Recipe of the month: Sweet Corn Soup

It is finally time for the second soup recipe to make an appearance on my blog 😁

I absolutely love soup. To me, the allure of soup is not dictated by the weather - I consider it as comforting as a mug of hot chocolate. Clear nourishing soups, rich creamy soups, aromatic and spicy soups....doesn't matter....I love them all. That said, I am not too big on tomato soup but give me a grilled cheese sandwich on the side and I'm sold 😆 Probably, the only kind of soup I don't fancy at all are the canned soups *snob alert*. My all-time favourite soup is wild mushroom soup followed closely by Thai coconut soup (Tom Kha) and broccoli cheddar soup but somehow I don't make them often at home. That is probably because I seem to be the only one keen on soups in my household. My husband and kids don't really share my enthusiasm. Oh well!

So the other day, I got this sudden urge to make sweet corn soup. Nobody mentioned it, nor did I catch a glimpse of it on tv or social media. It was gloomy and raining all day and I just felt like devouring a mildly-spiced, clear and nourishing soup. 

Growing up, sweet corn soup was something I would order quite often at any restaurant serving Indo-chinese food. It happens to be quite a popular soup in India. It makes for a great addition to a meal consisting of hakka noodles or fried rice with a variety of condiments. 

Sweet corn soup is a comforting and nutritious soup that highlights the natural sweetness of corn It serves as an appetizer, light lunch or add some cooked noodles in and it could even turn into a main course. And it needs only a handful of ingredients and so incredibly easy so no reason you shouldn't go make it right away.

Sweet Corn Soup

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Serves: 4-5

Recipe category: Appetiser/Fusion

Recipe level: Very easy

Ingredients:

1 cup sweet corn kernels (fresh, frozen or canned)*

1 cup carrots and beans, chopped

1 tbsp butter*

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp spring onion whites, chopped

2 tbsp spring onion greens, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 cups water

1 cup vegetable stock

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp refined sugar, Optional 

1/4-1/2 tsp white pepper powder, adjust according to desired spice level

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp white vinegar 

*I used frozen corn kernels which I thawed in hot water, drained and then used in this recipe
*Skip the butter and use 2tbsp olive oil to make this soup vegan

Method:

1. From the 1 cup corn kernels, take out 3 tbsp. Blend it with a little water to a thick coarse paste and set aside.

2. Heat a large pot on medium heat. Once it is hot, add the butter and olive oil and then add the spring onion whites and minced garlic.

3. Saute until the onions turn translucent and then add the carrots and beans. If you are using fresh corn, add the fresh corn kernels and paste now. 

4. Sauté with the lid on for about 4-5 minutes stirring intermittently until the vegetables are close to being tender. 

5. If you are using frozen or canned corn kernels, you can add them in now and fry for a minute. 

6. Now add the water and stock and bring the soup to a boil. Add white pepper powder. Taste the soup before adding salt 

6. Now let the soup simmer on low heat. Stir in the white vinegar.

   

7. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup water. Stir well to ensure there are no lumps and then add to the soup. Mix well. 

8. Let it simmer for 2-3 more minutes until it thickens. Add in the spring onion greens and mix to combine. Taste the soup and if required, add the sugar. 

9. Garnish the sweet corn soup with more green onion greens and serve hot.

Notes:

• You can just stick to using sweet corn alone or else you can use a combination of vegetables like carrots, beans, peas and baby corn
• Add in some cooked noodles to make the soup more hearty
• You could add black pepper instead of white pepper but white pepper gives a distinct flavour so I recommend you use it
• You can also add in 1 tsp of soya sauce for flavour

Cheers,

Megha