Creamy Indian Cauliflower Soup

September 10, 2008

Editor’s Note: I just realized that I must have deleted my pictures of the soup before transferring them to my computer.  Sorry!  It actually was not an attractive soup though – it kind of looked like gray oatmeal.

I made this recipe a couple weeks ago and it was…interesting. It wasn’t bad, but it was only kind of good. I think adding one step to the recipe and serving it as a side dish would really help.

For creamy Indian cauliflower soup you’ll need two tablespoons of a neutral oil, one onion, one head of cauliflower, two cloves of garlic, a half cup of white wine, three cups of stock, one cup of plain yogurt, a teaspoon each of cumin seed and garam masala, salt, and pepper. Additionally, you can add toasted mustard seed or cilantro at the end to garnish.

Begin by preparing your mise en place: chop your cauliflower, chop your garlic, and slice your onion. Put a large saucepan over medium heat and add your oil. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seed and garam masala. Stir the spices in for about 30 seconds, then add the onion, garlic, cauliflower, and some salt and pepper.

Cook this mixture until the onion is soft, around 5 to 10 minutes. Then add the white wine and cook it for a minute. Finally, pour in your stock. Simmer this mixture, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender. Mark Bittman says it should take 10 to 15 minutes, but it took me 20 to 25.

When the cauliflower is softened, you need to puree the whole mixture. The easiest way is to use an immersion blender and just stick it in the soup. If you are going to use a blender or food mill, however, be sure to cool the soup a little bit before pureeing.

Once you have your pureed soup, stir in your yogurt, add any necessary salt and pepper, garnish if you wish, and serve.

Tip

• This soup was okay as a main course, but I think it would be much better as a side dish to a meal.
• If I made this again, after pureeing, I would strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer, puree the solid that came out of the strainer, then restrain that re-pureed mixture back into the soup. Does that make sense? It was a little too chunky and fibrous to be creamy.
• I added toasted mustard seeds as a garnish, but I couldn’t tell that they actually added anything.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. neutral oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seed
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup plain yogurt

Recipe:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat with the oil. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seed and garam masala. Stir them in for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the onion, garlic, and cauliflower, along with some salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft (5-10 minutes).
3. Add the white wine and cook for about 1 minute. Add the stock and cook until the cauliflower is tender (10-25 minutes).
4. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or cool slightly and puree in a blender or food mill.
5. Stir in the yogurt, adjust the seasonings to taste, and serve. Garnish with cilantro or toasted mustard seed if desired.

Recipe courtest of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

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