Indian Pea Soup (Kara shorba)

Servings: 4

Author:

Soups [/dishes/soups/]

Indian [/cuisines/indian/]

Instructions

1 Clean and prepare all the vegetables. Grind the cumin seeds in a spice mill, or
pound to a powder with a pestle and mortar. Take out 1/2 tsp of the ground cumin
and set aside; add the coriander seeds to the cumin in the mill or mortar and
grind them too.
2 Sift in a fine sieve to separate the coriander seed cases. Place 1/2 tsp ground
cumin in a small, non-stick frying pan and toast gently over a low heat,
stirring; as soon as the spice releases a full aroma, remove from the heat and
reserve.
3 Place the potatoes, onion, the whole piece of ginger and the mixed cumin and
coriander in a large saucepan with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, cover
and simmer over a fairly low heat for 20 minutes.
4 Add the peas, the well washed spinach, fresh coriander leaves, mint, the
reserved toasted cumin, the chilli pepper and 1 tsp salt. Replace the lid and
simmer for a further 25 minutes.
5 Remove and discard the ginger; beat the soup with an electric beater to reduce
to a puree or put through a vegetable mill and return to the saucepan.
6 Stir in the cream, add a little more salt if needed, add lime juice to taste, a
pinch of cinnamon and some freshly ground pepper. Garnish with the coriander
leaves.