Creamy Cauliflower Cilantro

Everyone likes a bowl of hearty, creamy soup. But most creamy soups are too calorie rich and unhealthy. Wait! Could I be anymore wrong??!! That is what this soup is going to prove. This is a creamy, delicious but extremely healthy and filling bowl of goodness. To add a blast of Indian smell and flavor, we are using my favorite herb 'Cilantro' for this recipe.

Cook Time : 35 Cooking Level: Easy               Cuisine: Eclectic


First prep work. All measurements are in order to serve 4 bowls of soup. You'll need a 1 whole medium sized cauliflower. Don't worry about cutting this into tiny florets with a lot of precision as it is just going to blend into a soup. Cut them into medium sized pieces. Also, keep ready the following things: 1/2 bunch of cilantro (half of the standard bunch you get in a grocery market), some extra virgin olive oil, 1 medium sized golden yellow onion, a pinch of dried oregano, 1/2 green chili (1 if the chili is too small or if you like some extra heat), 2 cloves roughly chopped garlic and 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock. (Optional: 1/4 cup half & half or cream). You will also need white wine (chardonnay) for this recipe. Don't get yourself anything fancy as the alcohol will completely evaporate during the cooking process. So get a small bottle of any inexpensive white wine. Sometimes I can get a small bottle for even $2.99/ bottle.

Now, in a deep pot, heat up 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic, chopped green chili, and the onions. We want this soup to have a beautiful bright light green color so don't brown the onions, we should sweat them. To sweat the onions, as soon as you add them to the pot, add in 1 tsp of salt and some ground white pepper (black pepper will work fine too but might give it a dirty color). This will help the onions release the water and cook in their moisture, not letting them turn brown. Once the onions turn translucent (cooked), add 1/4-1/3 cup of white wine. Cook the wine with the onions till the alcohol smell fades away (for about 5-6 mins). Now add 1/3 tsp of dried oregano and the cauliflower florets. Give a stir to merely coat the cauliflower with the olive oil, onions and wine. Now add a cup and half of vegetable stock and 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of water according to the thickness needed. Stir and bring this to a light boil. Then turn down to a simmer and let it cook for 30 mins. By this time, the cauliflowers would be completely cooked and will be tender. Your kitchen will smell of this heavenly goodness. Add the cilantro leaves (without the stems) to this and give it a stir. Turn of the heat. Taste the liquid to check for salt and spice. Add salt or pepper as needed. Now in batches, puree this concoction in a blender till smooth. Add water to adjust consistency. That's it, your soup is hot & ready.

This pureed deliciousness is my favorite soup and soon to become yours too.

Stay In for Something Special

After I published this new blog, several friends of mine asked me the purpose behind it. It's just that good, delicious food conquers all. When we put in a little extra thought and make it a tad bit special, it really shows that we care.

This blog gives all its readers a way to explore and experiment. It would consist mostly of dishes you would order in a restaurant; dishes you wouldn't normally think of making in your own kitchen. These are plates of food that will make your pleasantly surprised guests, friends, husbands and children say: "You made this at home?".

We often plan ahead for occasions. "Oh we should go some place nice for this anniversary" or "We should make reservations for Valentine's day dinner" or "I wanted to bring you some place special as it is your birthday". Yes, these are all beautiful gestures. But, next time try to bring "some place nice" to your home. Turn your apartment/home into a fine-dining experience. Transport yourself and others near you to another world. Romantic Italian for Valentine's Day; Spicy-Saucy Mexican for Birthday; Suave and Refined French cuisine for Anniversary; And a soulful plate of Indian food just to say how much you care :D <3

In fact, I believe nothing shows your love more than a carefully prepared meal. So the next time it is a Special Occasion, set your table for 2 and Stay In for a meal with infinite possibilities. And of course, let me know how it all turns out :)!

Portabella Pot Pie

My mouth waters when someone breaks into those fluffy, golden crusts and start digging into those chicken pot pies. I decided, this is going to be my first post.

Inside those crispy golden shell is a gooey, delicious gravy. For this recipe, we are going to substitute the chicken with portabella mushrooms.

Cook Time : 45 min Cooking Level: Easy Cuisine: American

First the prep work:

Cut 2 whole portabella mushrooms in 1-inch square chunks.

