An Indian spiced broccoli soup that you can make on the stovetop or in an instant pot! This soup is vegan, made with broccoli, coconut milk, curry leaves, and a few spices.
We are giving broccoli soup an Indian makeover! But before we talk about this Indian style broccoli soup, I have to tell you how excited I am. Tomorrow, Roby and I will celebrate our ONE YEAR wedding anniversary! I’m clearly still in the “honeymoon stage” of marriage, so please excuse the gushing. It’s just that, I feel like our weddings were just yesterday. I say weddings because we had two… in one day. It was so wonderfully chaotic. I was actually an hour late to our second wedding. It really wasn’t my fault though! I had like 30 pounds of Indian jewelry and a million safety pins that took forever to take off from the first wedding.
Join me as I reminisce! Here’s how our special day went. So, on October 5th of last year (2012), we had a Sikh ceremony in the morning followed by langar (lunch).
Then, I had maybe two hours to change my outfit, hair and makeup for the next wedding – a Keralite Catholic wedding.
Do you see how different I look? THAT takes time. I remember being so worried Roby would be mad at me for being late to our (second) wedding, but he wasn’t mad… just stressed out lol. He was happy to finally see me when I did walk down the aisle. The good thing is we were already married, so it’s not like he was worried about me standing him up at the altar.
It was such a happy day – I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so big in my life. Roby doesn’t seem quite as happy as me in the picture below, but I assure you, he was (I think, lol).
Our families are from different parts of India (mine is from the north, his family is from the south) and they practice different religions so there were several customs that we took part in throughout the week. We had a sangeet, mehndi (henna), rehearsal dinner, and a few other smaller events. Anyone who thinks Greek people have big weddings should attend a week-long Indian wedding. It was a stressful week, but on the day of, everything was absolutely perfect (minus the whole me being an hour late to our second wedding, lol).
Here’s one of my favorite pictures from our reception. It was taken during our first dance. Roby totally looks like a Bollywood star, right?
Okay, now back to this Indian-style broccoli soup. I almost forgot about the reason for this post!
Broccoli isn’t a commonly used vegetable in Indian cuisine as it’s not native to the area. This soup is a nice way to *marry* broccoli with Indian spices. If you like broccoli soup and Indian food separately, then I’m sure you’ll love them together in the form of this soup!
It’s the perfect thing to sip as you take a trip down memory lane.
Ingredients
- 1 medium to large broccoli approx. 1 pound, stem too!, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 Serrano pepper or green chili roughly chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1- inch knob ginger roughly chopped
- 4 cups broth vegetable or chicken
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne optional
- 1 13.5 oz can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Chop up the broccoli and stem. Remove the tough/woody bottom portion of the vegetable.
- Press sauté, add coconut oil and when it melts add mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to splutter, add the onions, curry leaves, green chili, and stir-fry for 7-8 minutes or until the onions begin to brown.
- Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients except for the coconut milk to the pot.
- Secure the lid, close pressure valve and cook for 1 minute (the pressure cooker will take several minutes to reach pressure before it begins to count down).
- Naturally release pressure.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot (or if using a blender, blend and pour the soup back into the pot)
- Press sauté, add the coconut milk and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until heated through.
Stovetop
- Chop up the broccoli and stem. Remove the end or any tough/woody portion of the vegetable.
- In a dutch oven (or heavy-bottomed pot), add coconut oil and mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to splutter, add the onions, curry leaves, green chili and a pinch of salt.
- Saute until the onions turn golden and then add garlic and ginger.
- After a couple minutes, add broccoli, spices, broth to the pot.
- Bring it to a boil then lower the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot (or if using a blender, blend and pour the soup back into the pot)
- Add the coconut milk to the pot, bring the soup to a simmer, then turn off the heat and serve.
Elizabeth Tuohy says
Ashley, I’m cheating because I haven’t made this yet. But I intend to and am sure I will like it as I do your other recipes. I just wanted to comment on your weddings and photos. Lovely and lovely again. You are kind to share your personal life. I am a newly retired grandma who likes to cook. In need of a hew challenge, I decided to explore Indian cooking. I have had such success following your blog/website. Of course, I check out other sites and books and videos. There is a lot to learn. But daily, I come back to your site to see how Ashley does it. Thank you for sharing your recipes, ideas, and stories.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Elizabeth, thank you for the kind words – your comment was so nice for me to read 🙂 I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying the recipes from my site! Thank you for sharing.
