Red curry Tofu Soup

This delicious noodle soup has Burmese origins but is now more closely associated with Thailand. It is the Thai equivalent of the Malaysian dish laksa.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g tofu cut into cube sizes

2 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 red chilli chopped

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger

200 ml coconut cream

2 tbsp curry paste (use curry powder mixed with water)

1 tbsp chilli powder

200g noodles

1 tsp turmeric powder

Spring onion & coriander leaves for garnishing

Method 

Stir fry tofu adding soy sauce, until it's brown. In the same pan add red chilli, onion, garlic ginger paste and sauté for a minute or two. Set them aside.

Pour coconut cream, curry paste, chilli powder, turmeric, and stir until colour changes and it forms into a thick paste. Add soy sauce, 1 bowl of water, stir and bring to boil for 5-10 minutes.

Separately cook or microwave noodles and set aside.

When soup is boiling add cooked noodles and fried tofu mixture, salt to taste and stir well.

Turn off the heat serve soup in bowls, garnish with spring onion and coriander leaves.

Cabbage, Capsicum and Leeks Varai

This is a Sri Lankan stir fry dish, with grated coconut. Coconut is one of the main crops in Sri Lanka, hence most of the Sri Lankan curries will be made either with coconut cream or shredded coconut.

You can apply the same method of cooking to prepare similar “varai” dishes, with other vegetables or greens of your choice. Some of them are grated beetroot, carrots, snake gourd, boiled and grated ash plantain, pumpkin, ribbed gourd etc.,

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

100g Cabbage thinly sliced

1 long capsicum sliced diagonally

½ leek stick finely chopped

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 onion chopped

1 dry red chilli chopped

1 green chilli chopped

1 tsp of each mustard and fennel seeds

Pandan / Rampe leaves (Optional)

2 tbsp Grated coconut

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Heat oil in a large pan, sauté onion, green chilli, dry red chilli, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, pandan leaves (optional), and grated coconut for few minutes till coconut is slightly browned.

Then add chopped cabbage, capsicum, and leeks; stir fry for 4-5 minutes till vegetables are cooked.

Season with salt and chilli flakes. Serve with rice.

Split Pea and Pumpkin Soup

Yummy soup for a tasty vegetarian dinner

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g yellow split peas, washed

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp minced ginger and garlic

400g pumpkin chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

Chopped coriander for garnishing

2 tsp cumin powder

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Method

Heat oil in a large pan, sauté onion and ginger garlic paste for a minute. Add yellow split peas, bowl of water, turmeric powder, curry powder, chilli powder, stock cube, tomatoes, pumpkin and bring to boil in low heat for about 30 min’s till split peas and pumpkin is soft.

Season the with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with coriander leaves.

Sri Lankan Lunch

Traditional Sri Lankan lunch is a colorful spread; main course is samba rice/red raw/ red parboiled rice, served with colourful curries, such as yellow curry – Dhal, Red curry – thick meat or vegetable gravy, green curry – leafy vegetable stir fry called mallum / keerai varai, and another stir fried vegetable curry. Lunch will be served with delicate wafers called papadums, and salty fried mor milagai (yoghurt chilis). This meal tastes good as it looks!

Above picture - Lemon rice, fried bringal curry, stir fried potato curry and cucumber tomato salad.

Red Parboiled Rice, served with Kangkung stir fry(green), cabbage potato curry(yellow), tofu and peppers stir fry, & potato gravy. Accompanied by crispy Pappadam and yoghurt chili (Mor milagai).

White rice served with Drumstick gravy(Brown), cabbage stir fry(yellow), fried egg plant, and Manathakkali keerai varai (Black Nightshade leaves stir fry). Of course meal is not complete without pappadam and yoghurt chili.

Green Pea and Spinach Soup

Spinach is rich in iron, calcium, folic acid, vitamin A & C. They are an inexpensive way of supplying necessary nutrition to our body.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic & ginger

50g de-frozen green peas

50g de-frozen sweet corn

1 vegetable stock cube

Handful of fresh mint leaves

 300g spinach leaves roughly chopped

50g macaroni pasta

1 tbsp cream / yoghurt / milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat oil in a large pan, fry onion and minced garlic and ginger for 2 minutes. Add stock cube one bowl of water, macaroni pasta and bring to boil.

Separately boil water in a sauce pan, when it’s boiling add ½ tsp salt, add spinach leaves, green peas and sweet corn. Leave it for a minute and drain water, set aside.

When macaroni is soft, add water, cream, salt and pepper to your taste. Turn off the heat add blanched spinach, sweet corn, green peas

Serve in soup bowls, garnish with mint leaves

Chunky Bean with Vegetable Soup

This is a classic rustic Italian Soup flavoured with rosemary, delicious served with chunks of garlic bread

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

100g cowpea (black eyed pea) – boiled

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger

1 celery stick finely chopped

1 carrot finely diced

1 tbsp tomato puree

½ tsp dry rosemary

1 bay leaf

200g tomatoes chopped

1 vegetable soup cube

Salt and pepper to taste

Spring onion chopped

Method

Heal oil in a pan, add onion, garlic ginger and tomatoes sauté for 3 minutes. Add soup cube, 1 bowl of water, rosemary, bay leaf, tomato puree and celery bring to boil for about 5 minutes.

Add carrots and cook till it's soft. Lower the heat, add black eyed peas, and salt to taste.

Serve in soup bowls and garnish with spring onion.

Fennel & Cannellini Bean Stew

Cannellini beans are popular in Central and Southern Italy, particularly in Tuscany. An excellent source of protein, iron, magnesium and folate; vegetarians can substitute this for fish or chicken. 

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

100g boiled cannellini beans

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp minced garlic & ginger

1 onion finely sliced

1 leek finely sliced

400g tin tomatoes chopped

1 bay leaf

1 large fennel bulb, halved, and sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 vegetable soup cube

For garnishing

Mint leaves

Fennel leaves

Method

Heat oil in a large pan sauté onion, garlic ginger, leeks for 3 minutes, until it changes to golden brown colour.

Add fennel, tomatoes, vegetable cube, bay leaf stir for 2 minutes. Add 1 bowl of water and simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes.

When soup is simmering add boiled cannellini beans, salt and pepper, mix well.

Ladle soup into bowls garnish with mint leaves and fennel leaves.