Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Soup

Bottle gourd, known as Lauki or doodhi in north India and as "aanapakaya" or "sorakaaya" in Hyderabad is not really known to be a "soup" vegetable - but I firmly believe that any vegetable can be souped or stewed :) Bottle gourd is mostly water, so this soup is very light and easy on the palate. It has no definite taste of its own, so based on the seasonings or broth you use, the taste will vary. I flavor it with cinnamon and cloves and use just a hint of salt.

Ingredients:
1 small bottle gourd, peeled and diced. Discard seeds.
1 stick cinnamon
4-5 cloves
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
water for desired consistency

Method:
1. In a microwave safe dish, add the bottle gourd pieces. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes, until pieces are soft and a fork pierces through easily.
2. Allow to cool and puree adding a little water until you have a fine paste.
3. In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil and add cinnamon and cloves to it. When the cloves are "fat", add the puree and salt and stir well. The soup will "bubble". If you want a finer consistency, add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes till the soup has an even consistency and the water is not floating on top.

You can also pressure-cook the bottlegourd on stove-top and follow steps 2 and 3 after that.

Cabbage Soup

My friend Lisa once told me that cabbage soup, if eaten three times a day (without eating anything else), can help drop a significant number of pounds a week. I was very taken by that - seemed like a simple enough thing to do, especially since I love soups. So I tried to lose weight by eating this soup instead of lunch and dinner a few times. It is very filling, you won't really feel hungry, but I crave variety by the end of the second day and lose interest in eating soup. I lose 1 lb or so each time, but it comes back very fast! I would not recommend this as a weight loss soup, but it is a nice soup to eat anyway.

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cabbage
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 bunch green onion
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch spinach
1 green pepper
5-6 tomatoes
Seasonings to taste

Method:
1. Wash, clean, peel and dice all vegetables into bite sized pieces.
2. In a large dish, combine all vegetables and seasonings and add water until the vegetables are just submerged.
3. If you use a microwave, like me, use a deep dish with atleast 4-5 inches of space between the top of the water and the top of the dish. This will prevent water from boiling over and spilling on to your microwave. Microwave for about 15 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes and enjoy. My new microwave has a "stew" option and that also works fairly well for this.
4. If you use stovetop, combine vegetables, seasonings and water in a soup pot and put on a high flame till the water starts boiling, about 10 minutes. Cover and cook till vegetables are tender, about 3o minutes.

Curried Tomato Soup

Tomato, or "tamatar" as it is called in Hyderabad, is one vegetable that we always have in our kitchen, we rarely ever run out of it. It is a staple in most homes, and tomato soup is a soul-warmer in the winter. Here is a recipe for curried tomato soup.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (you decide), minced
1 inch ginger, grated
3 medium tomatoes, diced
Salt, pepper, Curry Powder to taste
Oil
Water for desired consistency

Method:
1. Fry the chopped onion in a little oil until golden.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a bit
3. Add the tomatoes and cook. Tomatoes are done when the oil leaves the sides.
4. Add curry powder and stir well for a few seconds, you will presently have a nice aroma arising from the pan.
5. Add water, salt and pepper and bring to boil.

Voila! Thicken with a little cream if desired. Garnish with cilantro or basil.

Super Fast Minestrone Soup

One of my friends makes the best minestrone soup I have ever tasted, and she was kind enough to share her recipe with me. She makes the soup by simmering the vegetables in some vegetarian broth for more than an hour, before adding shell pasta and cooking for another 20 minutes or so. I love minestrone soup, but I am not the kind of person to labor over a stove for 90 minutes, plus the 20 minutes or so that it takes to chop the vegetables. Cooking gas is also at a premium in India and we need to conserve it. So here is how I make it. Like I've said before, my recipes are 20% effort, and 80% taste. My friend also adds celery to her minestrone soup, but I don't because my husband does not like celery. But feel free to add half-a-cup of chopped celery also if you like it. This is a pretty good soup, and is a meal in itself. I sometimes like to kid myself that I eat healthy, and this is the perfect soup for that because it is so light :)

Ingredients:

1. 1 small onion, chopped
2. 2 carrots, diced
3. 1 zucchini, diced
4. 1/2 cup green beans, chopped
5. 1 can stewed tomatoes, or 2 cups freshly diced tomatoes.
6. 1 tsp dried herbs (basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, whatever you like. I use oregano).
7. 1 cup shell pasta.
8. Salt and pepper to taste
9. Water as needed.