Sushma says
Tried this today. Excellent soup. Loved it. 👍
My Heart Beets says
Hi Sushma, I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Joanna Sinos says
Can I make this recipe in the instant pot? For how long do you recommend? Also, soup OR pressure mode? Thanks!
Maneesha says
Beautiful wedding pics! I love the soup! My husband especially enjoyed it! I shared your recipe for my mother, who loved it! We are going to use this as part of our Christmas appetizers!
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, thank you so much 🙂 I’m so happy that you all liked the soup recipe! Love that you’re making this part of your Christmas appetizers!!
Christa says
My husband and I just devoured our bowls of soup and are happy to have leftovers! Delicious! Thank you for sharing, and I love your wedding pics!
My Heart Beets says
Christa, that’s awesome! I’m so glad you and your hubby liked the recipe 🙂
Linda says
Made this for lunch for myself and my three kids today, also popped in a zucchini and a carrot…can never have too many veggies right 😉 and left out the chillies. They scoffed the lot! Served it with the nacho chips, which I also added kalonji seeds to! Amazing lunch. Thank you for such great recipes!
My Heart Beets says
Linda, that’s awesome! I’m happy you guys liked the soup! And I love the idea of adding kalonji seeds to the chips, yum!
Manpreet says
Ashley,
I am not a huge fan of coconut milk in cooking. What can I use for substitution?
Thx
Laurie says
I am so happy that I found your blog! Thank you for this soup (it’s now on tonight’s menu) and for offering Paleo recipes with an Indian flavor: I now know what I’ll be cooking this summer!
You and your husband make a beautiful couple too. Best wishes to you both.
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Laurie 🙂 I’m so happy you found my blog too! Let me know how any recipes turn out for you!
sandy says
Hi! So… is it really Ok to blend the curry leaves in? I usually cook with it but don’t eat it when eating the dish… just wondering!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Sandy! Yes, curry leaves are edible (bay leaves are the ones that are not edible). I usually pick out curry leaves too – unless they’re fried/crispy. But for this soup, they give great flavor when blended in. Let me know what ya think of this dish!
Jedha @Good Food Eating says
Ashley, love those photos! You look absolutely beautiful and what an eventful day it must have been doing 2 weddings in 1 day 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Jedha, thank you so much! 🙂
Vivica Menegaz CTWFN says
Thank you for the awesome recipe!! And thanx for sharing the gorgeous pics form your wedding….
was the reception by chance a Bollywood theme?! 😉
Sunethra says
Just made this today and it was delicious! Loved the spicy twist to Broccoli soup! Thank you!!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Sunethra! So glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂
Elyse says
What do you recommend for a substitute for curry leaves? Our local Asian market doesn’t sell enough, so they don’t carry them anymore. I bought Kafir lime leaves as a sub; we will see how it turns out!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Elyse! There really isn’t a good substitute for curry leaves; they have such a unique taste. I bet the Kafir lime leaves will be great in this soup though! Please let me know how that turns out. If you can’t find these leaves at your local market, you can always order fresh curry leaves on amazon for less than $2: http://amzn.to/16NOL4p
Elyse says
Thanks Ashley! I had no idea you could buy them on Amazon!
The soup turned out good (and smelled wonderful while cooking!), but it definitely had more of a Thai taste than Indian.
My Heart Beets says
I do love Thai food – I’ll have to give the lime leaves a try some time 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Mylittlejarofspices says
Such a bollywood scene right there, I love it! I can just picture how it would go in the movie, your husband trying to conquer you with his fancy dance moves while you remain nonchalant, arms crossed and mysterious and have him fall to his knees. Haha! Great recipe also, I actually learned to cook by making very simple soups like this one with 1 or 2 vegetables and adding all kinds of different spices to give them different flavors. It’s like making magic happen. Coconut milk sounds like a great addition too!
My Heart Beets says
Haha, thank you! Do you watch a lot of bollywood films? I love them! And yes, spices are amazing; they can take recipes to another level – from ordinary to extraordinary 🙂
Aimee / Wallflower Girl says
Delicious flavours in this soup, definitely pinning this one! And your wedding photos are beautiful! I especially love the last “bollywood” one 😀
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Aimee!! 🙂
Kayla Norman says
So cute ! You guys are an adorable couple! I just started following you on Facebook so I don’t really know ya’ll but I’m a fan of your blog! Great work!
My Heart Beets says
Thank you, Kayla! So glad you like my blog – I appreciate it! 🙂 I just started following you too!