The Vegetables and Beans Soup

The winter season is here and as i said in my last post that winters means warm foods to me, so i am going to share the recipe of a soup today. My husband loves the soups which i make in winters and i am making these soups from last four years now. I must admit here that i am not a professional cook but i always keep in mind that the food which i am preparing should be healthy, clean and delicious and off course, appealing to the eye. In this journey of mine, i have learned so many things about making soups but i can't apply all of those fancy things to my cooking as most of them are not healthy. So, i always left with simple yet delicious ways of making soups and in my opinion, it is actually good as i am sure that all of us want to eat healthy with putting minimal effort when it comes to cooking at home.

So, let me take you through one of my winter favourite soup which i usually plan for my clients too. The delicious Vegetables and Beans soup :)

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 medium onion

• 2 carrots

• 1/2 cauliflower (approximately 7-8 big florets)

• 1/2 cup boiled chickpeas

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder

• 1-2 whole red chili (dried)

• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1-2 tomatoes (diced)

• 4 cups vegetable broth/vegetable stock

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp chopped cilantro (for garnishing)

Method

1. Finely chop the garlic and the onion. Take oil in a large pot and put cumin seeds in it and saute. Then add garlic and onions and saute both till the onions becomes translucent.

2. Now put whole red chilli(dried) and red chilli powder and mix well to saute them. Meanwhile, chop the cauliflower and carrots. Now add the cauliflower and carrots to the pot and continue to sauté for about 5-10 minutes.

3. Now add boiled chickpeas in the pot.

4. Keep stirring for about next 5 minutes and then add diced tomatoes, oregano and some freshly ground black pepper. Finally, add the vegetable broth, and stir to mix.

5. When everything is mixed well, allow the soup to boil and when it starts boiling, cover the lid and turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

6. After 20-30 minutes, when everything is properly cooked, mix the ingredients and try to mash the lentils and vegetables with the ladle.

7. Add the salt and taste the soup. You can adjust the salt according to your taste.

8. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Note

• You can use any other vegetable or lentil of your choice.

• If you want, you can omit the lentils and make just vegetable soup by adding lots of fresh vegetables.

• You can also adjust the spices and herbs according to your choice.

• If you do not have vegetable broth, just add plain water and let the soup boil for a little more than 30 minutes. I personally prefer to use vegetable broth as it enhances the taste of the soup.

Have you tried this recipe? How was your experience, please share with us through the comment section below and yes, please share your pics with me on instagram, facebook or twitter (#nainjakapoor).

Be happy and stay healthy!!

Nainja

#soup #beans #winters