Indian-Style Split Pea Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

Split pea soup is a classic Canadian comfort food. If you are Canadian, you probably remember growing up eating cans of Habitant pea soup, or maybe you still do. Simple with little else but split peas, salt, onion and maybe a few diced carrots or celery, my husband still adores split pea soups. But I can't bring myself to make something quite so basic — but I don't mind turning something basic into something extraordinary.

So this split pea soup is "Indian-ized" with Indian seasonings, but it's extra special because I also put in some plump, colorful and hearty spiced cornmeal dumplings in the soup too. This is pretty much a complete comfort meal in a bowl, and is one of the finest soups I have made in a while. The broth itself was a treat. And did I mention the dumplings? After this, you won't settle for canned split pea soup again!

I don't consider that the photos are up to par, but it's been dark here pretty much for the last few months. I trust that fellow cooks will judge the recipe without fancy photos.

Indian-Style Split Pea Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: Indian Published on February 19, 2016 Split peas and vegetables simmered in a delicious, fragrant and warming Indian-seasoned broth, served with beautiful plump spiced cornmeal dumplings Print this recipe Soup: 1 cup green split peas 2 tablespoons olive or sesame oil 1 small red onion, chopped 1 large carrot, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed 1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced or grated 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon ground coriander 4 sprigs of fresh thyme small handful of dried curry leaves 6 cups water or vegetable stock, or more as needed 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste fresh cracked black pepper, to taste handful of fresh chopped parsley Dumplings: 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1/2 cup unbleached white flour, or more as needed 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 cup almond milk, or more as needed Tempering: 1 tablespoon olive or sesame oil 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds Instructions: Rinse the split peas and soak for 4 hours or overnight in several inches of water. Drain and rinse, then set aside. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, carrot and celery, and sauté until the the vegetables are softened — about 5 to 7 minutes. Now add the garlic, jalapeño and ginger, and stir for another few minutes. Add the turmeric, coriander, thyme sprigs and curry leaves, and stir for another minute. Pour in the split peas and water or stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the peas are tender. While the soup is simmering, prepare the dumplings. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder salt, turmeric, cumin and almond milk in a large bowl. Stir to combine until you have a soft and pliable dough, adding more flour if the dough is too moist or more almond milk if the dough is too dry. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough stand for 15 minutes. Form into small 1-inch oblong shapes or rounds. Cover again until ready to add to the soup. When the peas are tender, drop the dumplings into the soup and simmer until they float — about 15 minutes. To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds and stir until the mustard seeds begin to splutter and pop. Quickly add to the soup, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve hot with a grain of your choice or some nice crusty bread. Makes 6 servings

I'm sharing this with Jac's weekly Meat Free Mondays event.

Other recipes featuring split peas:
Indian-Style Split Pea Soup
Ash-e Anar ( Persian Split Pea and Pomegranate Soup )
Indian-Style Yellow Split Pea Curry (Matar Dal)
Split Pea Cilantro Dumplings in a Coconut Curry

Light Talk about Food Styling 1 : Property

Where did you buy your cutting board?
Where do you normally go for props hunting?
Wow, your bowl is so pretty. How does it match nicely with other props?
. and so ...
. and so ...
and never ending questions regarding the food styling come to me.

Food styling is not only about props. It's about styling the food and the elements around it. Food, props, art, knowledge are involve to produce a

Delicacies from Our Short Visit to Chinatown.

Just a week before Chinese New Year, we made a short trip to Jakarta's China Town.
Visiting the Petak Sembilan area, in Glodok, Jakarta, the place where so many good Chinese food are available. My daughter was so excited to buy the delicious kwotie (semi fried-steamed dumpling), one of the best in town.

The Chinatown atmosphere became more special at that time, when we saw so many people were

Quinoa Salad with Vegetables and Cashews

It's bitterly cold right now here in London, Ontario, and despite the fact that this winter has been mostly free of snow, it has started to pile up these last few days. The virtual lack of light drags one down too, so comfort food is in order. And this is one power-packed salad that goes well with a hot bowl of soup to give one a glimmer of energy.

Quinoa comes together with sweet roasted root vegetables, dry roasted cashews and seeds, earthy kale and some plump cherry tomatoes. Tossed with a zesty and zingy lemon, garlic, Dijon mustard and olive oil dressing, this colorful salad is perfect for serving with a split pea soup for a nutrient and protein packed meal.

Note: Millet or pearl barley could be used in place of the quinoa if desired.

Quinoa Salad with Vegetables and Cashews

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on February 14, 2016 A colorful and nourishing roasted winter root vegetable salad with quinoa, kale and toasted nuts and seeds Print this recipe Salad: 2 1/4 cups cooked quinoa (3/4 cup dried) 1 medium parsnip, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved 4 tablespoons sesame oil 1/3 cup raw cashews 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup sesame seeds 5 stalks of green kale, trimmed and chopped 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved Dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil juice from 1 lemon (3 tablespoons) 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Instructions: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat an oven to 350°. Toss the parsnip, carrots and Brussels sprouts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread evenly on the pan. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender, stirring the vegetables half way through the cooking time. Meanwhile, toast the cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in a dry unoiled skillet over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing frequently, until the cashews and sesame seeds are lighly browned. Toss the kale with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large salad bowl. Fluff the quinoa and add to the bowl along with the roasted vegetables and cherry tomatoes. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Sprinkle each serving with a scattering of toasted cashews and seeds. Makes 4 to 6 servings

This is also my contribution to No Croutons Required, a monthly event celebrating vegetarian soups and salads, alternately hosting by my good friend Jacqueline and myself. To join in, see Jac's post here.

Other quinoa recipes you are sure to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Chickpea Quinoa Vegetable Wraps
Quinoa Soup with Corn
Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Quinoa Soup with Beets and Fresh Dill

Pampoenmoes - South African Food

Pumpkin is one of South Africa’s favourite vegetables.  Most restaurants serve pumpkin and spinach as vegetable side dishes with main meals and all mothers buy it for their families.  There are many ways in which you can serve the great varieties of pumpkin available like butternut squash, herbert squash, “boer” pumpkin or red pumpkin, to mention just a few.

Not all types of pumpkin are in season and therefor available all through the year, so you have to use the one that is in season at a certain time.  The most common and quickest way to prepare pumpkin is to boil it in a little bit of water, season lightly with salt and add some cinnamon.  Otherwise you can mix the pumpkin with flour, salt and egg and bake “pampoenkoekies” in a little bit of oil, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

Another favourite recipe from times gone by, a truly traditional South African recipe, is “pampoenmoes”.  You can either bake this in the oven or boil it in a little bit of water in a saucepan.  This is a recipe worth trying:

Ingredients:
8 slices of white bread
Butter
Apricot jam
2 cups of pumpkin (1 butternut squash should do.  Slice very thinly)
Salt
Sugar
Cinnamon

Method:
1. Butter the bread on both sides and spread apricot jam on the side facing up.  Place one layer in an oven proof glass dish, jam facing up.
2. Cut the pumpkin thinly, season lightly with salt and place on top of the bread.
3. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the pumpkin.
4. Repeat this until all the pumpkin and bread is used up, finishing with a layer of pumpkin.  Dot a few extra clots of butter on the top.    
5. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour in a pre-heated oven of 180°C

Serve the pumpkin hot with vegetables and maybe a lovely chicken dish, maybe a pie?  This is a great dish to try and impress your friends with.  It is very easy to make, so try it and see what happens!