Recipe for the day: Indian winter soup

It is soup season! There is going to be a lot of chopping vegetables and rich aromas coming out of your kitchen.

But there are simpler recipes that take much less time to do when you need a warm and comforting meal during the cold weather.

This soup is packed with flavour, flagrant inspired by Indian cuisine with the spices such as cumin seeds, chillies, turmeric, cinnamon stick and ginger.

It is easy to do and may become a family favourite the minute you make it. The vegetables can be swapped to the ones available in your home.

ALSO READ: Winter warmer: Spicy Thai chicken noodle soup

Indian Winter Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil – 30ml
• ½ tsp brown mustard seeds – 2.5ml
• 1 tsp cumin seeds – 5ml
• 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves
• 1 small cinnamon stick’
• ½ tsp ground turmeric – 2.5ml
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 parsnip, cut into chunks
• 200g butternut squash, cut into chunks
• 200g sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp paprika – 5ml
• 1 tsp ground coriander – 5ml
• 1 can of Tinned lentils or precooked lentils
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• small bunch coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger – 5ml
• 1 tsp lemon juice – 5ml

Method

Step 1

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. Fry the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chillies, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and turmeric until fragrant and the seeds start to crackle. Tip in the onion and garlic, then cook for 5-8 mins until soft. Stir in the parsnip, butternut and sweet potato and mix thoroughly, making sure the vegetables are fully coated with the oil and spices. Sprinkle in the paprika, ground coriander and seasoning, and stir again.

Step 2

Add, tomatoes and 1.7 litres of water. Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Then stir in the chopped coriander, ginger and lemon juice.

Recipe courtesy of Margaret Hirsch’s Vegan Cookbook.