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!

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.

Tags: cold soup cucumber mint