Carrot and Orange Soup

Musambi/Sweet Lime juice was my juice of choice in hostel days. Sipping a large glass of Musambi juice with hot & spicy pav bhaji, late at night was a ritual I looked forward to :) But tastes change! Now it is orange & carrot juice which has taken prime place in my kitchen, sometimes I add pineapple as well. Also, the fact that musambi is not available where I live, made me move on to oranges.

When I came across a soup made out of carrots & oranges, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. It is a very straight forward recipe, use of the pressure cooker makes it ever so fast. I like it more on the orangey' side, you may adjust oranges and carrot quantities as per taste, it is quite flexible. I would not recommend making it with store bought juice from the cartons! It makes for one absolutely beautiful colored soup :)
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Carrot and Orange Soup
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2 large carrots, chopped
2 oranges squeezed to get juice
1 tbsp oil/butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion chopped
2.5 cups water
salt & pepper to taste
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1. Heat oil/butter.
2. Add onion, garlic & carrots. Saute till they soften a bit.
3. Add water, salt & pepper. Cook till done. I pressure cooked it for 3 whistles, can be done in a saucepan too.
4. Let cool a bit and blend smooth, I used my indispensable hand blender. Let cool about 5mins.
5. Add orange juice and serve.
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Variation:
Ginger can be added for a different flavor.
Combining two power houses of nutrition sure makes for one healthy soup.

Into Green? Then check out my Avocado, Peas and Mint Soup

F I G and H O N E Y G E L A T O AND Lemongrass Ginger Ale

One of the fruits that I miss dearly from back home is fresh, juicy, luscious fig! The others being guava, custard apple and chikoo! My standard for these fruits is exceptionally high, only because we had these trees at home and nothing can beat the joy of eating a fruit right off the plant ;) Of course, as a kid I never envisioned that these golden moments would become just a distant memory!
Anyway, back to the fig....
The beautiful conglomeration of colors,
the sweet, smooth and plump flesh,

the delicate velvety peel,
the crunch of seeds within.....
what's not to like?

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So, what do you do if you like something and can't lay your hands on it? Go to the next best alternative is what I did, got the dried ones :) I like the black figs for their gorgeous taste and absolutely breath taking color! Fig Shake makes a regular appearance at my place, could ice cream and gelato be far behind ;)

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F I G and H O N E Y G E L A T O
a must for fig lovers..........
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1 heaped cup dry figs chopped fine
1/2 C milk
2-3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar, this is on the lower side (but tastes perfect to me), please adjust as per taste
a pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp orange zest
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1. To plump up the dry figs, layer finely chopped figs with about 2tbsp water and the sugar that you will be using and let soak 4hrs or overnite. It can be done without soaking too, just takes longer to cook.

2. In a sauce pan heat figs sugar mixture till thick and the figs melt and the mix is bubbly.

3. Remove from heat and stir in milk, honey, orange zest, mascarpone and salt. Chill about 30 mins in the refrigerator and then freeze till set. I just froze it in a steel container with a fitted lid. You can use your ice cream maker if you have one. It froze within an hour on the quick freeze shelf of my refrigerator. If the mix is too coarse, you may blend it as per your liking.

4. For the gelato, the consistency is a little on the smooth side as compared to ice cream. The difference between ice cream and gelato is that cream is not added to the gelato.

5. Enjoy Fig and Honey Gelato, it is quick to make and tastes out of this world ;) So if you are a fig lover, a mascarpone admirer or, what the heck(!) just like to indulge in good food, get to your kitchen and start cooking. If you are at err... work, take a print out and get to it as soon as you reach home, yes it is THAT good :) I would like to submit this to the Tasty Tools event, microplane being the selected tool. Recipe adapted from here.

I'm glad I'm just about to make it for Sig's MBP-Mixed Drinks event with Lemongrass Ginger Ale! Lately I've not been able to get to the events ;)
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Lemongrass tea is absolutely my favorite kind of tea :) Back home lemongrass used to grow wild in our backyard, now I've to pay dearly to get about 4 stalks of this herb! When I saw this Lemongrass Ginger Ale at Jaden's I knew I had to try it, though it was peak winter!! Try, I did and it was beautiful, just as I had expected. I might have gone a little overboard on the ginger, 'coz that took over the flavor. You can adjust the sugar as per your taste.

