Chicken Karahi is a popular dish in the Punjab region of Pakistan and according to Shayma Saadat whose recipe I adapted here, it’s Lahore’s star culinary attraction.

Experiencing street food in Lahore sounds like a thrilling buzz of smells and sounds, punctuated by smoking oil, steam and shining lights from individual kiosks lit up at night. Chicken Karahi is commonly enjoyed in this way; cooked quickly in a swirl of smokiness as hot chilies and chicken rapidly soak up the jammy tomato sauce.

For the recipe and more on how the dish is created and experienced in Paksistan, head over to the Caravanserai blog to read my post. This is the second post I’ve written for the Caravanserai program, an initiative of Arts Midwest where I work full time.

You can check out my first post here.

It’s that time of year. Finally, Minneapolis has accepted fate and we’ve left behind October temperatures in the 80s for blustery, grey mornings and quickly darkening evenings. And just like that, my body knows what’s good for it and starts intensely craving soups (and pounds of cheese and pasta, but that’s another post altogether).

In the spirit of this season of soup I thought I would share my personal to-make list of soups, in case some of you are looking for inspiration too.

Bean and lentil soups tend to be my favourite and I’ve got quite good at remembering to soak dried beans overnight and cooking them up to use in whatever (I currently have a hefty batch of French lentils and cannelini beans sitting in the fridge). I know you’ve heard it before, but they really taste better than out of a can. Really.

So, without further ado, soup!

Cauliflower Soup with Mustard and Gruyère croûtons – from Gourmet Traveller

Twice Cooked Tuscan Bread Soup – from Saveur

African Peanut Soup – Relishing It

Kale Tortellini Soup – Running with Tweezers

Chunky Vegetable Soup – Butterfly Food

French Onion Soup – Bon Appetit

Creamy White Chicken Chili  from Eat Live Run

And a few personal favourites from this site. Reading back over these posts makes me want to hide inside a sleeping bag and never come out :)

Nigel Slater’s Classic Caldo Verde

Lentils with Kale and Bacon

Moroccan Carrot Soup

What soups are you excited to make now that the cold is creeping on? Feel free to share links!

I don’t know about you but lately I’ve been feeling a little…bleurgh. There’s no other way to put it. I’ve been suffering from intense back pain for the majority of this year. I’ve also been experiencing what can only be described as a groggy sloth-like state. I get plenty of sleep and then battle to wake up in the morning and feel lethargic and exhausted all day.

One of the things I notice has a direct correlation to my grogginess is unsurprisingly the amount of sugar I eat. When I’m baking my little heart out and enjoying the creations that come out of my oven a bit too much I tend to get really sluggish.

So, for one I restocked our pantry with some pretty awesome looking dried beans and whole grains and jammed packed our fridge with fresh vegetables.

I’ve also seen some recipes bouncing round the intertubes have been inspiring me to clean up my act a little and I thought I’d share them with you in case you’re looking for some delicious and healthy inspiration too. Happy healthier eating!

~ Potato, Leek & Celeriac Soup from Nicole Franzen

~ Curried Bean Salad from 101 Cookbooks

~ Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup w/ bacon & gorgonzola from the little red house

~ Quinoa skillet bread 101 Cookbooks

~ Rustic Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup from My New Roots

~ Buttermilk squash soup from 101 Cookbooks