As the holidays are behind us and a new year is ahead of us, a fresh start always feels good. It was relaxing,took a break from all social networking, yet crazy, couple of weeks. We ate a great deal of food, spent some quality time with friends, and baked plenty of different goodies. After a couple of weeks of waking up late, skipping workouts, eating out, and having absolutely no routine, I was craving to get back into shape. I guess that sometimes, too much of a good thing can annoy you.
Well, I am quite excited for the New Year. I have no resolution in particular, but I have goals I want to accomplish. To start off, I am in deep need of some detox. Well, the carb lover that I am, it is hard to do that. However, once a day, healthy smoothies or soups/stews are not a bad thing.
I can not believe I am saying this, but I am tired of cookies, sweets, and fancy foods. I have simply had too many of them. My body is craving simple food, but with definite, bold flavors.
I’ve done pretty well this week with my workouts and food choices. Today, it is this stew which I would normally pour over a huge portion of white rice. This time, I added the sriracha garbanzo beans, and-trust me-rice was not missed.
This is one of my interpretations of a stew made in Kerala (in the southern part of India) which is eaten with appam (rice pancakes/rice noodles) during breakfast. It is a delicious stew which is quite a healthy one too.
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WITH SRIRACHA ROASTED GARBANZO BEANS
Ingredients:
For the stew:
1 cup fat free yogurt beaten or whipped
1 cup light thin coconut milk
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 red onion
1 cup chopped ridge gourd without the seeds
1 Serrano chilly
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 cups water
1/2 tsp mustard seeds(optional)
1/4 tsp asafoetida
Garnish and serve with Spicy Garbanzo Beans,cilantro, sliced chilly, chilly oil.
Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix the yogurt and coconut milk and mix very well.
2. In a pan,add 1 tsp oil. Let it get hot and add cumin. Add onion and fry for a minute. Add the ridge gourd, serrano chilly, salt turmeric and fry it for a minute. Add 1 cup water, cover and let it cook for 5-7 minutes.
3. Let cool the vegetable mixture and grind it to a fine paste and keep aside.
4. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil, mustard seeds and asafoetida. Add the ground vegetable paste, the coconut milk and yogurt mixture and another cup of water and keep the flame to low and stir constantly. Once you see tiny bubbles on the edges, turn off the heat and serve with some sliced serrano chillies, garbanzo beans and cilantro.
For the SRIRACHA ROASTED GARBANZO BEANS:
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tsp oil
1 cup cooked and dried garbanzo beans
Mix everything together and bake at 420 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serve on top of the stew or it is perfect as a snack.
ENJOY!!
Do you have a favorite soup?
Copyright 2013 – Food Fashion Party
OMG ! never knew we cud do somemuch with this ridgey veggie ! And…what pics yaar !!! (y)
After all the sweets and meat I consumed these days, this soup is the perfect antidote. I also love chicken soup!
The stew sounds deliciously healthy. I really like how you pureed the veggie before adding it to the stew. I can imagine how good it must have been with garbanzo beans.
Cheers to our detox, Asha! I am also giving sweets and fatty food a rest. Happy New Year to you and your family!
I could never imagine that ridge gourd can be pureed to make a soup. this is just outstanding Asha. a very good way to detox and sriracha oh I loved it in almost everything.
i am on the same boat friend..too many cookies and no workout really gets annoying at some point. I have been trying to do salad a day and its being going great. Hope you are able to keep up with your goals 🙂 love the swap you made with garbanzo.
Looks so tempting.. Love to have it.
I never knew what to do with this ridge gourd when I see them in the Indian stores and other Asian stores. That’s a good stew recipe Asha and thanks for sharing it. Loved the color of the stew and the sriracha garbanzo beans certainly jazzed it up.
I am not ashamed to tell you that I needed to google “ridge gourd” as I had no clue to what it was.
I’ve found out that it’s “Chinese okra” and I happen to know where I could buy it (Chinatown is just four blocks south from Soho, where I live).
In other words, this soup is going to happen soon in my kitchen, no doubt about that!
Now that’s a great way to use ridge gourd. It isn’t a favorite in our home but disguised like this, I am sure we will like it.
It’s hard to pick a fave soup for me—this looks amazing! Love your treatment of the beans here!!
It’s hard to pick a fave soup for me—this looks amazing! Love your treatment of the beans here!!
I have seen the ridge gourd but never knew the name or how to use it. How fun to learn a new soup recipe that looks great and I get to use a new ingredient. 🙂
Love the spice that can be added to this!
