One of our go to meals on weeknights is this vegan soup paired with toasted garlic bread. This is so satisfying and easy to make and obviously doesn’t require too much time. The bread chunks dipped in this thick soup is one of my favorite ways to eat this meal.
How to make it?
Ingredients – Serves 2 portions
1.5 cups Spinach – blanched
1 large onion – chopped roughly
5-6 cloves garlic
8-10 pcs almonds
1/8 cup coconut milk
1.5 tsp cold pressed groundnut oil/coconut oil
Warm water as required.
Salt to taste
3/4 – 1 tsp white pepper powder
Crisp garlic chips to garnish (slice 4-5 garlic cloves thin and then saute in a tsp of oil on medium heat until they turn golden brown and crisp)
Microgreens to garnish (optional)
Coconut milk drizzle to garnish.
Method –
Blanch the spinach leaves – Boil water in a pot and add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar in it. Add the spinach leaves for 3 mins and immediately drain and add them to ice cold water to retain the green colour of the spinach. Drain and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and whole garlic. Sauté for a minute and then add almond and sauté for another minute. Mix in the onions and cook on medium low flame until the onions just begin to caramelise (change colour).
Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. In a blender, blend together – spinach, onion and almond mix with a splash of water. Run it until it’s smooth.
Take it back to the pot, and simmer it on lowest flame. Add coconut milk and warm water as per the desired consistency of the soup. Add salt and pepper too.
Let the soup simmer for 4-5 mins on low flame. Taste and adjust seasonings and consistency.
Transfer it to the soup bowls and garnish with garlic chips, a drizzle of coconut milk and microgreens. You can also add seeds of choice.
Enjoy!
If you like spinach and roasted almond soup recipe, do let me know in the comments below or connect with me on my Instagramor Facebook handles.
The simplest, yummiest and quickest sauce you will ever make is this. This recipe doesn’t need too many ingredients and is perfect to pair with rice or noodles. I definitely prefer rice for a hearty meal with some micro greens for the added crunch and goodness.
How to make this –
Ingredients – Serves 1 person
1 packet/200 gms button mushrooms – quartered
1.5 tbsp salted butter or olive oil (butter is recommended)
1/2 cup coconut milk or fresh cream (I used coconut milk)
6-7 cloves garlic – pounded
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp miso paste (optional)
1/2 tsp fresh herbs like thyme or mixed dried herbs
Salt to taste – if required (butter, soy sauce and miso are enough to give the required salt)
Black pepper to taste
Micro greens and chopped parsley to garnish.
Method –
In a pan heat butter and add mushrooms. Let it cook on high heat until they turn brown. Add the garlic and let the mushrooms sweat. Shake the pan for even cooking and avoid stirring the mushrooms.
Mix in the herbs.
Once the mushrooms are done, mix in coconut milk, miso, soy sauce and black pepper and deglaze the pan.
Let it cook for 2-3 mins on low flame. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick (I didn’t add any). Taste and adjust seasonings.
Scoop cooked rice into a bowl, fill it up with mushroom and sauce and garnish with chopped parsley and micro greens.
Dig in and enjoy!
If you like this mushrooms in brown sauce recipe, please let me know in the comments below or chat with me on my Instagram or Facebook handle.
My go-to meal when I am running low on veggies and kitchen supplies. This recipe is forgiving enough and I love to make it with any pasta available in my pantry. Though nothing beats the look of a spaghetti in this recipe form, I do not mind fettuccine too at all.
Also, traditionally no sauce is added in this pasta recipe, but I like to make food that I love to eat. So a tbsp of garlic chilli sauce is added to make it even more flavourful. However, that is completely optional.
How to make this –
Ingredients- Serves 2 people
2 portions pasta of choice (I use spaghetti or fettuccine for this)
2 tbsps garlic – sliced
1-2 tsp red chilli flakes
4 tbsps olive oil – extra virgin
1 tbsp garlic chilli sauce
Black olives, sun dried tomatoes, capers and caper leaves – optional
Parmesan cheese and toasted breadcrumbs to garnish (optional but recommended)
1/2 cup reserved pasta water (water in which pasta was cooked)
Salt to taste
Method –
Boil/cook pasta as per the packet instructions.
Pour olive oil in a pan and add garlic and red chilli flakes (don’t wait for the oil to heat up before adding garlic and chilli). Sauté until the garlic changes colour. Add the chilli garlic sauce and salt and mix well.
Mix in the pasta water and let it cook for a min. Toss in the cooked pasta, olives, capers and caper leaves if using. I like the acidity these provide to the pasta. I also add chopped parsley sometimes based on the availability of it.
