Almond Pumpkin and Shallots Soup (Vegan recipe)

A tentative foot inches out from beneath the blanket. The cold is intimidating. Almost on reflex, it is withdrawn immediately into the warm confines of the quilt. And just as the brain begins to lull itself to slip back into a dreamy state, the shrill alarm goes off. Yet again. Only to be put on a snooze.

This childish little game of peek-a-boo continues for half an hour ever morning before another alarm goes off. This time in another room. The kitchen to be precise. Letting out a sigh I throw off the quilt and swing my legs off the bed. My eyes are barely open as I stumble and fumble to reach and turn off the irritating device. Even before I switch off the alarm, I switch on the electric kettle placed right next to it. Throughout the year, I like to kick start my day with a glass of warm water. But with the cold weather playing havoc with my immune system, I need a glass of warm water even for splashing on to my face. Open pores be damned.

No wonder warm fluids are the mainstay of my life during the winter months. And after endless glasses of warm water and half a dozen cups of tea, piping hot soups are very much a part of my everyday routine. Especially on days like today when I have a bad throat and everything tastes like sawdust. As usual ended up skipping lunch in favour of a big bowl of Pumpkin and Shallots soup. Roasted the stuff in an oven for added flavor though it can also be prepared in a pressure cooker.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 40 mins ( takes just 20 mins if pressure cooked )

Ingredients -

• 1 cups pumpkin slices (about 4 mm thickness)
• 10-12 shallots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4-5 almonds
• a dash of paprika
• a pinch of powdered cloves
• salt to taste
• olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sugar (optional)
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock

Preparation - Soak the almonds overnight . Wash and peel them.

Place the pumpkin slices , 4-5 shallots and garlic cloves on a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and a dash of salt.

Place it in a pre-heated oven and bake for 30 mins at 200 C. Remove .

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender jar along with the almonds and 1/2 cup of hot vegetable stock. Blend for 2 mins .

Pour the liquid into a saucepan and place it on a low flame. Add the sugar and paprika. Adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more vegetable stock. Let it simmer for a few minutes.

In the meanwhile, peel and chop the remaining shallots into tiny rings. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan and add the shallots. Fry on low flame till they are caramelized. Remove and keep aside.

Pour the soup into the serving bowls. Garnish with the caramelized shallots.

Serve hot.

Kaddu Ke Koftey ( Pumpkim dumplings in a spicy gravy )

Most folks are not fond of pumpkin or it does not come to their notice. Hence when I mention that it is one of my favorite veggies, they tend to look flummoxed. Whether it is the aromatic Sri lankan style curry, the somewhat sweet pumpkin-dill soup or the slightly charred pumpkin fry from Odisha, I enjoy it in every form. So, when my mom mentioned this North Indian Pumpkin kofta curry, I just had to give it a try.

I modified her version a little by stuffing raisins inside it (a neighbor had suggested it to me). Fried the koftas in a appe pan to cut down on the oil. And made the gravy a little more rich by adding some cashews and milk to it. My efforts paid off when everyone wanted a second helping of this yummy curry. Read on (and do not forget to try this) -

Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients - 

For the koftas -

• 3 cups grated pumpkin (Odia - boitalu)
• 1 small boiled and peeled potato
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp besan
• salt to taste
• a pinch of garam masala
• 2 grated garlic flakes

For the gravy -

• 1 large onion (diced)
• 7-8 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 green cardamom
• 1 clove
• 1-2 kashmiri red chili
• 1 large tomato
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• 4-5 cashews
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tsp oil
• 1 tsp butter

Preparation - Add a little salt to the grated pumpkin and keep aside for 15 mins. Squeeze it to remove the excess water. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients required for making the koftas. Mix well and divide into small portions. Shape into balls while inserting 1-2 raisins into the center of each one.

Cooking - Heat an appam pan. Add a few drops of oil into each cavity. Place the balls into the cavity and cook on all sides till brown. Remove and keep aside on a paper towels.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add the red chili, cinnamom, cardamom and cloves. Once fragrant, add the garlic, ginger and onion. Cook till onion becomes translucent. Add cashews and fry for 30 seconds more.

Add the tomato at this stage and cook till mushy. Add the kasuri methi and mix once before removing from flame. 

Allow to stand aside till it cools down to room temperature. Blend into a smooth paste.

Heat the same wok.  Add butter to it and allow it to melt. Add the tomato onion paste and cook for 3-4 mins. 

Finally add the milk along with 1/2 cup water. Add salt. Bring it to a slow boil. Let simmer for 3-4 mins.

Add the koftas and cook for 1 min before switching off the flame. Let it stand covered for 10 mins before serving.

Serve hot with rotis or white rice.

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry (Wattaka Kalu Pol)

Pumpkin Curry ??? No ways. Going by the way most people feel about this humble vegetable, I had actually put off posting the recipe. But leafing though my diary to sort out/refresh some of the low oil dishes that I have cooked over the years, I stumbled upon this gem of a recipe. I had first watched this curry being prepared by an old Sri Lankan lady on television but I could not catch all the ingredients that go into the making of this dish. So, when I searched for this recipe on the net, I stumbled upon Dani Venn's blog . She has a great collection of recipes and please do check them when you have the time.

Coming back to the recipe, I decided to stay true to the ingredients used (though I skipped the rice and desiccated coconut paste) but made some minor change in the order in which they go into the dish. Call it 'cultural conditioning' or whatever you like, but I could not understand the logic behind adding the tempering ingredients after frying the onion, ginger and garlic :). The curry turned out to be delicious (and amazingly aromatic) despite using so less oil.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

For curry powder -

• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 cardamon pods
• 2-3 dry red chilis
• Sprig of curry leaves
• 1 1/2 inch long cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon rice
• 1 tsp turmeric powder

Others -

• 1 tsp rice bran oil
• 1 medium sized onion(finely chopped)
• 3 garlic flakes (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 red chili (broken into small pieces)
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp fenugreek seed
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 sprig curry leaves
• 2 pandan leaves, roughly torn into pieces
• 500g pumpkin (peeled & diced into 1 1/2 inch cubes)
• 2 cups thick coconut milk

Preparation - Heat a frying pan. Add the rice to it and roast for 2-3 mins. Then add all other spices (except for turmeric) mentioned under 'For curry powder' and roast till they give off their fragrance.

Remove from flame and allow to cool down. Grind into a fine powder and mix turmeric with it. Since this is more than what you need for the curry, keep the rest of it in an air-tight bottle in the fridge.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the broken red chili, mustard and fenugreek seeds to it. Once they start popping, add the onions. Fry till translucent.

Add the chopped ginger and garlic. Fry for 2 mins before adding all the powdered spices.

Fry for a minute and then add the curry leaves, pandan leaves and pumpkin cubes.

Add the coconut milk to the wok and let it simmer on a low flame.

Once the pumpkin is cooked, add 2 levelled teaspoons of the curry powder and mix it well. (Add more curry powder if you like it spicy).

Remove from the flame and serve hot with white rice and yogurt.