Creamy Colored Vegetable Soup
A bowl of soup is warming and filling. It is also nutritious, since it has lots of vegetables and, when you have some soup, you tend to eat less of your main meal. In fact, soup and salad would make for a great meal, light on the tummy and full of fiber.
Category
Soups
Servings
4
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Calories
287
Author:
Linda Decann
Are you one of those
who shy away from getting your daily fill of vegetables? This vegetable soup
goes a long and delicious way towards meeting your vegetable quota. Vegetables
are chock-full of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals that improve your
health. Tomatoes, carrots and pumpkin are rich in phytonutrients like carotene
and lycopene.
Ingredients
2 tbsp. oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1” piece ginger, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
-
1 tsp. red chilli powder
-
1 tsp. garam masala (optional)
Salt to taste
1 bay leaf
1 medium potato
1 medium carrot
100 gm. pumpkin (a wedge that is as much as the carrot)
2 tbsp. cream
Pepper
Directions
In a stock pot, heat oil and fry onion till transparent.
Add garlic and ginger and sauté.
Mix in tomatoes and red chilli powder and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time till tomatoes soften.
Add garam masala, if using, salt and bay leaf. Sauté lightly, then pour in 5 cups of water. (You can use chicken or vegetable stock if you want).
As the soup mix is coming to a boil, prepare vegetables, peeling and chopping the potato, carrot and pumpkin.
Put in the soup mix and let it come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or till vegetables are tender.
Remove from heat and let cool. Discard bay leaf. Blend soup mix in blender or food processor.
Strain through a sieve, mashing it through. You will probably get only tomato peels left.
Reheat and add some water if required to make it around 4 cups. Mix in the cream.
Mix in the cream.
Serve garnished with cracked black pepper and croutons if you want.
Recipe Note
1. Fresh herbs like rosemary will jazz up the soup. If you don’t want a smooth soup, mince the garlic and ginger instead of chopping them and peel tomatoes before chopping. Leave the soup chunky while blending. Or cut vegetables very fine and don’t put the soup through a blender at all. While cream adds richness to the soup, if you don’t want to use cream, add around 1 tablespoon of almond or cashew nut powder or paste for richness and protein.
2. Soup is comforting and the spices and condiments added to this soup add to the flavor complexity, taste and yield more nutrition. For lower calories, reduce or eliminate the oil and cream, or use reduced fat cream.
Nutrition
Calories 287, Carbs 20.6 grams, Cholesterol 1 milligrams, Fat 19.6 grams, Fiber 5.7 grams, Protein 9.6 grams, Saturated Fat 4.4 grams, Sodium 71 milligrams, Sugar 4.2 grams
