Tomato Soup With Oats

I have a sore jaw, thanks to my wisdom tooth which instead of growing vertically up, is growing horizontally and is pushing against my teeth. Today I am not even able to eat. So, thought of making a soup which will be fulfilling. I used oats as a filler and made a tomato soup. Didn't really do anything fancy, kept it pretty simple.

Ingredients:
Tomato Puree - 11/2 cups
Oats - 3 tbsp
Vegetable stock/water - 1 cup
Chilli Powder - a large pinch
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Dried Basil - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 1 clove, finely chopped
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic. Fry for a minute, and add oats to it.
2. Fry for 2 minutes, add the tomato puree, vegetable stock/water, chilli powder, salt and let it boil.
3. Add basil, pepper powder and let the soup simmer for couple of minutes.
4. Enjoy the hot tomato soup with oats.

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Vegetarian Chili

Chili is a spicy stew usually made using pepper and meat. Chili with meat is usually known as 'Chili Con Carne' and the vegetarian one is 'Chili Sin Carne'. I first tasted the vegetarian chili in Denver, Colarado, last winter, when I went for my first ski class. During the lunch break, I had a piping hot vegetarian chili, in a bread bowl. It was almost freezing on the top of the mountains and I enjoyed my piping hot chili. I simply loved it. A few days back I was reading an issue of Reader's Digest and came across a black bean chili recipe. Instantaneously it stuck me that I should make my own vegetarian chili. Finally, today I made my own version of chili and it was super yummy. I did not have black beans at home so used black eye beans and white kidney beans, you can use the beans you have at home.

Ingredients:
Black eye beans - 3/4 cup
White kidney beans - 1/2 cup
Corn kernel - 1/4 cup
Tomato - 1 large
Onion - 1 small, diced
Green Pepper/Capsicum - 1 medium sized, diced
Red Pepper - 1 small, diced
Carrot - 1 medium sized, peeled and diced
Celery - 1 stalk, diced
Garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dried Basil - 1 tsp
Dried Oregano - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Soak both the beans in water overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours in warm water. If you are running short on time, you can use the canned beans instead or add hot water to the beans in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 3-5 minutes or just until the beans hydrate and float to the top of the bowl.
2. Make a plus sign on the tomato and place it in a pot of boiling water for a minute or so. Take out the tomato using a slotted spoon and add it to a bowl of cold water. Once tomato cools down, remove the skin and discard it. Finely chop the blanched tomato.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the chopped onions, garlic, carrot, celery, green pepper, red pepper and mix well on high heat for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the diced tomato pieces, chilli powder, corn kernels, salt and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the dried basil and oregano, mix well.
6. Add 3-4 cups of water, mix well, adjust the salt and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or till the beans become soft.
7. After the pressure is released, mash a part of the beans with a masher. Do not mash the whole thing, we just want the chili to be a little thick. Place the cooker on heat and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
8. Serve the piping hot chili in a bread bowl or in a soup bowl and you can even top it with a little cheese.

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

Oatmeal Mixed Vegetable Soup

Oatmeal mixed vegetable soup is a healthy and nutritious way of consuming lot of vegetables and oatmeal. I made the vegetable stock at home using onion, garlic, green chillies, carrot, celery, cinnamon and star anise. You can even use the store bought low sodium vegetable broth instead of making from scratch. 

Ingredients:

Old fashioned rolled oats - 1/4 cup

Vegetable stock - 2 cups

Celery - 1/4 cup, finely chopped

Carrot - 1/4 cup, finely chopped

Onion - 1/4, finely chopped

Corn - 3 tbsp

Green Peas - 3 tbsp

Cabbage - 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Capsicum - 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Tomato - 1/3, finely chopped

Corn Starch - 1 tsp

Vinegar - 1/2 tsp

Chilli Powder - a large pinch

Dry Mint Powder - a large pinch

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add all the vegetables except the tomatoes to it.

2. Fry for 2 minutes and add the vegetable stock to it. Add in the chopped tomatoes.

3. Add the oatmeal and let the soup boil.

4. Add the salt, vinegar, chilli powder, mint powder and mix well.

5. Once the soup starts boiling, mix the corns starch with couple of spoons of water and mix it into the soup on medium low heat.

6. Adjust the salt and take the soup off the heat.

7. Enjoy the oatmeal mixed vegetable soup while it is still hot.

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