Spring has finally arrived. There are fresh flowers blooming everywhere. Nowadays I wait impatiently for my evening walks, when I can admire nature’s beauty at its best. My parents were very fond of gardening, and as a child I spent lots of time in the garden running after butterflies, making dolls out of poppy flowers, exploring various fruits and vegetables. My father encouraged us to eat fresh fruits and vegetables plucked straight from our kitchen garden. I was very fond of eating fresh tomatoes and juicy, mildly sweet red carrots from our garden. My love for carrots is still very much intact. I have earlier shared the recipe of carrot pickle (gajar gobhi shalgam ka achar), and black carrot fermented drink called kanji (gajar ki kanji). Today I will share the recipe of a tasty carrot coconut soup.
Carrot is a very versatile vegetable, and can be used in making various kinds of dishes such as curries, soups, pickles, juices, desserts and so on. Apart from that, eating it raw is also a very good option. Whenever I use carrot in my kitchen, I keep at least one carrot aside to eat it raw at leisure. This fiber rich root has many health benefits. It is rich in beta-carotene, and has antioxidant properties. It is a rich source of various vitamins and minerals as well. It is good for our eyes, and keeps our heart and liver healthy. To know more about health benefits of carrots, read this.
Red carrots are juicy and have nice sweet taste
This carrot coconut soup recipe gets inspiration from Thai flavors. It gets mild sweetness from both carrots and coconut milk. This sweetness is balanced by tart lemon juice. The flavors are further enhanced by fresh herbs, lemon grass, lemon zest, and peppers.
Red carrot, popularly known in India as Delhi carrot is my favorite, and I have used it here. You can use any other variety of carrot as well. I have used home made thick coconut milk (first extract) in this soup. It is very easy to make coconut milk at home. You can learn the method to make coconut milk at home here. You can use canned coconut milk as well. I don’t have the luxury of big garden, being a city dweller. Still I have grown few herbs in pots. Use of fresh herbs and vegetables do wonder to the flavor of any dish. Here I have used fresh lemon grass, thyme, coriander leaves (cilantro) and red chili from my kitchen garden. The result was a nice soup bursting with flavors of fresh herbs. Use of onion and garlic gives certain depth to the flavor.
I diced onion, garlic, and carrots and cooked them covered on low flame till the carrot was soft. Then I churned it in a mixer. Heated the churned mixture. Added herbs and spices, and added coconut milk. Once it starts to simmer, adjusted the consistency of the soup by adding some water. After switching off the gas, I scraped in some lemon zest, and also added lemon juice to add some tartness to the soup.
Delicious carrot coconut soup is ready
You can also try some other soup recipes such as cream of almond soup, lemon and coriander soup, or sweet pea and mint soup.
Recipe of Carrot Coconut Soup
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- 250 gm carrots diced
- 1 medium onion cut into thin wedges
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger julienned
- 2 red chilli finely chopped
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2 teaspoon coriander leaves/cilantro finely chopped
- 1, 2 lemon grass chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice finely ch
- 1 pinch lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
- Heat oil in wok or kadhai. Add onion wedges and garlic. Allow to saute on low flame till onion becomes soft. Do not brown it. Add carrot pieces and salt. Add 1 cup water. Cover and cook on low heat till carrot becomes soft.
- Blend contents of kadhai. Heat the blended mixture once again. Add fresh herbs and coconut milk. Cook till it starts simmering. Adjust the consistency of soup by adding water if required. Add ginger juliennes (keep aside few pieces to decorate the soup). Switch off the gas and add lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Add black pepper powder. Check and adjust salt and spices.
- Pour the soups in bowls and decorate with fresh herbs and ginger juliennes. Serve hot.
- Use of fresh herbs enhances the flavor of the soup. Use herbs that are available. If fresh herbs are not available, you can use dry herbs too.
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