Georgina Hayden

Feeding since 1982

  • Recipes
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Starters & sides
    • Light meals
    • Main meals
    • Snacks
    • Baking & puddings
    • Drinks
    • Preserving
    • Travel
    • Reviews
  • Books
    • Greekish
    • Nistisima
    • Taverna
    • Stirring Slowly
  • Styling
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press

Leek, mushroom and parmesan soup

02.20.2015 by georgie // 1 Comment

A very simple food focused post here. It’s been a busy few weeks, I haven’t eaten very well and as a result been feeling a bit run down (I haven’t had a nutribullet for at least 2 weeks!  There is a severe lack of green in my life). However it’s Friday evening, I’m on my own and just want to curl up on the sofa and unwind. Cue – my favourite meal in a bowl. Soup. This simple and flavoursome soup takes hardly any time at all and really is pure comfort in a bowl.

Leek, mushroom and parmesan soup
Leek, mushroom and parmesan soup

Tomorrow I’ll juice some green stuff.

Continue for recipe…

Categories // Light meals, Starters & sides, Vegan and Vegetarian Tags // Leek, Mushroom, Parmesan, Soup

My ‘go to’ South Indian dal recipe

01.05.2015 by georgie // 10 Comments

When I published my dal makhani recipe a month or so ago a friend said she loved the sound of it but didn’t have the time to make it (it does take several hours), and do I have any other dal recipes that are quicker? Well, I love nothing more than a request, and of course! I’m just ashamed it’s taken me so long to upload to be honest (I blame the madness of Christmas and New Year).

So, my ‘go to’ South Indian dal. It isn’t strictly authentic, but it is based on several trips to South Indian and eating lots of dal laden with mustard seeds, curry leaves and coconut. This is a real store cupboard comfort food recipe for me; I always have yellow split peas in the cupboard, (it covers so many cuisines – Greek Fava, Swedish soup, Pease pudding, Indian dal…), low fat coconut milk is a key dry store staple for me and my biggest tip? Buy a big bag of curry leaves when you find them and pop them in the freezer. They freeze well and it means they’re always on hand. (You’ll find them in any Indian supermarket or sometimes online. You can use dry if you have them but they’re not as punchy and don’t fry as well).

It might not look like much but this dal is incredibly comforting and really is delicious. It is wholesome, filling and packed with iron and it freezes wonderfully, so perfect for a rainy day. Sarah, I hope you like it!

South Indian dal
South Indian dal

 

MY ‘GO TO’ SOUTH INDIAN DAL

Serves 4 – 6 (serve it as is for a filling and hearty soup or with basmati rice as a meal)

  • 300g yellow split peas, soaked for 20-30 minutes before cooking
  • Groundnut oil or coconut oil
  • 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
  • a thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 heaped teaspoon heaped ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tin of low fat coconut milk
  • 20 curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • Half a lemon
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour a lug of groundnut or coconut oil into a large non-stick saucepan and place on a medium low heat. Add the onion, ginger, most of the garlic and saute the veg for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and fry for a further 2- 3 minutes.

Drain the yellow split peas, rinse and add to the pan along with the can of coconut milk. Add 600ml of water to the pan, or more, ensure that the split peas are completely covered. Gently bring to the boil and then lower to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook over a low heat for around 1 hour and 15 – 20 mins, so that the split peas have completely cooked through and have turned to mush. Check the dal every so often during cooking, and top up the water if it feels like it is getting too thick. You’ll probably need to add a splash here and then. Squeeze in the lemon juice, season to taste and leave to one side.

EDIT/ NB: Someone just asked me on Instagram if I pureed my dal, as it looks so smooth, which I didn’t. But having said that I did use yellow split peas I bought in Greece which become very creamy. If your peas haven’t completely broken down then do try pureeing them with a hand/ stick blender for a smooth finish.

Add a few tablespoons of groundnut or coconut oil to a small frying pan and place on a medium heat. After a minute or so add the mustard seeds and fry for around 30 secs – 1 minute until the seeds start to pop. Once they do add the garlic, curry leaves and chilli and fry everything for a few minutes, until the garlic and chilli are golden and the leaves look translucent.

Check your dal, as it will probably have thickened a little as it cools, so add a splash of boiling water if it feels too thick. Serve the dal in bowls, and drizzle a little of the temper over the dal- the flavoured oil and leaves, chilli and mustard seeds.

TIPS:

  • l love this recipe with spinach added at the end of cooking. Stir in a handful of frozen spinach balls for the last 5 – 10 minutes of cooking, or a large bag of baby spinach chopped up for the last few minutes. Great for an added iron boost.
  • I didn’t have any fresh green chillies to add to my temper for the picture above, so I ended up just giving it a drizzle of chilli oil before eating, which is totally acceptable too!

Categories // Light meals, Main meals, Vegan and Vegetarian Tags // Dairy-free, Dal, Gluten-free, India, Mains, Nutrition, Pregnancy, Soup, Starter, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat-free

Sweet potato, chickpea and spinach soup

11.09.2014 by georgie // Leave a Comment

This bowl of goodness was created for Ma and Pa Socratous. On a recent trip up north they ate something similar and have been trying to find a recipe for it ever since. With no such luck I decided to write one for them based on what I know: that it had sweet potato, chickpeas, spinach and a generous amount of cumin. And that they both loved it. (I can only hope that this soup does the original one justice, as it is pretty rare for my folks to like the same thing!)

With its natural sweetness and creamy texture sweet potato makes a fantastic base for soups. And it works incredibly well with the rest of these ingredients creating a hearty yet wholesome soup, with a North African/ Middle Eastern feel. It’s wheat/ gluten and dairy free, and a great fertility boosting dish. Heck its a great everything boosting dish!

If you like your soup a little chunky, try mashing it with a potato masher, or only blitzing it a little.

 

Sweet potato, chickpea and spinach soup
Sweet potato, chickpea and spinach soup

 

SWEET POTATO, CHICKPEA AND SPINACH SOUP

Serves 6

  • 2 onions, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 1.5 teaspoons of ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 – 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • A tin of chickpeas, drained
  • A tin of reduced fat coconut milk
  • 800ml vegetable stock
  • Around 800g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 150g spinach, washed well
  • A handful of coriander, washed
  • A juicy lemon
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a large non-stick saucepan on a medium-low heat and add a lug of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute for around 10 – 12 minutes until soft and sticky, but not coloured. Add the cumin, coriander and chilli and fry for a further 3-4 minutes. Pour in the stock and coconut milk, and add the chickpeas and chopped sweet potatoes. Gently bring everything to the boil, season well, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for around 15 minutes, or until your potatoes are soft and completely cooked through. Add the spinach and coriander and cook for a couple more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and using a stick blender, blitz the soup until smooth. If the soup is a little on the thick side add a little more stock or water until you get to the texture and thickness that you like. Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir through. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve.

Categories // Light meals, Starters & sides, Vegan and Vegetarian Tags // Chickpea, Dairy-free, Fertility, Gluten-free, Middle Eastern, Nutrition, Pregnancy, Soup, Spinach, Starter, Sweet Potato, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat-free

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »
Meet


Georgina is an award winning food writer, cook and presenter from North London.
Read more about Georgina

Recent Posts

  • Book Publication Week – Greekish is here!
  • Introducing “Family Feeds”: A Tasty New Podcast about Food and Family
  • Be More Yiayia T-Shirts are here!
  • Nistisima (And Hello!)
  • My love affair with Delicious

Copyright © 2025 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in