9 Soups which are the best appetizers

Come winter, the flu or just an appetizer before dinner, soups are the one friend that we all bank on in our time of comfort and need and not to mention; a soothing, delish comfort food at that. There are tons of ways of making the perfect soup with a plethora of flavors, herbs, spices to keep you nice and well appeased before your meal. Here’s Specialfoods’ list of soups to whet your appetite.

1.     Ajiaco – Originating in the Colombian capital of Bogotá, ajiaco is a chunky kind of soup that is typically made using three varieties of potatoes, chicken, and the Galinsoga parviflora herb (commonly referred to as the guascas in Colombia.) In Cuba, it is a hearty stew made from pork, beef, vegetables, chicken, and a variety of starchy roots and tubers classified as viandas.

2.     Acquacotta – A creation of Italy (Tuscany) and originally a peasant food, historically, its primary ingredients were water, tomato, onion, stale bread, olive oil and any spare vegetables or leftovers. It has been described as an ancient dish. This broth-based hot soup is now made with toasted bread, with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetable broth, cheeses, basil, celery, garlic, beans, kale, lemon juice, cabbage, pepper, and potatoes. They also use mushrooms, herbs, leafy vegetables, chard, mint dandelion greens and chicory as other variants for ingredients.

3.     Brown Windsor soup – Although you can guess by the name itself that the soup originates from England, we thought we’d mention it anyway. The Brown Windsor soup could be made from beef steak or Lamb, and bouquet garni, carrots, leeks, parsnips, Madeira wine all of which were a popular thing in England during the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

4.     Cazuela – Spain has news for you, dear Specialfoodz enthusiasts! The Cazuela is a Clear broth that is made using rice, squash or pumpkin, potato, corn, and chicken or beef. Eaten in South America and Spain, it combines the native spirit along with other ingredients that were later introduced.

5.     Rasam – Granted, Indians usually treat the Rasam, a south Indian dish more or less as curry and not soup but this is a sort of broth that actually is eaten sometimes all by itself so it could qualify as soup. It mostly consists of various different spices from around India, water and plenty of tamarind that gives it its tangy, spicy and upbeat flavor. 

6.     Sambar – Another south Indian dish, that is not necessarily considered soup but an accompaniment that is had with rice, the sambar had to make it to this list as southerners often drink it all up just as we do with soups when we have it as appetizers. Unlike the Rasam, Sambar, along with spices and tamarind also has a lentil-based vegetable stew to add to its already unique flavor. The Sambar is also made in Sri Lanka.

7.     Curry Mee – A Malaysian dish that is made from thin yellow noodles or/and string thin mee hoon (rice vermicelli) with coconut milk, chili/sambal, spicy curry soup, and a choice of prawns, dried tofu, chicken, egg, cuttlefish, cockle and mint leaves.

8.     Dashi – First made in Japan, the Dashi is a cold, chilled, clear fish stock made using kombu (sea kelp) and katsuobushi (smoked bonito flakes). The Dashi broth is often used as a base for miso soup and other Japanese soup broths.

Joumou – A chunky soup originating from Haiti, this mildly spicy pumpkin soup is made using pieces of potato, beef, plantains and vegetables such as carrots, parsley, celery, green cabbage, and onions. It is eaten every first of January in honor of the Haitian independence 

List of rice dishes that will blow your mind

A staple diet of many countries, usually eaten in its actual form or used as batter for crepes, dosas, etc., rice is one popular food group that many people consider to be their favorite ‘go to’ dish. Specialfoodz has endeavored to bring to you a list of rice dishes from around the world to tease your stomach and your palate.

Arroz con gandules – A Puerto Rican rice dish which consists of rice as its main ingredient along with pigeon peas, capers, olives, pork, all of which is cooked in the same pot with spices, Puerto Rican-style sofrito, and annatto oil. A national dish of Puerto Rico, this scintillating and colorful meal is one everybody must try by perhaps using other kinds of meat according to one’s convenience.

