Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Cucumber Coriander Soup

Coriander is a herb that my mother always stocks in her refrigerator, and uses quite a lot in her dishes including sambar, rasam, chutneys, snacks like pakoras, sandwiches, parathas, drinks like spiced buttermilk, etc. While garnishing soups, she generally limits the use of this herb to a lesser quantity, and I preferred it that way too.

However, this weekend, I wanted to finish two things that had been lying inside the fridge for about a week - 2 cucumbers, and a large bowl of washed and dried coriander leaves. I thought of a simple salad, but no, my little one would not eat it, and raw at that. So I decided to make a soup out of the cucumber. While thinking of boil ing it and using vegetable stock, my eyes fell on a bowl of freshly set curd, and I decided to use buttermilk in the soup.




To make the Cucumber Coriander Soup seen in the picture, you will need:

Cucumber - 2 medium sized
Coriander - a large bowl - chopped
Curd - Fresh and not sour - 2 cups
Green chilly - 1
Water - 1 cup
Turmeric - a pinch (optional)
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste

Method:
  • Peel the cucumbers, peel them (if too many seeds, de-seed), grate them into a bowl like you would grate carrots, and boil with a cup of water until well cooked and semi-dry
  • In a mixer add 1/2 a cup of water to the 2 cups of fresh curd, blend well for 5 minutes and keep aside until cream settles on top
  • Remove the cream from the buttermilk, and add salt, green chilly, turmeric, jeera powders and chopped coriander leaves and blend well
  • Add this to the boiled grated cucumber, and keep on low flame for 3-5 minutes stirring continuously, adding enough water only to adjust consistency if required

Note: If you do not add turmeric, the soup will not have the light yellow colour, and will be more natural with the green coriander and white cucumber buttermilk combo with just a tinge of brown jeera. Also, I did not remove the cream, which is why my soup is slightly thicker and creamier (you can see on the sides and glistening on top in the picture)

Serve with crushed pepper in soup bowls

'Herb Mania' is an event started by Dee of Ammalu's kitchen, and is being hosted this month by Siri at Siri's Corner.




The Cucumber Coriander Soup is my entry to the Herb Mania: Coriander/ Cilantro event.

28 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow... looks yummy & delicious... looks great...

Anonymous said...

At first glance this does not seem like an autumn type of soup...When I think of cucumbers and coriander, I think of freshness, and cooling flavors.
Is that how this comes across, or is it more warming than I am imagining it?

Indian Khana said...

Wow soup looks delicious dear and that's a very nice idea...gud one

Cham said...

The soup is loaded of flavor :)

Shreya said...

Hi Erik, the soup is served while still hot, and is very appetizing. This soup definitely has flavours that have a cooling effect and may not be suited for winters. About early autumn, please do try it before November begins and let me know if you like it:-)

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

hey good one..will try it!

Unknown said...

Love the aroma of coriander..Hearty soup..

VG said...

Looks very appertising and healthy. Must try it. Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope to see you soon.

Dibs said...

This is almost like a boiled cucumber raita :-) It sounds very cool and refreshing.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Too good to resist, great combo...

Gita Jaishankar said...

The soup looks delicious. Can this soup be made without boiling the cucumbers and adding them raw? I love this idea.

Unknown said...

looks yumm..have to try,,

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amna said...

I just saw a soup recipe on Srivalli's blog. And here's another! Lovely entry to the event. I love cilantro and its flavour. Make chutney with it all the time.

Adam said...

Coriander is quite the versatile herb, isn't it? I don't use it too much, but it sounds like it is a superhero :)

I really like a nice cool cucumber soup. I think with all the spices, it adds a layer of warmth. Sounds very nice, Shreya :)

raaji said...

hey is the cucumber sth that use in Indian curries.or the salad one's

Sum Raj said...

gud combo sherya..looks unique soup...

Nidhi said...

Unheard combination you have managed in this soup. Sounds inetersting!

Dee said...

Shreya, I love coriander but my husband hates the stuff. Terrible, isn't it? IYour soup is so interesting - I don't think I've had anything quite like this, but I can imagine how great it must taste.

sra said...

When I saw the title, I thought it was a cold soup. Maybe I'll have it chilled :)

Indranee Batabyal said...

Nice soup...perfect for me!

ST said...

Great combo looks delicious.....

Vaishali said...

Cucumber and coriander are such a flavorful combination. I love that pale green color, Shreya. Yum.

Laavanya said...

A soup with cucumber? How cool.. sounds yummy.

Usha said...

Wonderful combination...looks delicious :-)

Suganya said...

This is so coolll....

Uma said...

lovely soup! nice flavors.

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test it comm said...

Coriander is one of my favorite herbs and I like the sound of using it in a cucumber soup.