Green Pea Soup

Starchy, and sweet green peas or garden peas are one of the ancient cultivated vegetables grown for their succulent nutritious green-pods. Green peas are one of the common ingredients in winter season dishes in Indian-subcontinent. Fresh peas are added to variety of mouth-watering recipes like Aaloo- mutter, mutter-paneer, mutter-gajjar..green pea soup.etc with added spices.  Green pea soup can provide several benefits as part of an overall balanced diet, doshic balancing diet according to Ayurveda.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Green peas, fresh or frozen
• 2 Tsp Corn flour
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Milk (warm)
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Onion, grated
• ½ Tsp Black pepper, ground
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• ½ Tsp red chili flakes for garnishing

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4-5

Preparation method:

1. Heat the butter over a medium heat in a large pan and add the spring onions and black pepper. Sweat until cooked, but not coloured.

2. Add the peas and pods if using and stir well, then pour in 750ml water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the peas are tender (about 10 minutes depending on size).

3. Remove the pods and puree the soup using a blender or hand blender then add the lemon juice and season to taste – you may also wish to add a pinch of sugar depending on the sweetness of your peas. Add a little more water if you’d prefer a thinner soup.

4. Reheat if serving hot and serve garnished with chopped mint and a swirl of creme fraiche.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Note: The soup by itself has a creamy consistency. If required, you can add milk or half and half/heavy cream to enrich the flavor. This is purely optional.

Health Benefits:

Split peas are legumes rich in protein, high in dietary fiber and a great source of energy-yielding complex carbohydrates. A one cup serving of split pea soup contains 41 grams of carbs and 16 grams of of protein. A serving of split peas contains less than 1 gram of fat. You will also get over a quarter of the daily allowance for zinc, magnesium and manganese as well as healthy amounts of iron and many of the B vitamins.