Senegalese Curried Carrot Soup

Less is more. Or with less you can make more. This Senegalese Curried Carrot Soup seemed relatively easy to make with the most complicated component being the blender. The number of ingredients is not a lot so selecting quality products makes a better soup. I am not so sure exactly what makes this soup "Senegalese" aside from the addition of good quality curry powder or the combination with milk. In any case, the soup seemed extremely easy to make and would produce a standout result that would make people wonder what really went into it.

With this recipe, I lacked the vegetable stock and bouillon to create vegetable stock, so a bit more curry powder was used before adding water. The flavor of the curry powder is spicy and strong enough to overwhelm the flavors of a vegetable stock. The block of butter I used was purchased in bulk so I may have cut off a 4 tablespoon chunk instead of 6, but even with less butter the vegetables still got coated and were not left too dry in the pan. The addition of milk to the soup gives it a creamy, cooler taste and smoother texture. The resulting carrot soup had an excellent kick from the curry used (and some heat as well) and brought more excitement to what would have been an ordinary soup.

Senegalese Curried Carrot Soup (adapted) serves 4
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cups roughly chopped carrots
3 cups vegetable stock
2 teaspoon good-quality, fresh curry powder
1.5 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Thick yogurt as garnish (optional)

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook until onions are translucent and carrots are almost soft, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle curry powder over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, a few minutes more. Add stock and bring to a boil and then simmer until carrots are completely soft. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, in batches if necessary. Return to saucepan and whisk in milk. Heat the soup until a simmer and salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls and garnish with yogurt, if desired. May be served hot or cold.

Eating in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia

Yogyakarta is a hot spot in Java for foodies. Any traveler you come across will say, "There is great food in Yogyakarta." It is a cultural center in Java close to the ocean and has several historic sites as well as surrounding nature to enjoy, such as climbing the steep slopes of Mt. Merapi. As the city is so big, it attracts people from all over, contributing to the growing diversity of flavors in the city. The cuisine in Yogyakarta is characterized by a sweetness, similar to the characteristic flavor of Shanghai (also sweetness). Being in Indonesia, you can still get the fiery chili taste with any local dish. Just ask for it (or the omittance thereof).

Going for something on the healthy side, attempting to stray away from all that is fried (a difficult task), I was taken Warung Pecel Madiun for nasi pecel madiun. In English, I was told it is a "traditional Indonesian salad." It is not exactly salad in the traditional sense being served atop a serving of rice, but it was not considered a hot dish. Pecel is actually a classic Javanese peanut sauce commonly served with vegetables. It was poured atop raw spinach, sprouts, beans, a type of cucumber, and other leaves. On the side was a type of tempe cracker and salt-preserved, shredded meat. The nasi pecel madiun tasted very fresh and the selection of ingredients showcased this. The peanuts gave whole salad a more meaty taste. The pecel sauce also brought some spiciness to the salad, making it more exciting. It was difficult to get the perfect bite in with pecel, vegetable, rice, cracker, and that salted meat on one spoon. The meal as a whole is not heavy at all, even with all the rice. Needless to say, I felt a lot healthier after several meals that centered on something that was fried.

My companion was eager to show me how hot Indonesian food can get, claiming to only eat ayam penyet pedas once a month because it can wreak havoc on the digestive system. Here is to hoping I am not reminded of the meal the following day from something other than memory. Warung Sambal is another simple restaurant in the Yogyakarta area of Sleman. I was told initially that the famous dish is "chicken cooked with hot spices" and not "fried smashed chicken" as the translation implies. However, I was not expecting this. It was a thigh and leg piece of fried chicken, bone in, of course, first boiled with a spice mixture, coconut milk, and lemongrass before it is fried, ensuring that the chicken remains tender. Dark meat is appreciated for its flavor, enhanced further if the bone is in. Asians are more concerned with flavor - not health factor - preferring dark meat over white meat. I did not get the impression that the chicken was cooked with hot spices, but rather a paste dominated by green chili was spread over the fried chicken. Ayam penyet pedas is, indeed, incredibly spicy. You can make it even spicier by asking for sambal. Only the cucumber the chicken came with is able to save the mouth from spontaneously combusting due to the concentration of chili. The rice is only a small way to falsely dilute the scoville level from the chicken. It was really flavorful, though. My innards were screaming from the concentrated bites of heat that it was not used to.


