Spicy Vegetable Soup

I have been thinking for a long time about making a spicy hot vegetable soup and but  brushed it off as time consuming and never ventured to make it. Finally on one snowy day....when you get too lazy (just roam around the house) and not do anything....I set out to make this relishing spicy vegetable soup...I would consider the way I made it to the famous story - "The Stranger and the Magic Stone (Soup)"..I am pretty sure that everyone knows this story...the story goes like this...A stranger enters a village in the middle of the night - tired and hungry and goes about knocking every house but no one  opens the door for him. He gets an idea and knocks at the door saying he has a magic stone that can make delicious soup and they welcome him in. He asks for a vessel and starts adding water along with the magic stone...and murmurs within himself...how much good it will taste if we add tomatoes to this..so the oldest of the oldest kid runs to the garden and fetches it for him...and as the tomatoes are boiling...he murmurs again I wish we could add some carrots .. on hearing that the lady of the house goes and fetches some carrots for him...the stranger adds this to the soup and then as it is boiling adds wish we could add sweet potatoes to it...then the youngest child goes to fetch sweet potatoes for the soup...the stranger murmurs to himself wish we could add some beans to balance the sweet ness of the carrots and sweet potatoes...the elderly lady in that house plucks it from the garden and brings it to him....as the soup is boiling and getting to thicken he adds wish we had some salt and pepper to spice it up....

I would  say the way I made the soup was similar to the story above (except that I did not have any magic stone while making the soup!!)  ....As to how the story ends I am going to leave it to the readers imagination :) !! But as to they way my soup turned out - absolutely splendid!!

Ingredients -

Bay Leaf - 1

Fennel Powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch piece

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Tomatoes - 4 medium size

Onion - cut 1/2 cup
Spring Onions - 3 strands

Beans, Carrots , Sweet potatoes and Corn (frozen) - all together 1 1/2 cups cut into small pieces (you may even use frozen vegetables ...making things easier)

Salt and Pepper (crushed) - as per the taste

Butter - 1/2 TBS

Olive Oil - 1 tsp

Take a heavy bottomed pan and add the butter and oil. After the butter melts and the oil gets heated add the bay leaf , cinnamon stick and the onions. Saute till the onion turns slightly brown. Now add the onion bulb (the bottom part of the spring onions) and saute it for a while.

If you are not using frozen veggies, boil them in microwave and set it aside. Add this to the pan and fry them.

(If you are using frozen veggies you may just add it after the onions turn brown)

Make puree by blending the tomatoes and add some veggies that are boiling in the pan. Add this mixture to the boiling pot of soup. Now add salt, all the other powders, the green part of the spring onions and the pepper. Let it boil for 15 minutes or so in medium flame.

Simmer the stove and allow it to thicken in the low flame for atleast an hour and a half. It will slowly let the raw smell from the tomatoes to go off and will take in the flavours from the spices that were added to the soup. It will also thicken to a nice consistency.

Add croutons and serve the warm soup...it was good and apt for a snowy day!!