Lemon and coriander soup; a clear, tangy, vegetable soup

This vegetables soup is healthy, and helps in losing weight. It is beautifully flavored by lemon and cilantro (coriander in India). In winters, so many fresh vegetables are available in the market, and there can be no substitute for the goodness of fresh vegetables. Lemon and coriander soup is a perfect soup for cold winter evenings. You can use any fresh vegetables of your choice. Enjoy the warmth of this light soup without killing your appetite for the main course.

I make this soup with chicken too, but the beautiful flavor of lemon and cilantro comes out very beautifully in vegetable soup. In Indian homes only tender leaves of cilantro are used in food, and stems and roots are thrown away. Now I have learnt to use stems and roots in soups. They enhance the flavor of the soup beautifully.

I boiled vegetable trimmings with lots of cilantro stems and roots in water along with some salt.  After boiling I passed it through a sieve,and collected the liquid. Presto! my flavorful vegetable stock is ready.

Recipe of lemon and coriander soup

Prep time: 10 minutes  Cooking time: 20 minutes   Servings: 4

Ingredients

butter — 1 tablespoon

spring onion, finely chopped — 2 to 3

garlic, finely chopped — 2 cloves

ginger, finely chopped –1, medium

carrot, chopped into medium size pieces –half cup

broccoli, medium size florets — half cup

mushroom, diced into medium size pieces — half cup

baby corn, diced into medium size — half cup

lemon juice — 2 teaspoons

Atta* flour or oatmeal — half tablespoon (optional)

lemon zest — a small amount

coriander (cilantro) leaves finely chopped — 2 tablespoons

black pepper powder — 1/4 teaspoon

salt to taste

vegetable trimmings, coriander stems and roots for vegetable stock.

* Atta flour is wheat flour without removing husk from it.

Directions

1. Heat butter in a pan. Add garlic and ginger, and stir for few minutes. Add spring onions and stir for some time. Then add all other vegetables. Stir for two minutes, and then add vegetable stock to it. Bring it to boil.
2. Dissolve atta flour in half cup of water, and add it to the soup. Though it is a clear soup, but adding oats or atta flour gives some thickness to the soup, otherwise it will be too watery. You can use corn starch too, but atta flour or oatmeal are much healthier options. Let it simmer for few minutes.
3. Adjust salt according to your taste. Add pepper powder and lemon juice. Finally remove from heat and add small amount of lemon zest. Take care to use only the outer skin of lemon and not the inner white portion, as it will make soup bitter.
4. Serve hot with toasted bread, or buns.

You can try cream of almond soup with nutty flavor, or a traditional Indian recipe of tomato rasam, that can be taken as soup. You may also like sweet pea and mint soup. For recipe click on the link.

Step by step demonstration of how I made lemon and coriander soup follows:

1. I diced all the vegetables. I also finely chopped spring onions, ginger, and garlic. Then I boiled vegetable trimmings, coriander stems, and roots in water with some salt in a pan.

2. In another pan I heated butter, and stirred in ginger and garlic. Then I added spring onions and then followed vegetables.

3. After few minutes I added vegetable stock, atta (dissolved in water), and seasonings. Allowed the soup to simmer for some time. Removed from heat, and added lemon zest and coriander leaves. My soup is ready.

Sublime lemon and coriander soup

It goes well with toasted bread, sandwiches, or buns.