Cozy Meals To Try Out This Winter, Dished Out by AUC students

By Shree Dubey

With winter just around the corner, AUC students will soon be celebrating Christmas and Sinterklaas, Hanukkah and Lunar New Year. The approaching break will be spent back home, travelling or here in the Netherlands, where one can contribute to the rising demand of oliebollen and hete chocolade by visiting Christmas markets in Amsterdam, Maastricht and Valkenburg.

To keep you cosy and satiated, we have asked AUC students to share some delicious recipes for you to try out this winter. If you were wondering how you could go about making gajar ka halwa, vanillekipferl and sahlep, well, look no further.

Yara’s Carrot-Ginger-Miso Soup

For Yara, this soup is “perfect” in case you feel a bit under the weather as “it is comforting, super easy to make and combines fermented foods, broth, ginger and garlic which are all natural remedies for cold symptoms!”  

Ingredients:

• 2 big carrots 
• Ginger, 4 cm (just a lot) 
• 6 cloves of garlic
• Veggie stock cube 
• 1 spoon of miso paste
• A can of coconut milk 
• Lemon
• For garnish: coriander and sesame seeds 

Steps:

1. Dice your garlic, ginger and carrots. 
2. Fry garlic, ginger and carrots in some oil until fragrant. 
3. Add coconut milk and water. I use a 1:1.5 ratio, but this is a personal preference and you can add more water along the way. 
4. Once the carrots are fully cooked, blend the soup. 
5. Add a couple spoonfuls of soup to a separate bowl and whisk in the miso paste. 
6. Add the miso mixture back to the pot. 
7. Simmer for a couple of minutes while you toast some sesame seeds for the garnish. 
8. Add a little bit of lemon juice to taste and serve.

Kaya’s Recommendation: Golden Glow Soup

Kaya loves this recipe for its “cosy and rich flavours,” which will make you “glow from the inside out due to its many skin and gut nutrients… it’s perfect for winter days thanks to the anti-inflammatory properties of the golden ingredient: turmeric.”

Ingredients:

• 2 heads of garlic, sliced
• 1 large potato, cubed
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• Olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper
• 1-2 tsp turmeric
• 1 cup white wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water (and extra bullion if you like)
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• Thyme (optional)
• 2-3 cups bread, cubed
• Cheese (gouda, parmesan, white cheddar, or anything else that melts!)
• Herbs to garnish: parsley, chives

Steps:

1. Sauté onions, chopped potato and sliced garlic in a pot with a bit of oil and butter – do not let them brown too much.
2. Add in salt, pepper and turmeric.
3. Add white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
4. Pour in chicken broth until the potatoes are tender and fully cooked. You can add in a bay leaf or fresh thyme if you like.
5. To make croutons, toast or fry bread cubes until they become golden and crispy.
6. Ladle the soup into an oven-safe bowl and top with some croutons and cheese. Place the bowl under the broiler for a few minutes/until the cheese melts.
7. You can add some chopped parsley or chives on top and it’s ready to serve!

Yara’s Indonesian Peanut Soup

Yara calls this soup “an easy comfy meal” and says that her dad always used to make this recipe. “His version is probably far superior,” she says. “I always thought it was a super complicated recipe but when I first tried making it, it turned out to be really easy and student-friendly.” 

Ingredients:

• A can of coconut milk 
• Ginger, 2 cm 
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion 
• Stock cube 
• 1 carrot 
• Green beans (frozen is easiest) 
• Ketjap 
• Soy Sauce 
• Coriander 
• Sambal (or fresh chilli) 
• For garnish: cucumber, more coriander, boiled egg, fried onions, sambal, spring onions and roasted peanuts 

Steps:

1. Dice your onion, garlic, ginger, coriander and carrot. 
2. Heat up some oil in your pan and add the onion. Once it looks soft, add ginger and garlic. 
3. After the onion, ginger and garlic start to gain some colour, add coconut milk, stock cube and water – how much water you want to add depends on how thick you want your soup to be. I usually start out with equal parts coconut milk and water, and add water if needed. 
4. Add a splash of ketjap (Indonesian sweet soy sauce which they sell at most supermarkets). I usually also add a splash of a saltier soy sauce but you can replace this with some regular salt. 
5. Add your sambal, green beans, carrots and most of your coriander. Let it simmer for a couple minutes until the green beans are cooked but the carrot still has some bite. 
6. Serve the soup with slices of cucumber, the rest of your coriander, sambal, fried onions, roasted peanuts, spring onions and an egg. 

