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Friday, July 17, 2015

Red bean broccoli soup

We tried this broccoli soup for a quick dinner meal with minimum ingredients and short cooking time on a weekday. It turned out to be flavourful and a beautiful green colour.

Ingredients:
Small head of broccoli   - 1 to 1 1/2 cups(florets and tender stems)
Garlic                               - 2-3 cloves(finely chopped)
Red beans                      - 16 oz can
Salt                                   - as per taste
Fresh ginger                    - 1/2 inch piece (finely chopped)
Black pepper corns        - 2-3 (roast and powder them fine)
Scallions(green onions)- 1/4 cup(finely chopped)
Mint leaves                      - 2-3
Oil                                     - 2 tsps


Wash and break the broccoli into small florets and stems. Use the stems which are tender. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the broccoli to it. Cook them with half the salt required until tender. Make sure not to over cook to maintain the green colour. In the meanwhile heat a pan and add the oil to it. Once oil is hot add the garlic and roast till light brown. Drain the water from the red beans and add it with the ginger to the pan. Cover the pan and let it cook in low for a few minutes. The broccoli should be cooked by this time, drain the water but do not throw it. Transfer the cooked broccoli to the blender and grind it to a smooth paste. Add this  to the pan with the beans with the cooked broccoli water. Let it simmer down to a thick consistency with the chopped mint leaves. Add the rest of the salt and ground pepper and switch off heat. Serve the soup topped with chopped chopped scallions or a tsp of yogurt(curd) on the top.




Tips:

1. You can use 1 cup of dry red beans. Soak it for 5-6 hours and pressure cook .
2.Rosemary is a good alternative to mint.We used fresh home grown mint.
3.The roasted garlic and chopped ginger could be blended with the cooked broccoli. If you prefer you could add the fresh garlic to the cooked broccoli before returning it to the pan with the beans.
4.If you prefer the broccoli could be steamed instead of cooked in water.

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