Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Growing up you couldn't get me near tomato soup. My parents would warm up a can and serve it to us. Nothing else, no cream, chives, crusty bread, just tomato liquid as I called it. My disdain for tomato 'liquid' carried on until I met my husband. He loves tomato soup and would buy the canned version regularly early on in our courtship, because I was for damn sure was not going to make it for him! But the more I learned about food, I knew I had to face past food dislikes of certain foods. One of the first I tackled was tomato soup. I made my first tomato soup from scratch about 2.5 years ago and it was amazing. This soup had body, flavor, and not just a wet red glop o' liquid. My husband was very pleased and impressed as was I! So since then, I've made all kinds of different versions of tomato soups, including another favorite I made this past summer I blogged about. No more canned soups went inside my kitchen cupboards.

This soup is by Gordon Ramsay from his  book and series on Channel 4 Great Escape. Where he journeyed throughout Indian exploring one of England's favo(u)rite cuisines, Indian food aka curry. I caught a few episodes of this and it was a great learning experience and man it made me hungry. This book was also a Christmas present from the husband. I just cracked it open last Friday night, and when I saw this recipe,  I knew I had to make this tomato soup ASAP. I also found a few dishes for my upcoming and first Indian-themed dinner party with my pal Becca!

This soup is delicious, bursting with flavor and it can be made very quickly. To cut prep time, substitute canned whole tomatoes (drained) and use hot madras curry powder instead of the ground cumin, fenugreek, chillies, turmeric. I made this recipe almost exactly as he did, only I added less chili peppers as my daughter loves soup but can't stand heat!

This would make a great starter or a main course. Easily doubled and tastes even better leftover.

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Tomatoes

2 T vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

Kosher/Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (add more peppers or don't deseed for more spice)

1/2 dried fenugreek, crushed with a pinch of salt

1 bay leaf

1 t ground tumeric

1 t ground cumin

1/3 cup tomato puree

1 can of coconut milk (i used light coconut milk)

1T cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida (optional)

handful of coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish

toasted coconut for garnish

Directions

Bring pan of water to the boil. Lightly score a cross at the top and base of each tomato then lower them into the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Once cooled, peel off the skins of tomatoes and then roughly chop.

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and sweat for 4 to 5 minutes until onions begins to soften. Add the chillies, fenugreek, bay leaf, turmeric, and ground cumin and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Tip in chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well.

Pour in coconut milk and use the can to measure out an equal amount of water. Add this to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and have broken down.

Puree the soup using a stick blender, or pour soup into a blender. If you really want a smooth result push puree through a sieve. I didn't do that, I like a little body to my soup :) Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

When ready to serve, reheat the soup. In a small saucepan, heat oil (coconut or vegetable) and add cumin seeds and asafoetida if using. As they begin to pop, take pan off the heat and pour spiced oil in soup. Stir well!

Ladle into warm bowl and garnish if you want. This photo shoot was quite short as this soup was too hard to resist!!! Hope you try this!! It's perfect for this weather. The best thing is you don't need perfect tomatoes which you will not find this time of year in Germany. The sourness of the tomatoes adds good flavor to the soup :)

Enjoy!!

Using Up My Pantry: Tadka Dal and Coconut Arborio Rice Pudding

To save money and the world, I am making more effort to use up as much of the contents of my fridge, freezer and pantry as I can. While reading one of my favorite blogs, Korean American Mommy, she posted a lovely recipe for Tadka Dal. I LOVE Indian food and of course had to try this. I didn't have to go to the grocery store as I had all the ingredients on hand, or so I thought. The only onions I had were red onions; a whole garlic bulb only had 1 nice clove, a bulb that was only bought a few days prior- that's a commissary vent post on its own; and I had no asafoetida on hand, but I was still able to make this meal AWESOME. Check out the recipe over at her blog: Korean American Mommy.

The only changes I made was that I fried whole cumin seeds along with fenugreek seeds with the red onions. I also used 1 clove of garlic and about 2 tsp of garlic powder. It tasted AMAZING and I will definitely make this again in the future. I also made naan bread. and spiced chicken. Delicious, big thumbs up from the whole family! I also made Naan as I also didn't have basmati rice on hand, and I was so sure I did!  The Naan is easy and delicious.

Naan Bread

Adapted from: Indian Food Made Easy

2 cups all purpose flour (i used bread flour)

2 t sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 cup milk

2 T vegetable oil (i used  canola)

For topping

pick from nigella seeds, sesame seeds, minced, garlic, or fresh coriander

Note: I've used garlic and coriander in the past. Last night I used nigella seeds.

Preparation

For dough, sift the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a bowl.

In another bowl, combine vegetable oil and milk

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in liquid mixture

Slowly mix together the dough by working from the center and incorporating the flour from the edges of the well.

Dump contents on a clean counter top and knead for 8 to 10 minutes adding a little flour in case the dough gets sticky. Great stress buster! f you don't have the time, use a stand mixer or food processor.

Place in a oiled bowl, cover with damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes. I let it rest for an hour while I prepared the Tadka Dhal.

Preheat broiler , and out a heavy duty baking sheet to heat.

Form dough into 5 balls and roll quite thinly into a teardrop shape (if desired).

Prick with fork so it does not turn into biggol pita bread!

 Sprinkle with topping of choice

 and bake in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with butter and serve warm!

Spiced Chicken:

2 T Peanut Oil

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 t Ground Cumin

1 t Hot Madras Curry Powder

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet in medium high.

Season chicken then add to skillet skin side down. Fry for 15 minutes then flip over until cooked through- another 10 minutes. Allow to rest, then slice! Easy

On to dessert.

 My ultimate comfort dish Rice pudding. My husband isn't a big fan, so I tried it a new way. In my pantry was some coconut milk and arborio rice dying to be used and my fridge some leftover blueberries from my blueberry-balooza week. Growing up, rice pudding was always my fave, My father flavored it with many extracts, and loved them all the same. Nothing like a warmness of the cinnamon, the creaminess of the milk and the sweetness. MM, I have to go get some more!

This is my first time using arborio rice in a rice pudding, but as it is a creamy rice on its own, I was sure it'd make my all-time fave comfort dish twice as creamy, and it did!

Coconut Arborio Rice with Blueberries

2 cups water

4 T unsalted butter

Pinch of Salt

1 14 oz can of evaporated milk

1 14 oz can coconut milk

1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup sugar

2 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

1 t ground cardamom

pint of blueberries

This is delicious hot or cold!

Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil.

Add rice and cook on medium, stirring rice occasionally, until rice has absorbed the water, but the rice isn't mushy.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, mix together remainder ingredients except the blueberries and add to rice.

Cook on medium low, cover, but keep and eye on it stirring it occasionally. Takes from 30 to 35 minutes for the rice to absorb the milk creaminess.

Put blueberries in the bottom of a bowl and pour hot rice mixture over it.

 Sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamom then, put in fridge. If you want it right away like my husband and I, just swirl the blueberries around. Growing up we used raisins. If you do, put raisins in at the last 10 minutes of cooking. Oh and my husband really enjoyed this as well!

Hope you try this and and enjoy!!!