Soups are good. They are good for the body, they are good for the soul. They can be had by the young and the old, by the dieter and the binger, in short, anyone can have soup. But making soup at home, isn’t it a messy and laborious task? Well, read on then! Two very easy soup recipes for you!
Pumpkin soup
Ingredients
1/2 kg red pumpkin (lalbhopla)
1 potato diced
1 onion cut lengthwise
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon oil
Method
Peel, deseed and chop the pumpkin.
In a cooker add oil and toss about the pumpkin, onion and potato with a little salt till the onions are transparent.
Add 2 cups water and cook for about 6 whistles of the cooker.
Remove from cooker and sieve out the vegetables but retain the vegetable stock (the liquid remaining in the cooker)
Grind the vegetables to a smooth pulp.
Add the ground vegetables and the stock kept aside in a vessel,add more water if too thick.
Check seasoning and add pepper.
Just before serving stir in slightly warm milk.
Garnish with a few pumpkin seeds and a sprig of mint or coriander.
Nutritional facts
Pumpkin contains Zea-xanthin which is a natural anti-oxidant.
It is one of the highest sources of vitamin A.
It is very low in calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol.
Spinach soup
A very nourishing and iron rich soup made lighter by the presence of the bottle gourd (lauki) and using little milk instead of cream, an additional bonus is the complete lack of any oil or butter in this soup.
Ingredients
2 bundle spinach (palak), cleaned and without stems
1 medium size bottle gourd peeled and diced
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Wash and clean the vegetables and pressure cook with 2 cups water.
After about 5 whistles of the cooker sieve the vegetables out but keep the stock.
After the vegetables are cool grind it in the mixer and when finely ground add it to the stock and put back on the gas in a large enough vessel.
Stir well and add the salt.
When it has boiled well and just before serving add the milk to the soup and instantly switch the gas off.
Add the pepper and serve.
Nutritional facts
Besides the well known facts about the properties of spinach, the lauki has a wide array of nutritional benefits like lowering blood pressure, reducing fatigue due to its water content and in the treatment of acidity, ulcers and constipation.
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Anuradha Rajan is a mother of two, with a passion for cooking and food presentation. In an earlier avatar she was a high school teacher of English and Environmental Science. [/column]