Arroz con pollo – Another rice dish with a Spanish name, and this time originating in Spain itself, the Arroz con pollo, translated as ‘Rice with Chicken’ (an awesome combination, we must admit), is the staple food of Latin America. It Is also a traditional dish of the Caribbean, Dominican Republic and plenty of other South American countries. The dish itself is somewhat similar to Arroz con gandules that we mentioned earlier.

Bisi Bele Bath – A rice dish that is native to India, this is one meal that is spectacular in its appearance as well as its taste. The dish is usually made in Karnataka as it originated there. ‘Bisi Bele Bath’ translates to ‘hot lentil rice’ in Kannada. This traditional meal, usually eaten for breakfast, is quite elaborate in its setup. The dish itself is sem-solid in its texture. Some of its variety of ingredients include spices, toor dal (a kind of lentil), vegetables, nutmeg, asafetida, curry leaves and tamarind pulp all of which contributes to its unique, spicy, and tangy flavour.

Bhat – Originating from Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, this rice based dish is cooked either by boiling or steaming. This is the staple diet of all these countries which requires little effort to make but is healthy and nutritious and is filled with carbs. The rice dish is usually eaten with some gravy or curry mixed into the rice.

Bokkeumbap – Not like the fried rice that the world at large or as a fact India, is accustomed to, this fried rice that originates from Korea, usually orange in color (as opposed to the white colored fried rice that we know of) along with being spicy, aromatic and delicious is one of the most popular dishes of the place. Some of the ingredients use to make this fried rice is kimchi (cucumber with filling that turns to a kind of pickle). It is referred to as kimchi bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice).

Ci fan tuan – Perpetually made in Shanghai (china) and Taiwan, the Ci fan tuan, is prepared by tightly wrapping a piece of youtiao (fried dough) with glutinous rice. They look like cylindrical rice balls and are usually served in a pot.

Congee – Made in East, South and Southeast Asia, this dish is a kind of porridge that is sometimes referred to as ‘rice congee’. A ginormous variety of this dish is found in Honk Kong and is eaten as a staple food there. The dish is made by boiling rice (which becomes the base), which is then left to simmer for quite some time. Different kinds of ingredients are added to it depending on the region that you want to follow. The length of time the dish is left to simmer also depends on the region. Some variants are cooked differently to give it a smooth texture.

Étouffée - Originating in Cajun and Creole, this cuisine is typically prepared using shellfish over rice. The dish is made using a technique called smothering, where meat seafood or vegetables is cooked in a covered pan over a low-heat flame with just small amounts of liquids added to it. It is a popular cooking technique native to Cajun and Creole cuisines of Louisiana.

Titillating flavored cookies

You have before you, a tall glass of milk, how best do you think you could utilize this very healthy drink without having to think of its odd taste while gulping it down? Well, we have a suggestion for you. Bring a plate of cookies (any flavor would do although we prefer the classic chocolate chip ones), pick one (or two together) and dunk it into your milk. And Voila! You will have before you the yummiest combination, one that can be eaten at any time of the day (or night ). If you have not already guessed what this article is leading towards, we shall endeavor to enlighten our dear readers. We are talking of the enormous advantages of having a jar of cookies at home at all times. We will also show you a list of flavored cookies to make your day.

1.     Dark Chocolate Pistachio Sea Salt Cookies – Cookies are essentially batter that is baked in the oven. They are usually circular in shape. Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cookies are infused with pistachios in them along with the essential chunks of dark chocolate and sea salt. A deadly combination we must accept. The perfect mix of saltiness and sweetness mixed together makes for a perfect tea time snack.

2.     Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies – These literally look like the cinnamon rolls that we are used to. Except that, these are in actuality, cookies. Sprinkled with Cinnamon and brown sugar with a cream cheese frosting, these are the ultimate cookie/biscuit snack of all time.

3.     Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – And… We have our very own, all famous, chocolate chip cookies. In all its glory, with the healthiest combination, to add to it a far crunchier and heartier feel. The oatmeal combination consists of raisins, nuts, and of course, oatmeal.

4.     Peanut Butter Cookies – Who doesn’t love a healthy dose of peanut butter? We certainly do! And the best way to show our love to the nutty delight Is by adding them to our cookie batter. In addition to adding peanut butter to the cookie mix, one needs to add vanilla extract and milk to give it the complete flavour.

