Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Vegetarian

Spiced Butternut Squash and Orzo Soup

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Alright I’ve got a wonderful recipe for all your soup-lovers! Hearty and healthy, sweet and warm, thick and smooth – this spiced butternut squash and orzo soup is the perfect concoction for a cloudy October day, especially if you’re watching your calories.

To start this soup off, I chop and cube up a butternut squash. With its sweetness and versatility it’s one of my absolutely favorite seasonal vegetables and its vibrant orange color certainly a show-stopper in this soup.

I also use leeks, carrots, and kale. All autumn vibes. All good stuff that’s nutritious and guilt-free.  

For starch, I add in a nice serving of orzo. Now, orzo looks like rice but is actually made of semolina flour – and dare I say it, orzo in a soup tastes even better than rice in a soup. I used a brown whole wheat version which makes me feel even better about eating it from a health-wise perspective, cause you know complex carbs are better than simple carbs and all. But you can use whatever you like!

As for stock, I use concentrated vegetable stock that comes in the jar – I prefer this  product because I think it tastes a lot better than boillion cubes and the stock that comes in big boxes. Plus with this method, you can control how much flavor and salt goes into your soup – not to mention, it will last in your fridge for several months!

Many people complain that vegetable soups are bland – but this soup has a secret ingredient which elevates it into another realm – a heaping tablespoon of garam masala. The warmth of cinnamon, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and all the other spices in your mix brings out tremendous depth and works amazingly with fall vegetables.

And there you have it! A healthy and comforting vegetable soup spiced with Indian flavors. Save your run to Panera and make this soup at home instead. You won’t regret it.

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Spiced Butternut Squash and Orzo Soup

A hearty fall soup consisting of butternut squash, leeks, carrots, kale, orzo, and seasoned with garam masala - a warm Indian blend of spices. 

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 6 cups butternut squash cubed equivalent to 1 squash
  • 1 cup leek about 1/2 a leek
  • 1 cup carrot
  • 1 1/2 cup kale
  • 2/3 cup orzo
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp concentrated vegetable stock paste (will be added to water to make stock) can substitute with 4-5 cups vegetable stock
  • 7 cups water (or to taste, depending on how thick you want your soup to be)
  • salt or to taste
  • 2 Tbsp garam masala
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Chop up your vegetables - butternut squash, leeks, carrots, and kale. Set aside.

  2. In a large soup pot on medium-high heat, add in your olive oil.

  3. Now add in your vegetables. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Add in the salt and bay leaf. (Do not cook all the way through.)

  4. Add in your orzo. Stir. Now add in your vegetable stock paste along with the water. 

  5. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium-low heat. 

  6. Stir in your garam masala, black pepper. Taste and adjust for salt. Your soup is ready! Serve with crusty bread. 

Achaari Fried Rice

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This dish is quite nostalgic for me because I used to make it a lot back in undergrad. It’s the perfect I-don’t-have-enough-time-to-make-a-full-fledged-course-but-I-need-to-stop-eating-out-so-let’s-whip-up-something -quick-and-easy-from-the-four-things-I-have-in-my-fridge-type of meal.

The idea for the dish came together naturally on its own – I think one day I wanted to make some simple fried rice and it just hit me that I could use the homemade lemon achaar my mom had packed for me as a spice paste to make it extra flavorful and spicy.

I took whatever veggies were in my fridge, some day-old basmati rice, ginger and garlic, some soy sauce, a couple teaspoons of mom’s achaar -fried it all up and topped it all with a runny yolk egg for some extra protein and comfort.

Now of course you do not have to use homemade achaar – this is very much a use-whatever-is-in-your-pantry type of dish so a store-bought achaar will do just fine. Use whatever type you like – lemon, cabbage, ghosht, kerala – as long as you like the brand it will taste good.

This is a simple fusion that came together accidentally – but as proven time and time again, sometimes the dishes that are the least deliberately planned end up being the best.

And there you have it! A super easy and fun Indian twist on a fried rice dish – perfect if you want a little something that’s satisfying with minimal effort.

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Achaari Fried Rice

An Indian version of fried rice that uses achaar as a spice-paste for extra spiciness and flavor

Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup day-old basmati rice may use regular short-grain rice
  • 3/4 cup chopped veggies of your choice I use 1/4 cup of cabbage, carrot, and green beans each
  • 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 2.5 tsp achaar of your choice
  • 2 1/2 tsp oil
  • 1-2 1/2 tsp soy sauce (or to taste)
  • 2 green onions
  • 1 tbsp cilantro

Fried Egg with Runny Yolk

  • 1 egg
  • 4 tbsp oil

Instructions

  1. Chop/jullienne your vegetables and set aside. 

  2. Add your oil in a wok on high heat. First add in your veggies. After 1-2 minutes, add in ginger-garlic paste and then your rice.

