Home-Made Mixed Vegetable Soup

The weather in Bangalore, lately, has been just perfect for soup in the evenings. The husband and I have been thoroughly enjoying our cups of soup, the few evenings that I have been able to make some.

I am not an expert soup maker, let me tell you. I am scared of making soups, because they almost never seem to come out right. The husband and I would, any day, prefer home-made soup over a store-bought cup or something that comes out of a packet, so I learnt how to perfect this mixed vegetable soup that I am going to tell you about today.

My zilch soup-making skills notwithstanding, this one turns out beautiful almost always, and is loved by everyone in the family. Amma learnt this recipe years ago from a TV show and taught it to me, and then I went on to make my own additions to it, over the years, and that is how this recipe has evolved.

I use whole wheat flour to thicken the soup, rather than cornflour or maida, a healthy substitute.

Here’s how I make the soup.

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

1. A very small piece of cabbage, finely chopped
2. 2 tablespoons green peas
3. 1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
4. 6 French beans, strings removed and finely chopped
5. Black pepper, powdered or crushed, to taste
6. Salt, to taste
7. A few stalks of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
8. 1 teaspoon salted butter
9. 2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice
10. 1 teaspoon sugar
11. 1-1/2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, or depending upon the thickness you want for the soup

Method:

1. Pressure cook the cabbage, green peas, beans and carrot with a little water. Give it about 4 whistles. When the pressure has released entirely, open the cooker and keep the cooked veggies aside. Do not drain out the water.
2. Dry roast the whole wheat flour in a pan, on medium heat, till it starts turning brown and emitting a lovely fragrance. Let it cool down completely.
3. In a small bowl, mix the roasted whole wheat flour with a little water. Mix well, ensuring there are no lumps. Keep aside.
4. In a pan, heat the butter. When it has melted, add in the chopped coriander. Saute for a couple of seconds.
5. Now, add in the cooked vegetables, along with the water they were boiled in. Add in the salt and pepper to taste, sugar, and the wheat flour mixture, along with about 3 cups of water. Mix well.
6. Stirring intermittently, let the soup cook on a medium flame till it thickens to the consistency that you desire.
7. Switch off the gas and mix in the vinegar/lemon juice.
8. Serve hot, with or without croutons.

Notes:

1. I typically make this soup using beans, carrot, cabbage and peas. You can add in any other vegetable that you have. Mushrooms, corn and baby corn make for particularly good additions to this soup.
2. Do not hesitate to add the 1 teaspoon of sugar to the soup. You can barely taste it in the final product, and it does take the taste of the soup to a whole new level.
3. I sometimes use garlic butter instead of plain, salted butter. I find it enhances the taste of the soup greatly.
4. We love the addition of vinegar/lemon juice in the soup, but feel free to omit it, if you don’t want to use it.
5. You could also add in a teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste or just some finely chopped garlic – if using, just saute it a bit after you are done with the coriander, and then proceed to add the cooked vegetables.
6. This method yields a soup that is neither too watery nor too thick, just the way I like it. Increase or decrease the quantity of wheat flour that you use, to ensure that the soup is of the consistency that you desire.

You like? I hope you will try this out, and that you will love it too!

If you have any tried-and-tested soup recipes that you love, please do share!