• In :
• Personal Growth

August 2003

By Life Positive

Soups may not have been a traditional part of Indian cuisine because our food itself, being laden with curries, dals and chutneys, has a soupy consistency.

For the West, though, it has been an inevitable part of a well-designed menu. The British made the soup a part of our legacy as well, besides throwing up some unique items like the Mulligatawny soup, which actually means spicy water in Tamil.

Because of its origins, most soup recipes are sourced from the West and require us to use exotic ingredients like leeks, celery, asparagus and broccoli. These may be available in the cities, but possibly not in smaller towns. Besides, many soups are generously laden with cream, butter, cheese, white sauce and the like.

Those who wish to eat light for either physical or spiritual reasons will have to look elsewhere. Like down below, for instance. We owe centres like the Yoga Institute a vote of thanks for taking the trouble to design soups that involve little or no butter and oil and that make creative use of local ingredients like lauki and methi.

Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin: 1 kg
Green peas: 1 cup
Potato: big one
Curry leaves (kadi patta): a few
Coriander leaves, chopped: small bunch
Mustard seeds: ½ tsp
Methi seeds: ½ tsp
Cumin (jeera) seeds: ½ tsp
Ginger: small piece (finely chopped)
Butter: 1 tsp
Cream: 1 tsp; Salt: to taste

Cut pumpkin and potatoes into small pieces. Boil in water and strain. Keep the water aside to use as stock. Liquidise the potato and pumpkin mixture. Heat butter in a pan, add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and ginger. Now add green peas and finely chopped cabbage to the pan and fry for a few minutes. Pour in stock to get the required consistency. Add pumpkin mixture and salt to the preparation. Garnish with fresh cream and coriander. Serve hot.

Vegetable SoupPotato: 1 (small)
Bottle Gourd (lauki): 50 gm
French beans: 4
Carrot: ½ (small)
Ginger: small piece
Salt: to taste
Butter: 1 tsp

Clean, chop and boil all vegetables together along with ginger. Liquidise, and boil, adding desired quantity of water. Add butter and salt. Serve hot.

am of Carrot Soup
Carrots: 250 gm (4 medium)
Potatoes: 1 (big)
Milk: ¾ cup
Salt: to taste
Water: 6 cups

Chop vegetables. Add water and cook in slow fire until done. Blend in a liquidiser and stain and boil once more. Add milk and salt before serving. Serve hot.

Palak Methi Soup
Spinach (palak): 1 bunch
Methi: a few sprigs
Tomato: 1
Potato: ½, boiled.
Lime juice: 2 tsp
Water: 4 cups
Jaggery: to taste
Salt: to taste

Clean and wash the palak, methi and tomato. Boil till tender. Add boiled potato and liquidise. Add jaggery and squeeze in lime juice. Serve hot.

Green Peas Soup
Green peas: 500 gm (shelled)
Milk: 1 cup
Semolina (rawa): 1 tsp
Parsley: Chopped to taste
Lettuce: a few leaves
Mint (pudina): one sprig
Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds: ½ tsp
Butter or ghee: 1 tsp
Water: 4 cups
Salt and sugar: to taste

Boil the green peas. Mash well, keeping aside half-a-cup, and add water. In a pan, heat the butter or ghee and add mustard and cumin seeds. Add the chopped lettuce and semolina. Stir. Add peas, sugar and salt. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Just before serving add the milk, parsley and chopped mint. Serve hot.

Mixed Vegetable Soup
Cabbage: 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Carrot: one, chopped into small cubes
Potato: 1 finely chopped
Tomatoes: 3 (finely chopped)
Salt: to taste
Sugar: ½ tsp
Pepper: ½ tsp
Cornflour or wheat flour: 1 tsp. Add water to make into a paste
Water: 4 boiling cups

Dry-roast tomato. Add the rest of the vegetables in boiling water and allow to cook until vegetables are tender. Add cornflour paste and stir until soup comes to a boil. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Serve hot.