Pumpkin soup

The perfect weather for soup is here. It's has been raining for the last few days and it has cooled Manila quite a bit. A welcome change from the hot summer we experienced since February. One of the foods that can be truly enjoyed during the rains is a hot bowl of soup. We are not soup enthusiasts per se, but we do enjoy the occasional bowl of soup, specially if the weather is chilly. Pumpkins are available through the year in Manila, however I haven't cooked it much before as I don't really know any recipes, and thought a soup would be a good place to start. Some variety in our meals was in order specially as far as vegetables are concerned and that is how the pumpkin soup came to be.

I went through a few sites and gathered, that pumpkin soup is one of the easiest things to cook, apart from one or two ingredients that can be added or given a miss, depending on your preferences, almost all recipes are the same, and even a novice cook can't get this wrong.
Without further ado, let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

1. Pumpkin (Squash) - 500 gms
2. Onion (large) - 1 no
3. Garlic - 3 flakes
4. Oil/ Butter - as required
5. Water - 1 litre 
6. Chicken stock cube - 1 no
7. Milk (Full cream) - 1/2 cup
8. Dried mixed herbs - 1 tsp
9. Salt and freshly ground pepper - as needed

Method:

1. Roughly chop the garlic, onion, and pumpkin. 
2. In a deep pan, heat oil/butter, add the chopped garlic and onion and sauté till it softens and turns pink. 
3. Add the chopped pumpkin and mixed herbs and sauté well, add half a cup of water and let it cook till the vegetable is cooked and has turned soft.This should take about ten to twelve minutes. 
4. Cool the vegetable mixture and use a blender to make a smooth creamy paste. Use water as required to achieve the right consistency.
5. Empty the vegetable paste into a saucepan, bring it to a boil, add the seasoning, stock cube and water. 
6. As it starts boiling, slowly stir in the milk, all the while gently stirring the soup and mixing the contents together. 
7. Adjust the seasoning and consistency and your soup is ready.

Malvani chicken curry

Malvani masala is a popular spice mix from the coastal belt of Malvan in Maharashtra. As the name suggests, the spice mix is mostly made and used by people from the Malvan region to flavour chicken, mutton and vegetable preparations. This is usually made in bulk quantities to be used for the year and each household has a different recipe for the spice mix. If you are an enthusiast you can try and make this spice mix at home. There are several recipes on the internet that can be found. Or better still get it from friends who make this :-)

The most important thing for this dish to be a success is the quality of your spice mix, it is literally the ingredient that makes or breaks the recipe. And like most spice mixes, this is easy to find in a local grocery store in Mumbai, but you will have to go through a few to figure out which suits your palette. As of now, these spice mixes are made locally and every store has a different mix stocked.

This is a quick chicken curry provided you have the Malvani masala stocked in your kitchen. I usually stock this spice mix along with the East Indian bottle masala, as I use them quite often to make chicken, beef and mutton curries. They are quick to make and turn out quite tasty.

I first got this recipe and spice mix from a dear friend and colleague of mine - Dipti Gonasagi. I have made few changes in the method of cooking and the sequence of ingredients that go into the pan, mostly to cut short time used in the prep work. I am sure many seasoned cooks do that, to either save time or because they are comfortable doing things a certain way, without greatly altering the taste of the dish, so feel free to tinker around to suit your needs. Thank you Dipti for this lovely recipe.

Recipe credit: Ms Dipti Gonasagi

Ingredients:

1. Meat (Chicken or mutton) - 1 kg
2. Onion - 1 medium sized, finely sliced
3. Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, finely sliced
4. Green chilly - 3 nos, sliced
5. Malvani masala - 2 tbsp
6. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
7. Turmeric chilly powder 1/2 tsp
8. Lime/lemon juice - 2 tbsp
9. Potatoes - 3 medium sized, cubed
10. Oil and salt - as needed

Roast the below mentioned ingredients on a pan using little oil:

1. Coconut - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
2. Onions - 2 medium sized, sliced
3. Garlic - 8 cloves, sliced
4. Ginger - 1 inch piece, sliced

Method:

1. Clean, wash and drain the meat. Marinate the meat in the powdered spices and set aside. 
2. Slice the onions, tomatoes and green chillies.
3. Cool the roasted ingredients and blend to a paste using water.
4. Heat a deep pan, add the onions and fry till they turn soft and brown. Add the marinated meat and mix well.
5. Add salt, the sliced tomatoes, green chillies and the ground paste of coconut and onions. Mix well and let the meat cook. Add 1/2 cup of hot water if necessary. 
6. No water is required if you are using the pressure cooker. 
7. Add the potatoes and the lime/lemon juice when the meat is half cooked. Check for salt, spice and consistency. 
8. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapattis or steamed rice. 

