Palak Ka Shorba| Spinach Soup

Winter is, well and truly, here in Bangalore. Cyclonic conditions in Tamilnadu and Kerala have made the weather here chillier than ever, lately. It’s the perfect time to bundle up in layers, cuddle up in bed with a book, and enjoy piping hot meals. And, of course, it’s a great time for indulging in soups. The abundance of winter produce in the markets offers plenty of opportunities for wonderful soups, too! Today, I’m sharing with you all the recipe for Palak Ka Shorba, a simple but beautiful and hearty soup made using spinach.

What goes into my Palak Ka Shorba

Palak Ka Shorba is a delicately spiced, delicious soup made using tender spinach greens. I do not use cornflour (or any other flour) in this soup, but add in some cashewnuts instead. The cashewnuts make the soup all the more flavourful and also contribute to its velvety, smooth texture. I also use some milk in my Palak Ka Shorba, which gives it bulk and lots of oomph.

There’s absolutely no need to use any fresh cream in this soup, though you may if you want to. The cashewnuts and the milk together make it creamy enough. Trust me, this is a lovely soup that will have you in no qualms about consuming spinach!

How to make Palak Ka Shorba

As great as this soup is, making it is super simple! Here is how I make it.
Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1. A small bunch of spinach (palak)
2. 1/2 of a small red onion
3. 4-5 cloves of garlic
4. 1 bay leaf
5. 4-5 cashewnuts
6. 1/2 cup milk or as needed
7. 1 cup water or as needed
8. Salt to taste
9. 1 teaspoon jaggery powder
10. Black pepper powder to taste

Method:

1. Separate the spinach leaves from the stems. Wash thoroughly.

2. Chop the spinach leaves roughly. I had 1 cup of tightly packed leaves when roughly chopped. Take these in a wide vessel. Peel the garlic cloves and onion. Chop the onion roughly and add to the vessel too. Add in the bay leaf too, along with 2-3 tablespoons of water.

3. Place the vessel in a pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high flame for 4 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.

4. When the pressure from the cooker has completely gone down, get the vessel out. Fish out the bay leaf and discard it. Allow the cooked spinach and other ingredients to cool down fully.

Top left and right: Steps 1 and 2, Bottom left and right: Steps 3 and 4

5. When completely cool, transfer the cooked spinach, garlic and onion to a mixer jar, along with the water it was cooked in. Chop the cashewnuts roughly and add to the mixer jar too.

6. Grind all the ingredients in the mixer jar together to a smooth puree. You can filter this puree if you want, but it is not necessary. I don’t.

7. Take the smooth puree in a heavy-bottomed pan, and place on a high flame. Add in the milk. Mix well. Cook on medium flame for about a minute.

8. Now, still keeping the flame at medium, add in water to adjust the consistency of the soup, along with salt and pepper powder to taste and the jaggery powder. Mix well. Cook on low-medium flame for 3-4 minutes, then switch off gas. Your Palak Shorba or Spinach Soup is ready. Transfer to serving bowls and serve hot.

Top left and right: Steps 5 and 6, Bottom left and right: Steps 7 and 8

Associated event

I’m sharing this recipe in association with the A-Z Recipe Challenge.

The A-Z Recipe Challenge is played by a group of enthusiastic food bloggers who cook using an ingredient from A to Z, every month. This month, we are cooking for the letter S, and I chose ‘spinach’ as my star ingredient.

Tips & Tricks

1. There is no flour used here to thicken the soup. I have used cashewnuts instead, which add to the flavour of the soup and help in slightly thickening it too. You may use almonds instead of cashewnuts, in the above recipe.

2. Adjust the quantity of salt and black pepper powder as per personal taste preferences.

3. Fresh cream can be added to the Spinach Soup, too. Here, I haven’t.

4. Use fresh spinach leaves, for best results.

5. You may skip using the jaggery powder, if you so prefer. I would recommend using it, though. The little amount of jaggery used here does not make the soup overly sweet, but rounds off the other flavours beautifully.

6. 4-5 small sambar onions can be used in place of the half red onion I have used here.

7. I have used boiled and cooled full-cream milk here.

8. This Spinach Soup turns out velvety smooth and creamy, not extremely thick but not very watery either. Adjust the quantity of milk, water and cashewnuts you use, depending upon the consistency/creaminess of the soup you require.

9. This is a completely vegetarian and gluten-free preparation. However, it is NOT vegan or plant-based, due to the use of milk.

Did you like this recipe? Do tell me, in your comments!

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