Creamy potato-carrot soup

The last two days have been really windy and stormy here and both of us are fighting down a cold. So I thought nothing would be better as to have a hot and steamy soup. Also I wasn’t in the mood for much cooking today, so this recipe was quick and easy. Wishing you a nice day!!

Ingredients:

- 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 4 medium carrots, cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 Tsp. Cumin powder
- 2 Tsp. Coriander powder
- Red chilli powder to taste
- ½ Tsp. Turmeric
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup half & half
- 2 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

Method:

Heat oil and butter in a large pot. Add onions and garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then add potatoes and carrots. Fry for 2 more minutes, then add the vegetable broth. Let it come to a boil and add spice powders and salt. Let simmer till vegetables are soft. With a hand mixer blend to a creamy puree. Add the half & half and let simmer for 2 more minutes. Garnish with some parsley and serve.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Vanilla and orange-pomegranate parfait

The dessert recipe I am posting today came together as I had bought some pomegranates last week and wanted to try out something new with them. Of course I thought of making a dessert. :-) As I mentioned earlier we have a big sweet tooth, but I didn’t want to make anything heavy or overly sweet, so this dessert turned out just right. It has a nice tangy flavour and just the right sweetness.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:
For the vanilla creme
- 2 lb vanilla yogurt ( I used low-fat)
- Pinch cardamom powder
- ½ cup chopped walnuts

For the orange-pomegranate mush
- 2 pomegranates
- 2 oranges
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar

Method:

For the vanilla crème line a mesh with a thin cloth, place over a bowl and fill in the yogurt. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight to drain the whey.
In the meantime cut pomegranates in half and take out all seeds. Place in a small pot. Zest the oranges and add zest to pomegranates. Peel oranges and remove all skins to get filet's. Add to pomegranates along with cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods and brown sugar. Let it come to a boil, cover and let simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes with occasional stirring. Remove cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom and blend or grind to a puree. Filter through a fine mesh to remove small seed particles. Let cool.
Mix vanilla yogurt with cardamom and add in the walnuts. Layer vanilla crème and orange-pomegranate mush in glasses, starting with vanilla crème. According to your liking you can make 3 or 4 layers.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Sweet potato rolls with onion filling

Being a fan of all kinds of different breads and rolls I experiment quite a lot and try out new things often. I made this recipe a while ago for the first time and have since tried to perfect it, since S. likes it a lot. The last time it came out really good, so I can share it now with you. Wishing all a very nice day!!!

Makes 5-6 rolls.

Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 Tsp. salt
- 3 ½ cups unbleached white flour
- 2 Tsp. active-dry yeast
For the filling:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tsp. cumin seeds
- 1 Tsp. garam masala
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
- little olive oil and dried oregano for topping

Method:

Place sweet potato along with 1 ½ cups water and salt in a small pot and boil until soft. Transfer to a large bowl and mash to a puree. Wait until lukewarm. Mix flour with yeast and add step by step to the sweet potato. Knead until you have a smooth dough. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in size.
In the meantime prepare the filling. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add cumin seeds. When they pop, add onions. Fry until translucent and soft. Add salt and garam masala. Mix well and add parsley.
Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Knead dough well again. It will be a bit sticky. If too sticky add a little flour. Divide the dough into 5-6 portions and shape into balls. Flatten the balls and place about 1 Tbsp.of the filling in the centre. Cover with all sides and form again into a ball. (For this it will be helpful if the dough is still a bit sticky) Place onto the baking sheet. Brush some olive oil on top and sprinkle with some oregano. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Toor daal

Hi to all my dear readers. I hope you are all doing well. The last two weeks have been quite busy with family visiting so that I had no time left for my blog. I miss my family already a lot and it’s sad they had to leave again. However I am back to blogging and want to share new recipes with you all. :-) Coming to the recipe today- Toor daal is a very regular dish in our house and I mostly serve it just with plain rice. Very easy to make and healthy too.
Wishing everybody a good start into the new week.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup Toor daal
- 1 Tbsp. Ghee
- 1 Tsp. Black mustard seeds
- Pinch hing/asafoetida
- 2 dry red chilli
- 3 cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 Tsp. crushed jaggery
- 1-inch piece ginger, finely grated
- 1 Tsp. cumin powder
- ½ Tsp. coriander powder
- ½ Tsp. turmeric
- 5 curry leaves
- Red chilli powder to taste
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp. chopped coriander leaves

