No-Onion-Garlic Yellow Zucchini Soup
Soups are always so comforting! These days, I have been making different kinds of soups each day, particularly for my mother-in-law, who just got a knee surgery done this month. This was the soup I made last Tuesday for her. Let me tell you, my family follows a strict vegetarian diet on Tuesdays, due to religious reasons. We are not even supposed to cook with onion and garlic on this day. So I made this soup on Tuesday, which was indeed so good that I thought, I’d share this vegetarian soup recipe with you all.
If you need a quick and light vegetarian soup recipe, and that too, without onion and garlic, this yellow zucchini soup is a no-brainer. As I love my spices, I used little cumin and fennel seeds in this soup and these seeds added a special touch to this humble soup. And hey, I added holy basil (the Indian tulsi leaves) as a garnish!
Aaahhhh…for a soup like this, believe me, I don’t mind skipping dinner. I love this soup with a hint of chillies. We Indians do love chillies in everything. It makes a bland dish exciting! Morover, chillies are good for you. These are rich in Vitamin A, and are a good source of Vitamin B complex and C. In chillies, the constituent called capasaicin releases endorphins or the pleasure hormones. So go ahead and add a little chilli to your soups!
And by the way, did I tell you that we had been to Goa recently, just before my mother-in-law’s knees got operated? Oh, it was such fun! This time, we didn’t venture into the crowded (and happening) North Goa, but just relaxed in the more peaceful South Goa beaches instead.
No-Onion-Garlic Yellow Zucchini Soup
Ingredients:
Yellow zucchini (finely chopped): 450 g
Tomatoes (medium-sized, finely chopped): 2
Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
Fennel seeds: ¼ tsp
Salted butter: 1 tbsp
Semi-crushed finely chopped green chillies: ¾ tsp (optional)
Oil: ¼ tsp
Orange marmalade: ¾ tsp
Salt: according to taste
Balsamic vinegar: 1.5 tbsp
Fresh cream: 1 tsp
Water: ½ litre
Freshly ground pepper: for garnish
Holy basil (or Thai basil): for garnish
Method:
Wash the zucchini and tomatoes and chop them into small pieces.
Heat oil and salted butter together in a pan. When the oil is hot, add cumin and fennel seeds. Wait for a few minutes till these become darker (but not burnt).
Add the zucchini, tomatoes and the chillies. Sauté for just 5 min. Now add the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 3 min.
Add the marmalade and water and let the soup come to a boil: which takes about 10 min on a low flame. Mix-in the cream at the end. Check for the seasoning at the end, and add salt only after you tasted a little soup without it. Balsamic vinegar and butter already make the soup a bit salty, so always add the salt at the end.
Puree all the ingredients in a liquidiser and serve hot, sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and holy basil.
No-Onion-Garlic Yellow Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- Yellow zucchini finely chopped: 450 g
- Tomatoes medium-sized, finely chopped: 2
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Fennel seeds: ¼ tsp
- Salted butter: 1 tbsp
- Semi-crushed finely chopped green chillies: ¾ tsp optional
- Oil: ¼ tsp
- Orange marmalade: ¾ tsp
- Salt: according to taste
- Balsamic vinegar: 1.5 tbsp
- Fresh cream: 1 tsp
- Water: ½ litre
- Freshly ground pepper: for garnish
- Holy basil or Thai basil: for garnish
Instructions
- Wash the zucchini and tomatoes and chop them into small pieces. Heat oil and salted butter together in a pan. When the oil is hot, add cumin and fennel seeds. Wait for a few minutes till these become darker (but not burnt).
- Add the zucchini, tomatoes and the chillies. Sauté for just 5 min. Now add the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 3 min.
- Add the marmalade and water and let the soup come to a boil: which takes about 10 min on a low flame. Mix-in the cream at the end. Check for the seasoning at the end, and add salt only after you tasted a little soup without it. Balsamic vinegar and butter already make the soup a bit salty, so always add the salt at the end.
- Puree all the ingredients in a liquidiser and serve hot, sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and holy basil.
March 31, 2014 @ 12:05 am
Beautiful pics from your trip to Goa, you have a gorgeous family Purabi.
Love everything about this soup, specially the color ,it’s like springtime on a plate 🙂
March 31, 2014 @ 6:08 pm
I love chiles in everything too! This soup looks lovely.
April 1, 2014 @ 2:49 am
I so love chilies! This soup has such great color, and I’ll bet the flavor is wonderful. Fun pictures from Goa, too! Interesting post — thanks.
April 1, 2014 @ 8:30 am
Beautiful Soup! My boys would be delighted this soup does not have any onions or garlic. Very bright and I love the addition of jam, a little sweet with the spice is a god thing.
April 1, 2014 @ 5:27 pm
Beautiful…the soup, and the Goa pictures.
April 3, 2014 @ 2:19 am
Very interesting – I’m not familiar with the no garlic no onion restriction, but then I’m naive about many of the world’s religions and religious customs. I find this one quite interesting since I’m not sure if I could go a day without onion AND garlic. 🙂 Never the less – your soup looks delicious even without the garlic/onion. Still looks quite flavorful!
April 4, 2014 @ 6:03 pm
Thank you so much. No-onion, no-garlic can indeed be tricky!! 🙂
April 3, 2014 @ 9:54 am
The soup look amazing. I love the addition of marmalade for a bit of sweetness. I would feel very out of sorts without my onion and garlic…but you handled it really superbly. Love the beach photos. You have a beautiful family. 🙂
April 3, 2014 @ 1:43 pm
Hi Purabi, this soup look very appetizing. Thanks for sharing your interesting recipe. Lovely family photo. Best regards.
April 4, 2014 @ 6:06 pm
Thanks a ton! 🙂 Glad that you loved this recipe.
April 4, 2014 @ 6:05 pm
Nami, yellow and green zucchini taste almost the same. I find the colour of the yellow one more appealing, so I use it often! Goa is a beautiful place, Nami!!
April 8, 2014 @ 9:34 am
Such a hearty and delicious soup!