Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup
Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup (serves at least 6)
1.5kg (approx 3.6lb) sweet potato (known as kumara in some countries), peeled and chopped coarsely
2 medium brown onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
Small can (approx 90g) coconut cream
1.5 litres (6 cups) vegetable stock or enough to cover the sweet potatoes in the pot
Sweet chilli sauce (available most supermarkets)
Sweet soy sauce (preferably Indonesian kecap manis - should be available at supermarket. If not, just make sure it's the sweet one)
Fish sauce (optional if you're vegetarian)
Gently fry sweet potato and garlic in large pot. Cover with vegetable stock.
Add coconut cream, a generous dollop of sweet chilli, a tablespoon each of sweet soy sauce and fish sauce.
Bring to boil and simmer until sweet potato is soft (approx 20 minutes).
Blend or process in batches until smooth. Return pot to stove and taste. I usually add a bit more sweet chilli and soy/fish sauces at this stage so the soup has a warm-chilli taste without being overpowering. Chilli freaks can add more sweet chilli sauce to their individual bowls if they like!
Yummy with warmed naan bread or Turkish bread.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, it's one of my favourites
:)
Do you get the impression I like soup? :-)
Lentil and Spinach Soup
This soup is based on Indian flavours, more a warming flavour than hot. It is very good for you too! I've sorted the ingredients into order of use to make it easy (there's a lot of ingredients but it is easy to prepare once everything is organised).
2 teaspoons cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds (or ground coriander)
------------
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 dried red chillis (or more if you like), soaked in warm water for 10 minutes then chopped
8 curry leaves
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds (omit if they are hard to find)
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
------------
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
------------
1 1/2 cups red lentils (rinse in cold water to remove any dust or foreign bits)
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1.25 litres (approx 5 cups) vegetable stock
------------
2 bunches English spinach, roughly chopped
------------
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (or make some tamarind water with a small hunk of tamarind in boiling water and strain)
medium can (approx 200g) coconut milk
If you are using whole cumin and coriander, gently dry fry in pan until fragrant. Crush into a powder and set aside. If using ground spices, set aside for now.
Heat butter in large pot and add onions, garlic, ginger, chillies, curry leaves, mustard and fenugreek. Cook until onion is translucent.
Add crushed cumin and coriander and turmeric, stir and cook for one minute until it smells fantastic.
Add lentils, potatoes and stock, bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in spinach and cook for a further two minutes until spinach is wilted.
Blend soup until pureed. Return to heat and add tamarind and half the coconut milk. Stir and taste. Add more coconut milk to taste. If the soup is too thick, add a little hot water.
Keeps well in fridge and freezer. Excellent starter for an Indian meal or a meal in itself with toasted bread.