Cream of Mushroom Soup / காளான் சூப்

Cream of Mushroom Soup

காளான் சூப் 

 Ingredients:
Button Mushroom (காளான்)- 250 g
White Onion ( வெள்ளை வெங்காயம்)- 1 big size
Black peppercorns ( கருப்பு மிளகு) - 10 to 12
Butter ( வெண்ணெய்)- 2 tsp
Fresh Milk ( பால்) - 1 cup / 200ml
Salt to taste ( தேவைக்கேற்ற உப்பு)

Wash and dice the mushrooms. Peel and slice the onions.

Preheat a saucepan. Melt butter.

Saute onions on medium flame

Toss in the mushrooms and turn gently. 

Saute mushroom and onion in butter until done. Let it cool.
Save a few mushroom pieces for garnishing and transfer the rest to a blender, add the pepper corns and puree until smooth.

Return the pureed soup to the pan/pot. 

Add in the fresh milk, mix well.
Once it starts boiling, transfer to serving bowls.
Serve hot garnished with chopped sauteed mushroom. 

My Notes:

I love this cream of mushroom. It is not only a filling meal on its own but also the most preferred comfort food of mine. I can have this at any time of the day.

 I have not used any vegetable broth or water. Fresh milk enhances the mushroom flavour. So do not compromise on that and go for low-fat fresh milk.

Garlic nor any other spices are added as we prefer the simple tantalizing soup this way. Rich flavourful soup with minimum ingredients.

I always prefer whole black pepper for soups as freshly ground pepper releases rich flavour sealed in the corns. When you puree the ingredients, add in the peppercorns. White onion is a milder variant and best suits this recipe.

Serve hot with garlic toast. 

Beetroot soup (பீட்ரூட் சூப்)

Beetroot soup 

Ingredients:

Beetroot  -  2 (small size)

Small onions  -  6 

Garlic  -  4 Cloves

Tomato  - 1

Toor Dal  - 1/4 cup

Green Chilli  -  2

Butter  -  2 tsp

Salt and Pepper  - to taste.

Steps:

In a bowl of water soak beetroots for 10 to 15min ,then wash well in running water. This is to remove the sand particles that is present in this root vegetable. Though supermarkets sell washed ones, it is always better to wash again.

Peel onions, garlic and cut into small pieces.Cut the tomato into pieces.

 In a pressure cooker, boil beetroot and toor dal placing them in separate containers. Pressure cooking is fast and easy but if you like it, can cook in open pot as well. 

Mash the boiled toor dal into a fine pulp and keep it aside.

Peel the beetroot and cut into small pieces.

In a pot add a teaspoon of butter and saute the onions, garlic, tomato and green chilli.

When it turns soft, remove from flame. Let it cool

Blend the above with the cut beetroot to form a puree in a blender/mixie.

Transfer to the same pot, add the boiled toor dal.

Adjust the consistency by adding water.

Switch on the stove, allow it to boil.

Transfer it to serving bowls.

Add salt and pepper according to the taste and mix well.

Add a dash of butter on top.

Serve with toast or salad.

I had it with lettuce, carrot salad. 

My Notes:

Beetroot is one of my favourite vegetable. Considering its vast health benefits, was served frequently during my childhood by my Mom and I guess I have developed a liking since then.

 Beetroots are an excellent source of  folate and manganese and also contains thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid, choline, betaine,magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and selenium. People who are anemic are advised to include beetroot often in their diet  in various forms.

Beetroot juice supplementation has been shown to improve muscle oxygenation during exercise, because of the nitrates present.

Beetroot decreases the risk of obesity ,diabetes, heart disease and promotes a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, overall lower weight.

I love this veggie not only for its taste and health benefits but also coz of the variety of dishes one can make with this bright  reddie red  vegetable :)

Soup, Salad, Juice, stir fry, Sambar, kottu, Beetroot Rice, Beetroot Halwa, Beetroot cake .. the list grows. Not to forget the new, favorite of many, - natural red velvet cake with cream cheese  where beetroot is added to get the red color. 

I shall post the recipe for Beetroot halwa and Beetroot rice soon.

Timebeing, enjoy this yummy soup. 

Mixed vegetable clear soup

Mixed Vegetable Clear Soup

A sore throat, tiredness and a few additional commitments that popped up led me to cook this soup for my lunch. It turned out to be very soothing and yummy :)

Ingredients

Red Raddish (சிவப்பு முள்ளங்கி) - 1/2
Carrot - 1/2
Yellow Pumpkin - 1/2
Cabbage - 1/2
Broccoli - 1/2
Garlic - 1 tsp finely chopped
Butter - 1 tsp

To prepare the stock, you can use 1 tbsp of cornflour or 1 tbsp of mashed boiled Tur Dal. Mix the chosen ingredient in 1 cup of water. 

Note: The vegetables used here can be altered based on seasonal and regional availability

Steps 

Heat butter in a saucepan and saute the finely chopped garlic.
Add the raddish first, let it cook for a minute before adding the carrots.
Add the other vegetables next as these take less time to cook.
Saute them all for a min or two until it is half cooked. 
Add 1 cup of the prepared stock, cover and let it boil for a minute.
Add salt and pepper to taste. 


It is very filling and can be taken as a main course on days when you feel like having a  light meal.