By Dt. Manoli Mehta
Winters are just about here and we can’t help but think about all things warm and comforting. And when it’s about comfort during the winters, there’s absolutely nothing like having a bowl of soup curled up in a quilt on a nippy night. Soups don’t just soothe your soul but also are extremely healthy for the body. What’s more? They are super easy to prepare!
So, whether you are warding off the winter chill or looking for a light and easy comfort meal, a bowl of soup can always come handy.
5 Healthy Soups
Carrot Ginger Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 carrots, rinse, peel and chop
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- ⅓ cup chopped onions
- 2 cups water or add as required
- salt as required
- 0.25 teaspoon black pepper powder or add as required
- 1 tablespoon olive oil – you can also use butter
- some fresh herb like parsley, coriander, mint, dill leaves or thyme for garnish
METHOD:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan or sauce pan. Add the chopped onions.
- Stir and saute till the onions soften and turn translucent.
- Add the chopped ginger and saute till the raw aroma of ginger goes away.
- Then add the chopped carrots. Season with salt as per taste.
- Mix very well and saute the carrots for a minute. Add 1 cup water. Mix very well.
- Cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a low to medium-low flame till the carrots are tender and softened. In between do check when the carrots are cooking.
- Switch off the flame when the carrots are cooked. Keep the pan aside and let the heat reduce or let the mixture become warm.
- Then add everything in a grinder or blender jar. Add ½ cup water and grind or blend to a smooth puree.
- Take all pureed carrot mixture in the same pan.
- Add ½ cup more water and mix very well. Keep the pan on stovetop again and heat on a low flame. For a slightly thin consistency, you can add some more water.
- When the soup becomes warm or hot, then add some ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder. mix very well.
- Pour in soup bowls. Garnish carrot ginger soup with any fresh herb like parsley, coriander, mint, dill leaves or thyme. Leftovers can be refrigerated and then warmed up before serving.
Lemon Coriander Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or any neutral flavoured oil
- 1-inch ginger finely chopped
- 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves chopped
- ¼ cup chopped spring onion whites or ¼ cup finely chopped onions
- 1 small to medium finely chopped carrot
- 1 to 1.25 cups chopped mushrooms or 4 to 5 white button mushrooms
- 1 green chilli – chopped
- 1 lemongrass stalk – optional
- crushed black pepper or black pepper powder as required
- salt as required
- 4 cups water or sodium free vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or add as per taste
- ⅓ cup chopped coriander leaves
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens (scallions) or chives – optional
METHOD:
- Heat 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or any neutral flavored oil in a pan or pot.
- Keep flame to a low or medium-low. When the oil becomes hot, add 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic and chopped green chilli.
- Sauté ginger, garlic, green chilli for a few seconds on medium-low flame till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away. Do not brown them.
- Next add chopped spring onion whites.
- Stir and sauté spring onions for a minute on a medium-low flame to medium flame.
- Add the chopped vegetables – finely chopped carrots and cups chopped button mushrooms. You can add 1 cup of chopped mix vegetables like cabbage, corn, baby corn, broccoli, carrots, green peas, cauliflower. Mix very well.
- Stir fry on a medium-low to medium flame for about 3 minutes. If not using mushrooms then stir fry for less time. Mushrooms leave water and hence the vegetable mixture does not stick to the pan while stir frying.
- Add 4 cups water. You can even use homemade vegetable stock or a sodium free vegetable stalk instead of water.
- Add 1 lemongrass stalk (chopped). You can even use a lightly crushed and chopped lemon grass bulb.
- Add freshly crushed black pepper as per taste and salt as per taste. Serve hot!
Beetroot Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Cup Beet root (chopped), peeled
- 1 Cup Bottle gourd (chopped), peeled
- 1/2 Cup Onion, chopped
- 1/2 Cup Tomato, chopped
- 1/2 Cup Potato (chopped), peeled
- 1/2 TSP Sugar
- To taste Salt
- 1/4 TSP Black pepper, powdered
- Cream
- For garnishing Coriander leaves, chopped
METHOD:
- Place the beetroot, bottle gourd, onion, tomato and potato with two cups of water in a pan.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer till all the vegetables are soft.
