Lunch for me is a very subdued affair.As I have mentioned umptieth times before here in this blog, I hate cooking for myself. I am not a fan of leafy salads either. They really dont fill me up and I end up feeling doubly hungry, deprived and I end up overeating later on. To avoid that, I opt for healthy and filling soups accompanied by sizable piece of breads. Warm and nutritious, Soups are one of nature's best foods.
I have this recipe from a gal pal of mine who got it from her sister (and so on...goes the chain). I have made Red Lentil soup before but the addition of coconut milk along with lemongrass makes all the difference. Bursting with flavour and protein, this will soon become your go-to meal often enough, mark my words :) Serve it with a crusty bread.
Method
In a saucepan, in 1/2 tsp oil saute onions, garlic and lemon grass until soft.
Add the lentils along with the spices.
Add the coconut milk, 2 cups water (add more to suit your consistancy) bring to a boil and then simmer covered until soft and mushy
Add the juice of lemon, scallions, salt, pepper.
Serve warm garnished with scallions, paprika and cilantro.
Its really hard for me to even think, that few years earlier, I used to hate soups. I was cajoled, threatened, blackmailed by my mom to start having soups to no effect. Then during my college days, a friend of mine managed to get me hooked to Tomato soup which was totally delicious in our cafeteria - but that was that! No other soups for me. Then after marriage, I started trying out various soups - well because I wanted to just - you know- try it out. Surprisingly I started liking the soups - No, don't think me conceited , but somehow my soups actually inculcated the habit and now here I am willing to try all kinds of soups.:)
Borscht (borsht or borshch ) is traditionally an Eastern Europe soup where the prominence is given to Beetroot along with other vegetables. There are basically two variations of this soup – hot and cold and since we are not fans of cold soup, I opted for the former. It is totally yummy with minimal ingredients and effervescent flavors. The color is deep red thanks to the beetroot and its only enhanced further with the addition of Beetroot Kvas. This is a recipe from a ‘Detox health-plan cookbook’ which I adapted quite mildly for my tastes.
Method
To prepare Beetroot Kvas
Grate one beetroot, add it to 2/3 cup of water and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cover and set aside for about 30 min.
For Borscht
In a saucepan, in 1/2 tsp of olive oil, saute the onions until soft (yes, chop onions first - otherwise they will look 'bloody' like this one :)
Chop beetroot, celery and carrot into thick strips and then along with garlic add them to the onions. Saute for 2 seconds with little salt (about a pinch or so).
Add the tomato puree and saute for another 1-2 min.
Tie the bay leaf, peppercorns, herbs and cloves in a muslin cloth. Add about 3 cups of water/stock to the saucepan, drop the muslin cloth with the stock, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Remove the muslin bag, add the strained Kvas, season to taste and serve garnished with chives.
This is also my entry for SWC : Soups hosted by Neha conceptualized by Cooking Station How to Remove Beetroot Stains
I love Beets and use it so often for my recipes. While I love the color, I personally am not so sure about seeing the color everywhere in my kitchen - wooden boards, counter tops, my clothes etc. Here are some tips which have helped me to counter this 'bloody' trail.
1. Its always better to clean right after cutting the beets. Don't let it dry out. Makes cleaning a bit harder.
2. Better safe than sorry - so don't wear your snow white, ultra light colors when cutting Beets - old worn out clothes are a good idea! :) Or else wear an Apron.
3.Having Lemons are such a boon. If your wooden chopping board has stained - sprinkle some salt over its "wounds" / stains - let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then with a chopped lemon rub it on the stains until the stain slowly dissoves. Sometimes if the stain is not dark enough, just lemon juice rubbed on the stained part for 20-30min is enough.
