CARROT AND GINGER SOUP RECIPE

Soup is always welcome at my place and i always try new combos in making soups. Few years back when we went to Kottayam, we stayed in a resort and since we are vegetarian most of the time the chef prepared the meal  according to our specifications and one rainy day evening he made a carrot ginger soup and till we tasted the first spoon he was beside us waiting for our response. It was too good and he told me the recipe too as i can make it at home for kids too. Though i tried this few times never blogged the recipe and finally today i am sharing the recipe

I am going for vacation from today but have scheduled some posts. For any queries , please keep posted will get back to you in  the New year 2013.
Check out my

• Roasted bell pepper soup
• Vazhaithandu soup

ITALIAN BREAD SOUP RECIPE

Last week when we went to buy a laptop which we were planning for a very long time, we finished our shopping and after that we wanted to install some additional things to it and the shopkeeper told that it will take one hour and as the time was around 7 pm kids started feeling hungry and we went to a nearby cafe. Unfortunately nothing was there for vegetarians. Finally we thought we will have some juice but the choice which the kiddos opted for was not there. Then finally they told they have a choice of a vegetarian soup and we ordered one and told the waiter that we will order one more if the kids like the soup. We all loved the soup and it was quite filling too. While we were having the soup the chef visited the dining area(it was a very small cafe). When he asked the feed back about the soup i casually asked him the recipe and he immediately told the recipe of the bread soup in detail and i made this 2 days back. My kids enjoyed and the taste was so close to the soup which we tasted in the cafe.
Also check out my

• Hot and sour soup
• Vazhaithandu soup

This soup is made with the bread crust(sides of the bread) which we usually discard. So whenever you cut the edges of the bread keep it in the freezer and try out this soup.
INGREDIENTS: SERVES 2-3

BREAD CRUST(SIDE PORTION OF THE BREAD)	FROM 4 SLICES OF BREAD
PASTA SAUCE	3-4 TBLSP
ONION	1
GARLIC	3-4
BUTTER	1/2 TSP
OREGANO	A PINCH
BLACK PEPPER POWDER	1/2 TSP
WATER	2-3 CUPS
SALT	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Take out the the edges of the bread and chop them roughly.
• Chop the onions and garlic finely.
• In a deep pan, add butter and add the chopped and saute them till the onions becomes translucent.
• Add the bread crust and saute till it emits a nice aroma. Do it in a lower flame.

• When it is done, add 2 cups of water,tomato based pasta sauce and cover the pan and cook till the bread becomes tender and the flavours are infused into it.
• Let this cook for 7-9 minutes.

• Allow this to cool and blend this smoothly in a blender.
• Add the blended soup to the pan and bring it to a nice boil.
• Add oregano ,pepper powder and salt to this.

• Add water to reach the right consistency. If you want to have a creamy soup add 1/2 cup of full cream milk in the last.
• Serve hot.

VEGETABLE BROTH | VEGETABLE STOCK RECIPE

HOME MADE VEGETABLE STOCK

    Vegetable stock | broth which i wanted to try at home for a long time. When i wanted to make a Mexican Rice at home influenced by the one which we had restaurant here , the google search for most of the Vegetarian  Mexican rice includes Vegetarian broth | Stock. So i wanted to try this at home. I made this with the regular veggies which we use at home.
Before making this ensure that the vegetables should be fresh. Because i have seen in many cook books they use the left over veggies which will not give a nice flavor to the stock. When i made vegetable stock yesterday my house was filled with fantastic aroma and here comes the recipe of how to make vegetable stock at home.

INGREDIENTS:(YIELDS 5 CUPS OF BROTH)

ONION	2 NO
GARLIC	1 BULD WHOLE
CABBAGE	A SMALL PIECE
CARROT	2 NO
CORIANDER | PARSLEY	A SMALL BUNCH
WHOLE PEPPER	12- 15 NO
WATER	10 CUPS
GINGER	A SMALL PIECE
OIL	2 TSP
SALT	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Wash the veggies and chop them roughly.
• Peel the skin of the garlic and ginger and just crush them once with the mortar and pestle.

• In a heavy bottomed wide vessel, add oil and throw in the garlic and onions.
• Saute them in medium flame for 2 minutes.

• Now add all the veggies and mix well.

• Now add the water and add the whole black pepper and ginger to this.

• Now add the coriander leaves | parsley to this and add salt.
• Let this come to a boil.
• Cover this and keep the flame low.

• After 45 minutes to 1 hour switch off the flame and when it slightly cooks down and you can handle the stock pot, strain the mixture and keep the water aside.
• Discard the veggies as all the goodness of the veggies are trasferred to the water.

• If you are using them immediately continue else you can completely cool this and  freeze the stock and use when needed.

• For  3 – 4 days you can store it in a clean box and keep it in the refrigerator.

Notes:

• Normally celery, spring onions, leak are added to the stock. though i get these easily here i wanted to try out with the veggies which we use on daily basis.
• A bay leaf can be added to the stock while boiling to enhance the flavor.
• Do not boil the vegetables for more than an hour else the stock will not be flavorful.
• Freeze it once it is completely cool.
• While freezing the cubes, pour the stock in ice cube tray and once it is set, take out and put them in zip lock cover and freeze them.
• Take out the required portion when you want. Do not re freeze once defrosted.

