There is nothing like a bowl of piping hot soup to spice up a dull rainy day. So get out the board games and jigsaw puzzles, top it up with some mouth-watering soup, and you have the perfect recipe for a fun-filled evening with the family.

Cucumber Soup

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, chopped/diced
5-6 pods of string beans, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped finely
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp crushed garlic
½ tsp crushed ginger
1 onion chopped finely
2 glasses of water
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation:

Heat a tbsp of oil in a cooker. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and sauté till the onions turn pinkish. Then add the chopped cucumbers, beans, and celery, and sauté again, for a minute or so. To this, add salt to taste and a glass of water. Place the lid on the pressure cooker, and let it cook till 2 whistles blow. Then take the cooker off the flame and let the mixture cool. Once it has cooled down to room temperature, run the mix through a grinder, and then pass it through a strainer, so as to separate the residue from the liquid. Add some more water in order to attain the desired consistency, and let it boil on the flame for some time. Check for salt. Finally garnish with the coriander leaves.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

1 large onion
6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cups of sweet/golden corn
1 capsicum, finely chopped
1 cup on mushrooms, chopped
3 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat a pan on the stove. Once hot, reduce the flame and add the onions. Sauté them till they turn pinkish, and then add the crushed garlic and stir. Now put in the finely chopped tomatoes, and cook for a minute. Then add the potatoes and corn, as well as 2 cups of water, and steam. Once this mixture has cooked, let it cool for a while, and then run it through a mixer, so as to get a paste-like texture. Add a little more water to attain the desired consistency, add salt and pepper to taste, and then let it boil. Once it has started boiling, reduce the flame and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, add the chopped capsicum and mushrooms, and turn off the flame. Check for salt and pepper once more, and add if needed.

Pasta Salad

Chicken Noodle soup

Ingredients:

50 g thin noodles
350 gm chopped raw chicken meat
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
750 ml chicken stock
2 cloves garlic
1 piece ginger
1 onion
1 carrot
15 ml oil
Chilli sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander leaves (for garnish)

Preparation:

Peel and finely chop the garlic, ginger, onion and carrot. Fry these in the oil until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken, stock, tomatoes, salt, pepper and chilli sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the noodles and simmer about 5 minutes until the noodles are cooked. Check for salt and pepper once more and add if needed. Finally garnish with some coriander leaves.