Indian cucumbersoup with mint

Indian cucumbersoup with mint

Let me just start by saying that this is maybe not the most logical dish while in winter. It’s lovely and refreshing, but also… it is supposed to be eaten cold, so if you’re in a summery country right now, this might just be the soup for you. Or if you’re like me – trying to loose weight – it might also be a great lunch dish. I have to confess that I actually did not eat it that cold; you’re suppose to have it chilled for a while before eating it, but since the temperatures outside are still sort of below zero, I figured it would be ok to eat it lukewarm. (saved me the trouble of having to wait until it was cool enough as well. Impatient!!) I am also not sure how authentic Indian this would be, but I guess they call it Indian because it does have some Indian ingredients in there (cumin, cilantro, yogurt; which technically are not Indian ingredients but are just featured in Indian food a lot, right?) It’s a bit of a weird day today as Tom is working from home as well. That then tends to feel like we have a day off! We slept in a little (what better way to start the day then to snuggle up under the warm covers when it’s freezing outside??), then had breakfast in bed and then I figured I should get to work or we would lie in bed all day. I had to finish a weddingbook since the couple is coming tomorrow, plus I have to make a quote for a BIG assignment for foodphotography! Fingers crossed people!!

So on to this soup; it’s quick, it’s easy and very tasty. You could very easily make this less vegetarian by adding maybe little bit of smoked bacon or smoked chicken (after the pureeing part though). I didn’t follow the recipe in terms of qty’s or measurements; just threw in what I thought would be good so just follow your own judgement when adding the spices.

Ingredients:

Cucumber, washed and seeds removed. I used about half a cucumber which would do for two people. Slice the cucumber in cubes

1 onion, finely chopped

ground coriander

ground ginger

ground cumin

ground piment

vegetable stock or use a stockcube and about half a liter of water

Yogurt

mint

You can also add fresh cilantro to it, if you’d like. The stock and the spices give it enough flavor on it’s own but feel free to add more pepper or salt if you want to.

In a medium saucepan heat the oil and fry the onions on medium fire for about 1 minute. Add the cucumberslices or cubes, add coriander, ginger, cumin and piment to your taste. Add 1/2 liter of stock or 1/2 liter of water and a stockcube and boil for about 8-10 minutes until the cucumber is soft.

Puree the soup in a blender or foodprocessor, add salt if you want and leave to cool. Once cooled of spoon the yogurt through the soup. I just added enough yogurt until it was to my liking, so just taste as you go along.

Serve with fresh mint.

PS…. I have lost already more then 5 kilo since beginning of the year!! Whoohoo!!