MINESTRONE SOUP RECIPE | VEGETABLE MINESTRONE SOUP RECIPE

   Whenever we go to Pizza hut here, we order this minestrone soup and i was searching for a perfect and easy recipe for vegetarian version of minestrone soup. I bookmarked the recipe from here. This minestrone soup tasted awesome and was quite filling too.

INGREDIENTS:(SERVES 3-4 )

ONION	1 NO.
TOMATO	2 NO
TOMATO PASTE | TOMATO SAUCE	2 TSP
GARLIC	1 NO
CARROT| CORN|BABY CORN	1/2 CUP(FINELY CHOPPED)
PASTA	A FISTFUL
CHICK PEAS	A FISTFUL(SOAKED OVERNIGHT)
ITALIAN SEASONING	1 TSP
SALT AND SUGAR	TO TASTE
PEPPER POWDER	1/4 TSP
CHILLI FLAKES	1/2 TSP
OLIVE OIL	1 TSP

METHOD:

• Soak the chick peas for 6 to 8 hours and pressure cook them for 3 whistles.

• Chop the onions, tomatoes and the veggies finely.
• You can use any veggies of your choice.
• Finely chop the garlic too.

• In a pan add oil and  throw in the minced garlic, italian seasoning and pepper.
• Add onions and saute for few minutes till it becomes translucent.

• Now add the chopped tomatoes. and saute for few minutes.
• Saute till the tomatoes turn soft.

• Add the chopped veggies,pasta , cooked chickpeas and add 2 cups of water.

• Add the tomato paste to this and mix well.
• Cook in medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes.

• Soup is ready to serve now.
• This soup was very filling .

Note:

• Chick peas can be replaced with red kidney beans or black beans.
• Any variety of pasta can be used.

PUMPKIN SOUP RECIPE- HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

  The weather here is totally changed and almost throughout the day it is raining and I am down with cough and cold for two days and didn’t go anywhere out. When my kids and husband went for vegetable shopping to the near by shop, my daughter picked up a piece of pumpkin and wanted to make something on halloween day , today. First i thought of making Muffins,but when i opened my fridge, i noticed that the butter was over. So i opted for pumpkin soup as it will  be comforting for my throat.

INGREDIENTS:

PUMPKINS(CHOPPED)	2 CUPS
ONION	1 NO
GARLIC	4-5 NO
SALT	AS NEEDED
PEPPER POWDER	1/2 TSP
OLIVE OIL	1TSP
LOW FAT MILK	1/2 CUP

METHOD:

• Peel the skin of the pumpkin and chop it roughly.

• Chop the onions into cubes and peel the skin of the garlic.
• In a pan, add oil and put the garlic and onions to this and saute for 2 mins in a medium flame.

• Then add the roughly chopped pumpkins and saute for another 2 minutes.
• Now add 1 and 1/2 cup of water and cook the onion and pumpkin till the pumpkin become tender. Check it with a fork, whether they are cooked or not.

• The pumpkin gets cooked in 7-8 mins.
• Allow this to cool. Keep the extra water aside and grind the cooked pumpkin mixture into a puree.
• Now add the water which we kept aside and the milk to this.

• Boil this and add salt and pepper and enjoy a nice bowl of hot soup.

Note:

1. You can add a tsp of Oats to this while cooking the pumpkin.
2. Finely chopped roasted onions can be added on the top for garnishing.

SWEET CORN VEGETABLE SOUP RECIPE

MADE WITH CREAM STYLE CORN.

    We all are very fond of soup and i make it very frequently . Though i  have made sweet corn soup many times, i never attempted  with store bought cream style corn. When i saw the cream style corn in the shop, without any second thought i bought that and tried making soup with that. It came out very well and trust me it tasted so well as we get in restaurants.
also check out my

• Sweet corn soup
• Spinach soup

    Here comes the recipe for  a simple and healthy sweet corn soup.

BROCCOLI SOUP RECIPE

Healthy Broccoli soup recipe. 
When i went to the wet market today for my vegetable shopping, without any second thought i picked up the fresh broccoli and on the way back i decided to make a soup out of this,keeping in mind the recipe i read in a magazine long back.
  It turned out really well and my son,  who never eats broccoli, loved the soup very much.
Check out my other soup recipes

• Italian bread soup
• Almond garlic soup

INGREDIENTS:

BROCCOLI	1 MEDIUM SIZED
ONION	2 NO
POTATO	1 NO
GARLIC	4-5 CLOVES
SALT	AS NEEDED
MILK	1/4 CUP
PEPPER	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Cut the broccoli into pieces and wash them.
• Cut the onions and potatoes into big cubes.
• Peel the skin of garlic .

• Keep some florets of broccoli aside .
• Pressure cook the rest with onions,potatoes and garlic till 3 whistles.

• Allow it cool. Grind it into a smooth paste.

• Add 1 cup of water and the milk to the ground mixture.
• Bring it to a nice boil and add the pepper and salt .

• Boil the few broccoli florets, which we kept aside, in 1/2 cup of water.

• Put these florets in the soup.
• You can skip this step  also.