This beautiful sweet potato and coconut milk soup is truly delectable thanks to some of my favourite whole spices and a perfect marriage of sweet and savoury flavours. You can even turn the leftover soup into curry - what's not to love!
Step 1
Make a paste of garlic and ginger (you can do this with a knife, the fine side of a grater, a pestle and mortar or a mini blender). Add a splash of water, and set aside.
Step 2
Heat your whole spices in oil in a large heavy pot until they begin to 'pop' and fizzle, then add the onion and fry on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown (approx. 5 minutes).
Step 3
Add your powdered spices (including salt) and coat the onions for a minute as a beautiful aroma fills your kitchen. Add the garlic, ginger and water paste, let the water evaporate and then cook, stirring, for around 30 seconds.
Step 4
Add the potato and coat with the spices. At this point, everything is very much trying to stick to the bottom of my ceramic pan, so I add the coconut milk in quickly. So do that, and then top up with enough water to cover the potatoes and turn the heat up high.
Step 5
You can add any stock you like here. I find chicken works really well, particularly if you have a jelly stock pot to hand, but any old stock cube will probably do.
Step 6
Bring everything to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and leave it to do its thing until the potato is tender (15-20 minutes).
Step 7
In the meantime, wash your spinach and wilt it in some boiling water on the hob. If you like more spinach or only have a small pan, you may have to do this in batches. Either way, it doesn’t take long.
Step 8
Drain your spinach in a colander, then run the cold tap until it's cool enough to handle. Remove it from the colander, chop it finely, and add to the soup. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Step 9
Taste your soup to see if anything needs added - I find a sprinkle of garam masala never goes amiss - and serve with some hot naan. Enjoy!