Method

1. Microwave all chopped vegetables, covered, for 5 minutes on high or until they are soft.
2. Microwave the tomatoes separately for 3 minutes until soft.
3. Meanwhile, cook the shell pasta according to the package instructions, which normally takes about 15-20 minutes.
4. Mix vegetables, herbs, cooked pasta, salt, pepper and water in a soup pan and bring to boil, typically 5-6 minutes.
5. If you added too much water and the soup looks too thin, just drain off some of the water and drink it, after you cool it, of course :)

Serve the soup hot with some salad.

Root soup

This is a funny soup - it tastes a little different every time I make it. You can use any root vegetables you like, in various combinations, and the taste varies greatly. I've made it with carrot, potato, sweet potato, radish, and beetroot - whatever's on hand. My kitchen usually has carrots and potatoes handy so that's what I end up using.

I saute the vegetables in a little oil to save cooking time. If you have approximately 30 minutes, you can just add all ingredients, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables are cooked. If you want a richer version of this soup, add some fresh cream in the last step.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Carrot, diced
2. 1 Potato (or sweet potato), chopped
3. 1/2 inch ginger, crushed
4. 1 bunch green onions or leeks, chopped
5. 2 cups water
6. 1 tsp oil
7. salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan or souppot and add leeks, ginger, carrot and potato. When soft, add water and bring to boil.
2. Add salt and pepper, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.
3. Take half the vegetables out of the water and puree in a food processor. Return to the soup and heat through.

Serve hot.

Black bean soup

Black beans are very healthy - full of fiber and protein. I used to go to Baja Fresh a lot while we lived in Boise, Idaho; and they serve a "Naked Burrito" which is a salad with rice, black beans, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. I was pretty addicted to it, and ate it 3-4 times a week at least. When we returned to India, I missed it a lot; since guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, etc are not easily available where I live. But atleast I can eat black beans :)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup black beans, soaked overnight
2. 2 fresh tomatoes
3. 1 onion, chopped
4. 1 chilli, slit; or 1/2 chopped green pepper if you don't like the heat
5. 1 pod garlic (you decide)
6. 1 tsp Cumin powder
7. 1 tsp Coriander powder
8. 4 cups water
9. 1 tsp oil
10. salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

1. Wash the soaked black beans thoroughly, and cook, covered, in a microwave for 10 minutes or until soft.
2. In a souppot or saucepan, saute the chopped onion in the oil. When the onion is golden brown, add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the coriander and cumin powders and fry for a few seconds.
4. Add all the other ingredients and water and bring to boil.
5. Let it boil until tomatoes are tender.

Serve hot.

Sweet corn soup

Sweet corn soup is a popular soup in India, something everyone in my family enjoys. Very easy to make, very fast, very yummy... My father-in-law likes to add a little chilli sauce or soy sauce to this soup.

Ingredients:

1. Half-packet frozen corn (cream style works best)
2. 1 tbsp corn flour
3. 4 cups water
4. 1 tbsp oil
5. Salt and pepper

Method

1. Fry the corn in 1 tbsp oil for 4-5 minutes until corn is cooked
2. Add water and bring to boil
3. Make a paste with the cornflour and a little water. Stir into the soup. Make sure there are no lumps.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes until soup thickens.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold soup with a tomato base, best enjoyed in the summers. It is very easy to prepare, takes about 5 minutes to make. Serve chilled or over ice garnished with fresh basil leaves for the best taste.

Ingredients:

1. 4-5 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2. 1 medium Cucumber, chopped
3. 1 small red onion, chopped
4. 1 green chilli pepper (substitute with half a bell pepper if you don't like the heat)
5. 1 tsp tomato ketchup
6. 2-3 tsp olive oil
7. Juice of 1 lemon
8. Water to desired consistency
9. Salt and pepper.
10. 1 tsp aamchur powder or chat masala (for the Indian twist)
11. Fresh Basil

Method.

