Cookbook Giveaway & Avgolemono Soup Recipe

Before we get to today’s recipe, I am excited to share something with you guys. It’s a GIVEAWAY! The very first one on this blog!!

Last month, the good folks at Nourish Books sent me a hot-off-the-press copy of the latest cookbook by Nisha Katona. It is called Pimp My Rice, and rightly so! It supposedly has everything one could do with rice, and then some. So, does the actual book live up to the claim? Read on for my review, a recipe review and the grand finale – a chance to win this book for yourself.

Nisha Katona, a British Indian curry evangelist is a celebrity in her own right. A proponent of the now-famous ‘curry in a hurry’ philosophy, Nisha stays true to her Indian roots, while spreading her culinary wings across various global cuisines.

Her latest book, Pimp My Rice, stays true to her philosophy of soulful comfort food, all the while keeping in mind the busy modern home cook. The book covers the basics of cooking rice and introduces the many different varieties of rice found around the world. There are rice recipes for every meal, bringing you cozy breakfasts in the morning, nourishing you with light fantastics for lunch and snacks, and taking you all the way to delicious mains and luscious desserts.

If you are like me and eat with your eyes first, the book doesn’t disappoint at all. The pages are of excellent quality with beautiful pictures and an easy-to-read layout.

There is something for everyone in this book. It doesn’t matter if you have fifteen minutes or fifty, you will find a recipe that suits you. You will find recipes for porridges and congees, crepes and fritters, soups and appetizers, biryanis and lasagna, puddings and even cakes. Nisha has cleverly incorporated rice as the star ingredient in many traditional dishes which otherwise rely on wheat based products.

I was immensely drawn to her colorful meat recipes and unctuous one-pot creations. But fear not, she has enough fare for vegetarians and vegans as well. The recipe inspirations range from Indian to Greek to Japanese to Hungarian. As a South Indian, I pride myself on my ability to use rice in its various incarnations, but I never imagined there was so much more to rice that I had yet to learn! I am excited to try the nasi goreng, tea steeped chickpea pot, boozy claypot chicken, coconut spiced rice omelette, pear and almond rice flour tart, black rice and coconut sorbet, and many more.

So, how does the book stack up?

Pros:

• Lovely layout, easy-to-read, well-indexed.
• A very useful section about the different varieties of rice and methods of cooking rice are included.
• The recipes cover a wide range of cuisines, and include recipes for breakfast till dinner, also non-vegetarian and vegetarian recipes.
• A good range of short as well as long recipes for everyday meals and party recipes.

Cons:

• Like many cookbook, not every recipe has an accompanying picture. These are mostly easy, common recipes like the soup recipe I have featured here. It is not that much of an issue since the instructions are well-written.

Since I didn’t want to write a blog post without a recipe, here is an adaptation of the classic Greek avgolemono soup.

I have tried this soup with the traditional arborio rice or even orzo pasta, but the following recipe tells you to use any long-grain white rice. I used basmati rice which cooks very fast and adds a wonderful aroma to the soup. The soup comes together in a snap with just a few common pantry essentials like eggs and lemons.

Once the rice is cooked al-dente in the chicken stock, you simply temper the beaten egg yolks and stir them into the warm soup. And just like that, the runny rice soup turns into a silky, creamy concoction. The lemon and parsley are there to add freshness and cheer to this soup.

One thing I would add to the recipe is the option to add some chopped rotisserie meat or boiled chickpeas to amp up the nutritional quotient and make it a complete meal. I’ll keep that in mind the next time and have included that in the recipe notes section for your convenience.

After you read the recipe, don’ forget to enter the GIVEAWAY giving you a chance to win this cookbook for yourself! It’s as easy as leaving a comment in the comment form below.

Recipe courtesy: Pimp My Rice by Nisha Katona. Published by Nourish Books 2015

Since it is soup season, I found it only apt to give you a soup recipe in today’s post. Do give it a try with the variations I’ve written in the recipe.

PIMP MY RICE COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY

You too can own a hardcover copy of this cookbook from Nourish Books priced at 24.95 USD. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me if you’d like to win this book. See, it’s that simple! If you want to, go ahead and tell me all about your favorite rice recipe or some recipe you are interested to learn.

Here are the rules, just for the sake of it!

1. Enter a comment in this blog post to be considered in the drawing.
2. The giveaway will be open from the 5th till the 13th of Nov, open to readers from all countries.
3. An online random name picker will decide the winner. The winner will be intimated via email and will have 48 hours to get back to me with their shipping address and telephone number. In case I do not hear from this person, I will draw another name.
4. The cookbook will be shipped directly by the publishing house, so I will be unable to provide shipping details.
5. I reserve the right to suspend this giveaway in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Thank you for reading. Leave a comment here if you’d like to win this book. Keep your fingers crossed, and good luck to you!

Update: This giveaway is now closed. We have a winner.

Congratulations, Hilda! I will be emailing you for your shipping address.

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I am sharing this over at Fiesta Friday, FoodieFriDIY and Saucy Saturdays.