Spicy bean soup with cuminpoori’s – Living leaner
Spicy beansoup with cumin poori
I waste… We waste. We waste far too much food and quite frankly that doesn’t feel good. We also spend. We spend a huge amount of money every week or month on food and if I then have a look at what goes in the bin afterwards it’s fairly shocking. It seems more and more people realize that we are our own worst enemy in that respect as the campaign of ‘no waste’ are popping up everywhere. Head-to-tail is also a popular theme at the moment but I thought I’d would start at becoming better in spending our weekly budget and when my dear friend Mona from the blog Wise Words talked about living leaner, it seemed the perfect opportunity to jump in.
You see, Mona is one of those people that manages to feed an entire household of husband plus kids with just 10 bucks a day.(Granted she has the chef to cook but let’s forget that part for now). I struggle doing that for just the two of us. How sad is that? So I read through her post and honestly if you have not yet visited Mona before then you should. She is one of the funniest and most honest and down to earth writers that I know and should not be missed! Having said that; her post inspired me to start thinking about our food pattern. I’ve moaned to you before about our planning which is just terrible and I think that is part of it too.
Without proper planning it is hard to be sensible about what you spend. So gotta get better at both! To start of our new and improved lives I figured this vegetarian dish might be an easy win. Meat and fish are expensive and I didn’t want to start of with a negative figure. I told Mona I would go with the 10 euro budget, even though I have only two mouths to feed. It sort of feels like cheating but in reality it is sort of true that it becomes cheaper per person the more people you have right? And I did use quite a few items that I had left in my storage cabinet such as flour, but that’s ok too right? And it turned out to be a really delicious soup too.
I still have to figure out how I write down the cost as I did buy a few items that I will be able to use for something else later such as carrots. A bought a kilo but used only half. The total spend for this dish was € 6,50, including a kilo carrots, gingerstalk (leftovers too), coconutmilk and beans. I used oliveoil, vegetable stock, lime,cuminseeds and flour from stock.
But we did actually eat two days of this soup, so in actual fact it was only 3,25. Hmm, need to think about that calculating thing a bit more it seems! The first step is made for us to eat healthy on a smaller budget. And don’t worry; I will not go all vegetarian on you… But we might be eating less meat for sure (shhtt, don’t tell Tom now!)
Spicy beansoup with cumin poori's
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 55 mins
Total Time: 1 hrs, 20 mins
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions (finely chopped)
- 450g winter carrots (in 2 cm cubes)
- 2 teaspoons ginger (freshly grated)
- 1 tablespoon korma-curry paste
- 1l vegetable stock
- 200ml coconut milk (plus extra to serve)
- 1 lime juice (juice of one lime)
- 400g cannellini or white beans (canned, rinsed and drained)
- cumin seeds (roasted to serve)
cumin poori's
- 100g whole wheat flour
- 100g flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (plus extra for baking)
- 1,5 teaspoon cumin seeds
Directions:
| For the poori's strain the flour and the whole wheat flour together through a sieve with a pinch of salt in a bowl and rub the oil in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir the cumin seed through and then slowly ad 150 ml water until it resembles a soft, lightly sticky dough. Turn the out onto the bench and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Form the dough into a ball, cover with oil and put it into a bowl. Put the bowl away covered with plastic foil at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 balls and cover them with flour. Roll each ball into a round of about 13 cm diameter. Pour 1 cm of sunflower oil into a frying pan and heat the oil until it is about 180 C or a piece of bread browns in about 30 seconds. Bake the poori's one by one for 45 seconds on one side and 45 seconds on the other side until they puff up and become golden brown. Ad a little oil in the pan if necessary. Leave the poori's to drain on kitchenpaper and keep them warm in the oven while you make the soup. |
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| In the meantime heat some oil in a large pan on medium heat. Bake the onion for about 2-3 minutes until they become translucent and glossy. Add carrot and ginger and bake for another minute. Stir the currypaste through and bake for 30 seconds or until it becomes fragrant. Pour the stock in the pan, bring to the boil, turn the heat down and leave to simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until the carrots are done. Stir in the coconut milk, the limejuice and the beans and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes. Puree the soup with a stickblender or let it cool of a bit and put in smaller portions in the blender. Heat the soup slowly on low fire. Pour into deep plates, sprinkle with some coconutmilk and the roasted cuminseeds and serve with the poori's. | |
Recipe from Delicious, the cookbook by Valli Little
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
I am not a planner but I cook everything from scratch. I buy organic, in bulk, in season. It would be interesting to try to feed a family of 4 with just $10. I should try. I buy organic because I don’t want to ingest toxins, and in the States things are pumped with who knows what. European regulations are much stricter so there is less use of pesticides than here.
