Vegetable soup

Carrot and bottle gourd soup thickened with potatoes. Preparation Time : 1 minutes Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients

Carrots, diced 2 medium Potato, diced 1 medium Bottle gourd (lauki/doodhi), diced 100 grams Tomatoes, quartered 4 medium Oil 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon Black peppercorns 7-8 Onion , sliced 1 medium Salt to taste Sugar 1/2 teaspoon

Method

Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan.Add cumin seeds and black peppercorns. When the cumin seeds begin to change colour add onion and sauté for two minutes. Add carrots, potato, bottle gourd and stir. Add salt and mix. Add two cups of water, cover and cook till nearly done. Add tomatoes and continue to cook, covered, till all the vegetables are completely cooked. Strain and reserve the liquid. Cool the vegetables and then puree in a blender. Transfer into a deep pan, add the reserved liquid and adjust consistency. It should be quite thick. Bring the soup to a boil. Adjust salt, add sugar and stir. Serve hot.