My Mulligatawny Soup Recipe

From Todd:
Thought I would share a recipe I created the other day, that the Mrs. & I thought was so good I had to make it again today. It can be slightly complicated if you don't have the spices handy. You'll need a blender and a sizable soup pot.

1 large Yellow Onion - diced

4-5 carrots - peeled & diced
3-4 stalks of Celery - washed & diced
3 cloves Garlic - chopped
1"- square of Ginger - peeled & chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper - chopped, seeds included
1 large Potato - peeled & chopped (I used a Yukon Gold about the size of my fist)
1/2 c. Yellow Split Peas - picked through & rinsed
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes - strained
1 T. Cumin seed
1 tsp. Coriander seed
1/2 tsp. black Cardamom seed*
2 tsp. ground Turmeric
6 black peppercorns
approx. 5 T. cooking Oil
10 c. Water
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
1/4 c. Whole Rolled Oats
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
Fresh Cilantro - washed and chopped


For the Rice:
1 c. White Rice (Basmati is preferable)
1 1/2 c. Water
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Combine and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until done.

- First, chop the vegetables.
- If you have a spice grinder then grind the cumin, cardamom, coriander & peppercorns together, set aside. This isn't completely necessary since you'll end up blending the whole concoction later, but if you skip this step the soup can have coarse bits and pieces of spices in it.
- Heat the oil. When hot add the onions and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the ginger, jalapeno, carrots, celery, potato. Stir to coat the vegetables. Cook another 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the split peas.
- Add the spices, with about 1 tsp. salt. Stir around and cook another 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes. Cook another minute.
- Add the cinnamon stick and water; bring to a boil.
- Simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add the 1/4 c. of Oats and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

- You'll have to blend this whole deal, so a submersion blender really comes in handy (now I know what I could use for christmas). What I do is blend it in batches transferring the blended soup into an intermediate pot and when I'm finished blending I add it all back together in the original pot. If you use a blender be careful!! The steam buildup can blow the lid off the blender. You have to take that plastic percolator looking thing out of the lid and use a dish towel to cover the open hole. Once it's blending you can move your hand off the top to allow steam to escape.
- Taste for salt desirability.
- Put about 1/2 c. of rice into a bowl and ladle the soup on top of it.
- Garnish with chopped Cilantro.
- Squeeze fresh lemon over the soup. This is probably the most important step in getting the soup to taste best. It actually can take a liberal amount of lemon, so keep squeezing until you find the taste that's right for you.
- I think that covers it, I'll read through this post again later on and check to see if I forgot anything. I might even try to add a picture tomorrow.


{notes}
* You can use cardamom pods, just seperate the pod from the seeds inside.
T = Tablespoon
tsp = teaspoon
c = cup
cheers!

Veggie Tofu Scramble

Vegan or Vegetarian
(serves 4)

Prepare potatoes:

Potatoes may be cooked up to two days in advance. (They taste great in burritos, too. So you may want to make extra!)

4 small red potatoes
1 T canola oil
1-1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1-1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp salt

Dice into 1/2" cubes (medium dice). Mix all ingredients in bowl. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes on a baking sheet. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Prepare tofu:

16 oz extra firm tofu

Rinse tofu. Crumble into colander to drain excess moisture. Set aside.


Get ready to scramble!

2 T canola oil
3 oz baby spinach (half of a 6 oz bag) or 1/2 bunch stemmed spinach
1 red bell pepper, diced
small red onion, diced
4-5 "sausage" links, cut into quarters
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt

In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage links to brown for about 3-5 minutes. Add onion, red pepper, saute for about 3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add turmeric, chili powder, salt and tofu. Stir to blend spices into tofu, cook for about 8 minutes. Add potatoes. Stir to combine. Add spinach, turn off the heat. Toss until spinach is wilted. Salt to taste.


Todd made these for breakfast and we ate them as is. We still had leftovers, so I made them into sandwiches a couple of days later. I reheated the scramble in a saucepan with a dash of water. I toasted the bread, then melted cheddar cheese on one slice and spread mustard on the other slice. Assemble, and voila! An egg and cheese sandwich, just (not quite) like dad used to make:)