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I was immediately hooked on this month’s recipe and can’t wait for you to try it.  It’s taken from Torie True’s latest cookbook, Seven Kitchens: A Journey Through India’s Culinary Heritage, which is replete with family friendly, easy recipes that are exciting and deliver bold flavours.  This is a coconut soup that is super quick to put together (less than 30 minutes to include cleaning up time) using pantry items- see below for tips on what to have on standby.   I made it for lunch on a miserably wet day and it was both warming and held the promise of exotic holidays to come.  I’d be equally happy to serve it as a starter at a dinner party, it’s glamorous and elegant enough. If you thought coconut was just for dessert, this will make you think again.

ANGELA’S SUGGESTIONS

1. Pantry items: as we’re at the start of a new year, I wanted to remind you that a reasonably-well stocked pantry is key for motivation to cook at home.  If you spot a recipe where all the ingredients are already sitting there in your cupboard waiting to be used, you’re much more likely to give it a go. Here’s a condensed list of my essentials:

• Tins of chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, fish and beans
• Bags of lentils, chickpeas, freekeh, barley, pasta, rice
• Olive oil, vinegars, soya sauce, fish sauce, miso paste, molasses, tahini, mustards, ketchup
• Salt, sugar, stock cubes, pepper (especially white, which I generously added to this soup)
• Flour (plain and strong white bread), ground almonds, baking powder, fast action yeast, desiccated coconut
• Eggs
• Chili flakes, cumin (a sprinkle went into the coconut soup), cinnamon, sumac, zaatar, oregano, Lebanese 7 spices (I warned you that this is very much my pantry so lots of Lebanese and Palestinian bias)
• Ginger, garlic and onion powders, stock cubes, gravy granules
• Nuts (chopped, flaked, whole) and dried fruit (apricots and dates at least)
• Frozen spinach, peas, sweetcorn  (great to chuck in to soups- spinach and coconut are good together)
• Seeds (sesame, sunflower and so on, see more below)

2. Fennel seeds:  adding seeds to your soups, as here, or in stews, marinades or bakes is another great way to layer flavour and make your food tempting so that you get that lovely “oooh, I like that, what’s in it?” reaction.  Apart from fennel, I use cumin, mustard and caraway seeds a lot.

3. Garnish: As well as chopped coriander as Torie suggested, I topped my coconut shorba with roasted sliced almonds- they worked really well for taste, texture and tempting for the eyes.

4. Stock cubes:  I think these tend to be overused but for this soup, if you want to give it more body and don’t mind about it being non-vegetarian, some chicken stock would do the trick instead of the water.

Coconut Shorba

Typically, Mughlai cuisine is thought of as rich, decadent, robust and often meaty. Emperor Aurangzeb, the Mughal ruler from 1658 to 1707, was a devout vegetarian for most of his life, however. Shorbas (soups) were widely consumed during his rule as a light yet comforting vegetarian meal. This recipe is believed to have originated from the valley of Peshawar, historically known as the Gandhara valley, located in what is now Pakistan.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or coconut oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 large white onions, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 2-inch piece (30g) of fresh ginger, finely grated or chopped
• 1-2 fresh green chillies, roughly chopped (deseeded for less heat)
• 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk
• 500ml water
• 1 lime, juiced
• Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped including stalks
• Freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Method

1. Begin by heating the oil in a medium pan. Add the fennel seeds, followed by the onions and salt. Lightly cook for 4 minutes until the raw smell has dissipated and the onion is translucent.
2. Add the carrot, ginger and fresh green chillies. Stir for a minute before adding the tin of coconut milk and the water. Allow to simmer on a low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, by which time the carrot will have softened.
3. Add the lime juice and fresh coriander, then immediately blitz the soup with a handheld blender until smooth. You can then strain it for a thinner and smoother consistency if you like, or eat as is, topped with some freshly ground black pepper.

Seven Kitchens: A Journey Through India’s Culinary Heritage

Author: Torie True @chilliandmint

Food Photographer: Tim Green @timgreenphoto

Publisher: Meze Publishing: @mezepublishing

RP £25

Angela Zaher is a freelance writer based in London.  Her articles have been published in The Evening Standard, Delicious, Platinum, Good Housekeeping and Business Insider. Find her on instagram @angela_zaher

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