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Showing posts with label roti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roti. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Tortilla soup with a twist

Cold Minnesota winters always see me making warm, comforting and filling soups. Usually, the ingredients are whatever is in the fridge or pantry - thus saving me from making a trip on treacherous roads. Though we are now blissfully enjoying the summer sun while it lasts, we know what's coming soon. This soup is popular at Mexican restaurants and is one that I made last winter, with an Indian twist.


What you need :

Tortillas - 4, cut into wedges to resemble tortilla chips. This is where the twist I mentioned comes into play. I used leftover rotis instead of tortillas.
Red kidney beans - 1 can (Can be substituted with black beans)
Frozen green peas - 1/4 cup
Carrot - 1
Tomato - 2
Celery - 1/4 cup, chopped
Red onion - 1, chopped fine
Butter/oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Soup seasoning - to taste
Salt & pepper - to taste

Spread the roti wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, keeping a close watch so that you can stop baking once they start to harden and brown. Another way to do this is to spread some oil on a frying pan and then roasting the roti pieces over a slow flame until they are crisp on both sides. Set this aside.

In a large saucepan, heat butter/oil. Add the onions and saute till they start to turn translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes, and carrots and saute till tomatoes become soft and mushy. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except seasoning) along with 4 cups of water. Since most of the ingredients I have used are canned or frozen, it doesn't take much time for the soup to come together. Let it boil for 10-12 minutes on a medium flame. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add in soup seasoning. Use a potato masher or a ladle to mash some of the ingredients to give the soup some thickness. If you want to, you can use a hand blender or a regular blender too, for a smoother soup, but I like this soup chunky.
To serve, put some of the tortilla strips in a bowl. Pour the soup on top of it and then top it with more tortilla strips.

This is my third post for Week 2 of BM#78 under the theme Oceanic Cuisine - dishes from countries that are bordered by two or more oceans.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM# 78

Monday, March 20, 2017

A simple dinner thali and the recipe for Peas Masala

BM #74 Week 3 Day 3
Theme : Thali/Platter
Dish : Peas Masala

The husband and the daughter have loved this theme that I chose. They were very, very happy to help with and polish off the breakfast thali and the lunch thali. The final thali that I have for this Blogging Marathon is a simple North Indian thali that we had for dinner.

In this thali are :
Rotis
Stir fried French cut beans
Cucumber raita
Peas masala

To make the peas masala, you need the following :
Green peas - 1 cup (I used frozen. You could use fresh peas or dried ones soaked overnight and cooked)
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2, minced
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Butter - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
Almonds - 12, soaked in hot water and de-skinned
Tomato - 3
Salt - to taste

Grind the almonds and the tomatoes to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
Heat butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds, green chillies and onions. Saute until the onions start to brown. Add all the masala powders and then the ground paste along with salt and half a cup of water. Let it boil over a low flame for a few minutes. Stir in the peas and let boil for a few more minutes. Adjust the consistency by adding some more water if required. Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and switch off the heat.
Serve hot.