Spiced Carrot and Ginger Soup

Its already been two and a bit years since we moved to Canada, and during this time, I have changed in many ways. Be it that ubiquitous 'eh' at the end of every sentence, or getting 'oot and aboot', life changed in more ways than I assumed it would. However, one of the few habits that I retained from my UK life, a banal one, but still... is the way in which I do my grocery shopping. When living in England, we never really did a massive weekly/ monthly shop. Instead we'd go out every other day, and stock up on fresh produce and staples. Occasionally we did a big Tesco shop, but the convenience of delivery meant that I never really had to carry massive bags of groceries home.

I do miss grocery delivery here in Canada, particularly when its cold and miserable out :)

That said, being car less, means that we do have to do our shopping 'European style' so to say, because I am kind of limited in what I can carry back with me. Which means, everything stays in small packages, and fruit and vegetables are bought in smaller quantities. I also do a Saturday shop at the farmer's markets after Aditi's swimming lessons, where I stock up on produce and sometimes, meat.

However, on the occasional weekend, we hire a car. This gives up the opportunity to do a bigger shop for pantry staples, as well as go to ethnic stores, which are a pain to get to using transit. One such shopping expedition resulted in a giant bag of carrots :)

So this bag of carrots is sitting in the fridge, looking back at me accusingly every time I open the crisper. 'You bought us' they seems to be saying. 'You have to use us up... remember you don't like waste' (OK, I am losing it, aren't I? Carrots talking to me and all that...) But all that guilt finally got to me, so on a beautiful warm Sunday, I grumble and moan about wanting to make salads, but get out my soup pot and make this soup instead, knowing that I am probably going to get a quizzical 'soup?' from Kay and Aditi.

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Indian Classics - Chicken Chettinad

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through a few of the recipes I collected from my family. When I was back in India, I got into a habit of collecting recipes of the dishes that my mum and family cooked for us, and I also made it a point to get all the recipes that I could from my grandmothers as well. My grandmothers are quite elderly, and very often don't remember exactly how to make a recipe, even though they are able to tell me how it should taste and what the flavours are. In which case, I have to clarify several times with my mum and aunts to make a certain dish, and the ingredients for it. It's an interesting process for sure, almost like a jigsaw and when the pieces all fit, its a really great feeling of recreating a dish that predates me :)

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JC100 - Julia Child's Omelette Roulée (with a Teeny Indian Twist)

You know what they say about blog posts. None for ages, then two come along at once :)

I am very honoured to be part of JC100, a celebration for the esteemed Julia Child's 100th birthday on August 15th, 2012. As part of the celebration, Julia's publishers Alfred A. Knopf is spearheading a a national campaign involving restaurants, chefs, bookstores, and bloggers, all celebrating Julia and her legacy. The aim is to raise one million voices in tribute to Julia, and I am absolutely chuffed to be adding my voice to this beautiful symphony of great food.

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Strawberry and Rose Lassi

I have had the kind of week that I have really wished, on many ocasions, that I could just go back to bed and sleep it away. Sadly, between a very sick husband and daughter, I have had more than my share of broken nights and completely crazy days. The internet and cable then crashed on us, and if you have ever had a very sick child and no TV you will know exactly what I went through!

I then misplaced both my wedding and engagement rings, along with a beautiful set of earrings that Kay had given me for Christmas. I still haven't found them, despite turning the house upside down. I am sure they'll show up somewhere obvious, and then I will just bang my head against the nearest wall... but for the moment they're still MIA.

I also decided to have a run of incredibly bad luck with public transport, missing buses and trains, getting on the wrong bus, getting completely lost in the Edmonton suburbs, being late for everything, and pretty much having Edmonton Transit messing with my head. Even the weather played silly bugs with me, bright and sunny one day, and then hailing on me (and these guys were BIG hailstones) the next.

And then, in a fit of blank headedness, I deleted my chaat masala post, and had to rewrite it from scratch. Bawwwwwwlllll!!!

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Ginger Scented Lemon Soda (Nimbu Pani) Rimmed With Chaat Masala and Rock Salt

If you've ever been to the south of India, the first thing that probably hit you, as you stepped off the plane is the intense heat and humidity, right? Kay described it as being 'slapped in the face with a hot wet towel' and I have to admit he's got it spot on. He also described some other unflattering elements of that experience, but I won't repeat them here... I don't want to stop you from experiencing India in all its glory.

Unlike popular expectations though, the whole of India is not uniformly hot. The North of India actually has seasons, and can get incredibly hot and cold. The climate in the South is more tropical, and the temperature usually fluctuates between a balmy 25 - 35 C, with intense monsoons between June and September. The rains are actually a blessing, as the heat would have been unbearable during this season otherwise. We like to joke that there are three seasons in the South, hot, hotter and hottest, and each vying to make you the most uncomfortable. A lot of people don't realise that its not the heat that gets you, though, its the humidity. That wet towel feeling, to be precise.



So the one thing you do need to do while visiting India is keep well hydrated throughout your journey. This can be a lot harder than we realise. Having grown up in the heat, as kids, we were kept well watered througout the year. Be it tender coconut water (one of the biggest coolers around!), fresh fruit juices, this nimbu pani and... erm... Pepsi, the one thing that was drummed into us pretty constantly was the need to keep drinking fluids constantly.

Which is why it was a tad embarrassing, I suppose, when I got my first ever sunstroke in Terrace, BC, Canada, as opposed to Mangalore, India :) But that's a story for another time.



So, that universal cooler, lemonade. Pretty much every country in the world has its own recipe for lemonade. Be it those tall, frosty glasses here in Canada, or the little kids selling it on suburban streets, its a ubiquitous drink that needs no introduction, or, even for that matter, a recipe. In India, lemonade is called 'nimbu pani' or 'lime water', and is sold on every street corner, usually with gigantic cubes of ice and a splash of soda. Sometimes, its is scented with the unique spiciness of ginger, and I must admit that this version is my personal favourite.

A significant portion of my university life was spent in the dhaba (street eatery) outside my hostel, drinking copious amounts of this sweet/ salty drink, in a futile attempt to battle the horrendous Delhi summer. I reminisce about my days at uni, in this post for Maamu's mango lassi, but lets say the honours were shared equally between his 'nimbu pani' and his lassi! To add an exotic, unusual touch, I rimmed the glasses with my homemade chaat masala and splashed in a few lemons and limes. I love this drink, and as summer approaches, I am looking forward to having loads of it on the deck, perhaps enlivened with a cheeky dash of gin, what say?





Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)

Ginger-Lemon Syrup

Juice of 3 lemons
Juice of 1 lime
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ cup sugar (or to taste)   

To Serve

Club soda or sparkling water
A generous pinch of salt
A teaspoon of chaat masala (try my homemade recipe)
A teaspoon of coarse rock salt or sea salt
Lemon or lime slices
Mint leaves (optional)

Method:

To make the ginger-lemon syrup, combine the lemon and lime juices with the ginger and sugar in a small pan.

Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for about 3 - 4 minutes.

Cool, then strain through a fine sieve or a muslin cloth, discarding any ginger solids. This syrup will keep for about two - four days in the refrigerator, and can also be frozen.

To serve, spread out the salt and chaat masala on a plate. Rim the glasses with a mixture of chaat masala and coarse sea salt.

Place 3-4 tablespoons of syrup in a tall glass. Top up with club soda.

Garnish with a lemon or lime slice, and mint leaves, if desired.

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