Ingredients
- 1 litre vegetable stock, preferably homemade light or rich
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, cut into 1 cm dice
- 2 stalks celery, cut into 1 cm dice
- 1 parsnip, cut into 1 cm dice
- 2 potatoes, cut into 1 cm dice
- 50 g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 large sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped
- salt
- pepper
- 4 plain naans or 4–8 pita breads, to serve
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon mild curry paste
- 1 small zucchini
- 7.5 cm piece telegraph cucumber
- 1 green apple
- ⅔ cup (160 g) low–fat natural yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- handful of fresh mint leaves
Preparation
- Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan.
- Add the onion, carrots, celery, parsnip, potatoes, mushrooms and garlic.
- Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pan.
- Simmer for 30 minutes.
- The vegetables should be soft and break up when squashed against the side of the pan with a fork.
- Meanwhile, prepare the curried onion.
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the onion and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes or until the onion softens and begins to caramelise.
- Add the garlic and fry for a further 1–2 minutes.
- Stir in the curry paste and 1 tablespoon water, then cook, stirring, for a further 2–3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To make the raita, grate the zucchini and cucumber into a bowl.
- Core and grate the apple and add to the zucchini and cucumber.
- Lightly stir in the yogurt and parsley.
- Tear the mint leaves or coarsely shred them with scissors and fold them into the raita.
- Add seasoning to taste.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.
- Purée about half of the soup in a blender or food processor until just smooth, then pour it back into the soup in the pan.
- Alternatively, use a handheld blender to coarsely purée the soup in the pan, leaving some vegetables diced.
- Reheat the soup and taste for seasoning.
- If the soup is slightly too thick, add a little boiling water to thin it to the consistency you desire.
- Lightly stir in the curried onion and chopped fresh coriander, then ladle the soup into warm bowls.
- Serve at once, offering the raita separately, to be added to the soup in large spoonfuls or eaten with the naan or pita as an accompaniment.
Serves 4
Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking: about 30 minutes