Simple mutton soup

This is a very simple soup / clear soup I prepare using goat ribs.Some weekends I try my best to give Xav some spicy soups before lunch, as it is our tradition in my parents house. I buy lamb meat WITH bones whenever I want to make a mutton kuruma (whereas mutton curry can be made using boneless or boney meat).Mutton kuruma tastes good with less spicy rice like coconut milk rice or ghee rice.  I cook the mutton in pressure cooker and before pouring the cooked ribs to the kuruma, I take out some of the cooked broth for soup. Though hubby is a picky eater, he will eagerly ask for a few more servings of this soup, which makes me very very happy:)
Though there are many versions of mutton soup in Tamilnadu (India), I like this quick soup also very much. I prefer serving this kind of soup at least 15-30 minutes before meal, to make room for lunch:). This clear soup should be served in smaller cups just like this picture for a native touch and it can be conveniently sipped instead of using a spoon:)

Ingredients: 
lamb meat (ribs) - 150 gm
shallot - 6
garlic - 1 whole
cilantro - handful (chopped)
mint leaf - few
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
whole black pepper - 1 tsp
cumin - 1 tsp
black pepper powder - to taste
salt - to taste

Method:
Clean the  meat in water.
Add turmeric powder, cilantro, mint and 3 cups of water. Keep aside.
Peel the onion and garlic. Chop them coarsely.
In a tbsp of butter / oil fry the shallot and onion and add to the mutton.
Grind whole black pepper and cumin to a fine powder and add it to the above.
Pressure cook this till we get one whistle. Reduce flame and cook in medium heat for 15 minutes.
Then switch off. After the pressure is released, open and take out 1.5 cups of clear soup (no need to take out the meat or bones....it is optional). Keep aside the remaining broth and meat for preparing a kuruma.
Add required salt to the soup and mix well.
Serve in small bowls and garnish with black pepper powder.

Mutton soup is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as appetizer.

Onion bajji

Onion (Vengayam) bajji is a popular snack of India similar to onion rings. Though it is mostly served as snack , sometimes I make this bajji as side dish with sambar rice during weekends or nights when we need something more delicious than the usual side dish.  I am narrating my recipe for vengaya bajji.

Vengaya bajji (photo updated : Feb 2014)

Ingredients (for 10 pieces) :

Red Onion - 2
Besan flour (kadalai mavu) - 3/4 cup
dosa batter - 1/4 cup
(or) rice flour - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
hing (asafoetida)- 1/8 tsp
baking soda - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 2 pieces (finely ground)
ajwain (omam / bishop weed) - 1/4 tsp
red food color - a pinch (optional)
oil - to deep fry (200 ml)

Method:

Peel the onion. Slice it into thin (1/4 inch thick approx) round pieces, using a knife and cutting board. Carefully cut the onion, so that the concentric pieces remain intact.

Grind the garlic and omam to a fine paste with 1 tsp water. Mix all the above (except oil) along with 1/4 cup water to a thick batter. Add more water if needed, but keep the batter like thick idly batter ,otherwise the bajjis will absorb more oil.

Heat oil in a wok. As it gets smoky hot, reduce flame and keep in medium flame.

Dip the onion slices in the batter and put it on the hot oil.  Do not clutter. Flip and fry both sides. Drain oil and take out.

Onion bajji / fritter is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot as snack along with hot coffee or tea during rainy / winter season.
Coconut chutney or tomato ketchup are good side dishes for these fries.