thayirsaadham

Hey all,

Am alive. It’s just that things are crazy at work and I have started swimming classes and that leaves me with less time to cook and even lesser time to blog. Excuses, I know. When am I ever going to master time management? I have this window in the morning from 6:30 a.m to 8:30 a.m which I currently use for snoozing the alarm clock and burrowing deeper under the covers. I should use that time to blog/cook. Even if I don’t use that time to do something useful, I could use it to get ready for work at a leisurely pace. Now, I just get up around 8 a.m and then run around the house like a headless chicken getting ready. I have always wanted to have a relaxed morning routine. Is that ever going to happen?

I also started reading Zen Habits . In the words of the author - Leo Babuta - “Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.” Please do read if you get time. Though I am not even kind of close in doing the things on that blog, I like to read and pretend that I have a plan for doing those things. The first step of all my plans are - Start tommorrow. I am doomed, aren’t I?

I am going to post the recipe today and run away. I need work out a schedule so that I can blog more frequently. Pray that I should get this plan to move past the first day.

The weather in Seattle is back to normal and by that I mean, we are back to gloomy, chilly, windy days. All I want to do is to settle down on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and a good book. Also, do get hold of Bill Bryson’s books. I should warn you though that they are not fit for reading in public. Unless you are the kind of person who does not mind when people around shoot weird looks at you for slapping your thighs and laughing out loud at sporadic intervals. Seriously, he is damn funny.

Soooo, back to the recipe before you guys go “grrrrrrrrrrr”… I was looking for a good soup recipe to chase away the chilly weather. I love soups. They are healthy to eat, easy to cook and taste yummmy. Do you need more reasons? I had this book - A Beautiful Bowl of Soup (by Paulette Mitchell) and saw this recipe for a moroccan red lentil stew there. This book is good with lots of vegetarian soup recipes. I changed the recipe a little bit going by what I had in my pantry.The original recipe had white beans, rosemary, saffron threads and fennel seeds among the ingredients. I did not have any of those. So, I substituted with chick peas, dried spices and no saffron. I also changed the spices used and added some ground cumin and coriander because I like that combination.

Moroccan red lentil-bean stew
Adapted from A Beautiful Bowl of Soup - Paulette Mitchell

Ingredients

1. White Chick peas - 1/2 cup
2. Black chick peas - 1/2 cup
3. Red lentil - 1/2 cup
4. Rice - 1/2 cup
5. Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp
6. Onion - 1 (chopped finely)
7. Tomato - 2 (chopped finely)
8. Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
9. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
10. Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
11. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
12. Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp
13. Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
14. Salt - to taste
15. Cilantro - 1/2 cup

Recipe

1. Soak the chickpeas in water for at least 6 hours.
2. Pressure cook them for 2 whistles if you are using a pressure cooker. If you are using the stove top method, bring a pot of water to boil. Add the chick peas to it and simmer till the chickpeas are cooked a little bit. Make sure they are firm and not cooked to a mush.
3. Add the olive oil to the pot in which you are going to make the soup.
4. Add the onions and let it cook till the onions are browned.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook them till the tomatoes break down.
6. Add the tomato paste, dried oregano and italian seasoning and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Grind the coriander seeds and cumin seeds and add these to the soup pot.
8. Add the cooked chickpeas and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
9. In the meantime, wash the red lentils and clean them. Do the same with the rice.
10. Add the lentils and rice to the soup pot.
11. Add chilli powder and salt.
12. Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for around 30 minutes.
13. Just before switching off the stove, add the cilantro and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
14. Adjust for salt and spice level and switch off the stove.

When this soup simmers on the stove, there is this heavenly smell around the house. It makes you want to dig out your most comfortable (Read oldest) night wear and settle on the couch with a big bowl of soup and watch a rerun of your favourite sitcom (Read Friends). I had this soup with some corn muffins. I will be posting the recipe for those soon.

Off goes this recipe for AWED-Morocco event started by DK of ChefinYou and hosted by Pavani of Cook’s Hideout.

On an unrelated note, all you Seattle-ites, can you point me to good breakfast places near Seattle? Some place good for waffles? Stop drooling Indhu! I have been searching for one for a long time now. It is a completley different issue that by the time I wake up, they will be serving lunch. We will cross that bridge when we come to it