Yogyakarta is most famous for gudeg, a curry made with young jackfruit and coconut milk with chicken. The sugars of the jackfruit give the gudeg its very sweet characteristic. We tried it at a roadside restaurant called Warung Kayu, popular for late-night eating. It is a simple wooden structure with all the food laid out in the middle and an old woman scooping up gudeg and ripping chicken bits onto your plate with her bare hands (slightly horrifying for the germaphobes out there). Whatever. You are in Indonesia, so this is something you have to get over. There goes the rice, the gudeg, slices of tempe, egg, and a big piece of chicken. Looking at the gudeg, it appears to be brown slop after taking in color from teak leaves, but do not let that deter you. It goes down nicely with the sweetened ice tea, which can be asked for unsweetened. The gudeg was really tasty and not as sweet as I originally imagined, most likely because the jackfruit was not completely ripe at its height of sweeetness. The combination of spices used in cooking while the coconut milk boiled down to almost nothing gave the gudeg extra depth appealing to other taste palates. The chicken was also very tender and moist taking in the flavor of the curry. After a taste, you understand why gudeg is very much associated with its mother city of Yogyakarta.

Waroeng Pecel Madiun. Moh. Kahfi II No. 40 A, Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia.

Lahore Kebab House

After an evening of post-work drinking in the City, the stomach was yearning for something to dilute and digest all the alcohol sitting in an otherwise empty cavity. At this point, the kitchens of most nearby restaurants have closed, giving way to late-night dining, fast food, and kebab shops to stave off the next morning's hangover. But where to go from the bars and fancy restaurants dotting the financial center? It was time to travel outwards for something more gratifying. Time for late night curry.

Away from the well-known Brick Lane famous for being paved with curry houses is Lahore Kebab House in Whitechapel offering authentic Pakistani cuisine. Off Commercial Road on a small street, the no-frills restaurant gets to the point with its food with wiped down tables and only Bollywood films offering extra color on the walls. Upon entry, a server immediately opened his arm as guidance towards the ground floor dining area was open and took pick any table suitable. You pass glass windows opening up the large kitchen so you can peep inside to view the culinary action. Even late at night, most of the tables are full of people and more arriving honoring the BYOB policy with bottles from the off license next door. Excellent option as the restaurant is open until 1:00am.

The menu is vast and simple, emphasizing the curry side of Pakistani and Indian-influenced cuisine. Vegetarians would be delighted to see the large selection for mains. The server was helpful on clarifying some unknown items on the menu and attentive to ensure that all was correctly ordered. All the food came out quickly and in large portions as if it was just scooped out of the carefully tended to vats marinating throughout the course of the day.



After work drinking on a relatively empty stomach means hungry eyes matching the desire to sample everything within strict budgetary reason and current stomach capacity of a party of two. The seemlingly requisite starter is the grilled lamb chops served on the bone. Juicy and succulent, you can see the spices rubbed into the chops from the next table over. Mains ordered were sag paneer (spinach with cheese) and Lahore Kebab House Special chicken curry on the bone accompanied by an order of pilau rice, tandoori roti and tandoori paratha as well as an order of mango lassi. Both the mains were spicy enough to make you sweat and little sips of lassi prevented your mouth from converting into a Bollywood inferno. The chicken was tender and juicy on the bone with the rice soaking up the curry well. The sag paneer was solid enough to pinch with pieces of bread and the pieces of cheese were not rubbery at all. Thankfully, the paratha was not too greasy from ghee, but had to be eaten while still warm to avoid tasting the texture of cooled fat in your mouth. Going back and forth between the meat and vegetarian dishes kept the mouth adequately stimulated, as if the heat was not stimulating enough itself. However, if you are sensitive to spicy foods or want a little bit more oomph in your curry, the level of spiciness can be adjusted according to taste by request to the server.

If you are willing enough to venture outside Banga-driven Brick Lane, Lahore Kebab House is recommended by Pakistani and Indians alike. It is also a great venue for a delicious curry night with a bunch of friends and BYO beverages.

Lahore Kebab House. 2-10 Umberston Street. London E1 1PY. United Kingdom. www.lahore-kebabhouse.com