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.

Vegan Pudding

Serves 4

1 cup non-dairy whipping cream*
2 tbsp Maple Syrup (use honey or sugar as substitute though it won't be vegan)
2 over ripe Bananas (preferably plantains)
100 gms Dark chocolate
200gms Oreos (optional)



*Almost all whipping cream available in the market is dairy free and soy based. And trust me it is lighter, lasts longer and tastes better than the dairy version. Popular brands include Rich's, Topolite, MerryWhip & GoldTop. They come in 1kg packs, and since it's not an everyday ingredient, I just divide the contents into individually portioned containers and freeze it. Ensure you write the serving size (1 cup, 1/2 etc) and the date on top of the container. When you need it, just thaw out one container in the refrigerator for a few hours.

In a small bowl, mash bananas so that no big chunks remain. You can use the blender to get a smooth puree if you prefer. In a blender or using a rolling pin, crush oreos till it crumbs and set aside (you can skip the oreo crust if you're not up for it...but seriously...should you?)

In a large bowl, pour in the whipping cream. Using a whisk or hand mixer, whip the cream till soft peaks form. Now drizzle the maple syrup and add the bananas. Fold in the bananas and maple syrup so as to not deflate the cream.

You can use individual glasses to portion or a large serving dish. To assemble, spread the oreo crumbs at the bottom, topped with the cream mixture. Alternately, you can build a trifle with layers of oreos, cream and mashed bananas. Refrigerate for 30min to an hour to cool the pudding. Grate dark chocolate on top and serve!

Chocolate P&B Squares

I've been out of action for a while. Between moving houses, buying appliances and painting walls, life just caught up with me. I got a brand new KitchenAid, but now I also have a tiny kitchen with absolutely no shelves. Get the joke?

Cooking and baking in a makeshift kitchen is a real challenge. But these Peanut Butter & Chocolate bars are almost too easy to be true. With just 5 ingredients, it's no bake, no cook and absolutely no fuss. All you need is a bowl. Obviously it helps to use a grinder to get biscuit crumbs, but elbow grease and a rolling pin don't disappoint either. And obviously it helps having a microwave to melt chocolate or butter, but Indian summers are just as effective.



Adapted from Buzzfeed

100 gms melted butter

400 gms digestive biscuits crumbed

2 cups creamy peanut butter + 2tbsps

50 gms powdered sugar

300 gms dark chocolate 

Line a pan (preferably 9"x9") with aluminium foil and set aside.

In a bowl, combine melted butter, peanut butter, sugar and biscuit crumbs. Stir till well combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the lined pan and refrigerate. While the peanut butter mix is chilling, melt the chocolate. Once melted, stir in 2tbsps peanut butter and mix till smooth. Spread evenly over the refrigerated P&B mixture. Chill until firm (approx. 1hr). Cut and serve!

For a vegan version of these bars, just substitute the butter for 2 tbsps of a neutral oil.

Tip: When the chocolate is melted, sprinkle a pinch of salt. Salt brings out the inherent sweetness of chocolate :)

Note: I've used very little sugar because I didn't want these bars to be overly sweet. Obviously, if you have a huge sweet tooth, feel free to add between 100-150gms sugar.

Cold Asian Noodle Salad With Chilli & Pineapple

It was my turn to cook dinner today and I wanted to serve guacamole with nachos (that will most likely be my next post). I recently got back from a trip to Goa, armed with a car full of local produce. You can expect a lot of recipes involving pineapple, avocado and bananas now. I reach home only to find that the avocados are still raw.

So this dish is something I threw together based on what I had in my pantry at the time (see cooking notes for potential ingredients). I love cold noodle salads on hot summer days. As weird as it sounds, its actually quite refreshing in the heat. I did however jazz it up with some dried shitake mushrooms, which I also bought from Goa. I know its weird, but Goa has the most kickass international food store.

I can write a book on shitake mushrooms. Its my all time favourite mushroom variety. Both the fresh and dried versions are fairly expensive, but their taste is irreplaceable. I'd recommend buying dried instead of fresh mushrooms, firstly because its cheaper and more intense in flavour, but also because it can keep for years. So it is a good investment! And it is completely optional in this dish.



