Ginger Carrot Soup

This is a quick, easy and flavorful soup. I usually buy the Carrot Ginger soup from Trader Joe's - love their version of it. So, the last time I was there, I picked up a carton and then looked at the ingredients - Onions, carrots, ginger, potato and a bunch of other things. But, those were the main veggies that went into it. And so I thought why not make this from scratch! And so I put back the carton in its place. But, don't worry Trader Joes - I picked up so many other things and made up for this! Really. I'm kind of addicted to your store!

So, here's my version of the carrot ginger soup. This tastes hearty and creamy - sure is hearty but there is no cream added at all to the soup. I made this for dinner along with some salad and Asparagus pizza. It was a perfect combo!

Chop onions roughly - you could use 1 big onion or a couple of medium sized ones. Add 1 tsp of oil to a pressure cooker or pan. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions in here.

Add 1/4 cup of roughly chopped ginger to the onions that are getting basked in the heat.

Meanwhile, wash and peel about 5 medium sized carrots (these are american medium sized -I'm sure these are 5 large ones in India) and 1 potato.

Chop the carrots and potatoes roughly into small bits.

Now, to the onions and ginger, add some dried basil - you could just shake it a couple of times.

And then add some dried oregano. You could add any other spices that you'd like - be creative. 

Now add the chopped carrots and potatoes in here.

Add about 4-5 cups of vegetable broth or plain ol'water in here. Add regular salt or sea salt to taste. The ingredient list on the back of the soup carton lists honey and cane sugar. But, I skipped adding that as the carrot itself is sweet enough for me. I kind of like it more on the spicier side. Blame my indian genes!

Cover the pressure cooker and cook for about 3-4 whistles.

Once the veggies cool down a little bit, move it to your blender and blend well.

A small tip here - anytime you are cooking and want to blend something that is hot and don't really have the time to wait, add some ice cubes while blending - and that is if you don't mind the extra water. This works great for soups and some chutneys.

Move the blended soup back to the pressure cooker or pan, and heat for a few more mins. Add 1 heaped tsp of the healthy no hydrogenated fat version of butter or if you can afford that extra fat, add the real stuff for the ultimate flavor. Add some fresh ground black pepper to the soup. Heat for a few mins and you're done!

Serve hot.

Don't you just love the color of this? You should make this - you'll love the flavor too, just like us! Thank you Trader Joes for the inspiration!

Enjoy. Peace out!