Sweet Corn Soup with Vegatables

This is a recipe to chase away the winter-blues. One winter evening I was visiting my friend Ikki , when she enthusiastically offered me a bowl of Sweet-corn soup. That wasn’t exactly my idea of comfort-food till then, but I surprised myself, asking for more helpings! This recipe has ever-since been a winter-staple at our home and my best customer for Sweet Corn soup is Blu . You can never go wrong making this (and more importantly its healthy) ; you can take off couple of veggies from the list or add more … toss out the corn-starch and you get a clear soup,. (And if you are a non-vegetarian, add some shreds of cooked chicken and Voila! you have Sweet Corn ‘Chicken’ soup)

Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Ready in: 45 min

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
• 2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth, if you want the non-vegetarian version)
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup carrot (~ 1 big carrot shredded or julienned )
• ½ cup celery ( ~ 2 stalks cut into small pieces )
• ½ cup spring onion (~ 1 bulb cut into small pieces )
• ½ cup red or white onion (~ ½ a medium onion cut into small pieces)
• 1 cup sweet corn ( fresh or canned )
• ½ tsp salt ( or to taste)
• 1 tbs corn starch ( mixed in 1 oz water )
• 1 egg ( optional)
• Crushed Pepper for garnish ( optional)

You will also need:
• A medium pot

Procedure :
• In the pot combine the stock and water. Set in medium heat and bring to a boil
• Add the vegetables and salt. Let it simmer for about 10 min ( till the vegetables are cooked )
• In case you are adding egg : Beat the egg in a small bowl and with pour it in a stream into the boiling soup**
• Stir in the corn starch
• Sprinkle the crushed pepper before serving (optional)

Suggested accompaniments: Toasted Garlic Rolls

Life saver:
** To avoid blobs of cooked egg in your soup ( like what you see in my picture ; I got a little clumsy this time) pour the beaten egg in a very slow & steady stream from above the pot .To get the best threads, keep stirring while you are pouring the eggs; at least for a minute. Stir in one direction only.

Note : The nutrition information provided below is for the Vegetarian version of this recipe, sans the egg.