Winters are Here and its the Best Time for a Cup of Soup! Check out these Top Soup Recipes You Should Try Today

Soups provide many benefits especially during winters which include –

• Full of Nutrition – You can get your daily quota of vegetables and essential nutrients by using fresh or frozen seasonal vegetables like carrot, beetroot, fresh fenugreek leaves, and other green veggies in the soup. As vegetables have a higher shelf life in winters, you can even use the vegetables which aren’t very fresh without compromising on the taste.
• Easy to prepare and inexpensive – Soups can be prepared in minutes with simple ingredients and veggies available in your kitchen. For most of the soups you don’t need to buy any special staples, thus they are a cheap option for a tasty and nutritious delicacy.
• Easy to store – You can cook an adequate amount of soup, consume the required amount, and freeze the remaining part to be consumed later when you are too busy or tired to prepare the fresh soup. The frozen soup will still be as good with all the goodness of vegetables intact in it.
• Keep you hydrated – It’s common to drink less water than what is required for the body during winters and soups are a good source of water, thus sipping them during winters is a great way to stay hydrated.
• Immunity Booster – Soups are recommended by doctors when you are suffering from cold or flu as they are loaded with nutrients that are helpful to combat disease causing viruses. Fresh spices and vegetables like garlic, ginger, onions, carrots, and celery, etc, are considered powerful immunity boosters and are more potent in the soup as they are not fried, unlike other dishes.

Ingredients:
For Soup:

• 500 grams tomatoes,
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic,
• 2 bay leaf or tej patta,
• 2 tablespoons butter,
• ⅓ cup finely chopped onions,
• 1 cup water or vegetable broth,
• 1 teaspoon sugar,
• Black pepper,
• Salt as required.



For the croutons

• ½ cup bread cubes,
• 1 tablespoon oil,
• 1 pinch salt, and 2 pinches black pepper is needed
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander for garnishing.

Procedure:
For Soup

• To start preparing the soup, heat butter in a saucepan on low heat and sauté bay leaves for a few seconds in it, now add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
• Next, add the chopped tomatoes and salt, mix well and simmer on low heat with the pan covered for about 10 minutes.
• If the gravy looks too dry, you can add a little water and continue cooking.
• Switch off the stove once the tomatoes have softened, remove from the heat and let it cool down before taking out the bay leaves.
• Once the puree is cooled to normal temperature, blend it to a smooth consistency and then you can strain the mixture through a strainer.
• Pour the puree back into the pan, add sugar and water, stir well and simmer on low heat until the soup is hot.
• Turn off the heat, add black pepper and stir, and finally add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.
• Mix well and adjust for salt and pepper.



For Croutons

• Mix the bread cubes, oil, salt, and pepper, and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 5 minutes until they are golden and crisp.
• Garnish the tomato soup with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with the bread croutons.

Ingredients:

• 250 grams button mushrooms,
• ⅓ cup finely chopped onions,
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic,
• 1 tejpatta,
• 2 pinches ground nutmeg powder,
• 1 cup whole fat milk,
• 1 cup water,
• 6 tablespoons low fat cream,
• 2 tablespoons butter,
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour,
• 2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves,
• Black pepper and salt as required.

Procedure:

• Heat butter in a pan; add the bay leaf and sauté for a few seconds then add the finely chopped onions and garlic and sauté until the onions turn translucent.
• Now add the chopped mushrooms and sauté until they start releasing water, keep sautéing unless all the water dries up and the mushrooms turn light golden.
• Now add the flour and sauté for 3-4 minutes on medium flame until the raw aroma of flour is gone.
• Finally, for making the mushroom soup, add water followed by milk and stir well with salt.
• Simmer the soup on medium flame and as the soup starts to thicken, stir at regular intervals.
• Cool for 4-5 minutes in a similar manner before adding the cream and chopped coriander.
• Simmer the mushroom soup for 2 more minutes while stirring often and then sprinkle the ground nutmeg powder in the last before giving a final stir.
• Turn off the flame and serve in soup bowls after garnishing with chopped coriander.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups spinach (chopped),
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped),
• ¼ cup onions (chopped),
• ¼ teaspoon cumin powder,
• 1 tablespoon gram flour,
• 2 cups water,
• 1 small bay leaf,
• 1.5 tablespoon oil,
• Cream for topping (optional),
• Grated cheese or paneer for garnishing (optional)
• Salt and black pepper as required.

