Indian Inspired Vegetable Soup/Stew

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ajwain seeds

15 baby carrots finely sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced thinly
2 cups diced green, red and/or orange peppers

Salt/pepper to taste

2 bay leaves

1 tbspn Cumin powder

2 tbspn Coriander powder

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

½ tbspn red chili powder

1 cup orzo pasta (or rice that doesn’t fluff up in soup)

6 cups vegetable broth

1 15-16 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tsp dried basil

1 ½ cup small beans or lentils (not black beans)

Method:

Step 1:

Heat olive oil, add ajwain seeds, onions and garlic on high heat for 3-5 minutes (don’t burn).

Step 2:

Turn heat to medium, add carrots, celery, and peppers. Stir it up. Fry for 10 minutes stirring every two minutes.

Step 3:

Add all the spices. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes more on low heat. During this 5 minutes heat the water and start to make the pasta.

Step 4:

Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, parsley (if using dried, use 1 tbspn) and basil into the soup. Stir it up on high heat. When it boils, turn heat to medium, cover it up.

Step 5:

After 10 minutes add in the beans/lentils. Cover it again and let boil.

Step 6:

Heat for another 10-20 minutes to get firmness/softness of carrots and other veggies you prefer.

Step 7:

When veggies are almost the right firmness, add cooked orzo or rice. Turn off heat, let sit about 10 minutes and serve.

Will serve 4-6. Adapted from http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/food/1712

Original Post - 12th post on Alaivani

Burritos with Ginger/Tamarind Sauce: A Mexican Indian Delight

This is a recipe posted a little over two years ago in my blog at Alaivani! Enjoy a blast from the past!

Recipe: Burritos with Ginger/Tamarind Sauce: A Mexican Indian Delight

There are two steps to this fusion dish:

1. Prepare the ginger/tamarind sauce.

2. Prepare the burrito.

Ginger Tamarind Sauce (Pulinji)

Ingredients:

3 tbspn Finely minced fresh ginger

2 Finely chopped green chilis
1 cup water

Small ball Tamarind, small ball, a little bigger than a gooseberry
1 tbspn Chilli powder
1 tsp Mustard seeds
6-10 Curry leaves
5 Fenugreek seeds
3 tbspn grated jaggery (or brown sugar)

1-2 tspn salt to taste

5 peppercorns
3 tbspn Oil

rice powder (optional)

Method:

Step 1:
Soak tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 15 minutes and extract the juice. This should yield about a cup of thick tamarind extract. Filter it and keep aside.

Step 2:
Dry roast fenugreek seeds until the color changes. Powder it and keep aside.

Step 3:

Heat Oil in a pan.

Step 4:

When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.

Step 5:

When mustard seeds pop, add the ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Stir fry about 5 minutes.

Step 6:

Add the tamarind water, chili powder, fenugreek seeds-powdered, peppercorns, salt, jaggery. Boil about 15 minutes – 5 minutes on high, 10 minutes on low.

This will thicken as it cools. If you want to thicken it quicker, add a few pinches of rice powder. When you use this sauce, use it in small doses, it is quite full of taste (potent)!

Adapted from: http://myworksh0p.blogspot.com/2007/01/puliyinjitamarind-ginger-hot-sauce.html

Burrito-

1 16 oz can vegetarian refried beans - warmed

½ cup each diced veggies per your taste including

tomatoes, mushrooms, green/red/orange pepper, onion, lettuce, etc.

2-4 large tortillas

2 tspn sour cream

2 tspn guacamole (optional)

To make the burrito with pulinji (ginger/tamarind sauce).

Step 1:

Place the tortilla on the plate. Spread the refried beans in the center. Put on the veggies.

Roll up. Using sour cream while rolling up the ends of the bread acts like a glue.

Step 2:

After it’s rolled up, drizzle the pulinji sauce over the top of the burrito per taste.

Step 3:

If you use guacamole it could be on the side.

Enjoy!

Related Links:
See Nupur's Mexican Fiesta (a vegetarian version of Mole sauce included!)
Original Recipe- 8th post on Alaivani!

Thank you for reading and spending time on my blogs!