Notes:

1. Whenever you try a new spice mix use half the quantity mentioned so that you get a sense of the flavors. you can always add more through the cooking process.
2. Use the spice mix, chilly powder and green chilies as per your spice tolerance. The measurements used in the recipe above will give you a medium spicy curry.
3. In case you forget to marinate the meat or just want to skip that part, you can. Just add all the spice powders into the pan, after the onions have browned and then add the meat.

Andhra Chicken Pulao

This recipe comes from the kitchen of Master Chef of Indian cuisine Sanjeev Kapoor. Typing this recipe here brought up many beautiful memories of watching cooking shows with my sister and jotting down recipes hurriedly, each of us had a specific role in this enterprise, one of us would take down notes while the other watched the screen without batting an eye-lid and listened to instructions with all the concentration that could be mustered, in case they had to be repeated for the benefit of the note taker. :-) Those were some good times! My sister has note books filled with recipes written from over fifteen years ago, recipes written from watching T.V. shows, magazines and newspapers, and from friends and aunts and from my mum. Of course all the jotted notes didn't make it to the fair copy of the recipe book, only the ones that passed a thorough check based on her internal evaluation made the cut. And every time I visit her I go through the myriad notes to see if I have missed something or if there is some recipe I'd like to try that I didn't find interesting earlier. It's an extremely therapeutic exercise, even if I just wade through the pages without making my own notes.

The recipe I share today, is one such gem from a cookery show that I watched maybe eight years ago on Food Food, it was presented by Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. I don't think it needs any further prodding to rouse your interest. If the Master Chef says its good, then it is good. It is a one pot meal, that can be served with a side of a vegetable raita or cuchumber (cucumber, onion, toamto salad). It looks appetizingly red, is wet enough so you don't need an addition curry or gravy and tastes coconuty yummy! I did make a few minor changes to suit my palette and enhance a few flavours. It's one of the best pulao recipes I have tried and has been loved by all who've eaten it. So here goes!

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 750 gms
2. Basmati rice - 2 cups 
3. Coconut milk - 2 cups coconut milk*
4. Water - 2 cups
5. Chicken stock cube - 2 nos 
6. 3 chicken maggie cubes 
7. Cinnamon - 3 inch stick
8. Cloves - 8 nos
9. Cardamom - 6 nos
10. Star anise - 2 nos
11. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
12. Curry leaves - a few
13. Onion - 3 medium, sliced
14. Tomatoes - 3 medium, sliced
15. Green chillies - 3 nos, chopped
16. Juice of half a lemon
17. Oil - 3 tbsp
18. Salt as needed

Make a paste of the below ingredients in a blender:

1. Kashmiri red chillies - 6 nos
2. Garlic cloves - 20 nos
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece
4. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat a pan, add oil and then add all the whole dry spices, followed by sliced onions. Add some salt for the onions to fry faster. 
2. Once the onions have browned, add the chicken pieces, turn up the heat and stir fry the chicken for two to three minutes. 
3. Now add the the ground paste, and mix well and let it simmer for two mins after which you add the  tomatoes and chillies. 
4. Add the soaked rice, coconut milk, chicken stock cube and water. Let it come to a boil, add the lemon juice at this point and mix all the contents of the pan, lower the flame and cover the pot and cook for ten minutes.
5. Switch off the flame after ten minutes, and let the pulao rest with the cover on for another ten miutes. Do not open the lid till you are ready to serve as the steam trapped in the pot, continues to cook the chicken and rice.

Notes:

1. The ratio of water used to cook Basmati rice is 2:1. So for one cup of uncooked rice you will need two cups of water. In the recipe above you can tinker with the quantity of the coconut milk. If you'd like you can use one cup of coconut milk instead of two to make it less rich, however increase the water from two cups to three cups. 
2. In case you'd like to use liquid chicken stock, use two cups of stock and eliminate the two cups of water and the stock cube.
3. Use fewer red and green chillies if you can't tolerate too much spice.

