Vegetable Soup

Contributor: Usha Rao
Vegetable Soup - this is a very easy soup and you can throw in any vegetable you like. I don't like store bought stocks so I use bouillon cubes. Maggi vi chinna cubes vastunai, each box has 20 cubes and those cubes are just perfect for when making a small pot of soup. I have seen only chicken and beef flavors. Vegetable flavor loo vastundo ledo teliyadu. But you can use any other brand or just use stock. There is the recipe...

Ingredients:
1 – 2 tsp. Oil
1 – 1 ½ tsp. Ginger Garlic Paste
4-5 Button mushrooms diced
1 small – medium Carrot sliced
4-6 Green Beans cut into 1 – 1 ½” pieces
1 tender Celery sliced
Handful of Moong Beans Sprouts or canned White Beans (opt)
1 small Tomato chopped or 1 – 2 tbsp. tomato Sauce (opt. I did not use it yesterday)
3-5 small Cauliflower Florets cut into small pieces (I did not use it yesterday)
Handful of Kale or Spinach chopped (I used kale yesterday)
1/8 tsp. Pepper Powder (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp Salt (adjust to taste)
1 mini cube Bouillon
2 cups Water
Cilantro chopped

In a pan heat oil and sauté ginger garlic paste for few seconds.
Add all the vegetables except sprouts, kale/spinach & cilantro. Sauté the vegetables for 2-3 minutes until veggies are lightly roasted. Add tomato sauce, salt & pepper and saute for few seconds. If using tomato, cook for a minute until tomato is soft and mushy.
Add water, bouillon and bring the water to a boil. Let it boil for a minute or 2 until the vegetables are cooked, especially cauliflower if using.
Add sprouts and kale/spinach. If using kale cook for 2-3 minutes until kale is cooked. If using spinach cook for 1 – 1 ½ minutes. Add cilantro turn of the heat and serve.

Again, you can use stock instead of water+bouillon.
Tomato is optional usually do not added it as I usually add tomato to almost all the curries I make. So I leave it out in the soup. If there is any left over canned tomato sauce, I add a little.
Also you can add vegetables to your preference. I usually add lots of vegetables as it is filling.
Sometimes I also add some diced onions along with other vegetables