Fatemah & Saira’s Gajar ka Halwa (“Brown mom-approved”)

According to Fatemah, Gajar ka Halwa is “a quintessential warm dessert to get through wintertime in Pakistan. Come December, as the carrots grow sweeter, families start buying them in bulk and bring out their biggest graters. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen trying to help my mom [Saira] make this sweet, call it unpaid child labor (because I do). Long story long, I really do love it and if you don’t try it you’re missing out.”

Ingredients:

• 700 g carrot 
• Khoa/khoya/mawa (optional)
• 300 g sugar 
• A small bowl of dried fruits (almond, pistachio, cashew)
• 1/2 tbsp cardamom 
• 1 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter) 
• 1 cup of full-cream milk

Steps:

1. Grate the carrots.
2. Put the carrots in a pan with full cream milk. Stir occasionally until the milk evaporates. 
3. Add sugar to the carrots, mix it well and keep stirring. When the sugar is completely dissolved into a syrup, keep stirring until all the liquid in the mixture evaporates.
4. Add ghee and cardamom powder into the mixture and stir.
5. Add ghee to a separate pan and roast some dry fruits.
6. Stir and mix everything together. Ensure the bottom does not burn.
7. Garnish the halwa with some crumbled khoya and roasted dry fruits. 
8. The dessert is better served hot!

Victoria’s Vanillekipferl

Vanillekipferl are Austrian/German vanilla sugar cookies that can be found all around during the winter time. Victoria explains that “Vanillekipferl are made with a large part of ground almonds, but my brother doesn’t like them. So here is the less-traditional, just-as-festive and almond-free version we make at least once a week every winter.”

Ingredients:

• 275g flour
• 150g butter
• 1 egg
• 70g powdered sugar
• Vanilla sugar
• Salt
• Additional powdered sugar for coating

Steps:

1. Add flour, powdered sugar, a good amount of vanilla sugar (measure with your heart) and a pinch of salt to a bowl and mix.
2. ⁠Cut cold butter into cubes and add it to the flour mixture. 
3. Add the egg and mix with your hands until you get a smooth dough. You can probably also use a hand mixer for this step.
4. ⁠Roll the dough out into 2-3 thick rolls, cover them and let them rest in the fridge for half an hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 170°C.
6. Cut slices from the dough roll and shape them into little moons. At this point, do not let the dough warm too much in your hands, or it will be hard to manage.
7. ⁠Put them on a baking sheet and bake for around 15 minutes, or until they are slightly golden. They take a bit longer in my oven.
8. ⁠Prepare a bowl or plate with powdered sugar. For extra vanilla, mix in some more vanilla sugar. 
9. ⁠When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will break apart quite easily. Try carefully coating them in the powdered sugar immediately or first let them sit for a few minutes to cool down a bit. 
10. ⁠Let the coated Vanillekipferl cool completely, then enjoy! 

Melis’ Recommendation: ‘At home Sahlep’

Sahlep is a winter Turkish drink that is warm, thick and that will keep you satiated. “It’s like milk, but better,” says Melis. The drink reminds her of being home in İzmir, and she says it will make you feel like “you’re warm inside… It almost makes you feel like you’re being hugged.” Usually, the drink is made using sahlep powder. However, since not many people can find the powder, Melis recommends a more practical way of making this recipe from the source above. 

Ingredients:

• 500 ml cold milk
• 1 glass of water
• 5 tbsp of granulated sugar
• 4 tsp of starch
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of cinnamon 

Steps:

1. Transfer half a litre of milk into a pot and heat up.
2. Add one glass of water to the pot and mix.
3. Add 2.5 tablespoons of sugar.
4. Add 4 teaspoons of starch and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
5. Whisk the mixture until it reaches a slightly thick consistency.
6. You can increase or decrease the amount of granulated sugar according to your taste. Add vanilla extract to the mixture if desired.