The best thing I love about this dish is the contrasting flavours. You get the heat of chilli balanced with the sweetness of pineapples. And the mint is just a breath of fresh air.

Serves 4:

1 pack or 200gms rice noodles. I used vermicelli
1 cup bell peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced or cubed
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup chopped shitake mushrooms (optional)*

For the dressing: 

2tbsp dark soy
1tbsp light soy
(use 3 tbsp soy sauce incase you have only one variety)
1tbsp sugar
1tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp chilli flakes or schezwan sauce
Salt to taste

In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles till al dente. In the same pot of while the noodles are cooking, add the bell peppers in a strainer spoon, and cook for 2 minutes. We want the veggies to cook but still have a bite to them. Drain noodles and veggies when done and immerse in another bowl filled with cold or ice water.

In a large bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Add in the noodles, pineapples, bell peppers, mushroom and bean sprouts. Toss to coat all ingredients with the dressing. Serve in bowls, topped with chopped up peanuts.

Note: The salad can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated. However, the pineapple must be added just before serving. If you are using vermicelli like me, the salad must be consumed within an hour or two of cooking



Tip: You can sub pineapples for mangoes or even use both.While I have made a veggie salad, you can easily create a non-veg variant. Chicken goes beautifully with pineapple. You can also add a tablespoon of fish sauce to the dressing, it makes such a difference!

You can also experiment with various noodles. My suggestion would be soba noodles as its best when served cold. You can also try angel hair pasta, pad thai noodles or even your regular egg noodles.

*I used dried shitake mushrooms. To use dried mushrooms, you need to soak them in hot water. Remove the stem and soak them in pipping hot water till soft. However soaking them overnight (if you have the time) does wonders. The soaking liquid works well as a stock for other recipes.

.

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

This is the last of my Vegan dessert recipes. Only two weeks to go (yay!). And peanut butter had to be it. After all, it is the world's most famous vegan ingredient. Also, a bite of this pie will make you believe that life outside chocolate truly does exist.



This pie is rich and creamy, and trust me its a real crowd pleaser. The filling has an almost ice cream like texture while the crust is crunchy like biscotti. And I'd like to think its one of the healthier desserts out there. Its vegetarian, vegan AND gluten free. I mean what more can you ask for?



Look how gooeyly delicious it looks!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4 bananas (preferably the long green variety)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy milk (or regular milk if you aren't vegan)

For the base
1 large pack or approx. 20 oreos
1 cup cashew nuts
3 tbsp Hershey's chocolate syrup
A pinch of salt

In a food processor, add all ingredients for the base and blitz. Blending time depends on the kind of crust you want. If you like really fine oreo and cashew bits, obviously it will take longer to blend in the processor. The mixture will form a 'dough' like appearance. You should be able to make a rough ball out of this mixture  i.e: it will hold together very well. Press this evenly in your pie dish to form the crust, and set aside.



To make the filling, blend all the other ingredients in food processor or hand mixer. All ingredients should be mixed and there should be no lumps. Pour this mixture into the pie dish. Refrigerate till set. Freeze for 4-6 hours or until firm.

Allow it to sit for 3-5 mins before serving.

Drizzle with Hershey's chocolate syrup or chopped up nuts to serve

Burmese Khow Suey

Khow Suey (pronounced khao soo-ay) is a Burmese one dish soup meal. Its traditionally made with egg noodles and beef or chicken, served with a coconut curried broth. You may wonder what is so special about a simple soup. But the thing I love about this dish is the variety of  contrasting condiments that is served with soup and the flexibility with flavours. These are served on the side, which you can add according to your tastes, and truly make a customised dish to call your own.

Since I'm vegan for a few weeks, this was the perfect dish to make. Minus the meat, khow suey is naturally vegan and I didn't have to sacrifice any key ingredients or taste. You can obviously add meat while making the stew for the non vegetarian version. I have to mention, though this dish is easy to make, it does have a lot of components, so please account for some prep time.

