Cauliflower Corn Soup

Most of the cauliflower recipes call for the use of a lot of butter or cream. I made cauliflower corn soup with milk and a little cheddar cheese and added almonds paste to enhance the richness of the soup. The outcome was a hearty, creamy and filling cauliflower corn soup.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets - 2 cups
Corn kernels - 1/2 cup(Fresh or frozen, thaw, if using frozen)
Potato - 1 small sized, diced
Celery - 1 stick, roughly chopped
Onion - 1/4 of a small onion, roughly chopped
Almonds - 15, soaked in warm water for an hour and remove the skin
Milk - 11/2 cup
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Flakes - a large pinch(optional)
Grated Cheddar Cheese - 2 tbsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. In a vessel add cauliflower florets, diced potatoes, chopped celery and chopped onions. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Cook covered on high till the water starts boiling.
2. Once the water starts boiling, switch off the heat and let the vegetables cool down. Keep them covered with a lid.
3. Use a slotted spoon and add the boiled vegetables to a grinder or a food processor and puree them if you do not want any vegetable pieces in your soup. Add the water in which the vegetables are boiled, if necessary to make the puree. Alternatively, you can even use a hand blender to puree the boiled vegetables.
4. Grind the soaked almonds to a smooth paste by adding a little milk.
5. Heat a non stick saucepan and add the cauliflower puree, water used to boil vegetables(if any remaining), milk, almond paste and corn kernels to it. Mix well and adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more milk if the soup is too thick.
6. Let the soup boil and add salt, chilli flakes and pepper to it. Adjust the salt and let the soup thicken a little bit. Mix a tablespoon of cheese into the soup and switch off the heat.
7. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with a little cheese and serve the cauliflower corn soup while it is hot.

Sending this to 'DNSW:C' being hosted by Akhila and 'The Soup event' being hosted by Chaitrali

Cooking using a Foil - Jeera Aloo Gobi

Instant curry/rice pouches which can be popped into a microwave oven or hot water for couple of minutes are an instant hit among those individuals who do not have time to cook at home. However, the taste of those is far from the authentic taste of home made food. So, here is a very simple way of turning home made curries into instant curry pouches. All you need is a sheet of aluminium foil to start with. I used 9X11 sized foil.

Make a Pouch of the Foil:

1. Fold the foil into half.

2. Seal the bottom edge by folding a 1/4 inch of the foil, fold it once again.

3. Seal the edges on the side by folding a 1/4 inch, fold it one again

The resultant pouch should look something like this.

Once your pouch is ready, the rest of the steps are pretty simple. 

Ingredients:

Cauliflower Florets - 11/2 cup

Potato - 1 medium sized, peeled and diced into cubes

Oil - 11/2 tbsp

Dry Masala:

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Salt - According to Taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Mix all the dry masala ingredients together.

2. Take the cauliflower florets and potato cubes in a bowl, add 1/2 tbsp of oil and mix them well.

3. Sprinkle the dry masala mix on the cauliflower and potatoes. Mix them well either using hand/spoon or by tossing them.

4. Pour the remaining 1 tbsp oil on the mixture and mix well.

5. Transfer the contents from the bowl to the pouch using a spoon or hand.

6. Seal the open edge in such a way that no steam escapes, when cooking.

Method of Cooking

1. You can either use a oven or a tava or any pan to cook.

2. If using a tava or any pan, place the sealed pouch on the tava and place it on a slightly higher than medium flame. After 8 to 10 minutes flip the pouch onto the other side and leave it for another 5 to 7 minutes. Switch of the heat and let the pouch stay on the hot tava for a couple of minutes.

3. If using oven, pop the pouch into a preheated oven at 400F for 15-20 minutes and let it rest for a couple of minutes before removing from the oven.

4. Be cautious while opening the pouch, the hot steam might burn your fingers.

Jeer Aloo Gobi, cooked on tava

Note: You can make the pouches ahead for different curries and freeze them, so that you can heat them when needed, for a piping hot home made meal.

Broiled Cauliflower

Cauliflower florets when burnt slightly taste great. Today I applied a marinade on the cauliflower florets and stuck them to skewers. First I baked them at a high temperature and then put them under the broiler for few minutes until the florets were slightly charred.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets - 1 big cup (approximately one third of a whole cauliflower)
Skewers - 2-3 (soak them in water for 15 minutes, else they might get burned)

For the Marinade:
Thick Curd - 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger Powder - 1/4 tsp (can also use freshly grated ginger instead of powder)
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Mint Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Wash the cauliflower florets and pat dry them.
2. In a bowl mix all ingredients for the marinade.
3. Coat each floret with the marinade and press it against the skewer.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
5. Line a baking sheet or tray with aluminium foil and spray a little cooking spray on the foil or apply oil directly on the foil.
6. Place the skewers with the cauliflower florets on the foil and bake them for 20 minutes
7. Remove the baking try from the oven and place the tray under the broiler for 5 minutes.
8. Take the baking tray out, turn the skewers around and broil for another 5 minutes or until the cauliflower florets get enough charred.
9. Serve hot with onion rings and lemon wedges.

This is my entry to the event 'Side dishes From India(Other than Dals/Subzis)', being hosted by Suma.

Also sending it to 'Two For Tuesdays'