No Croutons Required: Chillies, Spice and All Things Nice

Hmmm...

So yesterday I realised that the deadline for No Croutons Required is fast approaching. Spicy vegetarian soup. I can do that. In fact, I make spicy soup pretty much every week - at least once. I had already made spicy Thai soup in the last week for Presto Pasta Night. Yay - an excuse to make more soup!

I considered various options. Asian soup was out - I made some pretty recently and I had it for lunch yesterday! Hmmm... spicy lentil soup, tomato soup? Nah, wasn't feeling the lentil/tomato love...

I realised that what I actually wanted was curry. A thick, smooth, spicy, rich curry soup...

So I have adapted one of my favourite curry recipes, and turned it into a soup. It is still pretty much a whole-meal soup - the potatoes and chickpeas add some real bulk. Serve with some nan bread, and you're sorted!

It wasn't until I took the pictures that I realised that my soup looks very similar to last month's NCR entry... So now I feel like I'm being dull and unoriginal... Am I a one-soup pony?? Tune in next month to see if I can escape the spinach!

Curried Chickpea & Spinach Soup with a Cilantro and Chilli Drizzle

Makes a lot of soup! Probably 4 big bowls - or 6 normal ones...

• 400g tin tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 medium/large onions
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 piece fresh ginger (about 2 inch long)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp tumeric
• 500 ml vegetable bouillion
  
• Large bag spinach, washed
• 3 green chillies
• small handful of chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 400g tin chickpeas
• 1 tsp garam masala

Heat the ghee, chop both the onions, and fry over a medium for about 15 minutes, until soft.

Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the ginger and garlic. In a liquidiser or blender, blitz the ginger and garlic with the tomatoes and about a quarter of the stock. Once the onions are ready, add them to the tomato mix and blitz it all to a smooth puree.

Return the puree to the pan, add the salt and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the chilli powder, paprika, turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander and mix thoroughly. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add the diced potatoes and chickpeas, then gradually stir in the stock until you get the consistency you want. (I kept it pretty thick - it was going to be my dinner!) Continue to cook until the potatoes are soft.

Meanwhile, wilt the spinach and blend to a puree. Add to the soup, taste and adjust seasoning if required. Add the garam masala.

To make the cilantro chilli drizzle, blend the cilantro with the chillies and olive oil.

Serve the soup with a drizzle of ... erm... drizzle (!) and garnish with a few cilantro leaves and a sprinkle of cumin!

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