#Comfortfood – Reetika Mitra

Coconut Lime Fish Soup

Reetika Mitra — Sun, 03 May 2026 11:38:43 +0000

I came across this soup during our days in South East Asia. It’s common and popular in Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. This is an easy light soup which is ideal for Summer months. What makes it interesting is its flavour combination of citrus and coconut. There are very few ingredients used in this recipe, all of which are mostly easily available at home. The choice of fish is important. I have used good quality Basa fish but you can also use other white fish fillet i.e. Cod, King fish, Tilapia etc. This can be served both for family meals or for entertaining guests. Ideally this goes well with an Asian meal but can also be paired with a continental cuisine just to make things interesting. If you are looking for a cozy comfortable meal, this soup is excellent to start things off.

Coconut Lime Fish Soup

★ 1 from 5 reviews

Author: Reetika Mitra
Prep Time: 15 Mins
Cook Time: 15 Mins
Total Time: 30 Mins

Description

A Zesty Start

Ingredients

450 g (1 lb) firm white Fish Fillets (such as basa, sole, cod, king fish, tilapia)
1 tablespoon vegetable Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2–3 cloves Garlic, minced
1-inch piece of fresh Ginger, grated
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced (Optional)
1–2 Thai red chilies, sliced (adjust to taste)
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce or Light Soy Sauce
1 can full-fat Coconut Milk ( approximately 400 ml)
2 cups fish, chicken or vegetable Stock
Zest and juice of 1 Lime
1 cup fresh Bok Choy (Optional)
¼ cup fresh green Peas (Optional)
Salt to taste
Fresh Cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the minced garlic, grated ginger, sliced bell pepper, and Thai red chillies. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Stir in the fish or light soy sauce, followed by the coconut milk and fish fillet and the stock. Now, bring to a gentle simmer.
Once the soup is simmering, add the lime zest and juice.
Next add the fish fillet to the pan along with salt to taste. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes until the fish is opaque and breaks into flakes easily with a fork.
Stir in the bok choy, green peas, bell pepper (if you are using any) and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Ladle the coconut lime fish soup into individual bowls and serve immediately. Top with fresh cilantro and lime wedges on the side.

Notes

You may substitute the fish with Chicken, prawn if you are not too fond of fish. Will taste equally good!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 4

Pea Soup

Reetika Mitra — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 13:41:13 +0000

As they say sometimes in life ideas come from the strangest of circumstances. I tasted the pea soup for the first time in a hospital and loved it. I made a mental note to make this soup in my kitchen. So here I am now sharing my Pea Soup recipe and experience with all of you. The great thing about this soup is that it is remarkably simple and yet extremely nutritious and yummy. Needless to say it boils down to the quality of peas used and therefore I suggest freshly bought peas and ideally ground at home. The vegetable broth used in this soup may not be readily available so I have adapted by making my own homemade broth by boiling some vegetables such as carrots, beans, onions and tomatoes and straining the broth once cooled. I prepared the broth a day earlier to reduce cooking time. Ideally, this soup should be served freshly made and pairs well with a bread basket.

Pea Soup

★★★ 2.5 from 142 reviews

Author: Reetika Mitra
Prep Time: 10 Mins
Cook Time: 10 Mins
Total Time: 20 Mins

Description

Easy ‘Pea’sy

Ingredients

2 cups fresh shelled Peas
1 tablespoon vegetable Oil
1 small Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh Coriander (or fresh Basil)
1–2 finely chopped Green Chillies
1 cup light Coconut Milk
2 cups Vegetable Broth
2 Tsp Butter
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in deep bottom pan over medium heat. Add the onion, green chillies along with the garlic and sauté for a minute or two, stirring frequently.
Now add the fresh, shelled peas, coconut milk, and the vegetable broth to the pan. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off from the heat to cool for a bit.
Use a hand blender to puree the soup, or you may transfer to a blender jar and blend until smooth.
Transfer the blended soup back to the pan and reheat it over low flame. Finish off by adding butter and season with salt and black pepper according to your taste. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 4

Pish-Pash, The Anglo-Indian Rice

Reetika Mitra — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:06:49 +0000

The Pish-Pash has Anglo Indian genes. The dish came up in a recent conversation with my mother and her eyes lit up on hearing about the Pish-Pash. She told me her mother, my grandmother used to make the Pish-Pash when my mother was young in her home in Cuttack, Odisha. So in away the Pish-Pash is also in my lineage. This is a comfort and nourishing dish often had when one is under the weather or in recovery mode. The amazing thing about this dish is that it combines few, simple ingredients and is also easy to cook. It is a one pot meal so can be whipped up in a hurry with minimum fuss. The key ingredients in the Pish-Pash are rice, potato and chicken. I also add some additional vegetables to spruce up the dish to make it more nourishing. You will need a lot of water while cooking this dish, so you may keep some hot water ready and available. The rice needs to be boiled to a mushy, soft texture and therefore you may need to pour in extra hot water. You may replace the extra water with chicken stock or milk to add more flavour to your dish. Don’t forget to add a dollop of butter at the end to provide a nice flavour to the Pish-Pash. The dish is usually served with a boiled egg. The British connection is evident in the ingredients i.e. Potato, Boiled Egg, chicken, all of which are part of traditional English meals. The name Pish-Pash is derived from the messy look of the final dish which combines the soft rice, potato and chicken in a semi liquid form. The taste however is far from messy, it’s simply outstanding. So try this unique recipe this winter.

Pish-Pash, The Anglo-Indian Rice

★★★ 3 from 2 reviews

Author: Reetika Mitra
Prep Time: 10 Mins
Cook Time: 25 Mins
Total Time: 35 Mins

Description

Anglo Indian Mish-Mash

Ingredients

1 cup Gobindobhog or Basmati Rice
300 gms boneless Chicken, cut into medium sized pieces
5–6 small sized Potatoes (or 3–4 large potatoes, halved)
4–5 small sized Onions
1 Carrot, cut into large pieces (Optional)
2–3 tbsp Oil
1–2 Bay leaves
4–5 Green Cardamoms
1/2 inch Cinnamon stick, broken into half
10–12 whole Black Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 large Onion, sliced
2 green chillies, chopped
1 tbsp coarsely grated Ginger
5 tsp crushed and coarsely chopped Garlic
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 heaped tbsp Butter
Freshly grounded Black pepper to season
Salt to taste

Instructions

In a large bowl soak the rice for 30 mins. Drain and keep aside.
In the meantime season the chicken with salt and black pepper powder and let it marinate for 15 -20 mins.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. When hot, sear the chicken pieces over high heat for 3-4 mins. Take off and keep them aside.
Lower the heat to a medium and add 1-2 tbsp more oil. Add the bay leaves, green cardamom, cinnamon stick (broken into half), whole black peppercorns, cumin seeds.
Once they start to splutter, add 1 large onion and the finely chopped green chillies. Saute for a bit before adding the crushed and coarsely chopped garlic and coarsely grated ginger.
Stir till onions turn translucent. Next add the potatoes and carrots. You may add 1 tbsp more of the oil, if required out here as well. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the rice, salt to taste and mix all the ingredients well together.
Pour 4 cups of hot water and allow to cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes before adding in the chicken pieces.
Continue to cook till the rice is overdone, mushy and soft. You will most probably require to add more warm water if the rice starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.
At the very add the lemon juice and butter. Give it a good stir. Switch off the flame and cover. Serve hot.

Notes

The rice needs to be boiled to a mushy, soft consistency and therefore you will need to pour in extra hot water. You may replace the extra water with chicken stock or milk to add more flavour to your dish.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2