Healing Soups: Recipes, Uses and Benefits

Healing Soups: Recipes, Uses and Benefits
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Soupy Comfort

Apart from warming and comforting the body, health soups are easy to digest and pump essential nutrients in the body to speed up the recovery process. We all have, at some time, sipped on the classic clear chicken soup when we were down with flu. However, clear chicken soup is not the only healing soup. Here are recipes for healing soups from around the world - tuck yourself in bed with a hot cup and enjoy!

Lentil Soup

Lentils are rich in fiber, minerals and proteins. Lentil soups are satisfying and make for a wholesome and healing treat for the body. Here is a traditional recipe from India – very inexpensive and hearty.

You will need:

1 1/2 cup lentils (red or yellow)

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2-3 curry leaves or bay leaves

6 cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

2 garlic cloves, pounded

Salt and pepper

Lemon juice and fresh coriander

  1. Cook lentils in a pressure cooker along with the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, turmeric and the vegetable stock.

  1. Once the lentils are thoroughly cooked, mash them with a ladle or run the mixture through a grinder/blender.

  2. Heat the ghee/oil in a small saucepan and add the bay/curry leaves, garlic, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

  3. Pour the tempering into the lentil soup once the seeds start crackling.

  4. Add a dash of lemon and a few sprigs of fresh coriander for flavor.

Almond Soup

This rich, comforting and flavorsome recipe brings together the goodness of almonds and milk. It is just the thing to sip on when you have a bout of insomnia or a sore throat.

You will need:

A fistful of almonds

6 cups of milk

6 cloves

2 tablespoons of butter

2 teaspoons freshly ground white peppercorns

1 tablespoon of flour

2 medium-sized onions, chopped

Salt

  1. Soak the almonds in milk for an hour and grind them into a fine paste along with the cloves.

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the onions until golden.

  2. Pour in the milk and bring it to a boil.

  3. Slowly add the almond paste, attiring continuously as you do so.

  4. Simmer the soup for half an hour adding the salt and pepper in between.

  5. Add the flour to thicken the consistency and bring to a boil before serving.

Onion Soup

Onions are effective flu-fighters as they are a good source of vitamin B-complex and C. They are also rich in biotin, quercetin and folic acid. Onion soup is a great alternative to chicken soup, especially for vegetarians and vegans. Here is an easy recipe for a classic French-style onion soup.

You will need:

4 large onions, chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, pounded

4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ c. dry white wine (optional)

4 slices of toasted bread

2 oz. grated cheese (preferably Gruyere cheese)

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions until they are golden brown.

2. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes.

3. Pour in the stock along with the white wine and herbs, cover and cook.

4. Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes.

5. Sprinkle the cheese after the soup is cooked and serve with toasted bread.

Mixed Vegetable Potpourrie

One can never go wrong with this classic, savory recipe which also forms a vegetable base for all other soups. Infused with the goodness of veggies, this one is packs a punch with its high vitamin and mineral content.

You will need:

2 Carrots

2 Onions

4 tomatoes

10-15 cloves of garlic

1 beetroot

1 large potato

1 cup peas

Any squash

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons basil or parsley

1 bayleaf

Any other saeasonable vegetables like turnips, beans etc also work great.

  1. Dice all vegetables into largish chunks.

  2. Ddump all the ingredients in a pressure cooker or a crock pot with enough water to cover them.

  3. Simmer for about an hour.

  4. Run the cooked paste through a blender and strain.

  1. Check for seasonings.

Chicken Tenola

This delicious, warming, ginger infused soup from the Philippines is sure to take all your pains away – quite literally! Gingerol, the key compound in ginger is known to act as a natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic.

You will need:

6 Tablespoons cooking oil

3 cloves chopped garlic

2 tablespoons grated ginger (fresh)

1 large onion

1.5 kg boneless chicken pieces

2 liters water

2 cups chopped, fresh spinach

Fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste

  1. Heat half the oil in a saucepan and sauté the ginger, garlic and onions briefly.

  2. Set the mixture aside and use the same pan to sauté the chicken pieces until browned on all sides.

  3. Add the onion, ginger and garlic mixture along with the water and bring it to a boil.

  4. Simmer for 30 minutes.

  1. Add the spinach and pepper.

  2. Add the fish sauce just before serving.

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