Azorean sopa de feijão (bean soup)

My husband Luis grew up in one of the most gorgeous places in the world, the Azores Islands. This rocky and volcanic archipelago of nine islands is part of Portugal but about two hours west of Lisbon, in the middle of the Atlantic. Luis spent most of his childhood on the biggest island São Miguel, in the capital city of Ponta Delgada. I was fortunate enough to visit with him once and found a place of extraordinary beauty and one that has been largely untouched by tourism, despite its verdant valleys, blue lagoons, rolling hills, miles and miles of hortencias and azaleas and bubbling hot springs. The Azorean people are simple, kind, deeply religious and strong, many of them emigrating since generations to the U.S. (most Portuguese in the U.S. are actually from the Azores), Canada, Bermuda and other places.

Mint & cashew chutney

Not much of a story behind this one, just that as I was in the midst of making those delicious rava idlis the other day, I realized that I didn't have much of the red bell pepper chutney that I'd made a few days earlier to accompany them. The red bell pepper chutney is decidedly South Indian in flavor, but I thought that a tangier North Indian chutney would also go along great with the idlis. The tang here comes from the lime juice and the chaat masala, while the cashews add just a bit of creaminess and some texture. This went surprisingly well with the idlis, so I imagine that it would be great with dosa or uttapam along with samosas, pakoras or similar fried snacks. It would also make for a delectable sandwich spread for some cucumber tea sandwiches. Check out this wonderful recipe for "Indo-British" finger sandwiches from The Gastronomic Nomad and serve this chutney with them!

Rava idlis

Like I've mentioned, my South Indian spice mistress credentials should be seriously questioned. It's pretty embarrassing...I can make any number of North Indian dishes and make them well but when it comes to the most traditional fare from my home region...well let's just say that I've always been a bit scared to try some of the more complicated dishes. Case in point: idlis. These steamed rice and lentil cakes are typical breakfast fare throughout South India, and it was no different in our household growing up. I can also recall childhood trips to Chennai (it was still called Madras back then), where every morning at my uncle and aunt's dining table would begin with idli after idli, served with sambhar (lentil and vegetable stew), any manner of delicious chutneys and molaga podi, which is a ground chili and lentil powder that you mix with oil to accompany idli, dosa and other breakfast items. Idlis with chutneys and molaga podi were also wrapped in banana leaves to take on train journeys, making for a wonderful little package to open and enjoy.

Spicy tortilla bisque with pico de gallo

The other day, Luis brought home a big bag of tortilla chips and asked me to make tortilla soup (sopa de tortilla). He loves my tortilla soup, which I adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit and have been making for years now. The spicy, tangy, coriander-infused broth and the wonderful texture of the corn tortilla strips make this the perfect soup (and far superior to other versions of tortilla soup that I've encountered, at least those here in Asia). It's very healthy too, making it the perfect dinner for the light eating kick that we're more or less on at present (freshly squeezed juices for breakfast, soups or salads for dinner every other day). Tonight, I got to thinking about the delicious success of my recent chana masala bisque (basically a dish of chana masala or Indian-spiced chickpeas pureed with some broth to make a hearty soup) and the thick version of tortilla soup that I had once enjoyed at California Pizza Kitchen in the States. Lo and behold, a new recipe was born... a pureed, thick and spicy tortilla bisque!

(Almost) guilt-free shahi paneer (paneer in cashew sauce)

I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely adore paneer, the fresh Indian cheese. Palak paneer, mattar paneer, paneer butter masala, paneer tikka...I could go on and on. During my recent work trip to India, there was at least one paneer dish (and sometimes more) at each buffet lunch and dinner that we were served. Always very delicious but also incredibly rich and swimming in loads of butter and cream. Considering that paneer in and of itself is already very rich, this was just brutal on my waistline (and one of the reasons that I did a three-day juice cleanse after getting back to Bangkok!). Now we're eating more or less normally but still having fresh juices for breakfast and soups or salads for several meals. But of course I'm not one to deny myself the things I love, so I'm just enjoying these things in moderation. With a big wedding coming up in the States in less than a month, I'm also looking to substantially lighten up anything rich that I make. Case in point, the decadent dish known as shahi paneer.

Red bell pepper chutney

Sometimes I feel kind of guilty. Of all the food that I love to prepare and make on a regular basis, my very own and dear South Indian cuisine is not really in my regular rotation. Don't get me wrong...I love my idlis, dosas, sambhar, rasam, upma, pongal and all manner of vegetable poriyals (dry vegetable fries). The flavors of mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, tamarind and coconut which form the backbone of our cuisine are amazing, and there's nothing that I'd rather eat when I go home. But I just don't cook South Indian very much. Nowadays though (perhaps inspired by my recent trip to India where my cousin Priya made me some great idlis and a peanut chutney), I'm feeling more determined to get back to my roots in the kitchen! On the menu tonight? Some rava idlis (post coming soon!), for which I decided to whip up a quick and delicious chutney with a beautiful red bell pepper sitting in our fridge.

Tom yum soup

Of all of the Thai dishes, there's nothing that's as simple yet as satisfying as tom yum, the famous clear and spicy soup infused with the unmistakable Thai tastes of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and chilies. We learned to make tom yum at the first Thai cooking class that we took, two years ago in Phuket. There's really nothing to it though...just throw everything into a pot, cook and voila! We continue to enjoy it regularly at roadside stalls, where it traditionally includes shrimp (tom yum goong). But making it at home is as simple as pie, and considering how healthy it is (no fat at all) it's the perfect dish for us right now, when we've just finished a 3-day juice cleanse and need to ease back into regular eating with a few days of mostly soups, salads, vegetables and fruits. Tom yum is also perfect when you're sick...the spicy broth will clear any cold or sinuses in no time!

Mango-pineapple-cucumber-basil morning blend (and our juice cleanse adventure)

Apologies for the silence around here these days...it's been a busy couple of weeks with visitors and work, including a quick trip to India (Delhi for meetings, then a visit to Bangalore to see family). As always when in India, I totally indulged in the delicious food. The hotel I was staying in had a fabulous breakfast buffet which in addition to the usual items, had a masala dosa station as well as other South Indian breakfast favorites like idli, uttapam, vada and North Indian staples like parathas. Not to mention that there was a full, free, all-you-can-eat buffet for both lunch and dinner at the meetings that I was attending. Just imagine...a week of getting to indulge in all your favorite food, to your heart's content. Paneer dishes galore, koftas, naan, Indo-Chinese favorites like vegetable manchurian and honey chili potatoes, biryanis...it was just endless.