Spoonful of Flavours: 5 warm soup recipes to nourish your soul

Warm up to these offbeat broths and surprise your palate with new combinations and flavours. Roll up your sleeves, whip out your chef’s hat and convert your kitchen into an experimental lab!
1. Minestrone Chicken and Pasta Soupby Sukreet Singh, Owner, Yolo 21 Cafe, New Delhi
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, 3/4 cup small pasta shells, 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 3 medium diced tomatoes, 1 medium yellow onion, diced small, 3 medium carrots, cut into ¼ inch rounds, 1 bunch kale with tough stems,ribs removed and leaves cut into 1 inch pieces, 1 medium diced zucchini, chicken soup broth (10 cups broth and 4 cups boiled and shredded chicken), coarse salt, ground pepper, parmesan rind, grated parmesan (optional)

MethodPour oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook for eight minutes till soft. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Tip in tomatoes with juice and cook for four minutes till liquid evaporates. Pour in chicken soup broth and bring to boil. Add pasta, carrots, and parmesan rind. Cook for five minutes. Add kale, zucchini, chickpeas and boil for five minutes until zucchini is tender. Stir in chicken and cook for a few minutes until warmed. Season with salt and pepper. Remove rind before serving. Sprinkle with parmesan.
2. Tom Yum Veg Soup
by Janti Dugal, Food Director, Mamagoto, New Delhi
300 ml vegetable stock, 30 gms broccoli florets, 30 gms baby corn, 30 gms button mushrooms, 30 gms carrots, 20 gms lemon grass, 10 gms kaffir lime leaves, 10 gms galangal, 10 gms sugar, 10 gms coriander leaves, 2 tbsp tom yum paste, 1 tbsp fresh red chilli cut into diamonds, 1½ tsp lemon juice, 1 ½ tsp light soya sauce
MethodBoil stock. Add all ingredients. Boil once more and remove from heat. Garnish with red chili.3. Roasted Eggplant Soup By Anirudha Patil, Corporate Chef-OnShore, CBCS Group, Mumbai
400 ml water, 1 kg egg plant, 500 gms yellow zucchini, 500 gms green zucchini, 100 gms onion, 100 gms celery, 100 gms garlic, 100 gms leeks, 150 gms basil, 50 gms butter, 50 gms vegetable oil, 2 gms bay leaves, 5 gms salt, 5 gms black pepper
MethodRoast eggplant, green and yellow zucchini in an oven. Saute onion, garlic, celery, leeks with butter and oil in soup pot. In the same pot, add water and roasted vegetables. Bring to boil. Add salt, pepper and basil. Simmer soup for approximately 30 minutes. Puree the soup and strain through a strainer. Add seasoning. Garnish with basil. Serve hot.
4. Apple, Tomato and Truffle Soupby Pawan Bisht, Head Chef, Junglee Billee, New Delhi
3 cups tomato juice, 2 cups apple juice, ½ cup fresh apple chunks,1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 green chilli, few drops truffle oil, salt to taste, crushed black pepper to taste
MethodPour olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Toss in green chilli, chopped basil and saute. Add tomato juice and cook well. When liquid reduces to half, add apple juice. Cook for five more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh chunks of apple and few drops of truffle oil. Serve hot.
5. Borscht Hot Soup with Beetrootby Nishant Mitra, Chef and Owner, Eddies Bistro, Mumbai
½ cup sour cream (optional), 1 ½ ltr vegetable stock, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp ghee, 1 ½ tsp sea salt, 4 baby potatoes, roasted and sliced, 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 3 medium beets, peels and grated, 2 bay leaves, 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped, 1 large celery stick, chopped, 1 large carrot, peeled and grated, ¼ red cabbage, thinly sliced, 2/3 black pepper
Method Heat ghee and olive oil in large saucepan until hot but not smoking. Add chopped onion and celery and saute on medium heat for a few minutes. Add grated carrots, beetroot, garlic and 1 tsp salt. Stir and saute for three minutes. Add paprika, coriander powder, black pepper, tomato paste and vinegar. Stir for a minute. Add vegetable stock, bay leaves, potatoes and cabbage. Turn up the heat and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low and cook for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and taste to check for salt. Add more if needed. Soup should taste slightly sweet but contain little acidity from the vinegar While the potatoes should be soft. Add a dollop of sour cream to serving bowl, mix it when eating the soup. You may leave out the cream to savour soup it the traditional way. Also read: 4 winter cocktails to keep you warm