Moong/Mungo sprout salad

One of my goals for 2018 is to incorporate more vegetables in my daily meals And to achieve this I have started noting down my menu everyday. Just so that I ensure there is vegetable included and not forgotten due to force of habit. I made this sprout salad a few days ago and it's a mixture of kuchumber salad, sprouts, yoghurt and chaat masala.

Moong sprouts are extremely healthy and nutritious and this is a great way to make meals interesting. It can eaten as a snack too. All the measures for the salad vegetables are flexible and depend on your preference. I have made it in a way that suits my family's taste. You can use the measures here as a reference point and tweak it to suit your palate. You can either buy sprouted moong from the supermarket or make your own at home. If you plan to sprout the lentils, it will require planning in advance. You can refer to the instructions below if you are going to sprout the lentils at home.

Instructions for sprouting moong/mungo:

1. Wash and soak moong in water for six to eight hours. Water should be at least an inch above the level of the moong.
2. Drain the water completely, and put the moong in a clean, damp muslin cloth. Tie the the cloth in a way that the moong is in a ball shape and there is enough cloth remaining for you to hang it. If you have no provision to hang it, you can tie the muslin cloth and keep it in a strainer that is kept in a clean dry pan. 
3. You can keep this for 24 hours and your sprouted moong is ready for use.

Note: Sprouted moong can be eaten raw or can be lightly steamed for salads. I steamed it lightly for my recipe, by putting the sprouts in boiling water for two minutes and then draining the hot water and allowing it to cool.

Ingredients:

1. Sprouted moong - 1/2 cup
2. Cucumber - 1 no
3. Red onion - 1 no
4. Tomato - 1 no, de-seeded
5. Yoghurt - 1/2 cup
6. Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp
7. Salt and pepper - as needed
8. Coriander leaves - a few, chopped finely for garnish

Method:

1. In a bowl, whisk the yoghurt to a smooth texture and add all the ingredients, except coriander leaves.
2. Mix well, adjust seasoning.
3. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Pepper Chicken Fry

This is yet another easy recipe from my kitchen, that can be whipped up in no time and the list of ingredients is easily available in almost all Indian kitchens. So if you are looking for a quick hassle free and delicately flavoured chicken dry dish, this recipe is your answer.

I made this dish on one of those days that I wanted a simple meal with daal and rice and a chicken side dish. Didn't want to spend too much time or ingredients in the cooking process. The dish has a delicate pepper and lime flavour but if you would like you can add more pepper to suit your taste buds.

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken - 750 gms
2. Onions - 2 medium sized, sliced thinly
3. Garlic - 8 cloves, sliced thinly
4. Ginger - 1 inch piece, grated
5. Green chilly - 4 nos
6. Freshly crushed pepper - 1/2 tbsp
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Lime juice - 1 tbsp
9. Curry leaves - 20 leaves
10. Oil - 3 tbsp
11. Salt as required

Method:

1. Cut chicken into 2 inch cubes, wash and drain excess water. Apply turmeric and set aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil add the garlic, curry leaves and ginger, saute for a few seconds and add the sliced onions. Add some salt as this will hasten the cooking process for the onions.
3. When the onions turn translucent, add the cubed chicken pieces. Cook the chicken on high flame, turning the pieces often. 
4. The chicken releases a lot of water, so there is no need to add any water.
5. When the chicken is half cooked, add the crushed pepper and mix well. And continue cooking till the chicken is cooked. 
6. Add the lime juice, mix well and put off the flame. Serve as a starter or with a meal of daal and rice.

Eggplant in garlic

Eggplant is favourite vegetable. I try and cook it at least once a week, even though I am the only one who eats it at home. Today's recipe is a no frills recipe, it is a simple dish and I cook it very often. I do make eggplant with spices but that is an occasional treat for me. For an everyday meal I prefer this preparation.

Ingredients:

1. Eggplant - 200 gms
2. Garlic - 3 fat cloves
3. Salt and pepper - as needed
4. Oil - as needed

Method:

1. Wash and cut the eggplant into three inch pieces (lengthwise)
2. Finely chop garlic.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic and fry for a minute.
4. Add the eggplant, salt and pepper. Stir fry for a minute and then cook on slow flame for 8 - 10 minutes, or till done. 

