Spicy Kale Soup with Potato and Sausage

The weather around here is getting positively chilly. It had been a fabulous couple of months with great weather, festivities in the air, glittering lights and overload of sweets. The trees near my house are now preparing for winter, their leaves turning a rusty red, though this year we did not get the gorgeous colors like other years.

This is also the time when I start making soups. Soups that can be sent in a thermos for school lunch, soups that can be served with dinner. Now, the thing is there are millions and billions of soups and soup recipes out there, but my girls like only a few of them, and so those are the soups I make most often. Until they get tired of them that is.

In this whole gamut of soups, or rather a fraction of whole gamut of soups, both my girls seem to have taken a certain liking towards Kale soup.

Yes, you heard it right. K-A-L-E soup. It is a pretty, mossy green looking soup but it tastes delicious. I add little bit of potato to it and even carrots. I might or might not add sausages but sausages are definitely a plus. And garlic, oh yes garlic, lots of it please.

For a spicier, kind of Indianized version of this soup, I make a paste of coriander and green chili and then add it towards the very end to the soup simmering gently on the stove.

You see there are plenty of directions this soup can go. It is for you to decide which road to take.

Spicy Kale Soup

Prep Time

Buy a bunch of Kale. Now you have two options here
a. Buy a bunch of Kale greens. duh!
b. Buy a bag of organic baby kale + baby chard + baby spinach from Costco

I often go with (b) and that means I don't have to chop no green.

If you have chosen option (a), please take out some time and chop the Kale greens. You don't have to chop them fine, big rough cuts are okay. You will see why

Chop 1/2 large onion in thick chunks.

Chop 1 small/medium tomato in cubes. Shape does not matter

Chop 3 fat cloves of garlic in small pieces. No mincing

2 green chilies chopped in rounds

1 big potato, chopped in quarters

1 small-ish carrot or half of a carrot chopped in cubes (Carrot is totally optional)

Make your own stock or if you are like me, buy organic chicken stock from Costco. You can also get Vegetable stock.

Cook Time

Now take out your tried and tested Pressure Cooker. You don't need an insta pot. A plain simple trusted pressure cooker will do

Add 2 tsp of Olive Oil to the pressure cooker

When the oil is warm add 1/4th tsp of white pepper powder,  the garlic and let it sizzle. Follow suit with the chopped onions. Saute until onion is translucent.

Next goes in tomatoes and green chilies. Saute until tomato softens.

Now time for potatoes. Add potatoes and saute for 1 minute. Add the carroots too if you are using them.

Next goes in the greens. About 3-4 cups of  the greens is added to the cooker
The greens wilt and in a matter of minute becomes limp. If using only Kale, this "going limp"  takes more than a minute

Now add Vegetable or Chicken stock, enough to cover all the greens.

Close the pressure cooker lid and cook upto 3 whistles. If your cooker does not whistle then time it for 3 minutes after full pressure has been reached

Switch off gas and let it cool.  Open the pressure cooker lid when it has cooled down and with a hand blender puree the soup.

Now add more stock to make it the consistency you like. Adjust for salt & pepper. Simmer at low heat.

Add 1/4th cup of milk/evaporated milk to the pot.

Finishing off:

For a more protein version:
In a frying pan, saute chopped sauasage and 1 fat garlic clove minced. Once it is browned, add to the simmering soup

For a spicier desi version:
In a frying pan, saute 2 fat garlic clove minced. Once it is golden, add to the simmering soup. Also make a paste of some coriander leaves and 2-4 green chili. Add this paste to the simmering soup. Add a squirt of lime juice. Enjoy!

For a creamier version:
In a frying pan, saute 2 fat garlic clove minced. Once it is golden, add to the simmering soup. Add 1/2 Cup of evaporated milk or whole milk and simmer for couple minutes at low heat.


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