Potato Soup With Indian Spices

By David Tanis

Published May 12, 2020

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
About 30 minutes
Rating
4(515)
Comments
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This easy vegetarian soup is surprisingly full flavored. (To make it vegan, substitute cooking oil for the butter and ghee.) If you want it more stewlike, use less water; if you want it brothy, use more. It keeps well and actually tastes even better a day or two after it is made. I like to add a pinch of asafetida (also called hing), which can be found in specialty spice shops or Indian groceries and lends a heady aroma that is especially good with potato dishes. Don’t worry if you don’t have it on hand. More important are the sizzled cumin seeds, mustard seeds and garlic (the tarka) added when the soup is finished, which really give the soup its character. If you find the soup too thick upon reheating, just add a splash of water and adjust the salt as necessary.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

FOR THE SOUP

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 medium onions, diced

  • Kosher salt

  • 3 medium carrots, diced

  • 3 celery stalks, diced

  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder

  • ½ teaspoon asafetida (optional)

  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potato, in 1-inch chunks

  • ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish

  • Lime wedges, for garnish

FOR THE TARKA

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or neutral oil

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

  • 1 small green chile, chopped (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

36 grams carbs; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 233 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 604 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put butter in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and a little salt and cook, stirring, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes more.

  2. Step 2

    Add turmeric, ginger, cayenne and asafetida, if using. Stir to coat and cook for another minute or so. Add potato chunks and 6 cups water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a brisk simmer. Add a healthy pinch of salt and cook until potatoes are soft when pierced with a skewer, about 15 minutes. Taste broth and adjust salt and heat as necessary: ¼ teaspoon cayenne should suffice to make the soup fairly spicy, but add a touch more if you like.

  3. Step 3

    Use a potato masher to crush some of the potatoes, then continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so. This will help to thicken the soup slightly and give it more body. Turn off the heat.

  4. Step 4

    Make the tarka: Heat ghee in a small skillet over medium, but don’t let it get too hot. Lower heat and add garlic and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until garlic is barely colored and cumin seeds have begun to brown, a minute or so. Add mustard seeds and green chile, if using. When mustard seeds begin to pop, after another minute, add the tarka to the soup and stir in.

  5. Step 5

    Ladle soup into low bowls, garnish with cilantro and serve. Pass lime wedges at the table.

Tip

  • Soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, though you may need to add a little water when reheating.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
515 user ratings
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Comments

S

Recipe is good, but the Tarka method is not quite correct. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds first. They take a longish time to crackle and pop and the other spices can burn if you put them in first, especially the garlic. Go in this order: Mustard seed. When one or two just start to pop, add the Cumin. When these sizzle, turn down the heat, then add the Garlic and Green chilli. Saute these on lower heat till golden and done, don't burn the garlic. Then pour the spiced oil onto the soup.

Shankar Pratap

Made it, Delicious. It is important to pay attention to the act of "Use a potato masher to crush some of the potatoes", This determines the body density of the soup which makes or breaks it.

Awitcher

Leave it to David Tanis to land this gem just as I was asking myself what to do with all of these potatoes! So good, comforting, and simple. I didn't have cilantro, but I did have some sweet potatoes to include alongside the yellows. Amazing warm bowls for lunch on an otherwise dreary day. Thank you!

Bill B.

Loved it. Agree that mustard seeds must come first in the tarka. They won’t pop in time, as the recipe written. Asafetida takes it up a level. If it is available, I recommend it.

Skeedaddled

Makes plenty halved—at least 4 servings. Curry powder and Better-than-Bouillon vegetable broth give plenty of flavor, along with that pinch of salt at the end ;)

Scoff

This soup was a delight on a cold February day. I was short on potatoes so I added a half cup of red lentils which thickened the soup nicely and went well with the Indian spices. I didn't get round to making the Tarka and it was still full of flavour.

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