Dumplings and vegetables soup

Dumplings and Vegetables Soup

A recent edition of Relish food magazine that comes with our newspaper had a recipe for chicken and dumplings soup. I based this soup on that, but of course made it vegetarian. Spices and veggies can be modified to suit your taste as this is a very versatile recipe. I went for a Mexican flavor for the soup.

Here's how I made Dumplings and Vegetables Soup:

Heat 2 tsp olive oil. Saute handful of onions till softened, about 5 to 7 mins on medium heat. Add finely minced garlic (1 clove) and cook 2 mins. Add veggies - I have used frozen Trader Joe's Veg Medley and frozen chopped spinach. Cook till thawed. Add 3 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup salsa, 1 tsp cumin pwd, 1/4 tsp paprika, little salt and sugar to taste.

For the dumplings - take 1/2 cup Bisquick mix. Add handful of finely chopped or grated veggies - I have used finely chopped colored peppers and grated carrots. Add 1 tbsp shredded cheese if desired - I have used Mexican cheese blend. Add little seasonings to taste - I used salt, pepper and cumin pwd. Add about 2 tbsp milk, little by little, and mix till it comes together like dough.

Add the dumplings mix, spoonful at a time, to the soup. Cook uncovered for 10 mins on medium heat, stirring once in a while. Then cover and cook on low for 10 mins. Add more broth or water as needed to get desired consistency. I kept the soup quite thick, not runny.

Serve this soup hot/warm. We enjoyed it with some quesadillas.

Superbowl Snacks

Today is Superbowl Sunday and since Seattle Seahawks are in the finals this time also, there is great excitement all around. We will be watching the game at our friend's place. Not being a big sports enthusiast, I am gonna show my spirit more in the food department.

Here's my prep for this afternoon:

Superbowl Stuffed Bread Buns

 I haven't made bread in ages, so was aching to make some. This gave me the perfect chance to make football shaped stuffed bread buns.

For the stuffing I used a mix of potatoes, onions and green bell peppers. I spiced it up with pav bhaji masala, salt, sugar and lemon juice.

The bread is made using my trusted recipe:

Heat 1 cup water to 100-110F, add 1 packet yeast and 1 tbsp sugar. Mix well and leave aside for 10 mins. It should froth by then.

Take 4 tbsp melted butter, 1.5 tsp salt and 1/2 cup milk pwd in a big bowl. Add the frothy yeast mix to it. Now add 3 cup flour, 1 cup at a mix. Mix well. Knead for 5 mins. Add few drops of oil and keep kneading another 5 mins. Cover the bowl and keep in a warm place for 2 hrs. The dough will double in size by this time. Punch down the dough, divide into about 15 balls. Stuff each ball with the potato mixture. Bring ends together and seal shut. Shape into oblongs and press ends slightly to give them football shape. Place on a baking sheet which is covered with foil. Cover the buns with a moist paper towel or kitchen towel. Keep in a warm place for 1 hour. Then brush tops with milk and bake in a pre heated 350F oven for 1/2 hour or until light brown on top.

Let them cool before decorating with the lace. For this I used room temperature Nuefchatel cheese with a pinch of salt and chaat masala. I also added few drops of milk to make it easier to pipe it. I filled this mix in a plastic bag, made a small cut in a corner and piped the lace onto the football buns.

Superbowl Gulab Jamuns

The host had requested for gulab jamuns, so I decided to give them a slight twist by making them oblong (football shaped). I used Chitale Gulab Jamun mix and followed the package directions to make the jamuns. I prepped only 1/3rd the stated quantity of syrup as I did not want the jamuns floating around in the syrup. I dunked the jamuns in the hot syrup only for about 5 mins each, then drained and plated them. For the football lace, I used melted white candy and almonds slivers (for the small lace across the center).