I have to say that fruits and vegetables in Italy cost a fraction of what they cost in the States, or at least in California. When I was in Italy this summer I noticed that everything was .25% of what it is in California. So I am not sure what I would be spending here.
Thanks for posting this, it made me think and want to be a better planner. I should try to calculate what I spend every day.
Love the photos as always.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:13
Thanks Laura. I do try and buy organic as much as possible too. Or at least I try to be sensible when it comes to buying seasonal and things like that. It’s cheaper too, but I am not nearly as good about it as I should be.
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I would never guess this is a bean soup from looking at it but I appreciate you adding some protein in there. Pretty dish to boot!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:13
It does look a bit like pumpkin now doesn’t it?
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I thought it was pumpkin soup…LOL.
…)
Love the purple bowl…
I do plan my weekly meals in advance, shop according to the list in hand but somehow… somewhere along the line, I derailed… hence some wastages *sigh* (I know…shame on me
Gorgeous photos Simone
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:14
I would probably think the same if I would not know what went in it… But it’s the carrots with the beans combi… Yeah I know what you mean on the wastage thing… I gotta get better too!
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I do not waste.Brought up that way.They call me green freak.Lady with paper bags:)I don’t care.And I agree everytime you are about to waste food just remmber(without me fallin in cliches) there are people who would consider it great meal).
Great recipe;)
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:15
I totally agree with you! That’s part of the reason for getting better at not wasting anything…
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An interesting soup! It looks really good. Great pictures too.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:15
Thanks Rosa!
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Lovely styling on this post. The combination of colours is very effective.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:23
Thanks so much Barbara!
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Simone,
This is a gorgeous soup. I think that you are not cheating at all.
Like you said, you have enough soup for two meals, thereby feeding ’4′ people.
Yes, it does get cheaper the more mouths you feed. We go meatless once or twice a week
and truth be told the kids do not even notice. I have a few more ‘Living Leaner’ posts popping up later this week and one of them is vegetarian……and delicious. Thank you (thank you!) so much for the links-of-love Simone and your kind words. Looking forward to seeing a few more of your efforts! And that soup
sounds so hearty and warm. I love pureed beans in anything though. A great way to get that extra protein into the kids!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:24
I certainly don’t mind eating meatless either. It’s that Tom is more of a carnivore then more so he notices if I do it too often…
And this soup is definitely a winner!
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Gorgeous Simone…very true going veggie is cheaper…I feed a family of two in UK for under a £5 being a vegetarian!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:24
O wow under 5… Pretty impressive Arti. Not sure if I would manage that even with going vegetarian!
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I really try not to waste and I’m not too bad in it, but one can always improve;)
Love this soup with those cumin poori’s: what a perfect match!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:25
they go really well together. We had the soup for 2 days and used different bread the second day but I would go with these poori’s anytime. A little more effort but so tasty!
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Great recipe but I love this lilac small bowl. It caught my eyes!
Where did you get it? It looks like a hand made bowl.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:26
It’s not handmade I think but it’s from Portugal (I think) and they have a whole range of this. Mateus is the brand. Love all of their crockery…!
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Mmmm your soup looks so comforting. One of the things I love about soups is the leftovers as soup often tastes better the next day.
I’m conscious about waste too. If we have something I try to use it where I can and I hate it whenever I have to throw food in the bin,.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 9th, 2011 at 13:27
Me too. We have become a little better in using leftovers but there is still sooooo much room for improvement, so it’s going to be an interesting thing to see how we do!
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I’ve been on a no-waste kick lately, and I feel so guilty when I pour out a little milk that’s left in the container or when we don’t finish the leftover rice. It’s good practice, and I think I’m getting better at using all the food we buy–but I’m still working on it. Buying less meat is a great idea, and this bean soup looks like a delicious way to eat meat-free!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 00:25
it’s definitely good practice and if anything, it makes me more aware of the things we do ‘wrong’ in our daily life. We spend so much money on things that we never end up eating. That just has got to stop!
