QUICK VEGETABLE SOUP

QUICK VEGETABLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS

Soup ingredients:

½ cup lentils / dal

2 cups cleaned and chopped vegetables (Ex. carrots, Cabbage, cauliflower, Bell Peppers)

1 big chopped tomato

1 big chopped onion

1 tablespoon seedless tamarind paste (Optional)

1 tablespoons Mix of all spices (you can use curry powder)

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 cup water (extra if needed)

Vegetable / chicken stock 2 to 2.5 cups

Tempering - OPTIONAL:

2 tablespoons sunflower (any) oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon of asafoetida

2 to 3 garlic cloves

10 to 12 curry leaves (optional)

Method:

Cook lentils & all the remaining soup ingredients except tempering ingredients in 2 to 2.5 cups of chicken stock on medium to high until the lentils are soft and mushy.

Tempering (It’s optional):

1.      In a deep (& wide) pot, heat oil. Crackle the mustard seeds (add the muster seeds in the hot oil and wait for it to pop open).

2.      Add garlic, asafoetida and curry leaves.

3.      Fry till the garlic turns a light brown. Pour the steaming hot previously cooked soup into this. Close with a lid so that the flavours infuse for about 5-6 minutes.

Done

ONION SOUP

Ingredients
4 medium sized onions
2 tablespoons of margarine or butter. Alternatively 5 tablespoons of Olive Oil
4½ cups of beef broth (easiest to add 3 OxO beef cubes to boiling water)
Half cup of red or white wine (sherry will also do). This is 'very' optional. Use water instead if you want.
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, double if you like this sauce.
Teaspoon of dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
Salt to taste (not much needed)

Method
Start by peeling the four onions and chopping it into small bits.

Put the onions into a frying pan, add the butter, margarine or olive oil and turn up to a medium heat. Turn the onions every minute or so to ensure they are evenly cooked. Aim to cook the onions until they are a light brown colour.

Transfer the onions from the frying pan to a large pan and add all the ingredients.
Cook the soup on a medium heat for about 30 minutes. The aim is to get the onions so they are soft but not falling apart.

While the soup is cooking, put the soup bowls in the oven to get them warm. Serve the soup in the bowls.

Enjoy!