Creamy Broccoli Soup (without cream or cheese)

I am thinking of trying a new soup every week for the last leg of winter. Last week, I made broccoli soup. There was a 2 for 1 sale for broccoli at my local grocery store. So I had 2 bunches of fresh broccoli that needed to be used up. Most of the broccoli went into this soup and the rest went into making broccoli paratha (along the lines of stuffed gobi paratha). I have to say, these two are our favorite ways of eating broccoli. No one in our house likes eating whole broccoli florets no matter how they are prepared. :)

I had garnished the soup with a bit of grated cheddar cheese but the soup itself was so creamy, we felt it was totally unnecessary. The pureed potatoes and broccoli add so much creaminess to the soup. I also added some whole milk to bring the creaminess up a notch and also take the "vegetabley" flavor down. The best part about the soup is the surprise spice hint of cumin. It is unexpected and really took the soup from great to delicious.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

1 small	broccoli
4 smallish	potatoes
4 large	garlic cloves
1 large	onion
2	carrots
1/2	bouillon cube or equivalent stock
1/4 tsp	cumin powder
1 tbsp	olive oil
1/2 cup	milk

Method

• Cut the broccoli into florets. Chop the tender stems.
  
• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add chopped onion and garlic. Add the chopped carrots and potatoes after a couple of minutes.
  
• Add broccoli and saute for a few minutes. Add enough water or stock (if using) to barely cover the vegetables.
  
• Pressure cook for 1 whistle (about 10 minutes). Once cool enough, puree the vegetables and return to the pressure cooker.
• Add the bouillon cube, cumin powder, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.
• Add the milk and the soup is ready to serve. We loved the soup with some croutons for crunch.