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Oh, I love the sound of this soup (and the purple bowl!!). I am mostly a planner even if I don’t go as far as an actual meal plan, but I do try to buy things with a meal in mind. Where my planning falls down is when I unexpectedly go out for dinner two nights a week! Nick cooks for himself but it is usually pasta, not veg – so later I find these ancient and forgotten veg in the back of the fridge LOL!!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 00:26
Yes that purple bowl is my favorite too, but I can’t possibly use it everywhere. People might think I have only one bowl…
I totally know what you mean with planning down the drain if I go out for dinner (such as tomorrow) Tom doesn’t cook for himself, usually just grabs a pizza.. And that is indeed when we find the leftover veggies!
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You photographed this soup beautifully. I thought it was squash or pumpkin, too, but now that I see it’s carrots and curry and beans, I like it even better. The way I try to avoid too much waste is by trying to make every dinner last for at least two nights. We’re champion leftover eaters in my family.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 00:27
Thanks Sue. It does look a bit like pumpkin in color..
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I am in love with this soup! Can’t wait to try it.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 00:27
Thanks!
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first class soup and thought provoking post I need to do better at budgeting
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 10:24
I think most people need to do better at budgetting to be honest…
I know I do!
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A spicy soup like this is perfect for the upcoming winter days. Lovely photos as well.
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 10:24
Yes, I will make this one again for sure!
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Popped over hear from Mona’s blog to see how you’re doing the €10/day thingy, loved the soup recipe. Your photgraphy is amazing – wow!
Only the two of us here to cook for and our food expenditure is a little crazy at times for just 2 so will be having a look at where to cut back!
NowI’m off for a wander around your blog!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 10th, 2011 at 10:25
Thanks for popping over Caroline! And thanks for the compliments too. I actually quite like the budget thinking. It makes me a lot more creative!
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I am totally a planner and cook for a few more to freeze and use later. Love the sound of the soup but the pooris are making ma hart beat faster!
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I’m shocked on how much food I waste. When I moved back to Mexico I started buying a lot of produce because it’s so much cheaper down here than in the US, but I wasn’t able to eat it all and almost half was going to waste. Now I buy a lot less and having the market so close to my house helps. I only buy for one or two days. It has made a huge change, but I still have a long way to go, hehe.
That bean soup sounds delicious, you got me at the spicy part
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This soup is right up my alley!
We are lucky we don’t have any food waste, since we have livestock animals, and they definitely enjoy all the treats coming out of our kitchen! The chickens produce eggs, so we are basically just eating it in another form! 
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 13th, 2011 at 10:31
I wish I could say the same Jenn! Would love to be able to recycle in that way, knowing that nothing would be going to waste, but with trying to do that without the livestock… (guessing our cat doesn’t count..lol)
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Hi Simone, I am from Mona’s blog…however I liked your Junglefrog FB page months ago. I am always trying to eat leaner and stretch my grocery money. I’ve been incorporating Mona’s ‘living leaner’ ideals into my menu, along with a few of her other recipes that I feel capable of cooking (not a chef but looking to marry one:). Your bean soup looks delicious and soup is something I make all the time, one of my favorite food:) Your bean soup sounds so easy that I will be giving it a try. A bit of a challenge on the cumin poori’s …anytime floor and liquid are involved I get nervous. Great blog and wonderful photos!
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 13th, 2011 at 10:26
He Robert! Yes I love her Living leaner idea and it does make me think so much more creatively about what we’re eating and how much money we’re spending. And really you would be surprised at how easy these cumin poori’s are! Just give it a go!
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I love colours in your photos. The violet bowl is so beautiful.
One of the reasons I have started blogging was to be better with planning. I’m still bad at it, but the more I cook the less food I throw away.
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I want to try this without the spice…..hmmm
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Simone (junglefrog) — November 28th, 2011 at 17:04
The spicyness is really not that bad but you can always leave it out!
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This bean soup recipe looks delicious! And you picked the perfect purple bowl to hold this beautiful golden soup in. Great photography!!
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