Palak Soup/ palak shorba/ Spinach Soup

It is the season of festivals. Heavy meals & over eating makes us to look for healthy, light dishes. Here is a simple yet quite filling green creamy soup recipe which is not very new. Palak shorba or palak soup is a healthy & creamy soup which is originally from Punjab. This soup is commonly made and enjoyed by many. Spinach or palak is a healthy leafy vegetable which is loved by many and found in Indian markets.  Here is the recipe of how to make this delicious soup with earthy flavor of spinach and creamy texture with added milk.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Palak/ spinach leaves – 2-3 cups tightly packed

Milk – 1 cup

Cream – 2 tbsp (optional), fresh collected on top of boiled milk

Salt – to taste

Pepper powder – ¼ tsp, adjust to taste

Garlic cloves – 6-8, peeled & finely sliced

Fresh mint leaves – 2 tbsp, chopped (optional)

Ginger – ½ tsp, grated (optional)

Ghee/ oil – 1 tsp
Corn flour - 1 tsp (optional)

Few ice cubes - optional

Method:

• Clean palak/ spinach removing root & mud if any and wash well with running water. Stem is fine to have.
• Drain water completely and take the leaves in a vessel with little water (1/4 cup). Boil it covered with a lid. Switch off the heat on boiling.
• Adding ice cubes immediately helps in retaining color. I have not added it here. Allow cooling.
• When Spinach is cooled, take it in a blender/ mixer jar along with mint leaves & ginger (if using), and blend well to get smooth puree. Soup will taste good even without mint & ginger.
• Now, transfer this palak puree to a vessel (You can strain/ sieve to collect only liquid, whereas I don't prefer) . Add salt and pepper powder. Boil well. Add Milk, milk cream, mix and bring to boil. Adjust the consistency by adding water as required. If you need thick soup, then dissolve 1 tsp corn flour in water, add to boiling soup and boil for 1-2 minutes more. Switch off the heat.
• Meanwhile, peel off garlic, discard the skin. Mince/ chop garlic very fine.
• In a separate pan (tadka pan) take garlic and ghee/ oil. Fry until garlic turn brown. Add this to soup. Serve hot soup with toast/ bread/ rusk or plain.

Notes:

• You can make this soup bit spicy adding 1-2 green chillis while blending palak. I avoid green chillis as much as possible and not added while making this soup.
• Salt & pepper can be adjusted to your liking.
• Mint & ginger are also optional.
• Optionally you can add lemon juice while boiling the soup, I have not used!