These Easy Soup Recipes From Across The World Make For Hot, Nourishing Soups

This monsoon, cook yourself a hot, nourishing bowl of one of these soups from across the world, using these easy soup recipes.

Soups are a favourite culinary category across the world, cutting across all geographical and cultural boundaries.

Whether it is the Indian shorbas and rasams or the continental thick soups and clear ones, soups are always there to regale your spirits and warm your taste buds. They can be had as appetisers before a meal or as a satiating mid-day snack, depending on when you have it and how you make it.

The healthiest soups include fresh, low-fat ingredients and a minimum of salt and extra fat. You can use up leftovers in a soup pot and create new variations of favorite recipes, since soup lends itself to experimentation.

Perhaps the easiest way to add vegetables to your daily meals is to make and eat soup. You can make several bowls of soup filled with fruits and veggies each day and you’ll be filled.

Fiona Kirk wrote a book on soup as an effective diet. In her bestseller Soup Can Make You Thin, Kirk wrote:
“The wealth of ingredients in a bowl of soup provides a good balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats as well as the vitamins and minerals required to create energy and keep us firing on all cylinders.”

The same soup everyday is definitely going to bore you even if it is really healthy. So, we’ve chosen a few soups famous in different parts of the world, not just to give you a variety but also to let you taste the native dishes of other countries.

Here are some easy soup recipes for some unusual soups.

Mexican Fava Bean Soup

Fava Bean Soup is a classic dish in Mexico. This wealth of ingredients allows for a large number of variations to this recipe, as every cook seasons this soup according to their taste and the supplies available to them. The bean soup from Mexico combines Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients.

Recipe here.

Cream Of Broccoli Soup

Cream of broccoli soup is a soup prepared with broccoli, stock and milk or cream as primary ingredients. Ingredient variations exist, as do vegan versions. It is also a commercially, mass-produced soup, often sold in cans. Try this easy broccoli soup alongside grilled cheese sandwiches or as a starter for a simple supper. The perfect broccoli cheese soup is thick, creamy, and cheesy.

Recipe here.

Borscht

The strong red coloured vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that includes beet roots as it’s main. It is a tart soup popular in several East European cuisines.  It is typically made by combining meat or bone stock with sautéed vegetables, which – in addition to beetroots – usually include cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and tomatoes. Depending on the recipe, borscht may include meat or fish, or be purely vegetarian.

Recipe here.

Ajiaco

Ajiaco is a soup common to Colombia. In the Colombian capital of Bogotá, Ajiaco is a popular dish typically made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, and the Galinsoga parviflora herb. Once the soup has cooked down to a wonderfully thick consistency, more corn and potatoes are added, along with shredded chicken, carrots, cilantro, and lime juice.  The final tasty layer is a garnish of cubed avocado and salty capers.

Recipe here.

Trahana soup

Trahana is a wheat product that is eaten throughout Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. It is usually added to soups and stews, and is also eaten as a porridge. There are many versions of trahana, some made with only milk and some with milk and yogurt.  In Greece there is even a Lenten version made with vegetable pulp.

Recipe here.

French Onion Soup

it is a type of soup usually based on meat stock and onions, and often served grained with croutons and cheese on top or a large piece of bread. Like the name suggests, this soup originated in France and was first used to feed poor people. Though it is known for its meat content, it can also be cooked vegetarian, with vegetable stock.

Recipe here.

Kozhi Rasam

Kozhi Rasam is also known as South Indian Chicken Soup, very famous in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most known Chettinad dishes. It is believed to cure common cold and can also be cooked using vegetables and spices, depending on the taste. It is generally served with white rice.

Recipe here.

Asparagus Soup

A soothing soup of onions, potatoes and asparagus fortified with nutritious vegetable stock, the Asparagus Soup has a very creamy feel about it, thanks to being boiled with low-fat milk. Asparagus is a great soup ingredient as it is a low-calorie vegetable with a good amount of fibre, which helps to lower LDL cholesterol, thus protecting the heart.

Recipe here.

Bean and Pasta Soup

A dish with proud mediterranean origins, this soup is a winter warmer to be served with warm crusty bread and if you like, a slice of cheese. The addition of cream to the soup balances the acidic taste of the tomatoes. You can adjust the quantities to suit your palate. Always present a container of grated or shredded parmesan cheese to sprinkle into each soup bowl.

Recipe here.

Hot And Sour Soup

Hot and sour soup can refer to soups from several Asian culinary traditions. In all cases, the soup contains ingredients to make it both spicy and sour. This soup is made in different variations across the world. Soup preparation may use chicken or pork broth, or may be meat-free.

Common key ingredients in the American Chinese version include bamboo shoots, toasted sesame oil, wood ear, cloud ear fungus, day lily buds, vinegar, egg, corn starch, and white pepper.

In India, this soup is made with red and green chillies, ginger, carrots, snow peas, tofu, soy sauce, rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar. It is viewed in India as being a Chinese soup.

Recipe here.

Lettuce Soup

Lettuce soup is a soup prepared with lettuce as a primary ingredient. It may be prepared with myriad lettuces and other ingredients, and some lettuce soups may use several cultivars of lettuce in their preparation. It is a part of French cuisine and Chinese cuisine. Cream of lettuce soup is a type of lettuce soup prepared using milk or cream. The soup may be served with toast or rolls as a side dish or with the soup atop them.

Recipe here.

Image source: French Onion Soup by Shutterstock.

Comments