CREAMED MUSHROOM SOUP

Mushrooms are great and abundant during the monsoons. My favorite way of having them is cleaned and tossed with some olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic and pepper and parmesan. I can sit through a whole bowl of simply tossed mushrooms watching the rain come down. The other fantastic way is to have them as a soup or if you feel adventurous, at the pureeing stage you could add sundried tomatoes or artichokes and make yourself a wonderful pate to be had with crisp baguette slices.

How to prepare CREAMED MUSHROOM SOUP?

Ingredients:

·         Olive oil:  15ml

·         Chopped garlic: 15ml

·         Chopped onions: 20gm

·         Button mushrooms: 400gm

·         White wine: 30ml

·         Mushrooms stock: 600ml

·         Salt:  To taste

·         Fresh crushed black pepper: To taste to garnish

·         Extra virgin olive oil: 10.ml

·         Parsley leaf: a few

Method

1.       Slice the button mushrooms.

2.       Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté chopped garlic and onions together.

3.       Add the sliced mushroom and cook a few minutes, then add the white wine and reduce.

4.       Cook to dry out and cool.

5.       Puree the mushrooms in a blender until very fine.

6.       Prepare the soup by adding the puree to the warm mushroom stock in a saucepan.

7.       Season well and pour into soup cups.

8.       Add drops of a top quality extra virgin olive oil on top of the soup and a small parsley leaf.

VADA PAV RECIPE

The Fast Food Vegetarian Recipe.

The vada pav is an extremely popular vegetarian fast food sold on sidewalks, and in starred restaurants all over the city. It is cheap, hot, filling and, in comparison to so many other dishes that are classed as ‘fast’, nutritious – starchy, energy-rich and not too greasy.

How to prepare VADA PAV?

Vada Pav (serves 6 generously)

Ingredients:

·         7-9 medium sized potatoes, boiled and smashed

·         3cups gram flour (besan)

·         Oil for frying

·         Salt

·         1 and 1/2 small piece ginger, chopped

·         5-7 ( or to taste) green chillies, chopped

·         1 cup coriander leaves, chopped

To temper:

·         1 and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

·         Curry leaves ( as many as you like)

·         1 tsp mustard seeds,

·         3 tsp oil

Method to prepare the Vada Pav

1)      grind garlic,  ginger, and green chillies fine;

2)      Add ginger-garlic-chilli paste, coriander leaves and salt to the potatoes.

3)      Heat 2 tsp oil and splutter mustard seeds; add turmeric powder and curry leaves. Pour on the potatoes and mix.

4)      Shape mashed potato-masala mixture into small bails.

5)      Add salt to taste, turmeric powder and chilli powder to taste to the gram flour. Add water gradually and mix until a thick batter is formed.

6)      Heat oil. Gently coat the potato balls in batter and drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and drain well on absorbent paper; if you want to be authentic Mumbaiyya, you need the oil, but health wise it would be better to avoid it.

7)      Split each pav, keeping the base thicker than the top half, and slather on garlic chutney, peanut chutney or green chutney.

Sandwich the vada in it. Add fried green chillies, whole, for that extra spark.