Serves 6

For the Coconut Soup:

400ml or 1 can of Coconut milk
100ml Water or vegetable stock
2 tbsp ginger or galangal
4 cloves of grated garlic
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 whole lemon grass
10 curry leaves
Juice and zest of half a lemon
1 pack of noodles (Try using thick noodles like spaghetti or egg noodles. I've used rice noodles as its vegan)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup mushrooms (optional)
1 cup tofu (optional)

For the accompaniments:

You can really add any fresh herbs or veggies to accompany this dish. See my topping suggestions at the end of the recipe

1 cup fried onions
1 cup spring onions
1 cup fried garlic
1 cup bell peppers
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup lemon wedges

To begin with, boil noodles in salted water and add a dash of oil to prevent it from sticking. Once noodles are cooked, drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop them from cooking further. Drizzle a little oil incase they are too sticky. Set aside.

In a deep pot pan, on a low heat add some oil and let it heat up. Add in the ginger and garlic and sautee. Add in the curry leaves, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder. Cook for 2 mins and then add in the tofu and mushrooms. You can fry the tofu before hand if you like it firm. Cook for another minute or so. Now add in the coconut milk. Ensure the heat is on low throughout or the coconut milk may curdle. Add in the stock and the whole lemon grass. Simmer for around 10mins or until all flavours are incorporated. Fish out the lemon grass and discard. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Add in the lemon juice and zest and stir.

While the coconut broth is simmering, prep the accompaniments. Deep fry the onions and set aside. Deep fry garlic until crispy. Chop up the spring onions and peppers. Arrange all ingredients in different bowls.

To Serve:

Each guest must have a large soup bowl to call their own. You can choose to serve the noodles and sauce separately. However, I have mixed the two in one big bowl. Place all accompaniments around it in smaller bowls so that guests can add everything according to their liking. I personally would recommend that one adds all topping in their bowl...so delicious!

Accompaniment Suggestions:

If I weren't vegan I would definitely have boiled eggs and prawns as an accompaniment. Besides these I would definitely recommend having some fresh chillies or chilli flakes, coriander (cilantro), crispy fried noodles, hot chilli oil, peanut oil and sesame oil. This is ofcourse over and above the existing list of accompaniments.

Skinny Pasta with Homemade Pesto

All that baking does call for some healthy meals once in a while. And who doesn't like pasta? I think its one of the few dishes I am more than happy to chow down on even if it is completely vegetarian. That was actually one of the ways my mom got me to eat veggies growing up. So if you do find the odd cauliflower in your pasta when you visit home...don't say I didn't warn you!

Why is this pasta skinny? For the following reason:

• I've used dried whole wheat pasta. While this may be an improvement, pasta is still a complex carb, and a processed one at that. So I've cut down the portion of pasta and increased the portion of veggies/ meat used. 
• I also went easy on the pesto. I want it to lightly coat the pasta, not drench it and over power the flavour.
• I've used Olive oil, and very little of it. I'm using red meat which does release its own oils. Plus the pesto also calls for oil in good measure. I hate eating a dish where the oil is easily visible. Which is why I used the meat oil as a base.
• I used cheese sparingly. Now while you may argue that one must omit the cheese altogether, it is an important ingredient in any pasta. Unless you have rock solid will power, you will most definitely want some cheese.  

Now go make this pasta while I watch TV with a tub of ice cream :)

For the pesto recipe, check out this link.

200gms whole wheat pasta

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cup mushrooms

1 cup meat of your choice cut into bite sized pieces. I've used some chicken and ham

Salt & pepper to taste
Cheese to garnish.

Cook pasta in boiling water and salt until al dente. Drain the water, but reserve a cupful. This water contains most of starch which will form the basis of the sauce. Add the pesto to the hot pasta and ladle in a spoonful of the drained water. Stir till the pesto coats all the pasta.

In a pan sautee the ham. Once the meat starts releasing its oils, add in the onion and garlic. Cook till onions are soft and translucent. Add in the chicken and sautee till cooked. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Combine with pasta in a serving dish and finish off with grated cheese.

Note: I haven't added veggies here as my pesto already has the goodness of spinach. However feel free to add any veggies you like.
Traditionally pasta is finished off with grated parmesan, but being in India this is an extremely expensive ingredient. Which is why I have used mild baby cheddar.