Weather like today makes me crave comfort, and nothing fits the bill better than a warm bowl of soup. But, it's the first week of January, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm already done with the pumpkin-pie-spice-butternut-squash-parsnip-and-apple soups that tend to dominate our menus during cold weather. Then it came to me, I have a great recipe for Curried Carrot Soup. It's inspired by the food of northern India, specifically Mughal India. I don't think you could get further away from that pumpkin pie flavor profile.
I should give credit where credit is due, most of what I know about Indian cuisine and culinary techniques I learned from my boss in Arlington--Ed. Ed fell in love with Indian food, and fell hard, devoting himself to the study of the cuisine, ingredients, and techniques, and he was happy to share his knowledge and passion. I used to joke that our kitchen at work often smelled like Mumbai.
The soup starts with a pureed mixture of tomatoes, ginger, chilies, and cilantro. The soup is meant to be spicy, but you can raise or lower the heat level by adjusting the number and type of chili peppers as well as whether you use the whole pepper or remove the seeds and membranes first. I usually use jalapeno peppers, but since moving to the Philadelphia region, I've been introduced to the Italian long hot pepper. This chili is usually picked while still green, and they can be 6 to 8 inches in length and often have a twisted shape. Their heat level can vary widely, from almost no heat to something that will definitely have you sweating. So, for this batch of soup, I though it would be fun to try out the local favorite.
The role of spices in Indian cuisine goes beyond creating a pleasing taste and flavor, they are also believed to have medicinal properties. Ancient Hindu scriptures describe the effect of spices on body temperature--"warm" spices are said to increase internal body temperature, while "cool" spices do the opposite. Spices are frequently blended into "masala". Garam masala, the spice blend used in this recipe, literally translates to "warm spice blend". Garam masala is a mixture of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds, all of which Hindu scriptures describe as "warm" spices, ideal for a cold weather soup. Most of the the time, the spices are toasted or fried in oil at the beginning of cooking, as the cumin seeds are in this recipe, but it garam masala is usually mixed into the dish near the end of cooking.
I recommend using a food processor to puree the tomatoes, chili, ginger and cilantro. The food processor is better suited than a blender for pureeing this type of mixture. But, definitely use a blender to process the soup at the end, you'll get a much finer texture to the soup. I used my Vitamix blender, and the result is a silky, smooth puree that you'd swear had a ton of cream added to it. And, don't be afraid to add more water to the finished soup. It can be super thick, almost like baby food, when it comes out of the blender, and the water won't dilute the intensity of the flavors.
Enjoy!
Curried
Carrot Soup
Serves
6
1 2-inch
piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin rounds, divided
2 large, very ripe red tomatoes, roughly chopped
1- 3 fresh
green chili peppers, roughly chopped
½ cup packed
cilantro leaves and stems
3 Tbsp vegetable
oil
1 Tbsp cumin
seeds
1 small
onion, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
2
tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 ½ lb carrots,
peeled and chopped
2 cups water,
plus additional as needed to thin the soup
1 tsp garam
masala
juice
of one lime
¼ cup finely
chopped cilantro
Combine
the half of the ginger slices, all of the tomatoes and green chilies and the ½ cup
of cilantro stems and leaves in a food processor and process until nicely
pureed.
Heat
a large saucepan or stock pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, cumin seeds and onion. Cook, stirring,
until the onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and
salt. Add the tomato mixture and cook, uncovered, until the excess moisture
evaporates and the sauce is thick and starting to dry out, about 8
minutes. Add the water, the carrots, and
the remaining ginger slices. Mix well and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook,
covered, until the carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove
from the heat and transfer in batches to a blender of food processor and
process until smooth. Return to the soup
to a large saucepan or stock pot and bring to a simmer, adding additional water
as needed to thin and adjust the texture of the soup. Stir in the garam masala,
the juice of one lime, and the chopped cilantro. Taste and add salt as needed to adjust the
flavor. Serve immediately.
No comments:
Post a Comment