It was raining Cats and Dogs on Saturday Morning..and it was decided we are having soup for lunch . The menu was so apt for the weather . An hour after it was all ready, the sun was shining bright, rain drops cleared up from my french window and kids were all excited  to open up the door and start playing outdoor. Well that's the London Weather! Totally unpredictable. Thanks to the nearly perfect weather update on BBC, H did tell me the weather will improve. I didn't have the slightest hope though ...


Guess it was a week and half before,  PR firm and I were having a casual mail exchange about Soup Boosters. I was all excited to try the 4 flavors that were introduced new in the market. But when the courier arrived, little  did I expect the hamper to have a rustic wooden crate loaded with fresh vegetables and soup boosters - Aromatic Thai Paste,Wild Garlic and herbs,Roasted Moroccan and Mexican Chilli. Happy Feet indeed! The crate is a beautiful prop, any food blogger would die for.


Soup Boosters from the New Covent Garden Soup & Co are flavor enhancers. According to the recipe printed on the backside of the tubes, they ask you to squeeze in at least 1/2 the tube for 1 kg vegetable used for the soup. I so wanted to try the Thai Paste , but only when I went through the ingredients, I realised it contained Fish Sauce. Thank God !! I read the label.. I would recommend the company to label the paste V, if its suitable for vegetarians.


Let me warn you , this post is images Loaded. I just couldn't stop snapping .. If you would like to be a part of my photography exploration , continue reading...


Soup is energy packed , flavor packed and ideal when you would like to have something light.We ( H and me) love soups any time.. But little did I realize I had not exposed the little's in the family to soup of any kind. Woof!! A definite blunder. After this its a promise to myself that kids will be having all the varieties I am aware of at-least in the next 6 months.

Steam capturing was in my to do learn list last month. So whenever I cook something hot, I would quickly carry it to my set up and begin snapping. This steam captured in this soup is a continuation to my tea posts . That's where all the learning began. Whilst food is being cooked, set up is all done parallel y as we need to freeze the moment to capture steam. Any delay,steam would start falling off and we would need to reheat the food. I really didn't want to do it.. Hence all the early practice with the tea helped..



I tailored my Vegetable Soup to suit everyone in the family, neither over dozed in flavors nor too subtle.What goes in the Soup ??? Well It can be an assortment of vegetables readily available.. For my first version , I used some potatoes too ..

This particular ingredients image is first of its kind in my blog and I was very happy when I tried to do it.

VEGETABLE CLEAR SOUP Prep Time: 10 Min | Cooking Time: 20 Min | Serves 2-3 INGREDIENTS: 2 Cups of Chopped mixed vegetables ( Carrots, peppers – green and orange , broccoli, leeks ) ½ White Onion + ½ Red Onion finely chopped ½ tsp of grated Ginger 1 Tbsp. Corn flour + 2-3 tsp water 1 tsp Soya Sauce ½ tsp Sweet Chilli Sauce 2.5 Cups of Water ¼ tsp of Pepper Powder ¾ Tsp of Garlic and Herbs Soups Boosters ** Salt to taste DIRECTIONS:  ·         Wash the assortment of vegetables and chop them fine. ·         Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add finely chopped onions, followed by ginger .Fry until slightly translucent. ·         Add all the chopped veggies and sauté in medium flame for 2-3 minutes, until all the raw smell disappears and they are partially cooked. ·         Pour in 2.5 Cups of Boiling Water and allow it simmer for a couple of minutes. Approximately 4-5 Minutes, I would say. At this stage, season with salt, pepper, soya sauce and some sweet chilli sauce to suit your taste. Also add in ¾ tsp of Soup boosters to enhance the flavour. ·         Mix corn flour with just enough cold water to make a watery paste. ·         Add the corn flour paste to the simmered soup, allow 2 more minutes. You will eventually see the soup thicken slightly. ·         Garnish with the green part of the leeks. NOTES: **Instead of Soup Boosters, you may use 1 tsp of garlic paste at the time of frying Onions as replacement. If you are unsure on the proportion of soya sauce and sweet chilli sauce, leave it on the table as an add-on.

With Many thanks to New Covent Garden Soup & Co & Havasww for sending across the products.

Some food is just comforting and its purely for its simplicity yet delightful. There are many days when I want to eat something elementary ,healthy and delectable. When we talk about contentment and complacency in our meals ,every one has their own choices and they are mostly associated with childhood and growing up memories. Food that Mum's makes always has a personal touch of warmth and cozyness. She exactly knows what is that one favorite ingredient that can add a special touch to the same dish. My son loves his Aloo Paratha , Dosa's and Jaggery infused rice made just by me. Jacket Potato with cheese and beans is one of the fav food in UK , so is Crepe in France. Every single person will have their own definition and a different meal in comfort zone.
One of my favorite comfort food is just some warm phulkas with a bowl of Moong Dal and some yogurt.



Dal is a dried pulse that has been split. Both Husked and un Husked variety of Pulses are available and they can be cooked with an assortment of spices and served . Dal , also known as Lentil Stew is one of the staple dishes included in the meals in South Asia. In the South of India , Dal is served with Rice where as in the North of India it is served with Phulka's , Roti and other flat breads. In countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Srilanka too , Dal is cooked with variant spices that is locally produced and served with Rice or Flat bread.

Inspiration for this set of images is Deeba Rajpal's Dal Post. The moment I had seen the matka's containing the dal's , I couldnt hold my self back but try some pictures .Total coincedence that my friend had lent me her matka's the very same day .

 Moong or the Mung Beans is native to India and is used in an assortment of food , be it savory or sweet. One such adaptation is Moong Dal Tadka. Its a widely cooked dal and every house has their own touch in preparation.  In todays post , I am sharing a recipe that I have grown up eating. A recipe that my mum would make it any day ,when you need something quick and heavenly. This recipe has absolutely no frills. Moong Dal cooked with tomatoes and then tempered ( tadka )with seasoning ingredients .

There are more recipes made with Lentils in this blog. Savory Curry - Dal Makhani , Chana Masala, Rawlpindi Chole, Dal Tiranga , Molagooshyam , Keerai Mashiyal,Chickpea Sundal
Sweet - Maaladu



First of the recipes that I have learnt to cook . So I would recommend it to anyone - be it first timers or bachelors who want some Simple Ghar ka Khana ( Home made ) Dal  ( Lentil Soup/Curry) flavor packed.

INGREDIENTS ( Size of the Cup : 1 Cup - 250ml)

•  Moon dal Yellow - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 Nos chopped into quarters
• green chillies - 1 -3 depending upon hotness
• coriander leaves
• lime juice ( optional)

For Tadka

• ghee - 2 tsp ( if ghee is not available , use any cooking oil)
• jeera ( cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
• mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1 small onion chopped finely ( Optional )
• asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
• Dried Red Chilli - 1 Nos

DIRECTIONS

•  Dry roast the Moong Dal in a heated pan until you could feel the aroma coming up. Allow it cool .
• Wash the dal nicely under running tap water twice. Once washed well , add twice the amount of water to the dal , turmeric powder , diced tomatoes , green chillies and a pinch of salt. Cook the dal in the pressure cooker.
• Once the dal is cooked ,transfer it to a pan . Add 1/4- 1/2 a cup of water to achieve the desired consistency, allow the dal to boil for about a minute. Pop in the required amount of salt.
• Heat 2 tsp of oil or ghee in a small wok , now add cumin seeds & mustard seeds  and dried red chillies.Allow it to splutter and Sprinkle the hing powder.Turn of the gas and add the seasoning to the dal in the pan.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Serve your dal with hot phulkas/rotis for dinner.