Vegetable Lemon Coriander Soup

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I lived in Bangladesh for a couple of years. At the time, I steered clear of multi-cuisine hotels. In fact, I probably yet do. Any place that serves Indian, Chinese and Mainland probably is a jack of all and master of none. But this place was different. It was called 36 Festivity Hills because it was located on the popular Road No. 36 of Festivity Hills. A mere five roads away from where I lived, it was one of the few best restaurants close to Hi-tech City in those days. So, some of our office lunches were organized there. Their north Indian recipes were superb, but the two menus that stood out were the Vegetable Biryani and the Lemon Coriander Soup.

I found a best recipe for the Lemon Coriander Soup in a Tarla Dalal book. That dish calls for Lemon Grass and I didn't have any. (I used up whatever I had for my kasha to help my cold.) The soup at 36 Festivity Hills had freshly squeezed lime juice and that is what I did yesterday. I wanted a satisfying soup that would soothe my throat.

The vegetables I used were baby corn, mushrooms and bell peppers as well as a carrot - they loan a lot of flavor to soup. The one thing different from my typical method was that I used a table spoon of Better than Bouillon Onion Gravy concentrate in addition to the sauces and it provided a nice, brown color to the soup as well as thickening it a little. A stock chop or just home made stock will work great as well. I couldn't avoid my favorite "gondhoraj" lemon leaf either - the flavor it imparts is just fabulous. I put in a bunch of coriander into the soup when it was cooking and it was just perfect.

Ingredients

1 Carrot, thinly sliced
8-10 French beans, thinly sliced
2 table spoon Cabbage, finely chopped
3 Button Mushrooms, sliced
3 Spring Onions, leaves chopped and bulb sliced
3 Broccoli florets, sliced
1 tea spoon Soy Sauce
1/2 tea spoon Green pepper Sauce
1/4 tea spoon Ginger Paste
1 tea spoon Garlic, finely sliced
2 table spoon Coriander leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tea spoon Oil
1 table spoon Lemon Juice

How to make Vegetable Lemon Coriander Soup

Heat the oil in a pot. Add the spring onion whites and fry for a minute. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few minutes. Add the vegetables with the spring onion greens and sauté for a minute or two. Add the soy and pepper sauces along with the salt. Add 4 cups of water and take the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 12 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Take off the flame and stir in the lemon juice.

I really enjoyed this soup and will make it even when I get best. Try it; I'm sure you'll love it too.