Black Bean Soup

 

Couple of days back, one of my relatives pinged me and asked have you tried “Black bean soup”. I thought why it didn’t it strike my mind, and told her no. She told her co-sister prepares a delicious ” Black Bean Soup” and sent me the recipe. Based on the ingredients I had in my home I altered the recipe and here is my version

Checkout other soup varieties,

• Sugar Snap Peas Soup
• Creamy Broccoli Soup
• Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

Black bean – 3/4 cup

Yellow bell pepper – 1

Onion – 1 , big

Tomato – 1

Bay leaf – 1

Cumin powder – 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp (Adjust according to your taste)

Pergo Tomato garlic basil sauce – 3 tbsp

Water – as needed

Butter – 1 tsp

Olive oil – 1 tsp

Kosher Salt – as needed

Cheese – 2 tbsp

Method:

• Wash and Soak the black bean in warm water for 2-3 hours and drain the water. Pressure cook the black bean with 1:2 water for 2 whistles and after the stream releases naturally strain the water

• Add oil and butter to the pan, and when its hot add onion; sauté till the onions are translucent. Add tomato and bell pepper and cook till the tomatoes get mushy

• Add the cooked black bean and mix well. Add pergo sauce, coriander powder, chilli powder and cumin powder and mix well;cook for 3-5 minutes

• Remove the bay leaf and after the mixture comes to room temperature, blend them into fine paste and transfer it to the pan

• Add water according to the consistency you desire and cook till the soup thickens. Add cheese and cook till the cheese melts, switch off and enjoy the warm soup

My Notes

• Instead of kosher salt, regular salt can also be used
• Instead of pergo sauce, you can use one garlic pod, one more tomato
• Can be served with sour cream instead of cheese

Poondu Rasam (Milagu Siraga Rasam)

Rasam is my comfort food. This quick rasam tastes great. Usually if I cook heavy lunch/ eat out for lunch, that night I mostly opt for this rasam. Like milagu kuzhambu, during sick days, a cup of rasam is a great healer from sick feel and tasteless tongue

Poondu Rasam (Milagu Siraga Rasam)

Ingredients

Tamarind – small gooseberry size ball

Garlic – 3 cloves, peeled and chopped

Tomato – 1 chopped

Water – 2 cup + 1/2 cup

Whole black pepper – 1/2 tsp (Adjust according to your taste)

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Toor dal – 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp

Coriander powder – 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves – few

Salt – as needed

To temper:

Ghee -1 tsp

Mustard -1/4 tsp 

Cumin seeds – 1/4  tsp 

Curry leaves – few

Method

• Soak tamarind in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Keep the tamarind soaked water for rasam and put the tamrind in the blender/mixie
• Add whole black pepper,  cumin seeds, toor dal, salt and garlic cloves to the mixie jar which has tamarind, and blend into a paste by adding little water
• Add ghee to the pan, once the ghee becomes hot add the ingredients in “to temper” and let it splutter
• Add the spice – tamarind paste to the pan

• Add 2 cups of water, tomato, turmeric powder and coriander powder and continue cooking. Cook till the raw smell of tamrind goes

• Add 1/2 cup of water and cook the rasam till it starts frothing. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and Serve hot with steamed rice or have it as a soup

Notes:

• Remove the impurities/seeds in tamarind before grinding them
• Adjust the water according the consistency in which you want your rasam
• Instead of pulsing tamarind along with spices can also grind the spices and use tamrind extract

Creamy Broccoli Soup – Guest Post for Sujatha

Couple of months back my friend Sujatha from SpicesNTreat asked me for a guest post, I happily accepted:-)

It took me a while (more than that;-)) to send her the recipe. With my LO running around my legs its difficult to capture pictures and draft. The moment I take the camera he comes behind me:-) Luckily my friends understand my position and do not mind the delay.

I have 2 more posts pending to be sent for my friends, hope I will manage to send it soon:-)

Coming back to this guest post, Few words from Sujatha about her space

“My blog is all about simple and interesting vegetarian recipes and related stories”

Hop on to her space for the recipe:

http://spicesntreats.blogspot.com/2015/01/creamy-broccoli-soup-guest-post-by-vidya.html?m=1

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

Broccoli – 1, big cut into florets

Onion – 1/2, thinely sliced

Garlic – 1 pod

Potato – 1, small peeled and cut into big chunks

Water – 2 cups

Butter – 1 tsp

Olive oil – 1 tsp

black pepper – to taste

Kosher Salt – as needed

Heavy whipping cream – 3 tbsp

Cheese – 3 tbsp

Method:

• Add oil and butter to the pan, and when its hot add onion and garlic, sauté till the onions are translucent
• Add broccoli and potato and sauté for 2 -3 minutes. Add water and cover the lid. Cook till the vegetables are fork tender and switch off. Let it come to room temperature. Put the vegetables in a mixie/ blender along with little vegetable stock and puree them to a smooth texture. Keep the remaining vegetable stock in the pan

• Transfer the puree to the same pan containing vegetable stock, mix well. Add salt, pepper, and cream. Cook in low heat to avoid curdling. Add cheese and cook till the cheese melts, switch off and enjoy the warm soup

My Notes:

• Instead of broccoli, cauliflower can also be used
• Instead of cream, milk can be used
• If you decide to go vegan, use avocado for the creamy texture and replace butter with oil
• Instead of kosher salt, regular salt can also be used

Sugar Snap Peas Soup

In Genghis grill, I had sugar snap peas for the first time. Genghis grill is a Mongolian Stir fry restaurant. I liked the flavor of Sugar snap peas, it was a bit sweeter than the regular peas. I bought some Sugar snap peas with the intention of doing Stir fry. But I got inspired by lot of green soup recipes and wanted to try a soup with Sugar snap peas. It turned out to be healthy and flavorful! I used avocado for the creaminess, thereby eliminating the need to use corn flour or other thickening agents.

Sugar Snap Peas Soup

Preparation Time: 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves: 4

Recipe Category: Appetizers & Snacks

Ingredients:

Sugar Snap peas –  1 cup + 1/2 cup, trimmed

Avocado – 1/2

Olive oil – 1 tsp

Shallots – 5

Garlic – 1 pod

Lemon Juice – 1/8 tsp

Italian Seasoning/Pepper – as needed (I used Italian Seasoning)

Salt – as needed

Method:

• Add oil to a pan. When oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic, and cook till onion becomes translucent.  Add sugar snap peas and saute for 3-5 minutes. Add water and close the lid . Cook until snap peas are tender

• Puree the cooked items in a blender. Peel and pit the avocado and add it to the peas mixture along with lemon juice and salt. Blend until smooth, adding more vegetable broth or water (I added Water). if the soup is too thick. Add seasoning to the soup. Taste and adjust seasonings/pepper if desired. Serve the soup, after garnishing with roasted bread

My Notes:

• I have used the water in which the snap peas were cooked. Instead, vegetable broth can also be used
• Since Avocado tends to oxidize, I have used lemon juice
• Butter or cheese can be added to give richness to the soup
• Avocado can be used with any soup for getting the creaminess in the soup

Taking this Soup to  the  “Soups with SS” hosted by two lovely ladies, Shruti @Cooking with SJ and Sonal @ Simply Vegetarian 777.

Sending  this recipe to First virtual Vegan linky potluck.