Monday

Beat the heat - Cucumber Soup

What do you cook after a hiatus of nearly ten days? Why, an ARF friendly soup of course! Cate of Sweetnicks hosts this health conscious event every Tuesday and to make up for all the greasy take-aways that we have been surviving on during our move, I decided healthy was the way to go.

So dinner was a chilled cucumber soup that also beat the heat (it's not called the valley of the sun for nothing; we are already in the mid-80s). During the sweltering months of April and May in Bombay, my brother and I would practically live on liquids; happily replacing hot meals with fruit juices, milkshakes and chilled soups like this one. The cucumber and mint combo in this soup is really refreshing; one bowl and you will be ready to embrace sunshine again!

There are several ways to make this soup, the Western version with dill and sour cream or the Indian one with yogurt and mint. I usually make a mix of both, kind of like a soupy raita!

cumcumbersoup

CHILLED CUCUMBER SOUP
(serves 2)
1 large cucumber, peeled
1 green onion (scallion), chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 green chilli, chopped (or omit)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3-4 mint leaves
2-3 tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
To garnish -
few toasted almonds
green parts of onion, chopped fine

Chop cucumbers and onion roughly. Add salt, pepper, garlic and chilli. Let sit for 20 minutes. Put in a blender along with yogurt and mint and blend until smooth.

Pour into a bowl and chill for 2 hours. Before serving adjust consistency and seasoning. Stir in the sour cream, and garnish with almonds or green parts of onion.

22 Comments:

Blogger The Bhandari's said...

looks luscious :) will try surely
~preeti

3:52 AM  
Blogger Sumi said...

hi Ashwini, welcome back...
this is the great receipe for the summer weather approching in all parts of the US

10:02 AM  
Blogger Sumi said...

hi Ashwini,
great soup for the hot summer approaching us.
Welcome back

10:03 AM  
Blogger sailu said...

Nice recipe and picture looks so cool...

12:50 PM  
Blogger RP said...

That looks really pretty. I wish I could taste some.

2:01 PM  
Blogger BDSN said...

Hey Ashwini good to see you back...such a nice recipe..will definitely give a try..

2:13 PM  
Blogger Vaishali said...

Great pictures, Ashwini. Very appetizing. By the way, what is summer? We, in Germany, are unaware of this term. Is it a kind of season or something? :):)

3:23 PM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

Thanks all. BDSN - let me know when you try it.
Vaishali - wish we could beam ourselved to pleasant climes like in Star trek :-)

3:39 PM  
Blogger Vineela said...

Hi,
Cucumber soup looks great.Nicephotos.
Vineela

3:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gorgeous presentation!

8:24 PM  
Blogger Lakshmi said...

nice recipe ashwini

8:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, ashwini, It's a cool & ideal soup to beat the summer heat.....will try this :)

10:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

lovely! Hey, glad that you are back in the kitchen again :) Hope the move was smooth.

nice pictures....

cheers!

7:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this would be great for my toothache lol

8:42 AM  
Blogger Priya said...

i have never had a chilled soup before.. looks very refreshing. I dont get dill leaves here, dont get fresh basil either . wonder why? Anyways good to c u back.

9:04 AM  
Blogger Tanuja said...

cool cool cucumber soup nice recipe for summer Thanks for the recipe ashwini kids will love this soup.

2:14 PM  
Blogger Kitchenmate said...

Hope you had smooth move and settled!!
Great recipe Ashwini, i have 5 cucumbers sitting with me and not sure what i have to do with it? I only know to use in raita's:( I will now try your soup and let you know how it turned out!!
Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!

3:02 PM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

Thanks everyone. That green color is so fetching I didnt have to try too hard for the photo!
Santhi - I love photographing fruits as is. The colors are so vivid and beautiful.
Tony - I know ice cream would be your first choice but try the soup too :-)
Tanuja - its great for kids. just adjust the chilli and cream
KM - thanks. let me know if you try this. I know cucumbers are used only for raitas so I like this change once in a while

3:41 PM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

yep I am. For a few weeks.

6:48 PM  
Blogger Menu Today said...

Hi Ashwini,
Nice to see u again. Nice Pictures.

7:04 PM  
Blogger Sumi said...

Hi Ashwini,
tried ur cucumbersoup, turned out great.just wanted to let u know

10:34 PM  
Blogger Dhana said...

Great recipe! Just tried it last weekend, where it was amazingly refreshing and so easy to follow!

10:00 AM  

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