Udon Noodle Soup

I call this magic soup. Why? Because it's healthy and hearty. Because it takes 15- 20 minutes to put together. Because I can use leftovers from my fridge. And most importantly, it's comforting and delicious.

Udon noodles are thick, slightly chewy, Japanese noodles. It's easy to find in the Asian aisle of a good supermarket. If you don't find it in a supermarket, substitute it for any noodle you like (except for Maggi!), I have even used spaghetti at times.



I call this recipe my un-recipe. It's one of those things you throw together in a pot. It's a good soup to use up those odds and ends - a lone wilting celery stick, the last of the mushrooms, scratch the bottom of the jar pepper powder. I suggest you follow the recipe, but really make your own, if you know what I mean. And if you get your hands on Miso, do not let it go. I wish I could use some here, but I just couldn't find it :( I had leftovers from a Thai ingredients pack which I wanted to use, so my soup has a distinct south east asian tatse. You can skip the Thai ingredients all together.



Serves 2

4 cups water
1 fistful of udon noodles
1 Maggie Chicken cube or 1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup mushrooms (I used Shitake)
1 cup assorted veggies (I used broccoli)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 Thai mix packet: Kaffir Lime leaves, Galangal, Bird's eye Chillies, Lemongrass
Salt to taste

Note: I made a meatless soup as I didn't really have any meat at the time. I would really recommend using chicken for this recipe.

In a pot, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Add the chicken stock or soup cube and stir till well incorporated. Add all other ingredients except the soy sauce, and close lid. Let it simmer for 15 mins. At this point you can either add udon noodles and let it cook in the broth till al dente or you can just pre-cook your noodles and add it to the broth. Add the soy sauce and gently stir. Do a taste check and only then add salt if needed. Both the stock and soy sauce are considerably salty, so do not add salt at the start.

Divide the soup between two bowls. Top with a fried egg and some coriander and eat immediately.

Baklava

Baklava is a dessert from the Mediterranean region. While it's origins are questionable (almost all middle eastern people - the Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Armenians- introduce Baklava as their national dessert), you can never argue about its taste. It's a rich pastry made with layers of phyllo and chopped nuts, doused with honey and butter.

I was really keen on making this at home, but phyllo is tough to find. For those who want to attempt it, I bought mine from Nature's Basket and it is available in Foodhall Palladium in Mumbai.



Notes on working with phyllo:
It's always sold frozen and ensure it remains frozen until needed. To use it, remove from freezer and let it thaw.

• If not defrosted properly, the sheets tend to stick together. The dough must be thawed atleast 12hours before you intend on using it. I removed the packet it from the freezer and placed it in the refrigerator to thaw as is. If you don't thaw the pastry and just work with it cold, the sheets will crack as you unfold them.
• The pastry dries out very quickly. The dough can crack when exposed to air within minutes. Once unwrapped, cover immediately in plastic wrap.
• The sheets are paper this so they tear easily. Hence handle very gently.
• Unused phyllo can be refrigerated or refrozen and will remain for 2 months. Make sure you seal it in cling wrap and store in the original box.

1 pack of phyllo pastry
2 kg assorted nuts, finely chopped or crushed to a crumble in a mixer*
500 gms raisins, dates or sultanas, finely chopped (optional: I find adding raisins gives the baklava a nice burst of flavour and a good break in texture from the extremely nutty taste otherwise)
500gms butter
250gms honey

*I used pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds and cashews. 2kgs is the weight of all the nuts combined once chopped and mixed together.



Preheat the oven to 150 degree Celsius. Butter a rectangular baking pan.

Melt butter in a bowl and set aside to cool. Once cooled, mix in the honey and stir well till combined. In another bowl, mix all the dryfruits and nuts together. Ensure you assemble everything before unwrapping the thawed phyllo dough.

Unwrap the phyllo sheets and lay them flat. If necessary trim the edges incase they are too big for your baking pan. Working quickly, pick 3-4sheets and place on the buttered pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the exposed top sheet with the butter and honey mixture. Add in the nuts and arrange to form one layer. Repeat the process (3-4 sheets + butter/honey + nuts) till all the sheets are used up. Finally, spread the butter and honey mixture on the top layer. Using a very sharp knife, cut the baklava as desired (into squares, rectangles, triangle, diamond shape). I forgot to cut my baklava while baking, which is why once done, it got extremely difficult for my baklava to keep up appearances.

Bake for 45 mins until the top is golden brown and crisp.

Tip: You can really experiment with filling ingredients like chocolate chips or even flavoured syrups like maple...just to give you a few ideas.