5.     Acıbadem kurabiyesi – We know it’s not the easy on the tongue, not so for the Turkish we are sure. This traditional Turkish cookie is made using sugar, egg whites, and almonds. A very simple recipe but simply delicious to taste.

6.     Afghan Biscuits – Although the name suggests that it might have originated in Afghanistan, these biscuits are made in New Zealand and is a traditional snack of the place. Very attractive to look at, these cookies are made using cocoa powder, flour, cornflakes, and butter. The cookie mix is then topped with one-half of a walnut and chocolate icing (Just so good…)

7.     Berger Cookie – Now we aren’t referring to burgers here people. These are delish cookies made in Germany that are vanilla flavored with a buttery feel and has a topping that consists of a thick, creamy fudge. Berger cookies are the in thing in Baltimore. What we would do to get this shipped to the Indian sub-continent stands to be questioned.

8.     Bizcochito – These cookies are star shaped and actually have star anise added to it as a major ingredient. An origin of New Mexico, the Bizcochito are crispy butter cookies that have a cinnamon flavor to it. The cookies are usually found in times of celebration and gatherings back in New Mexico.

9.     Caramel Shortbread Cookies – Scottish cookies that are rectangular in shape and are shortbread biscuits that consist of layers of chocolate and caramel. They are also referred to as caramel shortcakes, caramel slices, millionaires’ shortbread and caramel squares (they all sound yummy as ever, we must say.)

10.  Charcoal Biscuit – True to its name, this creation of the English is based by on a powdered, willow charcoal, that is mixed with flour and made into a dough with eggs, sugar and butter. It looks very much like charcoal too but tastes far better than it, we assure you.

11.  Chocolate Biscuit – We’re sure you’ve heard of these little delights that are coated completely with chocolate and has a biscuit on the inside of it. A very simple design, and recipe, but the taste is far superior when compared to regular biscuits.  

Benefits of cinnamon

Cinnamon or Dal chini is a spice obtained from the inner bark of the tree genus ‘Cinnamomum’ whose bark is known for the healing essential oils that it generates. Now when we hear the term ‘spice’, it is natural that we think of cinnamon being spicy. But, cinnamon is quite contrary to what it sounds like. Cinnamon is sweet flavoured and is unique in taste. The knowledge about cinnamon has been passed on to us by our ancestors. Earlier, it was used solely for medicinal purposes to cure ailments like cancer, flu and indigestion. Now, it is also used because of the delectable flavour that it possesses. Following are the benefits of cinnamon-

1.     Cures Acne, Pimples and Blemishes

Who does not desire a smooth glowing skin with no blemishes and acne marks. Cinnamon helps in fulfilling this wish. It helps in getting rid of acne and pimples on the face and body. This is done by drying the skin and bringing blood and oxygen to the outer skin surface.

2.     Promotes weight loss

Well definitely this benefit is everyone’s favourite. Cinnamon helps in reducing insulin resistance and increases insulin’s capacity to metabolize blood sugar. This spice thus helps reduce hunger and sugar cravings, resulting in weight loss.

3.     Cures cold

Cold is one particular problem which is not easy to deal with because neither does it seem severe enough to have medicines nor does it cure easily without taking them. Thus, cinnamon being a natural remedy is perfect for treating cold and common flu. Cinnamon when added to ginger tea is an excellent cold reliever.

4.     Prevents arthritis

Arthritis causes pain and swelling in the joints. Elderly people specially face this problem.  Cinnamon helps in preventing arthritis. It is advisable to have cinnamon with a hop cup of water and honey twice a day.

5.     Stimulates hair growth

Applying cinnamon with honey in hair is highly recommended. Combine a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of olive oil and an egg. The pack should be applied for around 20 minutes and then washed off thoroughly.

Some of the ways to add cinnamon in diet are:

·       In various dessert recipes like apple pie and doughnuts.

·       It can be added in chicken.

·       Cinnamon can also be used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes, such as toast, and fruits, especially apples.

·       It is used as an ingredient in some alcoholic beverages.

·       It can be added in green tea. Not only does it improve the taste but also helps in improving metabolism.