Roughly dice, half a large yellow/white onion, 2 carrots, zucchini, artichoke hearts or any leftover vegetable in your fridge (No tomatoes, spinach or cucumber - as these veggies release too much water and are not suited for this dish).

We'll need 1 cup of vegetable stock (or water), 1/2 cup of milk, 1 tbsp of sour cream and one raw egg.

Keep ready about half a tsp of cumin and half a tsp of finely chopped thyme, garlic, half a cup of frozen peas and 2 dried red chillies.

Keep ready, store bought, frozen puff pastry sheets. Take these out of the freezer before you start making the gravy. This allows the puff pastry sheets to be more manageable for us to roll and cut.

In a pan, heat 1-2 tbsp of Extra virgin olive oil. Add the mushrooms to this, and in about a min, you'll see the corners browning. At this point, hit the mushrooms with a tsp of salt and little of ground black pepper. The salt helps pull out all the extra moisture hidden inside the mushrooms and brings out the overall flavor. Once all the water has evaporated, put the mushrooms aside in a bowl.

Now to the same pan, add the cumin; once roasted, add dried red chillies, 2 gloves of roughly chopped garlic, onions and all the chopped vegetables. Add appropriate amounts of salt and black pepper to this. Cook this till most of the vegetables are almost cooked. To this add half a cup of thawed frozen peas. Now, add one tbsp of olive oil and in a min add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour. Cook the flour till the rawness disappears and it blends in with the vegetables. Now add 1 cup of vegetable stock (you could add water, but the stock has more flavor and helps thicken the gravy), and half a cup of milk (2% is ok). Now add the roasted portabella mushrooms and mix this all up. Bring the pan to a medium simmer and let it cook for 10-15 mins. Stir every 3-5 mins depending on the pan and the heat. To this gravy, add 1 tbsp of Sour Cream for a little extra flavor and creaminess. Once the flour works with the milk and stock, we should have a thick gooey gravy. Turn off the heat and add the finely chopped thyme and stir the gravy.

While the gravy is cooking, take the puff pastry sheets out of the package and cut circles out of dough. These should be just a few inches larger in diameter than the size of your oven proof soufflé cups. Lay these flat on a foil or parchment paper. In a cup, break and beat one raw egg. This is going to used as our egg wash. Brush a little of these on one side of the dough. This helps bring out the beautiful golden color on the crust.

Take four soufflé cups and fill them with our creamy gravy. Fill these in completely, almost up to the brim. Apply some water to the rim of the cups. This will keep our crust in place. Now, egg wash side down, gently lay these dough circles on top of the cups. DO NOT press down too much. Now brush some of the left over egg wash on the top side of the dough. Using a fork, prick in the center of the dough circle to make 1-2 tiny holes. This helps the air release and the dough rise beautifully. Bake these in an oven for 15 mins, pre-heated to 400 deg C.

15 mins later, you can have delicious pot pie for lunch or dinner. This is such a great way to eat all the vegetables in a fun way. Please try it and let me know if it was everything you expected it to be :D

It All Starts Here

With this first post, I would like to cover a few basic things about what is to come. We will try to re-create as many dishes as possible through varied cuisines and cultures with vegetarian ingredients.

This is not a place where I promise healthy cooking or no cal, no carb dishes. We'll try to make them just as flavorful and delicious as the original recipe without no meat. Everyday, or every so often, I shall try to post one new dish that I think is unique and a must-have. The most important thing about this blog is that THIS IS NOT A RECIPE BLOG. It is a whole new experience. My experience, that I would like to share with the world.

To make all of this happen, I am often going to use certain specific ingredients as meat substitutes. When it comes to vegetables; mushrooms, eggplant and potatoes in my opinion are best suited to substitute meat in most recipes. Other meat substitutes you might often come across in my recipes are tofu, beans (garbanzo or chick peas, black, kidney) and paneer.

I am of Indian origin. So, you are going to notice quite a bit of that ethnic influence in a lot of my dishes regardless of the cuisine.

I believe in making amazing, delicious food. But, that doesn't mean we need to slog ourselves out. So, I shall use quite a bit of store-bought ready to use ingredients in my posts, wherever it is ok. This is to make it easy and accessible for anyone to recreate any of these dishes.

Please feel free to make requests for any dishes you might have come across and if you were wondering how you would make them vegetarian.

This blog is for all you food lovers out there. This is going to be a BLAST!! :)