Procedure:

• Rinse well the spinach leaves, chop and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan; fry the bay leaf for a few seconds before adding the chopped garlic into the pan.
• On a low flame, sauté the garlic until it turns light brown, add chopped onions and sauté again until the onions become translucent.
• Now add the chopped spinach, gram flour, salt, and black pepper, stir well and pour the water.
• Bring this mixture to a boil and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
• Add cumin powder, mix well, and switch off the flame.
• Once this mixture is cooled, remove the bay leaf and blend until it achieves a smooth consistency.
• Check for seasoning, salt, and pepper, and if required, adjust accordingly. If the soup is too thick, add little water and then simmer the soup again for 2-3 minutes before garnishing it with cream and grated cheese.
• Finally, serve this hot and fresh soup.

Ingredients:

• 5 chicken drumsticks (skin removed),
• 3/4 cup long-grain white rice,
• 4 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed),
• 2 large celery sticks (chopped),
• Juice of 1 medium lemon,
• 2 tbsp All-Purpose Seasoning and Soup Mix,
• ½ cup freshly chopped coriander leaves,
• 3 egg yolks.

Procedure:

• Add the chicken, carrots, celery, potatoes, and rice in a large pot; fill it with clean water and bring it to a boil.
• Now add the seasoning and soup mix and cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes until chicken and the vegetables are cooked properly.
• Lower the heat and take out the chicken pieces with a fork, keep these pieces on a plate for 5-7 minutes to cool down.
• In the meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice in a medium-size bowl and keep aside.
• Shred the cooled chicken and add the chicken and any juices left in the chicken plate back to the soup pot.
• Now take 1 cup of hot broth and slowly mix into the bowl with the egg mixture with a ladle, add one more cup and stir again.
• Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the soup pot, stir well and adjust the taste for seasoning.
• Finally, add the chopped coriander leaves, give a good stir, and cover the soup pot with a lid.
• Let the chicken soup rest for 10 minutes before serving hot and fresh.

Ingredients:

• 10 cups water,
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth,
• 3 medium potatoes,
• 350 gm fish fillets (cut into 1-inch pieces),
• 2 medium carrots (thinly sliced),
• 2 tablespoon oil,
• 1/2 medium onion (finely diced),
• 250 gm shrimp (shelled and deveined),
• 2 bay leaves,
• 2 celery sticks (thinly sliced),
• 2 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves,
• 1 tablespoon garlic and herb seasoning,
• 1 tablespoon salt and pepper as per taste.

Procedure:

• Add water, vegetable broth, and salt in a large pot, add the diced potatoes and bring to a boil.
• Continue cooking the potatoes for 10 minutes after boiling, then add the sliced carrots and cook for another 10 minutes.
• And while you’re cooking the potatoes and carrots, add 3 tbsp oil to a large pan and heat on medium flame, next add the diced onion and celery to the pan, sauté until they become soft and golden (5-7 minutes), and toss them a few times in the pan.
• Now add the shrimp and chopped fish to the pot and at the same time also add the bay leaves, pepper, garlic and herb seasoning, and fresh coriander leaves.
• Bring it to a boil one more time and cook for 5 more minutes until the fish and shrimp are cooked.
• Finally, remove from the stove, adjust salt to taste, and garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup mutton,
• 1 egg,
• 2 teaspoon cornflour,
• ¼ teaspoon coriander powder,
• ½ tablespoon gram flour,
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric,
• 1 onion,
• ½ cup mixed vegetables (frozen).
• ½ inch ginger,
• 2 cloves garlic,
• ½ tablespoon garam masala powder,
• ½ tablespoon coriander leaves,
• ½ tablespoon butter,
• 2 ½ cup water,
• Salt as required.

Procedure:

• For making the mutton soup, peel the garlic, onion, and ginger and grind them to make a fine paste.
• Dry roast the gram flour in a pan over a low flame and keep stirring it continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
• Turn off the gas once you get a strong fragrance of gram flour, transfer to a bowl and keep it aside.
• Now melt butter in a pressure cooker on medium flame, add the ginger-garlic-onion paste into it and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until the raw smell dissipates.
• Now, add all the masalas (coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, salt) along with 1/2 cup of water into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes before turning off the flame.
• Crack open the egg, beat in a mixer and marinate the mutton with the masalas, roasted gram flour, and the beaten egg for 15 minutes.
• Then put this marinated mutton in the same pressure cooker and cook for 4-5 whistles, then turn off the gas.
• Add 2 cups of water in another pressure cooker along with cornflour and frozen mixed vegetables.
• Keep this cooker over medium flame and stir all the ingredients so that they mix well.
• Now close the lid of this cooker and cook for 2 whistles before turning off the stove.
• Let the steam release and once the entire steam is released by itself, mix the cooked mutton into this cooker.
• Simmer the mixture for 3-4 minutes on medium flame and then turn off the gas.
• Now take out the hot soup with a ladle in soup bowls, garnish with coriander leaves and serve this tasty and healthy soup.