1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until chilled.
2. Enjoy :)

Corn Chowder

I had corn chowder for the first time in the San Francisco airport ten years ago. Maybe I was really hungry or something, but it really was the tastiest soup I'd ever eaten. I've tried to reproduce it many times, and it's never been as tasty as the one I had in SFO.

Since my recipes are typically extremely simple with very few ingredients, (and hell bent on saving time), I usually get about 80% of the result with 20% of the effort. Perhaps some of the taste is getting sacrificed there. But it is still pretty good and a summer recipe.

Warning: This is definitely not a low-calorie recipe :) just a tasty one.

Ingredients:

1. 1 small bag frozen sweet corn
2. 2-3 large potatoes
3. 2 tbsp cream (I use store bought cream. You can replace with 1 cup whole milk)
4. 1 tsp cumin powder and half-bunch cilantro for the Indian twist
5. 1 tsp oil
6. Salt and Sugar, to taste

Method:

1. Prick the potatoes with a fork and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes until baked. Peel and cut into cubes.
2. Thaw the corn. Put in a microwave-safe bowl, cover and microwave for 5 minutes.
3. In a large saucepan or soup pot (on the stove over a fire, of course), add 1 tsp of oil.
4. When the oil is hot, add potatoes and slightly brown.
5. Add the corn and mix thoroughly.
6. Add the cumin powder and finely chopped cilantro. Continue to stir until there is a faint aroma.
7. Add the cream (or milk), 1 cup water, salt and sugar and bring to boil.
8. Simmer for two-three minutes until the soup attains a consistency you fancy. You should keep stirring to avoid the cream from sticking to the pot and burning. Since the vegetables have already been microwaved, you do not need to simmer for long.
9. If soup remains obstinately watery (because, ahem, you added milk or water instead of cream), puree half of the corn-potato mix and return to vessel, simmer for a few more minutes.

Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

Winter Beetroot Soup

This is a soup that you may or may not like the first time you eat it, it kind of grows on you. The rich color of the beetroot, coupled with the tart taste of apples and the aroma of dill can be a heady combination. This soup is a variance of borscht. To make it heartier, you can add potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage - which brings it closer to a vegetarian borscht. Proceed when you're feeling experimental!

Ingredients:

1. 1 beetroot, grated
2. 1 apple, diced
3. Half-a-bunch of dill
4. Salt, sugar and water, as needed.

Method:

1. Microwave the beetroot, apple and dill with salt, sugar and water to cover, until the vegetables are soft, approximately 8 minutes.

Alternately, if you have more time, combine the ingredients in a vessel on medium heat, until the water boils. Reduce the heat and simmer until vegetables are soft. I am nearly always running out of time, so I choose the microwave route.

Serve any way you like. You can add a dollop of cream to this. We make a meal of it by eating it with some warm bread.

Can be served hot or cold.

Mixed vegetable soup

This soup is "inspired" by vegetable soups I've eated in Chinese restaurants in India. It's very fast and easy to make, and a universal favorite in my family.

Ingredients:

1. 1 carrot
2. 1 leaf cabbage
3. 6-7 green beans
4. 1 small capsicum (red or yellow gives the soup a nice color)
5. 1 floret cauliflower
6. 1 clove garlic (you decide)
7. 1 tsp cornflour
8. 1 tsp oil
9. Water (based on how watery you want your soup to be).
10. Seasoning: Salt, pepper

Method:

1. Chop all vegetables into small pieces and crush the garlic.
2. Fry the vegetable pieces and garlic in oil until they glisten and the cabbage wilts.
3. Add water and bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked the way you like them.
5. Make a paste with cornflour and a little water, and add this paste to the soup, stirring to avoid lumps.
6. Bring to boil and allow soup to thicken slightly.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. I sometimes add a bit of soy sauce or chilli sauce, but I really like it best with just salt and pepper

This soup looks clear and is a great way to start a meal.

5-minute tomato soup

This is my favorite soup, and really quick and easy to make. My children are very fond of it, although I have still not been able to get my husband to eat it :) It literally takes 5 minutes to make.

Ingredients:
2 tomatoes
2 potatoes, peeled
1 onion, peeled
Seasonings to taste. I use salt, pepper, a dash of butter and Italian seasoning.

Method:
Cut the vegetables into four pieces each and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Puree in a food processor. Add the butter and season to taste. Serve.