Day 50 : Celery and cumin soup

Start of a weekday (is it?) and what better way than to start with a healthy large bowl of soup!

This recipe uses no flour to thicken. Instead I have used one small potato.

Also I haven’t used any butter, instead I opted for olive oil. The dollop of yogurt in the end is a wonderful substitute for cream.

This makes about 2 large bowls of soup.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of chopped celery.

2. 1 small potato

3. 2 garlic cloves

4. 1-2 bay leaves

5. 1 tsp whole jeera (cumin)

6. 1/2 of a chicken cube

7. Pinch of sugar*

8. Pinch of pepper

9. Pinch of jeera (cumin) powder

10. 2 tbsp Greek yogurt

11. 3 cups of water

*add sugar only if the celery is tasting a bit sharp or bitter. This is a good way to salvage the bunch.

Method

1. Chop the onion, potato and garlic into small pieces.

2. Put a pressure cooker on medium heat and add oil.

3. Add the jeera and let it splutter. Then add the chopped onions and bay leaves. Stir for 2 minutes.

4. Now add the chopped celery and stir for another two minutes before adding the salt, sugar, pepper and chicken cube. Stir well for 2 minutes.

5. Add water and close the lid of the pressure cooker.

6. Let it go for 6-7 whistles or for about 15 minutes and then switch off the gas.

7. After 20 minutes, check if the steam has been let off but lifting the whistle with a fork.

8. Open the lid and let it cool. Remove the bay leaves before blending it.

9. Blend on high speed for a couple of minutes. It should be nice and and more or less smooth and only slightly thick.

10. Let it cool a bit for 3-4 minutes or so and then pour into a bowl. Add a dollop of Greek yogurt on top. cooling down is to ensure that the yogurt doesn’t split on contact with the hot soup. Sprinkle some cumin powder and enjoy this delicious soup.

11. Freshly ground cumin is preferable as it gives a lovely toasty aroma. If you can’t do then don’t worry , the bottled version works just fine.

12. Enjoy with some crunchy bread!