Cream of Carrot Soup (Serves 2)

For the soup :

·         Fresh Carrots ( Do not use red carrots) – 10 pieces

·         Onion – 1 medium

·         Butter – 2 Teaspoons

·         ¼ cup Milk

·         ¼ cup cream

·         Ginger – a small piece

·         Salt to taste

·         Pepper to taste

·         Teapowder – 1 teaspoon

·         Coriander leaves – for garnishing

Wash and Scrape the outer hard skin of carrot with a knife. Cut into medium size pieces and place in boiling water. Place the teapowder in a small muslin cloth , tie it tightly and place it in the dish in which you are boiling the carrots. Add salt to taste. Once the carrots are cooked , puree it and keep the puree aside.

Heat butter in a dish. Add finely chopped onion and fry for 3 mins on high flame. Add finely chopped ginger , salt and pepper. Stir for 1 minute. Add the Milk to this and mix well. Add the carrot puree , mix well and boil for 1 minute. Now add the cream and remove it off the flame. Add coriander leaves for garnishing.

Serve hot with breadsticks.

Tips : Always use fresh carrots and fresh cream. This enhances the taste of the soup.

Thaalagam (Serves 2)

This dish comes from Tirunelveli and is one of my favorites for a typical Tambram Sunday brunch

For the Thaalagam :

·         Vegetables that you will use in Sambhar (1 cup)

·         Tamarind soaked in water for 30 mins (1.5 cups of this water)

·         Salt

·         Turmeric Powder

·         Jaggery

·         Mustard seeds

·         Oil

·         Curry leaves

For the Masala : (2 spoons each)

·         Sesame Seeds

·         Rice

·         Oil

·         Red Chillies

·         Chana Dal

·         Coriander Seeds

·         Coconut - Scraped

Dry roast the sesame seeds, rice (i.e., without oil). In a little oil, roast the red chillies,chana dal and coriander seeds. Grind the above with the coconut scrapings into a paste. Keep aside. Boil the vegetables in tamarind water with salt and turmeric powder. Add the paste and boil. Now add the jaggery. Cook till done (till the raw masala smell goes away and the vegetables are fully done) Season it with mustard seeds, curry leaves .Roast some coconut scrapings till they are golden brown. Add this to the thaalagam.

Serve hot with a steaming hot plate of white rice and potato curry and karudaam /vadaam

Tips :

Always serve thaalgam with hot rice. You can add as many vegetables as you want - plantain , yellow pumpkin , white pumpkin etc are show stealers. Never add ginger / garlis / onion to this dish.

Pasta Aubergine in Bechamel Sauce (Serves 2)

For the sauce :

·         200 gms butter

·         200 ml milk (cooked milk)

·         Salt

·         White Pepper

·         Seasoning (whichever herb you like in your pasta)

·         Flour / Maida

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add some salt to it at this point. Once the butter melts ,add the milk little by little and keep stirring. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add seasoning of your choice (I usually add dry basil). Addd flour to thicken the sauce. Add white pepper , remove from fire and let it cool. Béchamel sauce usually has cinnamon powder added to it. I don’t recommend

For the pasta:

·         200 gms pasta (Penne/Fusili)

·         Water

·         Herbs

·         Salt

·         Pepper

·         Olive Oil

Heat water in a pan. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs to this. Oil will ensure the pastas do not stick to each other and the spices are to give a flavor at this stage. Add pasta (I use Penne for this recipe. Fusili tastes good as well for this recipe) to boiling water. Strain pasta when done.

For the Vegetable base:

·         Aubergine – 1 Large

·         Onion – 1 large

·         Capsicum – 1 medium

·         Tomatoes – 2 medium

·         Garlic – 12-15 pods

·         Olive Oil

·         Butter

·         Salt

·         Pepper

·         Mixed herbs (Oregano, basil and other spices that you like in your continental food)

Heat Olive oil in a pan. Add salted butter to this. Add finely chopped onions and garlic and sauté. Add diced aubergine and capsicum to this. Add the tomatoes and simmer. Add salt, pepper and herbs. Once done , add the pasta and mix well. To this add the white sauce and remove from heat and mix well.

Put this in a microwave safe dish. Add Cheese(preferably parmesan) and cook on high for 5 mins. Serve hot with a bread of your choice.

Tips : I usually dont follow measurements to the tee. I go by gut feel and I guess thats what great cooking is all about. Try not to overcook the pasta - the recipe then becomes soggy.