Here’s a South Indian soup recipe straight from the kitchen of my own yoga teacher, M.S. Viswanath, or Master-ji as we called him. This one one of my favorite dishes and his wife, Lakshmi, dictated the recipe to me in her living room over afternoon chai. I furiously scribbled the ingredients in my red spiral notebook which contained all my thoughts and lessons from my time in Bangalore.
This is a beautiful, lightly curried stew. The warm spices are cut by the cool yogurt which makes a lovely introduction to Indian spices for children. It’s deeply comforting and extremely healthy. Not only do the vegetables contribute to health by loading you with potassium and vitamin C, but the spices also have healing properties. Enjoy.
Aloo Sabzi (South Indian Tomato- Potato Soup)
Author: Rebecca Cofiño for Mamaguru
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
- 3 potatoes (Yukon Gold is a good choice)
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 t ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil
- ½ t cumin seeds
- ¼ t turmeric
- 1 t chili powder
- 1 t coriander
- ¼ c plain yogurt
- fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large pot of water, add salt and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add tomatoes for 1 minute each. Remove the tomatoes and easily peel off their skin. Chop them and set aside. Continue cooking the potatoes until they are tender (about 15 minutes). Gently skin the potatoes and loosely mash them. Set aside.
- In another pot, heat the ghee or oil. Add the cumin and let it sprout (wait for a loud sizzle and fragrant smell). Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add a small pinch of sea salt and the turmeric.
- Add the potatoes and spices. Allow them to saute for a few minutes. Add about 1 c water. When it starts to boil, add the yogurt. Boil for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust if needed. Remove from the heat and garnish with cilantro.
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