Cold Summer soups

[Monica Bhide]

I hosted a large dinner last weekend. One of the items of the menu seemed to be a favorite with the guests.... the cold soups

The first is an adaptation of a traditional Indian curry - I served it as a soup. Kokum fruit (related to mangosteen tree (editorial note-- correction made here) ) is seeped in warm water. The fruit self is then discarded. The water is mixed with coconut milk, crushed garlic, green chiles and a bit of toasted cumin seeds. I think the traditional preparation calls for cooking it.. I prepare it without. So this is my version of the dish. The final soup is a perfect pink -- guests can add more minced green chiles for garnish if they wish

2 Is a Mango papaya soup spiked with fresh lime juice, a bit of brown sugar, fresh orange juice and some black salt... a touch. Its garnished with mint leaves. I have adapted this from a recipe in Cooking Light a few moons ago

The second soup also makes a great base for serving icecream - as the kids at the party attested to!

So tell me what cold soups, with an Indian touch, do you make??

[Monica Bhide]

More on kokum

[gingerly]

  The first is an adaptation of a traditional Indian curry - I served it as a soup. Kokum fruit (related to mangosteen tree (editorial note-- correction made here) ) is seeped in warm water. The fruit self is then discarded. The water is mixed with coconut milk, crushed garlic, green chiles and a bit of toasted cumin seeds. I think the traditional preparation calls for cooking it.. I prepare it without. So this is my version of the dish. The final soup is a perfect pink -- guests can add more minced green chiles for garnish if they wish

sol kadi Monica?!love the stuff!

[ravum]

I make a variation of the south indian Neer More.Blend yogurt/buttermilk with a peeled cucumber or two,ginger and 1/2 green chillies till slightly thick.Season with mustard,hing and curry leaves.Salt to taste.I add a bit of kala namak.Serve very cold.

I also like it it a very ripe avocado instead of the cucumber.

[easyguru]

Raw mango panha I think is one good cold soup. We make it both with cooked raw mangoes and also uncooked version.

[nessa]

I want to make a could yogurt-cucumber-mint-chile soup today.

I bought something called dhahi at the local Indian grocer. Looks like yogurt, tastes like a mild yogurt.... will this work?

[Episure]

I want to make a could yogurt-cucumber-mint-chile soup today.

I bought something called dhahi at the local Indian grocer.  Looks like yogurt,  tastes like a mild yogurt.... will this work?

Dahi is unprocessed yogurt.

It is 'live' in the sense that it will continue to sour if left for a long time. You can also use it as starter culture with milk to make some more.

It will make a nice soup, let us know how it went. A dash of lime juice will add a nice 'edge'.

Edited June 28, 2004 by Episure (log)

[v. gautam]

With deep diffidence for venturing yet one more ‘Bengali’ dish--- this class is called ‘ambol’ derived from the Sanskrit ‘amla’ =sour. Traditionally ending the meal, ambols are sipped straight from a bowl or mixed with a very small amount of rice. However, the sweet-sour flavor might well fit modern tastes for a cold ‘soup.’

A free-hand recipe: Green mango- hard, unripe, peeled and cut into chunks; include whole ‘stone’ /seed too, if you wish. In hot mustard oil, sizzle 1 whole dry red chili [not the very hot type], black mustard seed; add cubed mango, stir, add water, sugar, salt to balance [faint hint of saltiness]; simmer until mangoes just tender and fragrant. This is a thin soup, very light. Chill lightly; serve with lukewarm jasmine rice on the side. In a bowl, place a tablespoon of rice, add a cup or two of the mango ‘soup’, enjoy.

To place this in the Bengali food calendar, March, April, May and June are hot and dry. The sour jujubes [‘topa kool’, sour round ber, [Zizyphus spp.] that ripen late February-March are sun-dried, and made into this ‘ambol’ and various sweet-sour cooked pickles. In ambol, their slightly viscous texture, aroma, amber skins and rough hard seeds play on all the senses and contribute to the delight of this dish.

By late April, raw mangoes replace the jujubes, first very young and soft-seeded, then another texture, more dense, as the seed hardens. A very wonderful chutney, is made from unpeeled, raw green mangoes, but that is for another thread.ng made with

There are few other common ‘ambols’, one is made with tamarind, jaggery and ‘maurala’ fish, [Amblypharyngodon mola] a tiny whitebait sized relative of carps. On of the earliest examples of the Bengali language mentions ‘morali maccha, nalita gaccha [jute greens]’ as part of a satisfying meal! There is at least one more fish dish prepared with green mangoes in Bengal; as the fish, shol, belongs to a group of air-breathing fishes [shol, shal, leta] unfortunately proscribed to certain classes, have no personal knowledge of this dish, and do not know the taxonomical binomials of these fishes.

Another preparation consumed cool/ room temperature may conceivably be used as part of a summer soup; experiment evolve!

Urad dal: washed and simmered till done. Paste soaked fennel and gingerroot in a blender, add to dal with salt. Season with a light hand. Sizzle in hot oil/mustard oil a whole dry red chili and whole fennel seeds, add dal, simmer briefly, adjust seasoning, cool or lightly chill. This dal is slightly viscous and the consistency should be fairly thin.

Make Bengali mashed potatoes: russet potatoes scrubbed, skin left on, boiled and mashed with sea salt, mustard oil [use mixture of Korean and Indian], lime juice, thai green chili crushed. Some also add chopped raw onion.

Or, Posto/white poppyseed dishes: potato or potato-ridged gourd or zucchini:

Soak white poppyseed overnight—blend using the small jar of blender, if you have this, set aside. Cube russet potato; in hot oil sizzle whole cumin or better [ whole seeds all: cumin, fennel, fenugreek, nigella, radhuni or mustard]; add potato, stir, add salt, sugar, turmeric if wished; cover until nearly tender, add paste, cook briefly, top with drizzle of mustard oil.

To eat: in bowl, place large quantity of cool urad dal, a little rice, top with cool/room temperature mashed potato or potato/squash with poppyseed paste. Squeeze of lime? Enjoy; for more expert directions, ask Bong; direct all vituperation at DR. MONGO!!

Regards,

gautam