- Cool and blend in a blender. Strain through a sieve.
- Add sugar, salt and black pepper.
- Serve hot or chilled garnished with the cream and coriander leaves.
Clear Vegetable Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- ¾ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- ¼ cup chopped spring onions or onions
- ½ cup finely chopped cabbage
- ⅓ cup finely chopped carrots
- ¼ to ⅓ cup finely chopped capsicum or bell pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped french beans
- 1 tablespoon oil – can use olive oil or sesame oil or sunflower oil
- 3 cups water
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder or add as required
- 1 generous pinch of nutmeg powder
- salt as required
- some chopped spring onion greens for garnish
METHOD:
- In a pan or pot, take 1 tablespoon oil. You can use olive oil or sesame oil or sunflower oil. Add ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic and ¾ teaspoon finely chopped ginger.
- Saute till the raw aroma of both ginger and garlic goes away. Saute for some seconds, but do not brown them.
- Then add ¼ cup chopped spring onions. You can also add chopped onions instead of spring onions. Saute till translucent. You can also add ½ teaspoon chopped celery in this step.
- Now add ½ cup finely chopped cabbage, ⅓ cup finely chopped carrots, ¼ to ⅓ cup finely chopped capsicum and ¼ cup finely chopped french beans.
- Saute for 1 to 2 minutes then add 3 cups water.
- Season with ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder or add as per taste.
- Season with salt as required. Grate about a pinch of nutmeg in the soup.
- Stir very well. Cover the pan and simmer the clear soup on a low to medium flame till the veggies are almost done.
- Some crunch in the veggies taste good. So do not cook the veggies completely.
- If using mushrooms or potatoes or cauliflower then you will have to cook the veggies till they are done. Basically it depends on the type of veggies you will add in the soup.
- Garnish with some chopped spring onion greens and serve vegetable soup hot.
Paya Soup
INGREDIENTS:
FOR TENDERIZING:
- 3 mutton legs/paya/lamb trotters
- salt – to taste
- 0.5 small piece of peeled ginger
- 2.5-3 black pepper corns
- 1.5 glasses of water (approximately)
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
- 0.5 tbsp oil
- 1 medium sized sliced onions
- 1-1.5 slit green chillies
- 0.5 tbsp ginger paste
- 0.25 tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 0.5 tbsp chick pea flour
INSTRUCTIONS:
FOR TENDERIZING:
- Firstly, wash the pieces of lamb legs/mutton paya very well with wheat flour and water for about 5-6 times.
- In a pressure cooker add the washed lamb legs, add salt, add black pepper corns, add ginger.
- Add for about 3 glasses of water and pressure cook them on high flame for about 40-45 minutes.
- The step of pressure cooking the legs is very important as the complete juices need to be extracted.
- Once done reduce the steam and put it aside.
FOR THE SOUP:
- In a cooking vessel, add oil and heat it.
- Add the sliced onions and fry them till translucent.
- Also add slit green chillies into it.
- Add ginger paste into it and saute for few minutes.
- Transfer the tenderized lamb legs and its extract into it.
- Add little water if required. Check for salt and add if required.
- Add coriander, mint leaves, black pepper & corn powder.
- In a small bowl, add besan and mix it with some water and make a thin paste.
- Add the besan paste/chick pea flour paste into the stew/soup and stir well.
- Cover the lid & bring the whole soup to a boil.
- Boil it for about 10-15 minutes on medium flame to sim flame. Switch off the flame and serve hot.
Soups are a whole meal in itself depending upon the ingredients. Add as much or as little according to your needs and you can have a quick meal or a snack all ready to be savoured.
As the winter season is around the corner, it’s time to get that broth brimming and prepare luscious warm cups of soups that will comfort your body from the winter chill.
Try out a soup from our list of some of the best soups to prepare at home this season and warm up with your loved ones.