Basic Kadhi

Kadhi is a simple common everyday recipe in India. It is one of those recipes where every family has their own version. This recipe is a Maharashtrian version, the way my mother made it. It is warm and comforting on a cold winter day. It is also an easy way to use up yogurt. I had a lot of fresh and sour yogurt that I needed to finish. So I made it on a hot summer day. I usually make this Kadhi with khichadi and papad. Today I made it with poli and a vegetable side. You cannot go wrong. It works with most Indian recipes.

Weekend summer lunches can be challenging. I like to go out and hang out with my daughter but that takes time away from cooking elaborate meals. The only way out is to cook first thing in the morning. In any case the cats don't let me sleep in, they need attention at the same time everyday. The best part of cooking early morning is everything is done before it gets too hot. We get to go out and come back to freshly cooked lunch.

You will need (4-5 servings)
2 cups yogurt
2 tbsp. besan
1/4 tsp. red chili pepper powder, adjust to taste
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste

For the tempering
1 tbsp. oil, I used olive oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
a pinch turmeric powder
1 serrano pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
4-5 curry leaves

Whisk together besan and yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add red chili pepper powder, sugar and salt to the yogurt mixture. Transfer to a pan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. The liquid should be pouring consistency.

In a smaller pan heat the oil then turn off the heat. Add the cumin seeds and when they change color add the turmeric powder, curry leaves and chopped serrano pepper. Add the oil to the yogurt, stir and turn off heat.

Serve hot as it tastes best when hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and warm on the stove top before serving.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Bowls

Soup served in bread bowls has always fascinated me. These broccoli cheddar soup bowls are very tasty and a fun way to eat your soup. 

Broccoli cheddar soup is one of the favorite soups in our house. However, I refrain from ordering it in restaurants because of how calorie laden it can be. Today instead of cream or half and half I used milk with a little whipping cream. It tasted great!

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1/4 cup butter
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cup milk (use half and half for a rich soup)
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 bay leaves
1 carrot
1 large head broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Here is the recipe for the bread bowl

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Melt butter in a pan and add the diced onions and garlic to it. Saute until onions are tender. Then add milk, whipping cream and vegetable stock. Let the soup simmer on medium low heat for a few minutes.

Grate the carrots and dice the broccoli florets. If you like the soup chunky, cut the carrot into pieces and break up the broccoli into florets. Dissolve the corn starch in a little water and add it to the soup. Let the soup thicken then add the nutmeg, bay leaves, carrots and broccoli. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

Finally add the cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot in a bowl.

Or in a bread bowl. For the bread bowl recipe look here.

This is my entry for week 29 of the 2014 52 Week challenge for theme from your pantry.

Lal Masar Kadhi (Red Lentil Kadhi)

Today I am posting a recipe from Chattisgarh. Everyday this month I will post a recipe from a different state in India.

Chattisgarh is a new state in India. When I lived in India it used to be a part of Madhya Pradesh. The counties speaking the Chattisgadi dialect were carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000 to form the state of Chattisgarh. The name Chattisgarh literally means 36 forts. But as the 36 forts have not been identified the origin of the name is disputed. There are a lot of theories about the name but no one theory that everyone can agree upon. What is beyond dispute is that the region has been known as Chattisgarh forever and now it is its own state.

A quarter of the population of Chattisgarh is tribal and one of the largest tribes is called the Gond. This tribe has inhabited the region for thousands of years. You will find the Gond tribe in neighboring states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andra Pradesh. In Chattisgarh they inhabit the dense forests of the Bastar region.

Art and music is a part of tribal life and the Gond are no different. They specialize in a form of dot art and decorate their walls and floors with it. The pictures mainly depict the forest, trees, animals and birds. The paintings could be colorful or black and white. Limestone and charcoal is the painting medium used for Gond art. This picture is a sample of the style. I made it for a folk art class I taught.

The most interesting part of this art form is that the dot art by the aboriginal Australians is very similar to the Gond art. Is there a connection? Did the same ancient group of people migrate to two different places or did they trade among themselves? I know as food bloggers we ask the same question when we find recipes that are similar in two countries separated by vast oceans, especially when both countries consider it part of their tradition.

Back to the recipe: the recipe for lal masar kadhi or kadhi made with red lentils was given to me by a friend. It is now a family favorite on cold or rainy days. While most homes in most parts of India have some form of lentils on their daily lunch and dinner plate, it is the yogurt used in this preparation that I find interesting. The resultant kadhi is very flavorful.

You will need
1 cup red lentils (masoor dal)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves

1 whole dried red chili pepper

1/4 onion, chopped
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. asafoetida
1 Serrano pepper, deseeded and minced

1/2 cup yogurt

2 tbsp. besan (chickpea flour)

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

salt to taste

Soak the lentils for an hour.

Pressure cook the soaked lentils.

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves, dried red pepper and onion. Saute for a few minutes and add the turmeric powder and asafoetida. When the onion is cooked add the minced serrrano peppers, lentils and mix well.

In a separate bowl whisk the besan with the yogurt leaving no lumps. Thin the yogurt with water if needed. It should be the same consistency as buttermilk. Pour the yogurt into the pan with the lentils.

Season with salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. 

Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with poli or rice.

Vegetarian Paneer Waterzooi (Belgian soup)

This is my third day blogging for the Blogging Marathon and the theme is European Cuisine. This recipe is from Belgium. Waterzooi literally mean watery mess, a very delicious mess, I may add.

In my quest to cook something I had never heard of before I started searching for recipes and found a very interesting blog. It had details for an event for Italians cooks. They were planning on cooking European dishes starting with every letter of the alphabet. There was a list of recipes for every letter and blog links where it would be hosted. Unfortunately, the blogs that were linked were unreadable as they were written, I think, in Italian. I did spend some time reading recipes translated by Google. Very amusing!

I found Waterzooi listed for the letter W and happened upon this version of the recipe. It was sent to the New York times by Julia Child in 1987. You will find it here and I bet you will find her write up interesting. Now Waterzooi is made either with fish or chicken. I did not want to use either. So I decided to substitute paneer in place of the chicken. The recipe also called for wine, which I never keep in my pantry and egg yolks, that I decided to leave out.

I truly did not know what to expect when I served it for dinner but it was most loved. My daughter declared, "Mom, this is a keeper". She even took it in a thermos as her school lunch the next day. I think  part of the reason the dish was such a hit was because of the home made stock I added to it instead of using store bought. I was on a roll so I even decided to bake the baguette to go with it.

I am the first to admit that I am a rank amateur when it comes to food photography. Unfortunately, most of the pictures did not come out too well even by my standards. I was trying a new setting on my camera and messed up.

You will need
2 sticks celery
2 carrots
1 leak, white and tender green only
1 onion
4 oz. paneer cubes
1/2 tsp. fennel
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
a bunch cilantro, minced

Julienne the celery, carrots, onion and leak to the size of a matchstick.

In a large pan layer the vegetables and paneer cubes alternately with a vegetable layer on the top and bottom. Add salt and pepper to taste and the fennel seeds. Now pour the stock until most of the vegetables are covered. Once you are done bring the stock to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. Uncover the pan and using a ladle remove most of the liquid to a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk the cream with the cornstarch. Ladle the hot liquid into the cream and whisk. This allows the cream to be heated to the temperature of the liquid. Test seasoning. Return the creamed liquid to the pan and heat through. Turn off heat. Serve hot with a French baguette.