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Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup
This aromatic Indian spiced cauliflower soup from Smitten Kitchen is a vegan-friendly alternative to heavy cream-based soups, infused with warming spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, and fennel. Inspired by Madhur Jaffrey's vegetarian Indian cooking, it's a simple yet deeply flavorful dish that comes together in about an hour and is so good you'll want to double the recipe immediately.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive or peanut oil
- 0.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 0.25 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium (about 6 ounces) potato
- 2 tsp fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 fresh hot green chili
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 0.25 tsp ground turmeric
- 0.25 tsp red chili powder or cayenne
- 3.5 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 3 cups water
- heavy cream or yogurt
- 0.5 cup cooked basmati or long-grain white rice
- handful fresh cilantro
- freshly ground black pepper
- lime wedges
- toasted pita or naan wedges
Instructions
- Heat oil in the bottom of a 4 to 5-quart pot over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add the cumin seeds and a few seconds later, the fennel seeds.
- Pause 2 seconds and then add the onions and potatoes.
- Stir and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the ginger, garlic and green chiles and stir for 1 minute more.
- Turn the heat to medium low and add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and red pepper.
- Stir for 1 minute.
- Add the cauliflower, tomatoes and salt and stir for 1 minute.
- Add 3 cups water, stir, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cover, lower the heat again, and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
- If the soup seems a little thick, add up to 1 cup more water, as needed.
- Let the soup cool slightly, then blend it to your desired texture.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Ladle into bowls and add a dollop of yogurt or tiny swirl (about 0.5 teaspoon) heavy cream, if desired.
- Squeeze lime juice over, add a few grinds of black pepper and place 2 tablespoons cooked rice to the center of each bowl.
- Scatter with cilantro and serve with pita wedges on the side, if desired.
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