A comforting one-pot chicken and lettuce soup made with leftovers, fresh greens and simple ingredients. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners.

Part two of the Lettuce Series, as I’ve dubbed it, involved throwing a bunch of ingredients into a large pot and ending up with a soup that made life feel a whole lot better. Chicken Lettuce Soup wasn’t a planned recipe, but it’s the kind that, once you’ve tasted it, you realise needs to be shared with the world. Or at least the little corner of the world this blog reaches.

The best thing about this soup? The mothership liked it. And trust me when I say that her approving of something containing both chicken (she’s steadily developing a dislike for meat) and lettuce (see part one of the Lettuce Series) felt like a major life achievement.

Note: I used leftover smoked chicken, but any cooked chicken works just as well

For those joining this rodeo late, check out the Lettuce Sourdough-wich recipe to understand the concept of reverse parenting. And if soups are your thing, the Masala Chicken Soup and Pumpkin Carrot & Spring Onion Soup might offer a little inspiration.

A hearty grilled lettuce sourdough sandwich packed with lettuce, cheese and tomato, born from an attempt to get reluctant parents to eat more greens.

Remember those childhood days when parents came up with innovative ways to make you eat those dreaded greens? There’s been a role reversal at home, where I now have to find ways to get the parents to eat “foreign” vegetables — namely lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, and other vegetables they didn’t grow up with.

I get the reluctance, I really do. But as I keep reminding them, “You’ve got to eat your greens.” #Payback

With lettuce, I started with the tried-and-tested salad route, which worked brilliantly for my father. He loves salad. My mother? Not so much. She was, and continues to be, reluctant.

Determined to get her to eat it, I began tweaking a few recipes and, voila! She ate the lettuce-loaded food, and I ended up with what I’m now calling the Lettuce Series, starting with the Lettuce Sourdough-wich.

The parents have developed a taste for sourdoughs, and since all three of us love pan-grilled sandwiches, I snuck a few leaves into our breakfast sandwich one day, and, to my delight, oh delight! It’s hearty, tasty and that golden crunch when you bite in… mmmmm.

You can use vegetables other than tomato here, but there’s something pure and nostalgic about the combination of bread + cheese + tomato that I adore. Just one thing to remember: these sourdough-wiches (sandwich… sourdough-wich… you get the drift) are pretty filling. In fact, I ended up skipping lunch altogether and settled for supper and a late-night snack instead.

Things to remember

• You can use vegetables of choice, but as I’ve mentioned, tomato and cheese are pure nostalgia and classic.  
• If the idea of pan grilling terrifies you, pop the sourdough-wich into a sandwich maker – whatever makes life easier!

A simple homemade apple chutney flavoured with butter, star anise and paprika, inspired by a failed relish that turned into a delicious kitchen success.

Not every kitchen experiment is a success. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the result is inedible. In fact, some happy accidents turn into delightful surprises, like this apple chutney.

Inspired by a friend’s superwoman-like ability to make relishes, I set out to make an apple relish. Unfortunately, I’d picked the wrong kind of apples — or rather, found them languishing in the fruit tray. Instead of being crisp and crunchy, they were soft and brittle, crumbling as I peeled them. But hey, no one ever called me a quitter!

So I forged ahead, peeling apples to the tune of Kishore Kumar’s Mere Saamnewali Khidki Mein. (Music is an essential kitchen ingredient. Good mood equals good food.)

The mini mound of roughly chopped apples ready to be dealt with, I reached for butter, because darlings, irrespective of what it does to your arteries and your hips, it makes the world right. In went all the goodies into the pan and with a little bit of this and that thrown in, I had this apple chutney which, my dear friends, got a huge thumbs up from the parents. I’ve made it twice since, is being used to slather on butter-toasted sourdoughs sprinkled with sumac powder or smoked cheese shavings. It is also being slathered on rotis and parathas to make rolls for the instant hunger moments.

NOTE: If you aren’t in a rush, then let the apple chutney rest for a day. It tastes so much more deliciouser the next day.

Give it a shot and stick around for when I get the apple relish right! Until then, happy cooking.

A comforting Bengali-style roasted yellow moong dal cooked with vegetables and whole spices. A wholesome everyday meal best served with steamed rice.

There is a quiet joy in dishes that ask for very little and yet deliver so much comfort. The reasons could be many: they’re fuss-free to cook, they soothe both the palate and the soul, or, in the case of Yellow Moong Dal with Vegetables—a personal favourite—they’re tied to childhood memories and special occasions.

This Bengali favourite relies on minimal spices and aromatics, allowing the roasted yellow moong dal to remain the star of the dish. A handful of vegetables adds sweetness, texture and a nutritional boost, turning it into a wholesome meal that’s equally at home alongside steaming rice and a simple bhaaja. For the uninitiated, a bhaaja is the Bengali word for a fried dish. With this dal, it could be a lightly fried begun (brinjal) bhaaja, aaloo (potato) bhaaja or even kumdo (pumpkin) bhaaja.

Better still, it comes together fairly quickly, especially in a pressure cooker, which is how we almost always make it at home.