Alternately, you could marinate the egg plant in all the mentioned ingredients and grill till done.

Beetroot Poriyal

Beetroot poriyal is one of my husband's favourite vegetables. There are so few he eats, so I make this quite often. Poriyal is the South Indian way of cooking vegetables with coconut. It is a great accompaniment for a meal of white rice, sambhar and rasam. Of course you can pair the poriyal with any curry or daal and I believe this is a healthy way to cook vegetables. I learnt this recipe in college when I did my hotel management, and it's one of the easier things to make in the kitchen. Unlike most Indian cooking, this dish does not have an over powering taste of spices. You will actually taste just the vegetable and the flavour of coconut. If you wish you can skip the red chilly powder altogether.

Ingredients:

1. Beetroot - 3 medium sized
2. Onion - 1 small 
3. Green chilly - 2 nos
4. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
7. Salt - as required

Tempering:

1. Oil - 1 tbsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
3. Cumin - 1/2 tsp
4. Urad daal - 1/2 tsp
5. Curry leaves - 10 nos

Method:

1. Cook the beetroot in a pressure cooker for 2 to 3 whistles. When it has cooled down, peel and cut into half inch cubes and set aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil add the mustard seeds and wait for it to stop spluttering, add the remaining ingredients under tempering. 
3. Add the onions and chilly, fry till the onions turn soft, add the turmeric and chilly powder, stir well and add the beet cubes. Mix well.
4. Let it cook on low flame for 8 minutes, add the grated coconut, mix well and let it cook for another 2 to 3 minutes before switching off the flame.

Notes:

Coconut can be used as per your discretion and tastes.

Vegetable Pulao

I want to start 2018 with a delicious and healthy pulao recipe. I have been eating this pulao for over three decades now, and yet every time it is cooked, I can't get enough of it. I learnt this recipe from my mum, who made this every Sunday, while we were growing up. The whole family looked forward to the Sunday meals of pulao, meat curry and salad. Aah..small joys of life! This pulao goes well with any curry preparation or daal, you can have it with rajma, punjabi chole, chicken curry, goa sausage, beef curry, sorpotel etc.

Both my sisters and I still love to cook this on Sundays or birthdays and special occasions. My mum made this pulao without adding any vegetables, sometimes she'd add peas but that was occasional. You can cook it any way you like, if you are making a plain pulao, do not add the french beans, green peas and carrot. I add it so I can sneak in a few veggies in my son's plate and also looks colourful and appealing. Either way the pulao tastes great and you must try it next for your Sunday meal.

Recipe credit: Ms Cecilia Sequeira

Ingredients:

1. Basmati rice - 1 cup (240 ml cup)
2. Onion - 1 small
3. Tomato - 1 medium
4. Mixed vegetable - 1/4 - 1/2 cup 
5. Oil - 2 tbsp
6. Salt to taste
7. Stock cube - 1 no or 2 cups of liquid stock
8. Water - 2 cups

Spice Mix:

1. Peppercorn - 6 nos
2. Cloves - 2 nos
3. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
4. Cardamom - 2 nos
5. Bay leaves - 2 nos
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice for half hour before cooking.
2. Slice onions and tomatoes. Dice the french beans and carrots into half inch pieces.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the whole spice mix. Fry for 30 seconds and then add onions.Add salt sparingly, since the stock will be salty.
4. Let it fry for about two minutes while stirring it constantly. Add the tomatoes and stir well.
5. Fry for about two minutes and then add the vegetables and the turmeric powder. Fry for about two minutes.
6. Add the liquid stock and bring to a boil. If not using liquid stock, add water and the stock cube and bring to a boil.
7. Add the rice and stir. Let it come to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, cover the pan with a lid, lower the flame and let it  cook for 10 minutes. Switch off the flame.
8. Do not open the lid, till you are ready to serve. As the steam trapped in ensures the rice continues cooking.  
9. Serve after you've let it rest for 20 minutes.

Notes:

1. You can check for salt, before you cover the pan, the stock should be a little salty. If it isn't add salt at this stage. Give it a stir and then cover with a lid.