Recipe: Roasted Curry Vegetable Soup

This was just so darn good, especially as the weather has gotten chilly around here...

Ingredients:

1 large rutabaga, peeled, cut into chunks

1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into chunks

1 large fennel bulb, fronds removed, cut into chunks

1 large cauliflower, separated into florets

1 large red bell pepper, cut into large chunks

1 large leek, ends removed, chopped finely

3 tbsp. minced garlic

3 tsp. curry powder

1 1/2 tsp. Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp. ground white pepper

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. dried mint

1 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. ground black pepper

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dry vermouth

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place chunked rutabaga, potato, fennel, cauliflower, and bell pepper into a large roasting pan. Drizzle 1/2 of the olive oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle evenly with the kosher salt and black pepper. Use a wooden spoon to mix the vegetables well and ensure they are coated evenly with olive oil. Roast the vegetables for 35 minutes.

In a large stock pot, melt the butter in the remaining olive oil over medium high heat. Add the leeks and garlic, cover, and saute for about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all the roasted vegetables to the stock pot. Add all of the remaining spices, chicken broth, heavy cream, and vermouth and stir well to combine. Raise heat to high and cook, uncovered, until boiling. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and recover and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until thick and creamy. Serve immediately.

Makes about 10 servings.

Recipe: Spicy Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

1 lb. of okra, stems cut off

2 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

2 cups of shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 bunch scallions, cut into 1 inch chunks

4 medium tomatoes, chunked into 1 inch cubes

10 garlic cloves, cut into 1/8 inch slivers

1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

6 tbsp. of Thai red curry paste (4 - 5 tbsp. if heat is a problem for you :))

3 tbsp. of fish sauce (to make this truly vegetarian, substitute 2 1/2 tbsp. of rice vinegar mixed with 1/2 tbsp. of sea salt for the fish sauce)

2 tbsp. minced lemongrass

1 tbsp. minced ginger

1 1/2 cups of coconut milk

1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

In a large wok or stir-fry pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, scallions, ginger, and lemongrass and saute until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, okra, and carrots and saute until the mushrooms begin to soften. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, fish sauce, and curry paste. Stir to combine all ingredients. Turn the heat to high and heat until the mixture is boiling vigorously. Then reduce heat to a steady simmer, cover, and cook for 40 - 45 minutes. Remove the lid and check the consistency of the curry. It should be of medium thickness, akin to a gravy. If the curry is really thin, whisk 1 tbsp. of corn starch with 2 tsp. of warm water and add to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the fresh cilantro as a final step. Serve immediately over jasmine rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Restaurant Review: Dosa

I have been wanting to go to this restaurant ever since it opened for two reasons - 1) I love South Indian food as it is much lighter and more veggie-heavy than the more creamy and heavy North Indian food that dominates Indian restaurants here and 2) The reviews from other people I know have been raving. So, my good friend Mistress Paulina picked this for our weekend get together last night.

It was a 45 minute wait (WARNING: they do not accept reservations for fewer than 5 people) and we were surrounded by the people I love to hate - invaders from the Marina. The attitude these people throw make Lady Bunny look like an angel! But I digress...

The wine list is great - lots of selections by the glass, and, as you would expect from a restaurant specializing in spicy food, selections leaned primarily on Pinot Grigios, Sauvignon Blancs, dry Rieslings, Gerwurztramminers, and dry-style Chardonnays. I chose a 2005 Selbach-Oster Riesling (from Mosel Valley in Germany) that was just fabulous. Mistress Paulina had a beer... like she always does...

The pappadum they brought out as a snack was very good... some of the best I ever had. For a starter, I ordered these fried lentil dumplings that came with sambal (spicy lentil soup), tomato chutney, and coconut chutney for dipping. They were quite good... like little sourdough donuts... and the sambal was just divine. I ended up eating all of that stuff even when I ran out of the little donuts. Paulina had little lentil cakes that were stuffed with spinach and cauliflower and also served with the same chutneys. She liked them, although she wished they had more taste of the vegetables than of the lentils.

Now, this place is known for their “dosas” - huge crepes made of lentil flour dough and stuffed with various vegetable ingredients. We actually skipped over the stuffed dosas because their curries looked more interesting. I ordered the baby eggplant in a sesame, peanut, ginger, and onion curry with a side of uttapam for dipping (uttapam is similar to the spongy flatbread you get in Ethiopian restaurants... the lentil flour they use makes it taste like sourdough). Mistress Paulina ordered the peppered chicken curry with a plain dosa on the side for dipping. One thing of note - service here is quick once you get seated, but you don’t feel rushed. Our server was wonderful and timed things perfectly to our mood for the evening.

Both entrees were quite tasty - however, I was expecting to be bowled over given all the raves about the place and the fact that is always difficult to get in there, and I just wasn’t. I was disappointed in the portion size of my eggplant dish - it only had like 5 or 6 baby eggplants in the whole dish and a lot of the curry sauce. Mistress Paulina’s chicken dish was more properly sized. And the uttapam was a bit too sour for my tastes - good, but, Paulina’s dosa would have been the better accompaniment to the dish for my tastes. Also, prepare for spice - the dishes here are quite spicy, as they should be for South Indian cuisine, but it’s not overpowering.

Netting it all out it was a very pleasant meal, very pleasant service, but it just didn’t have the “wow” factor that we both were expecting after all we had heard about it. It was tasty and unique, but, admittedly I wouldn’t choose it again for a weekend meal - I’d wait for a weeknight and go back, and next time try the dosas.