Soupe épicée à l'indienne

When I set out to make dinner last night, my intentions were to make a chinese style, clear-brothed vegetable soup, but when I discovered I still had a bit of fresh ginger left, it morphed mid-stream into this hot indian-style soup inspired by the spice concoction I picked up recently from a woman friend from India. The following recipe feeds two to four people, depending on if you serve it as the meal or an entree.

Mince one small onion and 3 large garlic cloves. Peel a small piece of ginger and mince. You should have at least a heaping tablespoon's worth. Sautee in olive oil until tender and translucent over low heat. While the onions, garlic and ginger are cooking, add a teaspoon of ground turmeric and about a half a teaspoon or more of coriander. Stir to coat and continue cooking.

Meanwhile, bring to a boil about 8 cups of water or vegetable broth or a combination of the two. Wash and cut up about 10 mushrooms and a good handful of green beans. Chop up 4 scallions.

When the water and/or broth is boiling, add the mushrooms and green beans. Drop to simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes or so. Add the scallions and continue to cook until the vegetables are just tender, about 10 more minutes.

In the meanwhile, put the onion, garlic and ginger mix into a blender with a little of the soup's broth and puree until smooth. Add this to the soup while the vegetables are still cooking.

Serve piping hot in deep bowls.