Heh I’m not tired of cookies but definitely see your point about the importance of healthy soups and smoothies! I love that this is so creamy with the addition of yogurt! I would’ve never guessed 🙂
I have seen “Ridge Gourd” at the South Asian Store I shop at, but did not know what it was – this stew looks fabulous – I thought the turmeric would have turned it yellow, but it is such a pretty green! Your photos are amazing as always and welcome back dear!
Ash, I think that I could eat anything with coconut milk in it! (It’s a recent addiction of mine going dairy free due to allergies.) I just adore Greek yogurt and miss it. Those kicked up garbanzos are aces. No wonder you didn’t miss the rice! Oh, and turmeric is always a good thing. Thanks for sharing my friend!
I saw Ridgegourd at the market, I never dared to buy it because I simply could not imagine how it would taste like. I am now much more confident thanks this recipe 🙂
This look amazing Asha I love garbanzos!!
That looks lovely Ash! I love creamy soups 😀 And that’s good that you naturally want to eat healthier!
Such a gorgeous soup! And those roasted garbanzo beans sound amazing!
ridge gourd is one veggie I have never tasted though Mom did make them once in a while back home.. Some how never liked it! The Stew looks delish however I would leave the ridge gourd off the list 🙂 Lovely pics as always Ash!
I’m craving simple food with lovely flavors as well, and this looks perfect, Ash! Too many sweets means more dishes like this, which is a good thing!
I love the look of this soup. so new and fresh-just like a new year!
I love this light soup. I agree with you, I’m craving smooth and light desserts these days. The color of the soup is so vibrant and I love the addition of the beans instead of rice.
So very creamy and comforting! I miss ridge gourd…my mom used to make the stir-fry with tofu for our lunch.
I love stews with beans! Especially with garbanzo beans. And coconut milk. Yum! Can’t go wrong with these ingredients!
What a beautiful dish! Thank you Ash, our best wishes for the New Year!
A COMFORTING,NOURISHING AND CREAMY SOUP…THE SRIRACHA COATED GARBANZO JUST ZINGS IT UP SO NICELY…A BEAUTIFUL DISH,THANKS FOR SHARING 🙂
a rich creamy stew I have never used ridge gourd but next time sure to try this.
Lately, I have not been craving sweets at all because of overdoing it for the holidays! What I am DEFINITELY craving are those sriracha garbanzo beans. Such a great idea!
I can so relate to craving simple, heathy, and basic food after the holidays feading frenzy! I’m trying to drop a few pounds and soups are top of my list right now. This one looks so delicious! I love garbanzo beans and coconut milk so I know I’d love this soup! Great post, Ash!
I want this comforting dish for these cold winter days…It is healthy yet satisfying! Have a great weekend, Ash!
Loving this recipe.. need to make more soups before Spring arrives. Those siracha chickpeas look amazing, who would have thought.
Looks like you are on your way to a healthy new year! This stew looks wonderful, I love it’s pretty green colour. I’ve had thie ridge gourd before but never cooked it for myself. I can find it easily, you’ve inspired me to get out and get some!
This is the perfect food to start the new year with healthier and yet tasty dishes.
I couldn’t agree more Asha, that’s the time of the year where most of us are graving for this kind of treats.
I also feel in need of a semi-detox. I’m tired of feeling like I NEED chocolate all the time!
This looks delicious. Would love to try making this soon!
I Loved this stew recipe- had no idea that I can turn ugly looking ridge gourd in delicious stew. I can’t wait to make this tonight! Love your pictures – beautiful photography!
This looks wonderful! Love the flavors of the stew, and the idea of substituting roast garbanzo beans for rice is brilliant! I roast garbanzo beans all the time – definitely going to be trying this. Thanks.
Beautiful looking stew! We have friends whose parents are from Kerala, so will have to mention this dish in a conversation! 🙂
Such an amazing looking stew. It is fun to do simple foods once in a while and yes being a fellow carb lover, detox is SO hard.
Looks so good. P
This sounds (and looks!) really delicious! I’d never heard of ridge gourd but I can see from a comment above that it’s a bit like okra, which is pretty popular in Greece. I find that it has to be cooked just right to taste good. How do you make this soup without the yoghurt curdling?
A refined stew! I’m sure it tastes wonderful.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a delicious stew. I love toori and am going to definitely try this.
Happy 2014, Asha!
I love the colour of this soup. It looks so inviting. Can’t wait to taste it. xo
Ridge gourd soup looks delicious, it adds sweetness to the dish.
I totally feel you. My taste buds changed in the past months and my body was just craving fresh, simple and healthy foods. Home made food with veggies was the only thing that sounded great!
Looks so flavorful! I think my favorite soup is minestrone :o)
The name alone has my mouth watering, then your lovely photos just made me really hungry. What a great stew! Thanks for sharing.
Love this post !! Love the images and recipe ! So unique !!