I-m-not-a-Chef: Palak Shorba

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Palak Shorba

I bought a bunch of spinach a couple of days back, and I made this yummy low calorie soup (Oh! yes, many soups end up being fattening instead of just appetizing - consider the butter, cream and the cornflour that gets added to flavour and gives the soup a smooth texture!)

Spinach has always been amongst my favourite greens, and this simple soup turned out the perfect antidote for sore throat and cold. I made it for the evening (not dinner) as I really needed something hot to stop the itch in my throat! I have added a lot of pepper as it is comforting on a sore throat in my soup. So Read on for the recipe:-

500 g Spinach (palak), washed, finely chopped

2 tbsp Butter
1 big Onion roughly chopped
1/2 inch Ginger chopped
5-6 cloves Garlic chopped
Whole Garam Masala (Bayleaf, Cinnamon stick, Peppercorn, Clove, Cumin seeds, Black cardamom)Salt & Sugar to taste
a pinch Black pepper powder (freshly crushed)
6 cups Vegetable stock/Water

1. Melt 1 1/2 tbsp. butter in a pot; add whole garam masala and saute it for a minute.
2. Next Add ginger, garlic, and onion and again saute till onion becomes translucent.
3. Now add chopped spinach; saute for a few minutes. Add salt, and sugar. Let the whole thing get cooked for a min. or two.
4. Remove it from the gas and let this mixture cool down completely. Once its done; remove the bay leaf and blend this mixture to a fine puree.
5. Strain it and what you will get is a thick puree.
6. Now melt the remaining 1/2 tbsp. butter and add little bit cumin seed (just for extra flavour) and let them splutter.
7. Next add the strained spinach puree and also add the vegetable stock/ water to make it thin. (Always remember Shorba is never thick like other soups)
8. Adjust salt and add freshly crushed black pepper. Bring it to boil once and remove. Serve hot.