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Enjoy, summer is not too far away........

A V O C A D O , PEAS and MINT SOUP........

Avocado - My love for this beauty of a fruit is unmatched!

Ever since I was introduced to it, I've been finding ways to get it to my dining table! On one such quest, I whipped up this soup and everyone seemed to like it, needless to say it now makes it's wonderful presence felt at home on a regular basis :)

Avocado, Peas & Mint Soup for all you avocado lovers out there!!
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1 avocado chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped vidalia onion/sweet onion
2 tbsp peas fresh/frozen
2 tbsp regular sour cream (I will keep my views on fat free processed stuff to myself at this time ;) )
1 clove garlic chopped - optional
1 small green chili - optional as per taste
a handful mint/pudina leaves
a handful coriander/dhaniya leaves
1/2 tsp FRESH ROASTED cumin/jeera powder ( REQUIRED )
few sprinkles fresh roasted cumin powder for serving
salt & pepper to taste
water as required to thin out the soup - as much as 1 cup
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1. Heat oil.
2. Add onion and saute for two minutes.
3. Add garlic and peas, saute for 5 minutes.
4. Switch off the gas and add mint, coriander, salt, pepper & cumin powder. Let cool a bit.
5. Pour into a blender and blend smooth adding water as required.
6. Add avocado, sour cream and blend once again. Sprinkle fresh cumin powder. I cannot stress enough the importance of freshly roasted cumin powder in this recipe, it is a must!
7. Serve this beautiful green colored soup with bread or crackers of your choice.
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Variations:
If you like your soup spicy hot, add a dash of chipotle peppers while serving.

Add a splash of lime juice for that sour kick.
You can make the soup thick or thin as per your liking.
Play with the ingredient quantities, this is a very forgiving recipe, just don't forget that cumin powder ;).

My contribution to "No Croutons Required".

Enjoy...............

Just found out thru Sig's link that Avocado is an aphrodisiac, hence this goes to Pooja for Valentine's Day!

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Not into greens and all that healthy stufff ????

In that case, how about my Lentil Soup

Watermelon in Rose Sherbet/Syrup

Fine cubes of Watermelon soaked in Rose syrup is my most favorite way of indulging in this beauty of a fruit!
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Chilled watermelon.....
Dripping with rose syrup.......
A hint of lemon juice........................
Some kala namak(black salt) thrown in to kick it up........

The taste that culminates is almost sinful, indescribable on a food blog ;)
The rose brings out all the juices from the watermelon to create a lovely flavor!
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There are no hard and fast rules to make this tantalising drink!
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Chop the water melon into fine cubes.
Add rose syrup/sherbet as per taste. I add about 5-6 tbsp for a mini seedless watermelon.
Squeeze lemon juice(optional, if you like the subtle hint of tartness).
Add black salt (kala namak) as per taste. (optional)
Add lots of ice cubes and chill well for a few hours for the flavors to mingle.
Fill up glasses with the mix and Indulge........

This is my contribution to AFAM-Watermelon guest hosted by Bee of Jugalbandi.

Anjeer/Fig Shake

I've always had an affinity for Anjeer, be it in a fresh form or in dry form. The fresh Anjeer is such a delicate & luscious fruit, easily bruised and one cannot store it for too long. In such cases the dry Anjeer comes to the rescue, ever so delicious and with all the nutrients in it's grip.

Here's a quick Anjeer milk shake that i make often, be it summer or winter. (Pssst. if it is winter time I just microwave it for a few seconds so that I can enjoy it without the chills :-) )

10 dried Figs

2 cups milk

2 pinches cardamom pwd (optional)

Sugar as per taste ( I do not feel the need to add sugar)

Soak the figs in a cup of milk for couple of hours. Add 1 more cup milk and blend at high speed to get a nice froth. Add sugar if required. Serve in tall glass and garnish with cardamom pwd.

Enjoy!