Soups are the best comfort food to keep you warm in this chilly winter. With healthy ingredients and seasoning, they are also a great and sumptuous way to build overall health and immunity. The range of flavours can suit almost every taste bud.
Here are five diverse winter vegetarian soups to warm you up:
1.Carrot-Pumpkin Soup
For this recipe, chop 1 medium sized-onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the onion-garlic mix till they are soft and translucent. Add a cup of chopped pumpkin, 3 chopped carrots, and half a bowl of parsley roots and fry. Add 2 and a ½ cups of vegetable stock (or water) and boil. Simmer it for 25 minutes. Take it off from the heat and use an emersion blender to mix it all into a smooth, silky puree. Add some cream, salt, pepper, and season with chilli powder or flakes.
2. Sweet Potato Soup
Start with sauteing a cup of chopped onions on medium heat. Once it’s soft, add 4-5 chopped cloves of garlic and cook for a minute. Add 2-3 roughly chopped carrots and stir evenly till they are cooked. After 6-7 minutes, add 3 medium-sized sweet potatoes roughly diced. Stir for a minute then add vegetable stock. Season it with cumin powder, turmeric, pepper, salt, and a little Italian herb mix. Bring it to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from heat and blend smoothly.
3. Cream of Mushroom
This is a classic winter soup. Start with frying around 250 gms of mushroom (chopped) in a tablespoon of butter. When the mushrooms are light brown, add a tbsp of flour (maida or atta) and mix so there are no lumps. Season the mix with salt and pepper and add cup of water. After a boil, add a cup of milk and cook on medium flame. When it’s frothing, simmer the flame. Add a few tablespoons of heavy cream and then take it off the heat. Enjoy piping hot.
4. Cream of broccoli
Winter is the best time for some fresh greens. For this healthy delight, saute a cup of onion and celery each in 2 tbsp butter till they are soft. Add around 8-10 broccoli florets and sauté for a minute. Add 3 cups of veg stock/water and simmer for 10 minutes. Once the mix is cooked and cooled, blend it to a smooth mixture. In another pan, heat some butter and add a tbsp of flour and milk each. Cook it for a minute till it bubbles and then add the soup. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.
5. Tomato Soup
Saute half a cup of chopped onions and 3-4 garlic cloves in some butter till they are soft. Add 5-6 diced tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add half a cup of water and boil. Now blend the mixture till its silky smooth. Strain it through a sieve to remove lumps. Now boil this mix with another cup of water and season with salt and pepper.