Lemon Coriander Soup

Source: Sanjeev Kapoor

The Christmas holidays is the one time of the year I really look forward to. With my mom, sister, and I all in the same house, food somehow ends up being the center of our activities :-) My mom wanted to try my pineapple fried rice, so I decided to make this soup as a nice pairing. Since we had been eating so much, I decided to make a light soup which was not cream based.


Ingredients

• 1/2 bunch Coriander leaves
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 1 medium Spring onion bulb, chopped
• 1 inch piece Ginger grated
• 6 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Gram flour (besan)
• 4.5 cups Vegetable stock
• 1/4 head of Cabbage, chopped
• 1 medium Carrot, cubed
• 10-12 Black peppercorns, crushed
• 3-4 Green Chilies, finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Lemon juice- 2 tablespoons or more to taste

Directions

1. Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a pot
2. Add onion, spring onion bulb, ginger, garlic, green chilies and saute till translucent
3. Add gram flour and continue to saute till you get a nice aroma
4. Add vegetable stock, coriander stems, cabbage and carrot cubes and bring to a boil
5. Add crushed peppercorns and continue to boil
6. Add half of the chopped coriander leaves and cook for five to ten minutes
7. Strain and keep aside cooked vegetables (you won't be eating these)
8. Heat the strained soup
9. Add salt, lemon juice and bring to a boil again
10. Season with the remaining chopped coriander leaves. Add more lemon juice, coriander, salt to taste.

Kuty's Twist
The original recipe did not call for green chilies. I made this with 5 green chilies and it ended up VERY spicy, so please add the green chilies with caution :-)

I also thought that straining the vegetables was a very odd step. I understand why we should take out the cabbage, carrots, and coriander stems, since this soup is meant to be a clear simple soup. Unfortunately straining also takes out the onions, ginger, and garlic. What I ended up doing is straining about 3/4 of the vegetables, so it ended up being a vegetable lemon coriander soup. Something I may try next time is setting aside the onion, ginger, garlic, and green chilies once they are sauteed, then adding the vegetables and broth til the soup boils, then removing the vegetables and re-adding the ginger, garlic, and green chilies. I am still curious to know what this tastes like without adding the carrots and cabbage. Does the soup really need it? If you try it, please let me know!
The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of coriander, which I did not feel was enough. I also wasn't able to chop the coriander very finely, so I just chopped it in the blender. I kept adding coriander and tasting the soup until it tasted right.
This is perfect for a cold snowy Christmas Day in the house. Enjoy! :-)