool medames. The falafel are pretty good too, and rather large. Whatever you do though, save room for dessert! The mixed sweet plate is the way to go if more than one of you wants dessert. You get baklava, ataif (pancakes filled with Lebanese cream) and usmalia (kadaifi filled with Lebanese cream). Drinks wise, there's plenty of refreshing cool drinks and also mint tea, arabic tea and arabic coffee. The coffee may seem pricey for such a small shot, but you can get free refills. Be warned: you may not be able to walk after stuffing yourself at this place!

After our sumptuous lunch, we staggered towards the Abbey. We were distracted for quite some time by an amazing street performer doing tricks on a unicycle. After balancing a small (somewhat frightened!) child on his shoulders whilst unicycling, he moved on to something extremely impressive: cycling on a 10ft unicycle! If that wasn't impressive enough, he also juggled three flaming batons as he did this! On top of this, he was a rather witty and entertaining guy himself. When he had finished his act, we took time out to watch a man who was playing the fiddle whilst using some amazing foot-controlled contraption to accompany himself on the guitar. He was joined by a jovial friend with a pair of tambourines, and the atmosphere was really nice.

We finally made it to the cathedral, which was rather stunning in its own right but was made equally spectacular by some amazing pieces of art by local artist Sue Symons. A stunning mixture of calligraphy and very detailed tiny pattern work, this really is something to see.

After all that hard work, it was time for a hot drink. And where better to go than Minerva Chocolate, just outside the abbey. I had the most decadent hot chocolate imaginable, whilst my parents tucked in to tea and chocolate brownies, served with lashings of cream and a chocolate button. The smell of chocolate in the shop was so enticing, and you could watch the chocolate makers at work.

Finally, we sat and listened to Bath's famous reggae busker Delroy Fowlin, who by the way has his own Facebook appreciation page. He really is a Bath institution, and deservedly so as he is so friendly and smiling. You can check out a video of him in action here.

Then it was home for us, with just a quick stop to get some choccie peanuts for the car!