Spinach soup or palak shorba

P bought a bunch of spinach a couple of days back, and I made this yummy low calorie soup (Oh! yes, many soups end up being fattening instead of just appetizing - consider the butter, cream and the cornflour that gets added to flavour and give the soup a smooth texture!) adapted from Neeta Mehta's Soups, salads and starters.

Spinach has always been amongst my favourite greens, and this simple soup turned out the perfect antidote for sore throat and cold. I made it for the evening (not dinner) as I really needed something hot to stop the itch in my throat! I have added a lot of pepper as it is comforting on a sore throat and browned onions as a garnish in my soup. The kids had it with a sprinkling of cheese and a dash of butter. Even my son liked it very much - that speaks volumes:)

Ingredients:
Spinach (Chopped rough) – 3 cups
Water – 3 cups
Garlic – 3 cloves (chopped fine)
Bay leaf – 1
Ginger – 1tbsp. (Grated)
Salt – to taste
Pepper – 7 to 8 pepper corns crushed rough

Garnish:
½ a small onion – thinly sliced, browned in a tsp. of oil or vanaspati and pressed out between tissues.
OR
Grated cheese – ½ tsp. and a knob of butter

Method:
Boil the spinach in 3 cups water with garlic, ginger and bayleaf till softened. Simmer uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes.

Puree till smooth in a blender. Strain, add the salt and pepper and boil stirring the mixture for another two minutes. Add water or milk if you find it thick at this stage and boil again.

Remove and serve garnished with browned onions or cheese and butter.

Asha of Aroma hope and Foodie's hope noticed the nutritive value of this soup and drew my attention to the wonderful event Mansi of Fun and Food is holding. The event is basically a cookbook giveaway event (Pam Anderson's latest Cookbook - The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great) inviting recipes that are healthy, will keep one fit as well as scrumptious at the same time. I meant to send another one, but the last lesson I learned was do not delay, and wait for a particular entry which has not taken shape yet - you will find here why the hara paneer tikkas did not reach the May Monthly Mingle hosted by Mansi! This time I shall not repeat the same mistake so before things go haywire I am sending this off to her. Please click on the logo below to know more about the event. If you would like to enter please remember that the last date is 21st July 2008!

• It is a storehouse of energy just as Popeye says - it has vitamins - A, K, C...hold on also vitamin B6 and riboflavin
• It has magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, iron and zinc
• Flavoniods is a compound in spinach, which has anti oxidant and anti cancer properties. Spinach helps in lowering blood pressure due the presence of magnesium. Vitamin K, which is important for maintaining bone health, is also available in spinach. Moreover, spinach protect against heart disease. Vitamin C in spinach provides anti-inflammatory benefits. Spinach can give smarter brain and better eyesight due to its richness in vitamins.
• 100g of spinach contains 23 calories. (That's the best part)

• There is hardly any fat in the vegan version, even the kiddy version has just a small blob to make it appeal visually. I have not used fried or baked bread croûtons. It is actually low-calorie! There are no hidden fats in it:)
• This recipe does not use any flour (Corn flour or APF) for thickening. The spinach pureed with garlic is smooth enough!
  
• It has raw ginger root - a natural cleanser for the colon, garlic - reduces cholestrol and lowers B.P, and black pepper - a carminitive that aids in digestion. These are added in considerable amounts to add flavor.

Labels: Blog events, Colour - Green, Ing. - Spinach, Recipes - From books, Type - Soup, Vegan - Soup