Garnish with grated parmesan and toasted breadcrumbs.
Enjoy!!!
PS. – Rinse the capers and olives soaked in brine before adding them to any recipe.
If you like this Fettuccine Aglio e Olio pasta recipe, do let me know in the comments below. You can also connect with me on my Instagram and Facebook handle.
One of my favorite curries to make when I am running low on time. This does not have onion and garlic but I promise you wouldn’t miss that at all. Loaded with flavours and deliciousness, this is a great accompaniment with steamed rice or Indian flatbreads like phulkas and parathas.
How to make this –
Ingredients-
1 cup green chickpeas/choliye/hara chana (substitute with dried kale chane if hare chane is not in season; soak kale chane overnight though).
2 medium sized tomatoes – chopped
1-2 green chillies
4-5 Curry leaves
1/4 tsp Hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsps fresh or frozen coconut – scraped/grated, a little more to garnish
3 tbsps coriander leaves – chopped, a little more to garnish
Salt to taste
3/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp sugar (optional but recommended)
3 tbsps cold pressed safflower oil (use any cooking oil)
Method –
In a pressure cooker, heat oil and sizzle the cumin seeds and bloom the hing. Add green chillies and sauté for a min.
Mix in the curry leaves and tomatoes. Add salt and sauté until the tomatoes start turning mushy. Tip in the coconut and mix everything well.
Cook everything until the tomatoes turn mushy and add all the dry spice powders except garam masala. Throw in the coriander leaves too.
Mix in the green chickpeas and let it cook for a min. Pour in 1.5 – 2 cups water and let it come to a boil.
Now pressure cook it to upto 1 whistle and let the steam release naturally (3-4 whistles if using kala chana as the substitute). Open the lid and add the garam masala while it’s still piping hot. I usually switch on the flame again and cook it for another few seconds after adding garam masala.
Garnish with some coriander leaves and scraped coconut.
Serve with steamed rice or phulkas/parathas.
Enjoy!!!
If you like this Green Chickpeas In Tomato Coconut Curry recipe, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. You can also connect with me on my Instagram and Facebook handles.
Another day and another pasta. My love for pasta and noodles makes me crave for it at least twice or thrice in a month. I am always on a lookout for interesting pasta recipes and keep experimenting with flavours. This summery, mildly tangy, garlicky pasta is an absolutely treat for a pasta lover like me. I usually make a big batch to last for a few meals for me.
I love how quick this is to make. I add sautéed veggies of choice to make it wholesome and nutritious. I am also not too fond of all purpose flour spaghetti so I switch that up with either whole wheat ones or the gluten free varieties available in the market. But use whatever is handy and preferable.
How to make this –
Ingredients – Serves 2-3
250 gms spaghetti of choice
1.5 cups veggies – mushrooms, broccoli
3 tbsp olive oil – extra virgin
2 tbsp butter
2+1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp lemon zest
1.5 tbsp lemon juice or more as per preference. I like it mild
1.5 tbsp fresh or dried parsley
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Salt to taste
1.5 tsp black pepper powder
Method –
Cook/boil the spaghetti as per packet instructions. Make that pasta water salty please. Once done, drain the spaghetti and reserve 1/2 cup cooked water.
While the spaghetti cooks, rinse, clean and slice the mushrooms and broccoli.
In a pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and sauté 2 tbsp garlic until it changes colour to light pink. Add the broccoli and sauté on medium heat for 4-5 mins or until it turns tender. Mix in little salt and cook for another min. Remove it on a plate.
In the same pan, heat another tbsp of olive oil and add sauté mushrooms until they sweat and turn brown. Add salt and black pepper. Remove that on the plate too.
Use the same pan, heat butter and add the remaining 1 tbsp garlic. Sauté it until it turns pale and pink. Then mix in in the lemon zest and lemon juice, salt, black pepper and also the reserved pasta water. Stir it all well for a min, throw in the cooked spaghetti and mix it all well.
Throw in the sautéed veggies, and the parsley and mix everything really well. Taste and adjust the tang and salt if needed.
Top it up with more parsley and dig in.
Enjoy!
If you like this lemon pasta recipe, do let me know in the comments below. You can also connect with me on my Instagram and Facebook handle.
A food stylist, photographer, and blogger. After leading Human Resources for several years in India and the US, my inner calling prompted me to work on a dream and a vision envisaged by my younger self many years ago. Being creatively inclined and with an interest in food, I decided to embark on my journey towards endless and limitless possibilities.
