dna celebrity columnist Vicky Ratnani talks about his experience being a vegetarian

Just the thought of doing a whole season of vegetarian food, and that too eggless, blew my mind. How can I? Or can I?

I turned vegetarian to think vegetarian in order to brainstorm for recipes. I was thinking of beans, broccolis, cauliflowers, potatoes, mushrooms… and I actually began to list down all the veggie edibles on this planet. The list got actually interesting, this whole mixology of ideas, flavours, cuisines and colours came to my mind and led to the birth of Vicky Goes Veg, a spunky, funky veggie cooking show, which has won many hearts. People actually think I am a complete veggie or have turned into one. However, I stuck to veggies for about two months while I was writing recipes and cooking to check the dishes out. It was a crazy, amazing feeling and I felt lighter and mentally energetic. I have been practising this for a while, on and off, and it’s doing wonders.

Winter is here and it’s the best time to braise your veggies along with spices, chillies, lentils, pulses and then blend into the hearty goodness of soup —a complete one pot meal, which you can have chilled or even at room temperature. Ideal for a TV dinner or working lunch, or just a meal while reading. Welcome to the world of  liquid goodness.

Mid Eastern spiced carrot  soup from VGV
250 gm carrots, sliced/diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1⁄2 tsp ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1⁄2 tsp paprika
1⁄2 tsp toasted cumin powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of saffron
1 ltr vegetable stock
3 tbsp rice
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
6 mint leaves, fresh
A few sprigs of coriander, & fresh Chives, chopped (to garnish)
A dollop of yoghurt
A few sprigs of parsley

METHOD
In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, ginger and garlic. Let it sweat for three minutes. Add the carrots, paprika, cumin powder, cinnamon, turmeric powder and saffron; sauté for two to three minutes.

Pour the stock in and cook on simmer for 10 minutes. Add the rice and cook until the rice and carrots are cooked. Adding rice gives the soup a nice natural, thick consistency.

Using a slotted spoon, remove some of the rice and keep aside to use as garnish.

Add the lemon juice, some of the fresh mint and half the coriander, keeping the other half aside for garnishing.

Blend the soup to a smooth puree and then pour it out into a huge bowl. Garnish with rice, fresh mint, sprigs of parsley, coriander and chives, and a huge dollop of yoghurt.

Enjoy this lean, mean scrumptious soup straight from my heart to you!

I love this soup — lots of nutrition and tons of flavour. The spices give it plenty of spunk ‘n’ oomph. Try it chilled — it’s quite a cracker.