  3. Using your spatula, separate the rice kernels and allow them to fry in the oil.

  4. Add in your achaar and and soy sauce and incorporate into the rice. Allow the rice to brown. 

  5. Taste and adjust for seasonings. You may need to add more or less soy sauce depending on how salty your achaar is. 

  6. Set your rice aside and work on your fried egg. In a small frying pan, add in your oil. Then crack in your egg. Once the edges start crisping up, remove the egg with the spatula and drain the oil on a small plate lined with paper-towel. (If you want a runny yolk, make sure not to leave it in for too long. Gently press on the yolk to see how far it is cooked. It shouldn't take more than 90 seconds!) Top your fried rice with the egg and garnish with green onions and cilantro.

Dahi Vada

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Dahi vada is the quintessential desi iftar comfort food; you’d be hard-pressed not to spot it at least a few iftar parties that you go to. It’s tangy, cool, fried yet not heavy, and full of amazing aromatics – thus making it the perfect dish to break a long day’s fast with.

There are different variations on the dish depending on where you are from. This is a Hyderabadi version and is my mother’s recipe.

As the name indicates, there are two key components to this dish – the dahi (yogurt) and the vada.

I start off by making vada. Vada are essentially soft fried little fritters. There are two main types of vada – one made with urad daal (lentil) and the other with besan (chickpeas flour). This time around I used chickpea flour, although urad daal makes a killer vada as well.

I take some chickpeas flour and add in some spices/salt (cumin, coriander, chilli powder, fennel powder), ginger-garlic paste, along with some cilantro, green onions, and curry leaves. I mix in some water along with a pinch of baking powder until I get the consistency of thick pancake batter.

I then take spoonful’s of the batter and fry them up until they are a lovely golden brown.  They will puff up and should be airy and light in texture. I then add the vada into dahi that has been thinned out with water.

But this dish is not just fritters dipped in yogurt. Instead, I add in a bit of garlic and temper some oil with some brilliant aromatics – mustard seeds, cumin, dried chilies, curry leaves, asafoetida. I then add that on top of the yogurt. This step right here is what makes this dish so phenomenally, mouth-watering good.

This dish is special in my household because it is only made in Ramadan. It’s delectable and comforting and if you plate it right, it can definitely be a visual show-stopper as well!

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Dahi Vada

Ingredients

Vada (fritters)

  • 1.5 cup chickpea flour (besan)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 3/4 tsp fennel powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1 green onion
  • 3-4 mint leaves optional
  • 1 - 1 1/4 cup water
  • 3-4 cups oil for frying

Dahi (yogurt)

  • 3 cup yogurt
  • 2 1/2 - 3 cup water (or to taste)
  • 1 tbsp salt (or to taste)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 serrano pepper (optional)
  • 1.5 tbsp oil
  • 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3/4 tsp mustard seeds
  • 6-7 dried ancho chilies
  • 6-8 curry leaves
  • 1 pinch asoefitida

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, add in your chickpea flour along with your spices and salt. Whisk and combine. (Don't add the baking soda just yet.)

  2. Chop your cilantro, mint, green onions, and curry leaves. Add and combine to flour. 

  3. Slowly add in your water and mix. You want the mixture to attain the consistency of pancake batter (thick but still a little runny). 

  4. Let batter sit for 30-40 minutes. Before frying, mix in the baking soda.

  5. In a wok or heavy-bottom pot, add in your oil. Allow it to reach a temperature of about 350 F. 

  6. Add a few heaping tablespoon full of batter to your oil at a time. Fry until golden brown. The vadas should puff up. If they are taking too long, increase your heat and add less. If they are frying up quickly they will be raw on the inside. Lower the heat and/or add more vadas to the pot. 

  7. Remove with a slotted spoon and let it sit on a plate lined with paper-towel. 

  8. Add vadas to some warm water for 10-15 minutes. Let them soak a bit so they turn soft.

  9. Now work on your dahi (yogurt). Add your yogurt to a large serving bowl or tray with higher sides. Add water depending on how thin or thick you want your dahi mixture to be. Add salt to taste (this will depend on how much water you add as well - thicker mixture will require less salt). 

  10. Finely mince the serrano chili and garlic and mix. (You may also whiz it up in a food processor or electric grinder.) Remove vada from water and add in to the yogurt and make sure each one is soaked. 

  11. Before serving, temper your oil. Start off by having all your ingredients ready - curry leaves, dried ancho chilies, mustard seeds, and cumin seed- and set them aside.

  12. In a small frying pan or pot on medium heat, add in your oil and then your cumin and mustard seeds. Once they become fragrant and start to pop (after a minute or two), add in your dried chilies and curry leaves. Remove off heat and stir around for thirty seconds. Make sure nothing burns. 

  13. Spoon immediately over the dahi vada. Be careful not to let the hot oil splatter on yourself.

  14. Your dahi vada is ready to serve!