Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A Dashing Coconut and Beetroot Soup



Don't you just think that the colour of this soup is dashingly beautiful? I certainly do.

The flavour's wonderful as well, so I'm heartily recommending this. (As you can see, I'm still loving beets in 2010 - just like I did in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. This is the second beetroot soup I've made this year - I made my meatless borscht last week and will certainly be making another beetroot soup soon (beet being one of the few vegetables available at the moment that actually still has some taste and flavour)). The recipe is adapted from a great book, Entertaining Vegetarians by Celia Brooks-Brown, who says that the combination of coconut and beets is typical to Southern India.

You can serve this with some crusty bread for dinner, but it's stunning enough to be served from tiny espresso cups for a larger crowd.

Coconut and Beetroot Soup
(Peedipüreesupp kookospiimaga)
Serves 4 to 6 (or even a crowd, if served from small cups or glasses



2 to 3 Tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
500 g boiled beetroot, grated coarsely
200 g extra creamy or 400 g regular coconut milk
500 to 600 ml vegetable stock
half a large lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish:
Lebanese cucumber, cubed
fresh coriander/cilantro or parsley, chopped
a pinch of salt

Heat oil in a saucepan, add garlic and cumin seeds and fry for about a minute, stirring,
Add the beets, stir for a minute. Season with salt and some grated lemon zest.
Add the coconut milk and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Blend until smooth.
Return to the saucepan, re-heat. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Garnish with fresh cucumber salsa (mix all ingredients).


14 comments:

Alanna Kellogg said...

(Annoying) people some times say that the signature color of Kitchen Parade is 'pink'. I tell them, No, it is rhubarb in the summer and beet in the winter. ;-) Glorious color!

Liis said...

Oih, selline isu tuli peale. Peaks tegema kaaaaa! Pilleke, miss you

Jeanne @ Cooksister! said...

LOL - you certainly are bookmarked in my head as Beet HQ ;-) You are right - the colour is spectacular!

Meeta said...

oh yes this looks good!

Unknown said...

Colorful and tasteful soup!!!!Thanks for sharing.

triibik said...

Tere! Absoluutselt teemaväline kommentaar, mis viitab hoopis naminami foorumis reklaamitud Liibanoni kooskokkamisele. (Ma ei jaksanud end foorumisse sisse regada.) Et Nopi kohvikus on kokaks ehtne liibanonlane, kes räägib kenasti eesti keelt ja on muidu lahke. Ta on ühtlasi minu lapse pinginaabri isa :) Nii et ehk saab hoopis kunagi temaga jutule, et ta meie inimestele liibanoni kööki tutvustaks. Kui see just sinult leiba käest ei võta, eks ole :)
Lihtsalt selline mõte ja inf. Sest peale aastatetaguse kuulsa Muniri pole ju kuulda olnud, et Eestis teisi liibanonlasi elaks. Ja tervitused!

David T. Macknet said...

Beautiful and yummy sounding! As soon as I get some beets, I'll be trying this!

By the way, what's the measurement on those cumin seeds? I'm used to seeing tsp for teaspoon, Tbsp for tablespoon, or a little / big 't', but have never seen 'tl'.

Ila said...

I love coconut in any form but for the first time I heard about the coconut-beetroot soup, sounds amazingly. Definitely I must try it, thanks!

Around the world in 80 markets said...

an intriguing combination - very tempting to try although, have to admit, my tastebuds can't quite imagine the result!

Around the world in 80 markets said...

oh and Cooksister - 'Beet HQ' that is good lol

natural selection said...

I'm going to make this for my little niece and nephew they are going to love the color!

edava said...

Wow, two of my favorite ingredients in one dish? Saving it!

molly said...

coconut and beets? brilliant! i love both, but combining the two had never crossed my mind.

Alice said...

I love your recipes! We had some brand new beets, fresh from the neighbor's garden, so I tried this soup. Delicious! We adopted our son from Tallinn in December. When he saw the soup, he started dancing for joy. I have never seen him eat anything so fast. He loved it. I will certainly be coming back for more recipes!