Soup-A- Holic -- By Chef Kunal Kapur

Soup-A- Holic -- By Chef Kunal Kapur

The free will to choose to eat whatever whenever has become a part of us and it is very hard to move away from the habit. The new generation is close to losing the concept of eating as per seasonal availability. But the question that strikes at this point of time is, how does one benefit by going seasonal this winter?

But before I try and answer this let me ask you a question instead. What color is a Carrot? You probably would answer it an Orange or a Red, because we tend to see both the carrots in our daily vegetable markets. The orange ones are in the market from around March till October and the red ones between November till February. But the difference between both the carrots holds the answer to my question. Technically in India carrots is a winter vegetable. The orange carrots are the non seasonal ones that are dry, hard and almost no flavour of carrots, whereas the seasonal red variety is sweet, juicy and has deep carrot flavour. Rest assured if you do not believe me try making a simple but comforting carrot soup at home with both the varieties and the winter red carrots will win hands down. Or simply munch on the raw ones you will know.

Last summer on my usual visit to the fruit market I saw nice looking oranges. WOW Oranges in the middle of the summer!!!!! It was a jaw drop moment for me as I have fond memories of eating Nagpur oranges basking in the winter sun. The first thought was they must be imported oranges, cannot be the local variety. But they looked like the real “Nagpuri Santara” and upon enquiring the fruit seller proudly said that they are local oranges that are grown in special green houses. The taste was no where close to the seasonal twin and the price was 4 times the normal that I am used to buy. Question is should I buy?

The answer is actually quite simple, every season Nature bestows us with a bounty that is in harmony with the weather and is best suited for the body. A lot of times we fail to understand our allergies and changes in our body and we almost fail to connect to the fact that it can be based out of not eating seasonally. Though this might not always hold true but scientific evidence proves that our bodies benefit most by going with seasonal produce.

Another benefit of going seasonal is that it brings you out of boredom. Often we visit a fancy restaurant with menu running into pages and yet we fail to decide what to eat. Seasonal availability drives up the want of certain fruit or vegetables that you wait for them to be seen in your market and then at your favourite restaurant. There is no joy of getting exposed to all the produce all the time, there is no fun in it. The joy of waiting for winters to savour sarson da saag is incomparable, or the first sip of winter turnip and potato soup is a pure pleasure.

Going seasonal ensures that you savour maximum taste of the available fruit or vegetable. Taste is guided not only by how strong the recipe is but also when the produce was harvested, which region, how much distance produce travelled, what were the storage conditions and what kind of pesticides or chemicals used for its longevity. All these factors play an important role in getting the taste right out of the simplest of ingredients. Sometimes you might wonder why apples don’t taste like apples anymore, or strawberries are way too sour or the green peas are not sweet anymore. That’s probably because they are not seasonal.

Winters are around the corner and we all have a tendency to put on some weight in winters. We also tend to eat a lot of sugar and jaggery for winters to keep ourselves warm. You can’t entirely control that because the weather is so cold that the body automatically asks for more food. But after the winters are gone comes the biggest challenge to loose all that extra weight. Also winters are a time when we feel more stuffed as our activities are minimal. Less of outdoors and more of sitting indoors inside the warm quilt has long term negative health effects.

I suggest this winters go SOUP-A-HOLIC to keep you warm and agile. Soup-a –holic or simply living on soup meals is an excellent way to nourish your body in winters. Not only it is easy to make but also because of winter there are many healthy fruits and vegetables available, which make soups as healthy as they are delicious. Expect to see an abundance of fresh vegetables, such as avocado, carrots , as well as juicy fruits like oranges, pineapple and grapefruit. You can use any of this in-season produce to make a healthy soup.

Hot soup has a bounty of health benefits. Vegetables and poultry cooked directly in soups conserve more of their natural nutrients, vitamins and flavour in general. And what’s more? Soups have a lower calorie content and make a nutritious and filling meal. Soups are best  because of their stimulating qualities and they also help restore the necessary water balance, keeping our blood pressure and salts balanced.

Soups are fairly easy to understand and easier to make. It is important to understand different types, so you can cook them as per your requirement.

Without going much technical and in simple words soups can be classified as thick and thin soups. Thin soups are the clear soups like a consomme or a broth. A flavored liquid usually we get from boiling a type of meat or a bone or vegetable for a period of time in a stock. A common type of broth is consommé. They are crystal clear stock that is full of flavor, aroma, and body. These soups are light but have a good flavour of the vegetables or the meat.

Whereas the thick soups are bit heavy and filling soups. The thickness comes from either the puree of vegetable or meat, cream, butter, bechamel, flour, rice etc. common examples are the cream of chicken soup or carrot and roasted tomato soup. There some thick soups in which meat and vegetables are boiled together with water until they form into a thick mush. Cream soups are a dairy based soup. Although they may be consumed on their own, or with a meal, the canned, condensed form of cream soup is sometimes used as a quick sauce in a variety of meat and pasta, convenience food dishes.

Soups whichever thin or thick comes with a lot of benefits. They can substitute our entire meal without losing on any nutrition values. We generally try to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day but it becomes difficult to eat all five. A bowl of soup is one excellent way to make sure you are getting at least two of those portions. Vegetable-based soups are a great option nutritionally as they combine a high nutrient value with a low energy density - this means that we get lots of key nutrients including vitamins and minerals for relatively few calories. At a time where foods with a high-energy density and low-nutrient density such as white bread, snack foods, sugar-based drinks and high-fat fast foods dominate our intake, a low-calorie option that fills us up is a much better option for optimal health.

Here are few tips we can keep in mind on how to make a delicious and healthy soup

•  Start with the main liquid ingredient - Soups are mostly water but you could also use a stock, milk or broth to get the texture and flavours you require. When making a cream based soup, ensure that you use fresh dairy products.

•  Add the vegetables

•  Use the right equipment- Basically all you need is a heat-proof vessel and you’re good to go

•  Herbs herbs herbs! - Add some fresh herbs towards the end. This will increase the flavours and aroma giving you the perfect soup

A nicely done soup, packs in a lot of nutrition for the family. Certain soups can help in reducing the extra weight as well. Because a soup is almost 80% water it is light and healthy. Also the art of making good soups is so simple that it can be prepared by an amateur cook at home with ease.

Tips

•              the most time consuming task in making the soup is the stock. prepare the stock before hand to make instant soups.

•              always start the stock in cold water.

•              stocks need to be cooked for couple of hours but once making a soup do not over boil the vegetables or meats. best way to understand is to keep an eye on the colour of the vegetables. green should remain green.

•              soups and stocks can be packed in small air tight pouches and stored in deep freezer. 

puree of vegetables can be stored in air tight packets and stored in deep refrigerator to use later.