Method:
Wash toor daal and pressure cook along with 3 cups of water for 3-4 whistles. Wait for steam to release. In a pan heat ghee and add mustard seeds, hing, red chillies, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick and curry leaves. Fry till mustard seeds pop. Add daal along with cooking liquid and add about 1 more cup water. Add spice powders, salt, ginger and jaggery. Mix well and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add coriander leaves and serve.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Tiramisu

Hi to you all. Hope you are all doing good. Today I am posting another dessert since S. and I both have a big sweet tooth. :-)
Tiramisu is a popular Italian dessert which is one of my all-time favourites. It is however also very heavy, so that one can’t eat too much of it. It is traditionally made with raw egg, which I don’t like to use, so I used whipping cream instead in this recipe. Wishing you all a wonderful day!!!

Serves 8-10 people.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups Mascarpone crème
- ¾ cup espresso, cooled
- 1 ½ Tsp. Vanilla essence
- about 300g Italian ladyfinger biscuits
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 Tbsp. Amaretto
- 3 Tbsp. Cocoa powder, unsweetened

Method:

In a bowl whisk together mascarpone crème, vanilla essence and powdered sugar. Beat the whipping cream until fluffy and stiff and fold into the mascarpone mixture. Cover the bottom of a rectangular form (I used 8x11 inches) with half of the ladyfinger biscuits. Mix espresso with amaretto and drizzle half over the biscuits. Spread half of the mascarpone crème evenly on top. Place the rest of the biscuits on top and drizzle with rest of the espresso mixture. Spread the second half of mascarpone crème evenly on top. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or more to soak. Before serving sift the cocoa powder on top. Serve.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Apple tart for my 50th post!!!

This post today is my 50th post, and since I started this blog with a sweet cake, I also post something sweet today. :-) So far I enjoyed blogging and it has been fun to share recipes with you. I am thankful to the few who dropped me a note or comment and will be happy if more people give feedback or comment on my posts and recipes in the future.
This recipe is a simple apple tart which is not overly sweet. The dough is light, thin and crisp. Within no time half of the tart was easily finished in our house. :-)

Ingredients:

- 1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar + 1 Tbsp. reserved
- ½ Tsp. salt
- 6 Tbsp. cold butter + 1 Tbsp. reserved ( I used vegan butter for this recipe)
- 1 ½ apples, quartered and finely sliced
- 1 Tsp. cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp. ice cold water

Method:

For the dough combine flour with salt and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Cut the 6 Tbsp. butter into cubes and add to the flour. Incorporate with your fingertips. Step by step add the ice cold water and knead to a smooth dough. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In the meantime preheat oven to 375 F and grease a 9 ½ inch spring form.
Roll out the dough on a flour dusted surface and place into the form. Cover the bottom and press up slightly at the sides. Place the apple slices in a round on the dough. Mix ¼ cup brown sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle evenly on top. The sugar will caramelize and give a nice brown colour to the apples. Place the 1 Tbsp. butter in flakes on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes.
Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

Almond milk

This is just a short post today with a very simple recipe. Most people probably know about it, but almond milk is a favourite of mine and hence I make it often, so wanted to share it with you. This drink is very nutritious and can be consumed in morning or evening. I wish you all a very nice weekend with hopefully nice weather. :-)

Ingredients:

- 3 cups milk
- 30 almonds
- Pinch black pepper
- ½ Tsp. Cardamom powder
- Honey or jaggery to taste

Method:

Place almonds in a bowl, cover with water and soak over night. Peel off the skins and grind along with soaking liquid, black pepper and cardamom to a very fine paste. Heat the milk in a small pot and sweeten with honey or jaggery. Stir in the almond paste. Serve warm or cold.

Text and photographs are copyright protected. Copyright © Masalaflavour.blogspot.com 2009-2010. All rights reserved.