Slurp The Blues Away: Ravinder Bhogal’s Recipes For Winter Noodle Soup-stews

One of nan champion things for lifting deflated spirits is simply a heavy vessel of steaming, restorative crockery – cleanable for warming nan places your aged woolly jumper can’t reach. I emotion nan romance and cosiness of creamy European soups drunk consecutive retired of a mug astir a occurrence successful November, but successful nan icy tundra that is January I request thing pinch much power and intensity, thing sustaining, spicy, gutsy and textured, truthful that I request a fork aliases chopsticks to eat it, alternatively than conscionable a spoon. These punchy soups are simply rapture successful a bowl, and make for highly satisfying slurping.

Khao swe (pictured top)

Khao swe is simply a Burmese noodle crockery pinch basking coconut broth, springy noodles and a madness of garnishes, from boiled eggs to peanuts aliases crisp shallots. Feel free to switch retired nan poultry for vegetables specified arsenic pumpkin aliases tofu, aliases seafood specified arsenic prawns.

Prep 15 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4

2 tbsp neutral oil, specified arsenic groundnut aliases avocado
1 instrumentality cinnamon
1 prima anise
2 reddish onions, peeled and sliced into very good half-moons
3 fat ail cloves, peeled and finely crushed
2½cm portion caller ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 agelong reddish chilli, finely chopped
2 lemongrass sticks, achromatic parts only, finely chopped
6 makrut lime leaves, stalks removed, leaves finely chopped
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp gram flour
400ml chickenhearted stock
400ml coconut milk
8 skinless and boneless chickenhearted thighs, trim into bite-size pieces
2 tbsp food sauce
Juice of 1 juicy lime
1 tbsp palm sugar, aliases ray brownish sugar
250g level atom noodles, aliases ovum noodles, cooked according to packet instructions

To garnish (optional)
4 tbsp crisp shallots
40g chopped roasted peanuts
1 fistful freshly chopped coriander
4 chopped outpouring onions
4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
4 lime wedges,

Heat nan lipid successful a large, heavy saucepan aliases casserole. Add nan cinnamon stick, prima anise and onions, and saute complete a medium-low power until nan onions are heavy aureate and caramelised. Add nan garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass and lime leaves, and fry for a infinitesimal aliases 2 more, until fragrant.

Sprinkle successful nan chilli powder, turmeric and gram flour, and fry for a minute, until toasty and aromatic. Stir successful nan banal and coconut milk, bring to a boil, past simmer for 10 minutes. Add nan chickenhearted and simmer complete a debased power until it’s cooked done and tender.

Stir successful nan food sauce, lime juice and sugar, sensation and adhd much lime, sweetener aliases food condiment if needed. Divide nan noodles betwixt 4 bowls, ladle nan khao swe complete nan apical and service pinch your chosen garnishes.

Sweet-and-sour peanut dal pinch pappardelle

Gujarati dal dhokla is 1 of my eventual comfortableness foods, and this crockery takes inspiration from that, isolated from nan dhokla (or pasta) part, which is usually made from scratch but which I’ve swapped present for pappardelle.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4

200g toor dal (AKA divided pigeon peas), washed very well
1 agelong reddish chilli, trim into heavy rings (pith and seeds discarded if you for illustration little heat)
1 tsp turmeric
40g earthy peanuts

For nan tempering
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 heaped tsp mustard seeds
1 pinch asafoetida
15–20 caller curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick, surgery up
2 cloves
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, peeled and blitzed
2 greenish chillies, finely blitzed (pith and seeds discarded if you for illustration little heat)
1 heaped tsp herb puree
2 ripe tomatoes, pureed
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp grated jaggery, aliases soft brownish sugar
Sea salt
Juice of 1 lime

To garnish
250g caller pappardelle, cooked according to packet instructions
1 handful finely chopped coriander
1 mini reddish onion, peeled and finely chopped

Put nan toor dal, chilli, turmeric, peanuts and a litre and a half of h2o successful a ample saucepan, bring to a boil, past simmer complete a debased power for 40-45 minutes, until soft and mushy.

In a 2nd pan, power nan coconut oil, past adhd nan mustard seeds and, arsenic soon arsenic they pop, operation successful nan asafoetida and curry leaves. Once nan leaves crackle, adhd nan cumin, cinnamon and cloves, fry concisely until fragrant, past operation successful nan ginger, ail and chillies, and fry until cooked and fragrant.

Add nan herb puree, pureed caller tomatoes, tamarind and sugar, fto nan cookware travel to a bubble, past simmer for 5 minutes. Pour nan herb operation into nan cooked lentils, adhd immoderate h2o to make it soupy, past play pinch brackish and navigator for 10 minutes more. Finish pinch lime juice.

Divide nan cooked pappardelle betwixt 4 bowls, past ladle nan dal connected top, sprinkle complete nan coriander and reddish onions, and serve.

Cheat’s dumpling soup

This has each nan large flavour of a dumpling soup, minus each nan difficult activity and effort.

Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4

For nan broth
1 litre chicken ramen broth (such arsenic nan 1 by Itsu)
50ml ray soy sauce
3cm portion caller ginger, peeled and sliced into bladed matchsticks
3 outpouring onions, trimmed and trim into 5cm lengths

For nan dumpling filling
200g shiitake
3 tbsp astir chopped coriander
2 outpouring onions, trimmed and astir chopped
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
300g minced pork
Salt and achromatic pepper
24 dumpling wrappers,cut successful half diagonally
Chilli oil, to serve

Put each nan ingredients for nan broth successful a ample saucepan, bring to a boil, past move down nan power to a simmer and time off to navigator gently.

Meanwhile, make nan dumplings. Combine nan shiitake, coriander, outpouring onions, ginger and sesame lipid successful a mini nutrient processor, past process until finely chopped. Add nan pork, process again to combine, past play to taste. Roll nan operation into walnut-sized balls (you should extremity up pinch astir 25 successful total), past mildly driblet them into nan crockery and simmer for astir 4 minutes, until cooked through. Add nan halved dumpling wrappers to nan pot, navigator for a further 30 seconds, aliases until al dente, past ladle into bowls and service pinch your favourite chilli oil.