With October bringing in the pumpkin fever, its hard not to squeeze in a soup in the menu line up. So I ended up with lot of sweet potato this week. While my original plan was to use only butternut squash and carrot, I thought why not to add a vegetable which is a close cousin into the mix.
This is a real simple soup and I would say you should definitely put this on your weekly ‘vegetable intake’ plan. Three orange and pink veggies cooked with coconut cream and vegetable broth to produce this smooth or chunky soup as you may like it. So lets dive in.
Ingredients
- 1-2 sweet potatoes
- 1/4th of a large butternut squash
- 2 carrots
- 1 red onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
- Coconut milk 3/4th cup. Vary it based on how much you would like
- Salt and pepper for taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
METHOD
- Chop the vegetables roughly and keep aside
- In a soup pan or a large wok add olive oil. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add chilli flakes and let it sizzle.
- Now add onions and cook till they are pink. Do not brown.
- Add chopped garlic and cook for few min. Keep the heat medium to low so that they dont brown or burn as it alters the flavour profile.
- Now add a tbsp of tomato puree and turmeric which is optional. Tomato puree is for sourness, colour and of course flavour. Cook for few minutes to remove its acidity.
- Now add the vegetables and mix it well. Add the vegetable stock enough to cover the vegetables. Cover the lid and cook for 25-30 minutes. Alternatively you can use a pressure cooker or a slow cooker to cook as well.
- Check the veggies. If they are cooked, blitz them. You can keep it totally smooth or leave some chunky pieces of vegetables. I like the latter.
- Return back to heat, keep it slow. Add coconut milk and mix well. The colour will turn paler. Now you can vary the amount of coconut milk based on the flavour you like. If you add it more the soup becomes more coconut-y than the root vegetables flavour. So add enough to make it creamy and with a mild coconut flavour. If its too thick add some water if you like it a little thin. Season with salt and pepper and now you can keep it on low heat for few minutes. You wouldn’t want to boil it as it may break the coconut milk.
- Serve in soup bowls. Garnish with fresh coconut, coriander and chilli flakes. You can accompany it with a crusty bread or a fluffy naan bread too.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think there is nothing much to say but to go ahead and make this soup which totally delivers on taste and goodness for being a great plant based vegan soup which will get so much amazing vegetables in your body.
Eat healthy, look good, feel good!
