Butternut Squash Soup

 I absolutely, really had no idea or plan whatsoever behind this. This dish is one of those things that comes as a sudden urge and here we are! I really like classics and bread dunked in soup is no exception. That and my onion crabby fritters. I was really in the mood of fall flavours so I'm glad something simple like this could be whipped up in no time. We have a butternut squash soup with a crunchy sunflower seed topping, and bread with a garlic herb butter. I feel like the entire vibe of this dish is quiet. The soup was mostly hands off starting with a rough chop and while it was simmering away, the garlic herb butter was easy to do. When the entire dish comes together and you taste it, the soup is warm, squash flavoured with a background of chili and then comes the crunchy garlic bread. Herby and delicious. And finally the fatty, salty sunflower seeds crisped up in some clarified butter...!



Squash soup:

  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 small carrots
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 large red chili
  • Water
  • A pinch of turmeric
  • Olive oil

Roughly chop the onion, finely chop the chili and mince the garlic. Peel and scoop out the seeds of the squash and chop into equal-sized cubes. Peel and chop the carrot. In a large pot, cook the onion, chili and garlic until the onions are pink and translucent. Add the butternut squash and carrots. Add the water until everything is just submerged, then the turmeric. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes until everything is cooked. If you want the soup on the thinner side blitz everything as is or if you want a thicker soup, reserve some of the stock and then blitz the soup. Pass through a sieve.

Garlic herb butter (no exact measurements here):

  • 3-4 tbsp. butter, softened
  • 3 cloves clove of garlic, minced
  • Fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
Mix everything together. (hard, right?!)

To finish off:

  • Sunflower seeds
  • Ghee (clarified butter)
  • Bread

Spread the herb butter onto bread and toast. In a small pan, crisp the sunflower seeds in ghee. Serve the soup topped off with the sunflower seeds and with a stack of garlic bread.


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Tea Traditions
Around the World


POST | KAHWA: KASHMIRI TEA

Let’s talk about tea

Whether it’s a whole ceremony at your home or a reason to argue over who is going to make it on weekend mornings, tea rules: it’s a universal beverage. The big drink.

Whenever I think of afternoon tea, or just tea in general, one of the first things that comes to my mind is a cup of milk tea surrounded by a table loaded with finger sandwiches, biscuits, scones, jam, cream and Victoria sponge cake; British tea. That’s what I think of tea as. But this visual could be different for you. You might think of masala chai from India, matcha tea ceremonies if you’re from Japan, the first time you drank çai on your visit to Turkey, some tea bags or just some soggy tea-drenched toast.

Whatever it is, tea is a huge tradition all over the world, and just like truth, it has different versions: British afternoon tea, Indian milk tea, Burmese laphet and Moroccan mint tea, to name a few.

What are some of your tea traditions?



Food for thought,

by food, for food.


A lot of my friends ask me where I get my ideas from. Many just assume that I’m a culinary genius and I pick ideas from my brain just as someone would go apple-picking. But that’s far from the truth. You do NOT know what other salt has fallen into my failed dishes.

I get all of my ideas from other food: cookbooks, recipes on Instagram and food blogs of chefs and MasterChef contestants (especially Beccy from Canada Season 5, Fred and Nick from US Season 10 and Suu from US Season 11) whom I admired in their seasons. Many of my findings act as a catalyst for new ideas or help me steer existing dishes in the right direction. Sometimes I’d just want to be a normal foodie and try other’s dishes because, well, I’m hungry. In short, food for my new ideas, by other chef’s food for MY food on this blog. Quite the analogy.


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