Kid's favourite Vegetable Sweet Corn Soup

It was one of those days. All my two year old wanted was chocolate milk. No rice. No dal. No vegetables. No fruit.

As a last ditch try I threw in all vegetables I had at home into one bit pot, and voila, a soup she actually liked. She had 4 helpings. Wow... so this recipe is a keeper.

Almost 4 cups of chopped vegetables, all of it sauteed, some of it pureed, no artificial additives unless you wish to add soup-cubes to boost the flavour. How much healthier can it get!

Do note that there are no thickening agents like cornflour. The puree acts as a thickener.

Add some pasta, and serve with generous slices of garlic bread to make it a one-dish meal. Any pasta is fine, as long as it's in the tiny to small size range.

Vegetable Sweet Corn Soup
makes about 2 liters of soup

1 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 carrot
1 medium potato
1 capsicum (deseeded and finely chopped)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup broccoli
3 large tomatoes
1 cup corn kernels
1 liter cups water
3 tbsp butter

Salt to taste
Fresh milled black pepper to taste
Optional - soup stock or soup cubes

Wash and peel potato and carrot. Chop into very small pieces.
Chop cauliflower and broccoli florets into fine pieces. (I use the stems too)
Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Saute onion and minced garlic till the onions start to turn transparent.
Add all other chopped vegetables except the tomatoes and corn kernels. Add a little salt, stir well and close the saucepan. Cook until the vegetables are done, but retain some crispness.
Keep aside one cup of vegetables. Cool and puree in a blender.
Chop tomatoes. Cover with 2 cups water and boil for 5-7 minutes.
Defrost corn kernels if using frozen. Boil in 2 cups water for 3 minutes or till slightly soft.
Add corn and tomatoes to the vegetables. Stir in remaining water. Stir in the blended vegetable puree.
Add more water if required to adjust to desired consistency.
Adjust salt. Add soup cubes if required.
Let soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
Serve hot with fresh milled pepper if required.

One way to make this a heavier meal in itself is to add cooked pasta. To this particular recipe, I usually take 1/2 cup alphabet pasta, or any other tiny pasta, cook it al dente, and add it to the soup when adding the tomatoes. Then simmer for 10 mins and serve hot.