Carrot Korma Soup

A warming carrot soup infused with korma flavours and a hint of chilli spice.

No ratings yet

Print Pin

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 40

Servings:4 (main course)

Equipment

1 large heavy based pan with lid

Ingredients

1-2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp ghee or olive oil
500 g carrots peeled and chopped into rings
2 onions roughly chopped
1 med-large potato (peeled and diced)
20 g almonds soaked in 200ml water or cashews
⅔ tsp yellow mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic (grated)
2 cm ginger (grated)
1 banana chilli, finely chopped optional
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground fenugreek
1 small bay leaf
800 ml stock of your choice (vegetable or chicken)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tadka (see notes)

2 tbsp oil or ghee
2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch asafoetida
¼ tsp dried chilli powder
2 dried chillies
½ tsp grated garlic and ginger optional

Garnish

2-3 leaves fresh coriander
50-100 ml coconut cream
1 tbsp toasted coconut flakes optional

Instructions

Cover the almonds with 200ml of warm water and set aside.
Heat the coconut oil and ghee in heavy-based pan. Add the mustard seeds.
As soon as the mustard seeds start popping add the onions. Cook for a couple of minutes - add the carrots, potato, chilli, garlic and ginger.
Add the remaining spices and a good grating of black pepper. Set over low heat and braise very gently.
Once the onions are translucent, add the almonds (reserve the water) and a sprinkling of their water.
You aim to stew the carrots very slowly in the onions and spices. Keep an eye on them and sprinkle them with more almond water when necessary. Add only enough water to stop it from sticking.
As soon as the carrots start to soften, you can add the remaining almond water and the stock.
Gently simmer until the carrots are soft and ready to blend. Leave to cool and blend when lukewarm. Leaving the soup to cool allows the flavours to develop. Add a little more water, coconut milk or stock if the soup is too thick for your taste.
When you are ready to serve, gently reheat the blended soup. Add salt to taste.

Serving

For the Tadka, temper or 'bloom' 2 tsp cumin seeds in 2 tbsp oil (just enough for them to start moving - 30 seconds!) Remove from the heat. Add a pinch of asafoetida, ¼ tsp red chilli powder and two dried red chillies. Add grated garlic and ginger just after the cumin seeds - if you want a little extra kick.
To Serve, swirl in a little heated coconut cream and tadka (if using as you may find the coconut and the tadka too much). Garnish with fresh coriander, parsley and toasted coconut flakes.

Notes

It is traditional to finish a simple Indian vegetarian dish with a chhonk or tadka (aromatic spiced hot oil dressing). However, it is a very rich sauce, especially combined with coconut cream, so feel free to use one or the other.

Both may be overkill for a midweek supper!

I used homemade chicken stock for this recipe, but a chicken stock cube, homemade vegetable stock or vegetable stock cube works equally as well.

This batch made just over 1.2 litres of soup - a generous serving for four or a starter serving for 6.