Diwali is nearly over. And so is Halloween. Raise your hands if you too stuffed yourself with sweets and fried stuff laden with cheese last week!
Or was it just me?
Well, whatever! It was festive time. I was happy and that means more cooking, more sweets and more fun. All to keep the festive spirits alive!
Yes, that’s it! Festive spirits. Eating goodies make you feel happier in general and bring back all the memories associated with food and celebrations from your childhood. Plus the weather is changing and soon it would be dark and depressing. And we all need a little push to go into that, right!
And I dont regret having all the Sooji ka halwa and Vermicelli kheer and Cabbage vada. For I know I will make up for it in the coming weeks. I can’t be one of those who are super fit and healthy and always freaking out if they even smell sugar from a distance. I love food and it is a big part of my life. So why not enjoy it in moderation and live an active, healthy life along with?
I so sound like an overweight, desperate person who has just bought a large meal deal with coke and fries. Phew!
Anyway, coming back to the part where I am going to make up for it. Let’s start with this amazing and awesome soup. It is one of the most flavourful and easiest soups I have had, ever. Better than the Leek and potato soup I was praising last winters. Since that one still needed some work. But with this, just throw everything in pressure cooker, blend it, mix with spices and its ready. Easy peasy!
Lets just say, this soup is one of the reason I love Winters. It is THAT good!
I have never been a fan of the store bought soups. Most of them taste like a slimy blend of stale vegetables in tasteless broth. But there are days when I just dont have time to cook anything else and I am too bored to spread something like Chana dal dosa or Moong dal cheela.
This tangy carrot and tomato soup with tamarind gladly comes to my rescue at those times.
For me, soups are meant to be nurturing and comforting meals. And for anything to be like that, it has to be served as fresh as possible and with a good mix of carefully chosen vegetables and spices. This Carrot and tomato soup is all that and more.
It is such a flavourful blend of sweet and sour ingredients, which not only taste amazing, but meddle together to make a powerful and super healthy meal for you. Spices like bay leaves, cumin, turmeric and black pepper act strongly against any minor health issues and relax your mind.
Have a look at the main ingredients and see what makes this soup such powerhouse of health and taste.
Carrots– Low calorie, sweet in taste, rich in Vitamin A and antioxidants.
Tomatoes- Low calorie, tangy taste, rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants
Garlic- Powerhouse of antioxidants and healing, medicinal properties
Tamarind- Tangy taste, full of antioxidants, aids in digestion
Turmeric- Anti-inflammatory properties, full of antioxidants
Ginger- Warming, strengthens metabolism, aids in digestion, strong taste
Cumin- Aids in digestion, benefits in insomnia, respiratory issues etc.
So you see, when all the above ingredients are combined together, the end result is bound to be super healthy and awesome in taste. Lets see some more benefits of this soup.
- It gets ready under 30 minutes, so perfect for a lazy night dinner. Click here for more recipes that get ready under 30 minutes.
- It is low in calorie, so great for people watching their weight. Click here for more Low calorie recipes
- It is extremely healthy, awesome for health freaks. Click here for more healthy recipes
- It is frugal, so great for those low on budget. Click here for more frugal recipes
- It is warming, perfect for winters. Click here for more warming recipes
- It is Vegan, you listening my vegan friends? Click here for more Vegan recipes
- It is Gluten free, yes dearies it is! Click here for more Gluten free recipes
I am not trying to sell this soup. But only because I care for you, I want you to have this simple recipe, so you could have one basic recipe for carrot and tomato soup and you are done. Make any changes, add any vegetables you like and you would get an awesome meal every time.
Especially after binging over fast food now when the Christmas is next door. Yayy for that!
Some vegetables that you could add to this soup-
- Beetroot. Click for more beetroot recipes.
- Spinach. Click for more spinach recipes
- Potato. Click for more potato recipes
- Squash vegetables. Click for more squash recipes
- Pumpkin. Click for more pumpkin recipes
You could also add a dash of coconut milk on top while serving for that extra punch. Click for more coconut milk recipes.
Some notes before you begin.
- I don’t strain this soup since my Nutribullet is powerful enough to blend it very smoothly and I don’t really see any need to strain it later. But if you find it too thick, you could strain it. I just want to get rid of the fiber plus I like the thickness.
- After blending, when I add tamarind (as you would see in the recipe below), I temper the soup with spices and garnish with herbs to add more flavour and enhance the nutrition. You could however skip the oil totally and mix tamarind with spices to the soup just like that and simmer for a few minutes. in this case, add garlic
- You could skip garlic to make it a no onion garlic soup. Click here for more no onion garlic recipes.
- If you dont have a pressure cooker and using a pan, cook the vegetables with 4 cups of water for about 40-50 minutes. Chop the carrot in small chunks so they cook faster and stir a few times in between for even cooking.
- Although tamarind is an essential part of this soup, you could skip that if you want and add 1-2 more tomatoes in that case to avoid the soup become too sweet. You could easily find the ready to use tamarind paste in grocery stores these days.
- Adding a few leaves of fresh basil, crushed gently, also adds on a lot of flavour to the soup.
That’s it for today. Do write to me if you try this recipe and it comes out to be good. Even if not, I would love to hear from you. Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see more of these recipes and inside fun.
Vegan Carrot and tomato soup with tamarind and ginger
Ingredients
To be pressure cooked together:
- 4-5 medium sized carrots
- 6-7 medium sized tomatoes
- piece A small of ginger about an inch
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
For tempering:
- 1 tbsp of cooking oil I used Olive oil
- 3-4 bulbs of garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf optional
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp of thick turmeric paste
For garnish:
- leaves A handful of coriander cilantro
- leaves Few basil optional
Instructions
-
Wash and chop the tomatoes and carrots roughly. Pressure cook with turmeric, salt and 2 cups of water for two whistles. **Check notes if using a pan for cooking.
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Once the pressure eases off, open the cooker and allow the broth to cool down a bit. Once the steam is all out, blend the soup in a tall jar adding some more cold water if required. Be careful since the mixture would still have some steam trapped inside. If you want to strain the soup after blending, do it now and keep aside.
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In a pan, heat the oil. Add cumin seeds, when they sizzle, add minced garlic and bay leaf. Keep the gas at low
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Once the garlic starts turning light brown, add in the blended soup and mix. Add tamarind paste and more water only if required. Mix and simmer for a few minutes. Add the black pepper and check the salt.
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Turn off, and garnish with coriander leaves and basil before serving.
Recipe Notes
If vegan is not a constraint, adding a dollop of butter to the soup just before serving takes the taste to a new level altogether
This recipe makes a big bowlful of soup, enough for two people. Serve with bread or simply sip on its own for a healthy and filling dinner.
More Soups that you might like:
Cumin spiced potato and leek soup
Vegan tomato and coriander soup
Vegan cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic
Indian chunky potato and yogurt soup
Food makes everything better, but when it comes to soup, Tomato soup makes satisfying mouth feel. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
At the ingredients it reads 1 tsp of thick turmeric paste, but it should be the tamarind paste.
I’m going to cook the soup for dinner, thanks for the recipe!