Tortilla soup

I have to ask my colleague why this is called tortilla soup when there are no tortillas in it. Anyways, what's in a name? I enjoyed this lip-smacking, give-me-more response arousing soup in the holiday potluck at office, this Christmas season. My colleague was kind enough to share his recipe with me and from then onwards I haven't stopped making this soup at the drop of a hat.

Main Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts - cooked and cut into sizeable chunks. (I usually rub ginger and garlic paste and some salt to the chicken before cooking it.)

1 large jar Mountain beans -(Alternatively, 2-3 cans of Great Northern Beans, drained)

1 medium size jar Chi Chi Salsa (hot or medium spice level)

1/2 bar or 4 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese

1/2 bar or 4 oz. Monterey Jack Jalapeno Cheese

1 regular size can Chicken broth ( best is if you can use the broth in which you previously cooked chicken.)

Onions - 1 small bulb (finely cut)

Olive oil - 1 tsp

Cilantro - 1/2 cup (optional)

Black pepper powder - 1tsp (optional)

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

In a deep crock pot/vessel, heat olive oil and saute onions. Before the onions turn brown, add salsa and let it simmer on low. Then add beans and cheese. Cook on low heat until the cheese melts and soup is heated through. Add cooked chicken chunks and heat the soup on medium/high. Take care that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan and for that you need to stir the contents with a ladle or spoon. Switch off the stove. Garnish with cilantro & black pepper powder before serving the piping hot soup.

Ummm!

Lemon Rasam

Piping hot rasams are my favorite on cold days when all that you want to do is just snuggle happily inside covers and watch your favorite movie sipping hot soup aka rasam.


Ingredients:


Cooked Toor Dal - 5 tbsp (red gram)
Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
Black pepper corns- 3/4 tspn
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chopped coriander/cilantro and curry leaves - 1 1/2 tbsp
Lemon - 1 big sized
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Powdered asafoetida - a pinch
Salt, sugar - to taste


Cooking time: 15 mins

Cook dal to a smooth paste-like consistency. Now, slit the green chillies lengthwise. Crush coarsely and add all the ingredients (except lemon) in water and allow it to boil for a few minutes. Takes about 10-12 mins to let the taste mingle. Switch off the stove and squeeze juice from the fresh lemons. Heat a teaspoon of oil and for seasoning add a little mustard to that. When the seeds crackle, pour on top of rasam along with a pinch of asafoetida. Close the lid and keep aside for few minutes to let the aroma stay. Serve with steamed rice and ghee.


I love to serve this as a soup by straining the rasam using a strainer to remove pepper and cumin remnants. Garnish it with a stem of cilantro and sip it away to glory. Uhmmmm!