This is a wonderful winter soup. If vegetables are cooked too long they lose their enzymes & nutrition. Thus we usually steam the veggies where needed. Or mostly keep them crunchy, say in the following recipe adding them only at the end. We also do not heat or reheat or boil too much. Idea is to retain flavour and color of veggies!
Please note, all the portions are indicative. You may want to make changes as per your personal prefernce!
Ingredients
- Tomato: 6 (diced)
- Potatoes: 2 (steamed/ boiled)
- Regular Onion: 1 (diced)
- Dhaniya: lots of it (chopped)
- Celery stick: 1 (chopped – gives a nice flavor. Don’t fret if u don’t have it)
- Other veggies (beans, carrots, cabbage, onion) – 1/4th cup each, finely chopped (as much as you can)
- Steamed corn: ¼ cup (optional)
- Green onions: about 1 or more if you like it (finely chopped)
- Cinnamon stick: a small piece
- Bayleaf: 1
- Garlic: about 6 to 7 pods
- Crushed pepper: lots of it (to be added in the end)
Method
- Put some Sendha namak on the diced onions and let it sweat for a while (by doing so you don’t need oil to fry it).
- Take a steel / ceramic pot and heat the itmildly.
- Add in onions, garlic, bay leaf and cinnamon stick.
- Stir and cook for a while.
- Add diced tomatoes. Cook for a while, it will release its own juices. Cover for a while
- Add hot water to cook, not too much - just about half a cup.
- Add 1 potato, diced. Keep the other one to add in chunks later.
- Once looks done – take it off the gas and let it cool. Don’t overcook – will just take about 6-7 minutes.
- Take out cinnamon stick and bay leaf and put the rest of the mix in a blender and grind.
- Put back on hob in the steel pot.
- Add hot water, as per desired consistency. Don’t make it too watery – you can adjust later too.
- Add in all diced veggies along with steamed corn. Add in celery and coriander leaves towards the end.
- Don’t overcook, let the veggies be crunchy.
- Switch off, adjust the salt and add crushed pepper.
- Serve immediately!
Eating guide
- Food group : Vegetables.
- Veggies, are alkaline in nature and help maintain our body’s internal pH balance.
- They nourish us at cellular level.
- Loaded with enzymes and high water content, when we steam or cook the veggies lightly, we retain the nourishment ensuring our body absorbs it well.
- Lightly cooked soups are great ways to get nature’s nourishment via veggies straight into us.
Image credit for title pic: www.cookingclassy.com