Cream of Mushroom Soup

A healthy soup recipe for everyone. It is not too heavy though it uses cream. Tastes good when served hot. 

Ingredients :

1. Mushroom- 10
2. Salt to taste
3. Butter- 2 tbs
4. Pepper powder- 1/4 tsp
5. Worcestershire sauce- 1 tbs
6. Home made stock- 2 cups
7. Sour cream- 1 cup
8. All purpose flour/cornflour- 1 tbs
9. Garlic- 2 cloves

Procedure :

Wash and chop the mushrooms. In a deep bottom pan add the butter and the chopped mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms until they leave water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes until the water evaporates. Now add the flour and mix well. I used all purpose flour but you can also use cornflour. This is done to give a certain thick consistency to the soup. Pour the home made stock and cover the pan and cook over medium flame. Add the garlic too.

Now for the stock , I have used chicken , carrot , bay leaf , cinnamon , clove , salt , black cardamom and whole black pepper. In a cooker add some oil and fry all these ingredients together then add 2 glass of water. Cover the cooker and cook it for 15 minutes on medium flame. A nice aromatic stock is ready to use!!

When the stock starts to thicken up , add the cream and mix well. Sprinkle pepper powder , sauce and salt to taste. Cover and cook until the soup reaches its desired consistency. Here I would suggest to use a little less salt before so that when the soup thickens up , it does not turn out to be too salty. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool down a bit. Then blend the whole soup into a smooth puree. Boil once again before serving.

Strawberry Roulade

 This is the first time I tried my hands on roulade recipes. And what else can I make apart from the famous Strawberry Roulade!! The mild sweetness of this roulade impressed us a lot as we both are not that big fan of sweets. If you prefer extra sweetness, you can change the sugar quantity according to your taste.

Ingredients :

1. Egg- 6
2. All purpose flour- 100 gm
3. Confectioner sugar- 200 gm
4. Whipped cream- 200 gm
5. Strawberry- 1 cup

Procedure :

In a bowl take the egg whites. Now while separating egg whites from the yolk be extra careful. If you mix up the yolk with the egg white , the beaten egg white will never be stiff enough. Beat the egg whites until they turn fluffy and stiff. Keep it aside. In a separate bowl take the egg yolks and mix well. Add the sugar and beat until the color turns pale and the mixture becomes fluffy. Fold in the flour. Do not over mix it. Pre heat the oven at 350 F. Prepare the baking pan. You can spray some cooking oil and dust a little flour in the pan or you can use a baking sheet. Fold in the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Mix well and pour the batter in the baking pan and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the surface turns light brown. Test with a toothpick if its done or not. Take out and roll it softly. Do not put much pressure. I rolled it while it was warm so that it does not break. Keep it rolled for 5 to 7 minutes.

 Meanwhile, beat the cream and add some more sugar if needed ( I added 3 tbs sugar). Take half of the strawberries and puree them. Cut the remaining strawberries into pieces. Now open the roll. Spread the strawberry puree and then the cream and on top place the strawberry pieces. Roll it again and hold it with the help of toothpick. Place it in refrigerator for 2 hours and then cut the roulade into pieces and serve.

Laal Murg

Its a similar version of Laal maas that is a famous Rajasthani lamb recipe. Here I have used chicken instead of lamb. But the dish came out pretty good. And specially the red color!! And the most amazing part is that I did not find it too spicy :)

Ingredients :

1. Chicken breast- 3
2. Onion- 1
3. Tomato- 1
4. Dry red chilly- 7
5. Bay leaf- 1
6. Clove- 3
7. Green cardamom- 2
8. Cinnamon- 2
9. Garlic paste- 1 tbs
10. Ginger paste- 1 tsp
11. Curd- 2 large tbs
12. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
13. Coriander powder- 2 tbs
14. Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
15. Crushed black pepper- 1/4 tsp
16. Chicken masala powder- 1/4 tsp
17. Salt to taste
18. Ghee


Procedure :

Wash the chicken breasts and cut them into medium chunks. Soak the dried red chillies in warm water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile finely chop the onion. Make a smooth paste of the chillies. In a pan add 2 tbs ghee and add cardamom, cinnamon, clove and bay leaf. Fry them for a minute until they leave a nice aroma. Add the chopped onion and fry until they turn brownish. Add 1 tbs of the chilly paste and fry until the mixture turns dark red in color. Add ginger and garlic and fry until the raw smell goes off. Add all the masalas and if needed some more ghee and fry until the mixture starts sticking to the base. Add the chicken chunks and fry them, covering the pan.

 Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes and then add puree of the tomato. Beat the curd properly in blender. Let the chicken soak the tomato puree. Cook on medium heat. When the tomato is soaked add the curd and cook until the curd is soaked completely. Add some water and add salt. Cover the pan and cook until the chicken is done. Sprinkle the crushed black pepper.

Serve it hot with plain rice or paratha.