Carrot and Ginger Soup

At the onset, I wish all my friends, readers and relatives, a very Peaceful, Healthy, Happy and a Prosperous 2014. I hope the new year has brought glad tidings to you all.

So lets start the New Year by eating healthy foods. On a cold day, a hot soup is always welcome. Its a perfect food for this season. The addition of ginger and freshly ground pepper gives that extra zing to this soup. Besides, carrots are a good source of vitamin A. So eat healthy and be happy.

Ingredients:

Carrots	About 300 gms
Ginger	2” piece
Olive oil	1 tbsp
Onion (chopped)	1 medium
Veg stock/ Water	3 cups
Salt	as per taste
Pepper (freshly ground)	As per taste
Coriander leaves (chopped)	For garnish

Method:

1. Wash, peel and chop carrots and ginger separately and keep aside.
2. Heat a saucepan with olive oil on a low flame. Add chopped onions and ginger and saute it till the onions are translucent.
3. Next add chopped carrots and stir it for a few minutes.
4. Add 2 cups of water or veg stock and increase the flame. Let it boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the flame and allow it to cook. This may take about 25-30 mins.
5. Once the carrots are cooked, add salt. Stir well and switch off the gas.
6. Let it to cool. Then blend it in a blender or a food processor to a fine paste.
7. Transfer the contents into the same saucepan again and heat it if necessary.
8. At this stage, if required, you may add the remaining one cup of water to dilute the soup. Stir well and remove from flame.
9. Pour the content into soup bowls, add freshly ground pepper as per taste and garnish with chopped corriander leaves.
10. Serve hot.

Preparation time: 15-20 mins

Cooking time : 30-35 mins

Serves : 4

Note:

• You can also cook the carrots in a pressure cooker in which case it will take less time to cook.
• Addition of water to dilute the soup can be adjusted as per once requirement.

Kokum Kadi

So, what is kokam? Kokum is an outer covering of a fruit known as Garcinia Indica (it resembles Plum in size and appearance) which has been dried and is used in curries (like Sindhi Kadhi) for its sour taste. It is blackish red in color and when soaked in water, gives out a dark red colour. It is generally found in the southern regions of India. It is also used in preparing "Sherbets" -  a cool, delicious summer drink.

In Gomantak cuisine, this is a must as a starter and is known as "Sol Kadhi". This fruit is abundantly available in Goa.

The kokum that is available in the markets do not give such rich colour when soaked in water as I am told that their juices have already been extracted.

I was fortunate enough as, one of my friends brought kokum for me from Karkala (Udipi district in Karnataka) her home town and since it grows in their backyard, its extract had a nice rich colour. I immediately wanted to make the kadhi but since my stock of packaged coconut milk was over, I had to make the coconut milk by grinding freshly grated coconut. But the end result was wonderful. We had the kadhi with steamed rice. It tasted delicious.

 

 

Ingredients:

Kokum (dried)	5-6 Pcs
Green Chilies (split)	2
Coconut milk (first extract)	1 cup
Coconut milk (second extract)	1 cup
Water	1 cup
Salt	As per taste
Coriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp ( for garnish)
For tempering:
Ghee	1- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Hing/asafetida	¼ tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak the kokum in a bowl of water (just enough for them to soak) for a few hours.
2. Heat a pan with water and add the soaked kokum (along with the water), split green chilies and salt in it. Let it boil for a few minutes.
3. Next add the diluted coconut milk and allow it to boil for a few minutes.
4. Now add the concentrated coconut milk. Stir well and when it comes to a boil, remove from flame.

5.   Prepare the tempering:

      Heat a small pan with ghee. Add mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering, add

      curry leaves and asafetida. Remove from flame and pour the contents into the

      prepared kadi.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
7. Serve hot.

  

Ingredients

Kokum soaked in water

Kept for boiling

Coconut milk added and being boiled

Readying for tempering

Kadi is ready

Variation:

For those who love garlic, crush 3-4 garlic pods and add it along with green chilies and follow the rest of the procedure as above with the exception of hing (asafetida) which needs to be omitted while tempering.

Note:

• This kadi tastes good with rice.
• This can also be served as a soup (hot or cold), in which case, the kadi can be strained before serving or just remove the kokum and the chilies leaving the tempering ingredients in it. The choice is yours.
• Tempering can also be done with jeera and mustard seeds or just jeera (cumin seeds).

For more info on Kokum, see below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_indica

Radish-Top ( Radish leaves) Soup

Radish or “Mooli” or “Moolangi” as it is known in India is not liked by many because of  its slightly pungent taste. Moreover, the leaves of the radish are generally discarded which I feel is a waste of fresh greens.
I have also observed that the radishes sold in  the markets are generally without its leaves (at least in the southern part of India). Since I make soup out of it, I actually go hunting for it. Everybody in my family simply loves this healthy soup. Its very refreshing during the hot summers or even during the cold season.

This reminds me of an incident in Bangalore sometime back (before the super market days). I used to buy vegetables from the local cart vendor who comes regularly. One fine day, I noticed that he had fresh radishes but without its top (leaves). When I told him that I need the radish leaves too, he said he will bring it the next day.

So, early next morning, he gave a loud call as usual and signaled frantically. So I went down to have a look and he happily showed me a gunny bag full of radish leaves!! I told him that I need only a little for making soup & “subji” (curry).  He looked shocked to hear that I actually eat this! He told me that I can take the whole bag and he will not charge me a penny!! Now it was my turn to get shocked! Imagine carrying a gunny bag full of radish leaves !! Apparently he gives it away to feed the “Bakris” (goats) and “Gayis” (cows) as he put it. I took a small bunch from the lot.  This goes to show how popular the radish leaves are in this part of the world !

This soup is crunchy and tastes good with just a few ingredients (onions, butter and pepper) but I have added a few spices to make it spicier. Ofcourse, you can try your own version.

Ingredients:

Radish-Top (Fresh green leaves & stems only)	2 (leaves from 2 radishes)
Onions (chopped)	1 medium
Butter or ghee (clarified butter)	1-2 tsps
Pepper	1 tsp
Salt	As per taste
Cumin (jeera) powder	1 tsp
Tomato puree	1 tbsp
White vinegar or lime juice	1-2 tsps
Water	3 cups
Croutons	½ a cup

Method:

1. Wash the radish tops (leaves and stems) in water. Chop them finely and keep aside.
2. Heat a saucepan with ghee or butter. Add to it the chopped onions. Fry till they are translucent.
3. Add the chopped radish tops and fry till they are wilted. Add salt, pepper, jeera powder, vinegar and tomato puree. Stir well for a few minutes.
4. Add water and allow it to boil and cook for about 5-7 minutes or till done. Remove from flame.
5. Serve hot with croutons.

Serves: 2

For the Croutons: Take one or two slices of bread. Apply butter on each slice. Cut them into cubes and spread it on a greased baking tray and bake in a hot oven (250 degrees C) for 5 mins or till they turn golden brown.

This is a healthier way of making croutons than deep frying them. If these croutons are to be used later, then store it in an air-tight container

Note:

• For the cold season a spicier version can be made by adding cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and a little more pepper.
• Tomato ketchup can be used instead of tomato puree.