theveggiefix

Category: Comfort Food

  • Panang Curry Noodle Soup

    Call it comfort food, call it a t.v. dinner, call it lazy day dinner or call it rainy day dinner — it’s absolutely amazing, either way. Doesn’t require more than 10 minutes of your time to make this noodle curry in a hurry. I used panang curry paste, but you can use red curry paste, green curry paste or any other thai curry paste of your choice.

    This past week, it was cold and rainy the first couple of days and all we wanted to eat was something warm, spicy and comforting. And no food could do a better job than this noodle soup.

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    1/2 can (1 can is 4oz) – Maesri panang curry paste
    1 tbsp – oil
    1 can (400 ml) – coconut milk
    1 cup – mixed veggies (mix of carrots, broccoli, snow peas and baby corn)
    1 cup – water
    as much as you want – rice noodles

    1) Heat the oil in a pot and cook the curry paste for about a minute.
    2) Add in the coconut milk and water.
    3) Add in the vegetables and let it simmer until they are softened.
    4) Lastly, dunk in the noodles. Allow them to soften.

     

  • Mushroom Soup

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    My sister once found this mushroom soup recipe that has now become our all-time favorite. It’s so simple and uses very few ingredients to make a pretty excellent soup. Everytime we get a box of mushrooms, we always end up having a decent amount of remainder. And all of those get used up in making this delicious soup.

    This morning, I woke up to a cold, gloomy and rainy Sunday, definitely not my kind of a day. Then I saw some browning mushrooms sitting lonely in my fridge, which only added to the gloominess. So I decided to make some mushroom soup for lunch.

    Mushroom Soup

    2 tbsp – butter
    1 medium – onion, chopped
    3 cloves – garlic, minced
    12 – baby bella mushrooms, sliced (you can use any other kind of your choice)
    2 tbsp – plain flour
    1 cube – vegetable stock
    2 tbsp – heavy cream

    1) Heat up the butter till it melts. Saute in the garlic and onions till they soften. Add in the mushrooms and cook.
    2) Add in the flour and stir for a minute. Add in about 3-4 cups of water and the vegetable stock cube. Simmer for a few minutes.
    3) Turn off the heat. Add in the cream, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

  • Sweet Dosa

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    It had been several months since we made “gadiya pulla” or as my cousin Akash would call it, “sweet dosa”. It’s basically a thin and healthy wheat pancake without any raising agents like baking powder or baking soda. It’s best eaten on its own or with plain cold milk. It’s sweet like dessert and perfectly satisfying for a sweet junkie like me. When I was a child, I used to survive on these pancakes for weeks together and still not be bored of them.

    My sister detests these pancakes like no other. But daddy and I could eat uncountable numbers or probably till mummy got weary of making them. So for my sister, mummy would make the spicy version of these pancakes, which I detested.

    I woke up this morning being pensive about the sweet dosas and decided to make them for lunch. I got ready, prepared the batter, made the pancakes, poured myself a glass of milk and indulged with bliss.

    Sweet Dosa
    adapted from mummy

    1 cup – wholewheat flour
    1/2 cup – jaggery or sugar (I used jaggery)
    1 cup – water
    1 tsp – ghee or oil plus more for cooking the pancakes (I used ghee, tastes much better)
    2 tsp – fennel seeds

    1) Put everything in a blender except the fennel, and blitz till you have a smooth batter.
    2) Pour it out into a bowl and mix in the fennel seeds. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes.
    3) Heat some ghee in a frying pan and ladle the batter spreading it around evenly. Flip it over to cook on the other side.
    4) Serve hot.

  • Indian Style Bake Dish

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    It has been several months since I have made the Indian style bake dish that my Dubai cousin’s live-in cook, Gangaram used to make the best. It’s a simple combination of sweet-ish cheesy white sauce and mix veggies baked together under a lovely blanket of cheese and melting butter.

    Last night, my cousin/roommate Shaily suggested making this bake dish sometime this week for dinner. I got excited and said “why wait?! Let’s make it tomorrow!” So today evening, as soon as I came home after a nice walk, I quickly whipped up this bake dish for a warm, relaxing and fulfilling dinner.

    Indian Style Bake Dish

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    For the veggie mix:
    2 – onions, chopped and sauteed in a 2 tbsp oil
    1 cup – green peas
    3 medium – carrots, chopped
    1 cup – frozen corn kernels
    2 cups – french beans, cut into 1″ pieces

    1) Boil about 4 cups of water in a sauce pan with 1 tsp salt and add in all the vegetables except onions. Cook until they are completely tender. Drain out the water and set aside.

    For the Cheesy White Sauce:
    3 tbsp – butter or oil (I used oil)
    3 tbsp (heaped) – plain flour
    3 cups – milk
    1 small tin (113 g) – cheddar cheese, roughly cubed (use Amul cheese or Kraft blue tin cheese — I used Kraft)
    1 – green chili, finely chopped
    salt, pepper, sugar and crushed red pepper to taste

    For the Topping:
    1 small tin (113 g) – cheddar cheese, grated
    Green bell pepper and tomato slices
    2 tbsp – butter (try to use Amul butter)

    1) Heat the oil/butter in a saucepan. Add in the flour and cook until it’s lightly browned. Slowly add in the milk whisking the mixture continuously to avoid forming lumps. Let it simmer till thickened.
    2) Add in the cheese, sauteed onions, boiled veggies and green chili and stir until the cheese melts. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and crushed red pepper.
    3) Pour this mixture into a lightly greased glass baking dish. Cover the top generously with grated cheese and arrange the pepper and tomato slices decoratively. Scatter dots of butter on the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it in a preheated oven (400 degree F/200 degree C) for about 20 minutes until the cheese melts and the top browns slightly.
    4) Squiggle some ketchup if desired.
    5) Dig in and relish the richness of this dish.
    6) And oh, don’t forget to workout next morning! 🙂

  • Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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    Dharti and I woke up on this amazing sunny Sunday morning craving pancakes while we were still in bed. Just while we were talking about making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, my mum walked into my room asking us to make something “healthy” for breakfast. So we decided to make wholewheat pancakes as they would be a lot healthier than plain flour pancakes and ultimately make mommy happy!

    I’ve always had this general aversion towards using wholewheat flour for making baked goods or anything that’s supposed to be made light and fluffy. Due to its low gluten level, I always feel like it produces dense products. But today’s pancakes turned out unbelievably light and were so satisfying.

    Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes
    adapted from Inquiring Chef

    1 – egg
    1/8 cup packed – light brown sugar
    1/8 cup – canola oil
    1 cup – buttermilk (see note)
    1 cup – whole wheat flour
    1 tbsp – baking powder
    1/4 tsp – salt
    1/2 cup – dark chocolate chips

    1) Beat eggs and brown sugar in a mixing bowl with a wire whisk. Beat in canola oil and buttermilk until evenly combined. Add dry ingredients all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
    2) Ladle the batter onto a hot, oiled griddle or skillet. Sprinkle some chocolate chips and cook until bubbles form on the surface. Flip to the other side and cook until both sides are golden brown. Serve immediately, with butter and maple syrup.

    Note: If you don’t have pre-made buttermilk, warm up 1 cup of milk and stir in 1 tbsp of white vinegar and let it sit for 3 minutes.