Popular Indian Continental Cooking Recipes – Soups
Continental Recipes
Food plays a major role in spreading awareness of a country. Our Indian food restaurants are very popular in all major cities of the world. In the same way, fast food chains like McDonalds and Subway have spread all over. At times one can see their sign-boards emerging over the horizon on highways and motorists pull over to have a bite! In the same way, our Indian food is so popular that one hears there is a long line of customers waiting near a cart parked selling Dosas on a New York streets! With this era of changing taste buds, here is a selection of various dishes, tried and tested, and made quite easily. Now that many sauces and ingredients are quite easily available in our Indian stores, it is exciting to make the dishes, and a treat for those who are going to eat them.
Western food can be quite elaborate. On formal occasions at banquets and dinners various courses are served, which can go up to 15. Here are a selection of a few dishes which will give you a fair spectrum of choices, to be served individually or in combinations. We will start with salads and soups, followed by the main dish which is called the “Entree”, and then a few desserts. The meals can be concluded by a serving of deliciously hot coffee and crackers with a selection of cheese!
Before starting on cooking Continental meals make sure to have the authentic ingredients, Certain herbs and spices are required to get the right results. Here is a list of necessary items, most of them are easily available in stores.
Olive oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, soup cubes, corn flour, soya sauce.
Herbs: oregano, thyme, rosemary, chives, basil, pepper corns. Garlic is a must in many dishes.
As mentioned earlier, there are many courses that are served in a formal continental meal. On the home front, a well-presented main dish with perhaps a side dish should do well.
An assortments of bread presented in a basket are desirable too especially if you are serving soup.
Spinach Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Spinach 500 gm
- Milk 250 ml
- Water 1 cup
- Salt a pinch
- Black pepper- powdered ½ tsp
- Fresh cream 2 tsp
COOKING METHOD
- Wash the spinach leaves well, try and remove the main part of the stems, as they don’t mash well in the soup
- Break in half, put in a pan with 1 cup water and boil for 2 to 3 min
- CooI, drain some of the water, keep some along with the spinach and make a smooth paste of the spinach in a blen- dor
- Transfer into a pan add the milk and boil on a low flame
- If the consistency is too thick, add remainder of water that was kept aside
- Add salt and pepper. Serve in individual bowls, garnish with fresh cream
Enjoy!
Mushroom Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- White Agaricus Mushrooms (wash well) 200 gm
- Potato 1 medium size
- Onion 1 medium size
- Butter 1 tbsp (or oil)
- Milk ¾ cup
- Water 3 cups
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper ground fresh on each cup while serving
COOKING METHOD
- Chop mushrooms into small pieces, keep in water
- Peel potato, chop and put in same vessel. Chop onion
- Keep cooker on fire. It is advised to make this soup in the cooker, as time is cut short by 15 min and the consistency is much better
- Put oil or butter and add the onions, saute
- Drain the mushroom-potato, add to onions, saute well, add salt
- After 2 min, take out a tbsp of mushrooms from the mixture [this is for garnishing before serving the soup]
- Add milk and water, give 3 whistles in the cooker
- Turn off flame, let cool, open cooker and drain the liquid into a bowl
- Blend remaining portion into a smooth consistency, add the mushrooms and serve with freshly ground black pepper
- You will need ceramc bowls for this soup, as it has to go in the oven to bake before serving.
French Onion Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Onions 2 medium size chopped finely
- Soup cubes chicken or vegetarian 4
- Water 1 bottle
- Slices of bread 4 [sides removed, optional]
- Cheese 3 cubes grated
- Oil or butter 1 tbsp
- Salt less than usual, as the cubes are already salty
COOKING METHOD
- Heat pan with butter or oil, add onions, saute
- Add water and the soup cubes
- Boil till the cubes melt totally
- Pour out in bowls
- Lay out the bread slices and put grated cheese on them
- Put each slice carefully on the soup
- Heat oven to 350 degrees and put bowls into oven
- The cheese should melt and the bit of the toast visible should turn golden brown
- Take the bowls out carefully and serve immediately
Potato Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Potatoes 4 medium size [peel, cut in small pieces and keep in water]
- Onion 1 chopped
- Milk and water mix 1:1 (a bottle of each)
- Salt to taste
- Butter or oil 1 tbsp
- Black peppercorns 1 tsp to crush before serving
- Celery [or spring onion, 1 stalk]
COOKING METHOD
- Place vessel on flame, heat butter, add chopped onions (you can use a cooker which reduces the cooking time to 5 to 7 min; otherwise it is 15 to 20 min
- Saute lightly, add drained potato pieces, mix
- Add the milk: water mix, add salt
- If using the cooker, give 3 whistles, if in normal vessel, cover, lower flame and let it boil till potato is thoroughly cooked (add a little extra water so that the liquid does not reduce too much
- Drain through a strainer, preserve the liquid in a pan (take out some pieces of potatoes for garnishing, and mash the rest with a spoon. The other option is to mash with little liquid in a blendor)
- Re-mix all the contents and keep back to boil, add very finely chopped celery and the extra potato pieces
- Serve hot garnished with freshly grounded pepper.
