Main Ingredients
- ▢1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or extra virgin olive oil. butter can also be substituted
- ▢½ cup chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion or 60 grams onion
- ▢½ teaspoon chopped garlic or 2 to 3 small to medium-sized garlic cloves
- ▢400 grams carrots or 0.9 pounds carrots or 2.25 cups chopped carrots or 8 to 10 small to medium-sized carrots – diced or cubed
- ▢2 tablespoons chopped celery
- ▢½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢½ teaspoon salt or add as per taste
- ▢2.5 cups vegetable stock or water
- ▢¼ to ½ cup water – while blending, optional
- ▢¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
- ▢1 to 2 teaspoons chopped parsley or chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)
- ▢¼ teaspoon lemon juice – optional
For Garnish
- ▢1 teaspoon chopped parsley or chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)
- ▢⅓ cup bread croutons – optional
Instructions
Cooking Carrots
- In a thick bottomed pan or pot, heat sunflower or olive oil on a low to medium-low heat. Add chopped onions and chopped garlic.
- Sauté on a low to medium-low heat till the onions soften.
- Add chopped carrots, celery, cumin seeds and salt. Mix well.
- Pour the vegetable stock or water. Stir and mix again.
- Cover pot with a lid. Simmer on a low or medium-low heat till the carrots become tender.
- When simmering, do check a couple of times to see if the liquids have dried or not. If the liquids have dried, then add ¼ to ½ cup more of hot veg stock or hot water.
- Check a few pieces of carrots with a fork or knife. The fork or knife should be able to pass easily from the carrots.
- After the carrots are cooked, switch off the heat. There will be some liquid in the mixture. Let this liquid remain as we will use these liquids when blending the carrots. Let the soup mixture become warm or less hot.
Making Carrot Soup
- Add the entire mixture with the liquids in a blender or grinder. You can even use an immersion blender to blend the carrots.
- Blend to a smooth puree. While blending, add ¼ to ½ cup water (at room temperature) depending on the thickness you prefer in the soup.
- Place the entire pureed carrots in the same pan or pot.
- Keep the pan on stove-top and simmer till the soup gets hot. Stir at intervals. If the carrot soup looks thick, then you can add some more hot water or hot vegetable stock.
- When the soup becomes hot, season with black pepper and chopped parsley. Mix well and switch off heat. Instead of parsley, you can even use fresh cilantro leaves (coriander leaves) or fresh basil.
- This is an optional step. For some light sour notes in the soup, you can add ¼ teaspoon lemon juice.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve the soup in bowls or mugs. Garnish with some parsley or cilantro (coriander leaves) or your choice of fresh herbs. Top with some bread croutons if you like.
- Bread croutons really taste good in this soup. To make croutons just toast a 1 or 2-day old bread or baguette in the oven or on a skillet (tawa). When toasted chop them in cubes and serve with vegan carrot soup.
How to make Creamy Carrot Soup
1. Firstly, heat 1 tablespoon sunflower or olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pan. Add ½ cup chopped onions and ½ teaspoon chopped garlic.
2. Sauté on a low to medium-low heat until the onions soften.
3. Add 2.25 cups chopped carrots and 2 tablespoons chopped celery. I have used orange carrots. But you can also use red carrots.
4. Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon salt or according to taste.
5. Mix well as you continue cooking.
6. Pour in 2.5 cups vegetable stock. The addition of vegetable stock will make it more flavorful.
7. Mix and stir again.
8. Keep the heat to medium-low so that the stock stays at a gentle simmer. Cover the pot with a lid and cook until the carrots become tender, stirring occasionally.
9. If the stock or water seems to be cooking off too quickly, add a splash more of the liquid. You might need up to ¼ or ½ cup of extra hot water or hot vegetable stock added.
10. Check a few pieces of carrots with a fork or knife. The fork or knife should be able to easily slide through the carrots.
11. After the carrots are cooked, turn off the heat. There will be some liquid in the mixture which is needed to blend the soup. Let the carrots cool a bit.
Blending Carrots
12. Add the entire mixture with the liquids to a blender or grinder. You can even use an immersion blender to blend the carrots.
13. Blend to a smooth puree. While blending, add ¼ to ½ cup water or stock (at room temperature) depending on the thickness you prefer in the soup.
14. Transfer the puree back to the cooking pot.
Making Carrot Soup
15. Turn the heat on to medium-low and bring the carrot soup to a simmer. Again, if it looks a bit too thick you can add a splash or two more of your preferred liquid – water or vegetable stock.
16. Once the soup becomes hot, season with ¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper and 1 to 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley. Mix well and turn off the heat.
17. An optional ingredient you can add at this point is ¼ teaspoon lemon juice. This adds a lovely slightly sour taste to the soup.
18. Serve the creamy carrot soup in bowls or mugs. Garnish with more freshly chopped parsley and/or bread croutons.
To make croutons just toast a 1 or 2-day old bread or baguette in the oven or on a skillet (tawa). Then chop into cubes and use immediately, or transfer to a sealed container and keep at room temperature for a day or so.