Chicken Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Chicken bones with a little flesh attached 250 gm
- Butter or oil 1 tbsp
- Water 1 liter and a quarter
- Salt to taste
- Some whole spices like bay leaf, cloves, pepper corns, cinnamon (a few of each] a few extra pepper corns to crush for garnishing
- Corn flour 2 tsp heaped
COOKING METHOD
The most nourishing and reviving of all soups, this soup can do wonders for regaining your strength and help to recuperate especially after an illness.
A bowl of chicken soup is a great Comfort Food.
- Wash the chicken bones well
- Keep a large vessel or cooker on flame
- Heat oil or butter, saute chicken pieces
- Add whole spices and salt
- Put water and keep to boil
- If using cooker give 5 to 6 whistles with low flame, if using normal vessel, boil for 15 min and ensure that the liquid is enough or else add a little extra water
- Turn off flame, allow to cool
- Strain the liquid in a separate vessel
- On cooling, take out the flesh from the bones, and add back to the liquid
- Make a paste with the corn flour and as the soup boils add it to the liquid
- Check the consistency, it should be creamy and smooth
- Serve hot with f reshly crushed black pepper
- Serve a loaf of french bread with it.
Zucchini Country Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Zucchini [Tori] 4 long ones, peeled chopped and soak in water
- Garlic flakes 4 peeled and chopped
- Vegetable soup cubes dis-solved in 4 cups of water
- Olive oil 1 tbsp
- Pepper corns 6-8, crush for garnishing
- Fresh cream 4 tsp
COOKING METHOD
- Drain the zucchini, heat oil, add garlic flakes, saute the zucchini till it softens, add melted soup cubes water
- Mix well and let it boil until soup thickens
- Cool
- Pour out in individual bowls add pepper
- Keep in freezer till semi frozen
- Serve chilled, garnish with cream
Melon Coconut Soup Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Watermelon or cantaloupe, pink or light green, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
- Honey 1 tbsp
- Lemon juice 2 tbsp
- Coconut milk 1 cup fresh or packed
- Mint leaves chopped
- Ceramic bowls 4
COOKING METHOD
- Combine the melon, ¾ honey and lime juice into a blendor and puree it until smooth, add 1\2 of the coconut milk, mix.
- Transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate for 1 to 2 h
- To the other half of the milk add honey and freeze in the freezer
- To serve, ladle the soup into individual shallow bowls and place a scoop of frozen coconut milk, at the center of each portion
- Top with chopped mint leaves. Enjoy.
Garlic Toast Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Slices of bread 4
- Butter 2 heaped tbsp at room temperature
- Garlic 6 to 8 flakes, skinned, minced
COOKING METHOD
To break Bread together is a sign of everlasting friendship and companionship; to offer it to guests in a meal, especially with continental food is making the meal complete. It goes well with soups so here are some of the breads you can serve, some flavoured, some plain, but all tempting enough to dig into.
- Mix the butter with minced garlic
- Spread it evenly on the slices
- Pre-heat oven, transfer slices to 350 C heated oven
- Grill till golden brown. Serve hot.
Croutons Cooking Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- Bread slices 3, cut into small squares
- Oil to deep fry
COOKING METHOD
- Heat oil
- Put in a few pieces of bread at a time
- Lay out on a paper towel to soak up extra grease
- Serve with soups.
Cooking recipes can go bad among that Worcestershire: Can Worcestershire Sauce Go Bad?
