Potato Soup With Indian Spices

By David Tanis

Total Time: About 30 minutes
Rating: 4(464)
Notes: Read community notes

This easy vegetarian soup is surprisingly full flavored. (To make it vegan, substitute cooking oil for the butter and ghee.) If you want it more stewlike, use less water; if you want it brothy, use more. It keeps well and actually tastes even better a day or two after it is made. I like to add a pinch of asafetida (also called hing), which can be found in specialty spice shops or Indian groceries and lends a heady aroma that is especially good with potato dishes. Don’t worry if you don’t have it on hand. More important are the sizzled cumin seeds, mustard seeds and garlic (the tarka) added when the soup is finished, which really give the soup its character. If you find the soup too thick upon reheating, just add a splash of water and adjust the salt as necessary.

Featured in: How to Make the Most of Potatoes

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

For the Soup

2tablespoons unsalted butter
2medium onions, diced
Kosher salt
3medium carrots, diced
3celery stalks, diced
1teaspoon turmeric powder
1tablespoon grated fresh ginger
¼teaspoon cayenne powder
½teaspoon asafetida (optional)
2pounds Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potato, in 1-inch chunks
¼cup roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish

For the Tarka

2tablespoons ghee or neutral oil
4garlic cloves, minced
1teaspoon cumin seeds
½teaspoon black mustard seeds
1small green chile, chopped (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Put butter in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and a little salt and cook, stirring, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes more.
Step 2
Add turmeric, ginger, cayenne and asafetida, if using. Stir to coat and cook for another minute or so. Add potato chunks and 6 cups water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a brisk simmer. Add a healthy pinch of salt and cook until potatoes are soft when pierced with a skewer, about 15 minutes. Taste broth and adjust salt and heat as necessary: ¼ teaspoon cayenne should suffice to make the soup fairly spicy, but add a touch more if you like.
Step 3
Use a potato masher to crush some of the potatoes, then continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so. This will help to thicken the soup slightly and give it more body. Turn off the heat.
Step 4
Make the tarka: Heat ghee in a small skillet over medium, but don’t let it get too hot. Lower heat and add garlic and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until garlic is barely colored and cumin seeds have begun to brown, a minute or so. Add mustard seeds and green chile, if using. When mustard seeds begin to pop, after another minute, add the tarka to the soup and stir in.
Step 5
Ladle soup into low bowls, garnish with cilantro and serve. Pass lime wedges at the table.

Tip

Soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, though you may need to add a little water when reheating.

Ratings

4 out of 5

464 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

S3 years ago

Recipe is good, but the Tarka method is not quite correct. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds first. They take a longish time to crackle and pop and the other spices can burn if you put them in first, especially the garlic. Go in this order: Mustard seed. When one or two just start to pop, add the Cumin. When these sizzle, turn down the heat, then add the Garlic and Green chilli. Saute these on lower heat till golden and done, don't burn the garlic. Then pour the spiced oil onto the soup.

Shankar Pratap4 years ago

Made it, Delicious. It is important to pay attention to the act of "Use a potato masher to crush some of the potatoes", This determines the body density of the soup which makes or breaks it.

Awitcher4 years ago

Leave it to David Tanis to land this gem just as I was asking myself what to do with all of these potatoes! So good, comforting, and simple. I didn't have cilantro, but I did have some sweet potatoes to include alongside the yellows. Amazing warm bowls for lunch on an otherwise dreary day. Thank you!

Terri McFadden4 years ago

I made this and it's delicious. My husband likes soups rather thick so I used 5 cups of water. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch this week.

Christine4 years ago

This may be the best NYT recipe I have made. It absolutely does improve on the second day--it even improved, somehow, between the stovetop and an accidentally delayed dinner 1.5 hours later. I used the recommended ghee and asafetida and squeezed a whole lime in at the end instead of serving with lime wedges. I used Russet potatoes, subbed homemade broth for the water, and subbed half the dried turmeric for a half inch of fresh, grated.

jim4 years ago

I liked this soup a lot. However I wish the author would be more realistic about the time it takes to make it. He says about 30 minutes; He has 33 minutes of cook time, but that doesn't include chopping the veggies and making the Tarka. So it's more like an hour. I guess it's my pet peeve; unrealistic prep times.

Mary4 years ago

I can't wait to make this. Asafatida is extremely pungent. Please don't use it as you might a powdered curry, coriander or cardamon.

CBB4 years ago

Luckily had all the spices and ingredients, but just under a 1&1/2 lbs of potatoes. Used a little less water, but kept other ingredients the same. After potatoes and water were added cooked for 5 minutes in pressure cooker with fast release added a bit more salt and cayenne. The soup with the Tarka was fabulous! Used a jalapeno for the tarka, but next time would use a hotter pepper. Nonetheless, it was easy, delicious and will definitely make again!

torben moller4 years ago

I found this deeply uninteresting, no real flavor and no oomph. I did follow the recipe, but this must really be for tender foot indian cooks, there was not depth, sorry.

Kirsten2 weeks ago

This was easy and delicious. I used some leftover homemade chicken broth but otherwise made as written. It was a hit with the whole family. I will definitely be making it again!

Karissa2 months ago

I liked it a lot, but i burned the cumin the first time. I recommend adding the mustard and garlic first because mustard takes longer to pop. I also made it into a stew by adding split peas which made it nice and beefy

Patricia4 months ago

This was so good! And the addition of the tarka just kicked it up a notch more! I didn't have black mustard so just used the regular mustard seed--and those seeds really popped--next time I might try covering the pan to save on cleaning seeds from my stove top. Can't wait to make this for my vegan kids.

Anna5 months ago

Great recipe. The lime juice, cilantro and enough salt are essential to enhance flavor. I agree with another reviewer that in the Tarka prep, the mustard seeds should be added first and cooked until they begin to pop, followed by the cumin seeds and jalapeno.

Sara7 months ago

This was very good! Added curry leaves to tarka. Felt the cilantro and lime were necessary to round out flavors. Salted much more than a healthy pinch in order for flavors to come through

EssieDee9 months ago

Boring . . . but fixable. Added a garnish of chopped ripe tomatoes which helped. Added a few peas. Was good fix.

TJ1 year ago

made as written without carrots or celery (didn't have) but used mix of vegetable broth and water. Sooooo good.

Megan1 year ago

Added chicken Better than Bouillon to the water, extra cumin seeds in place of a lack of black mustard seeds in the tarka, and used MDH’s Kitchen King spice blend in place of the asafetida since it had it in there. Turned out excellent and very flavorful. Reminds me of potato samosa filling.

RB1 year ago

Also celery on the bias. And mustard seed before cumin and garlic.

Ed1 year ago

I'm shopping/cooking now, and perplexed by the green chili, there are so many choices. What type of chili peppers have folks used and how much heat? Thank you David and to all for your helpful comments!

Austin1 year ago

It’s great when garnished with a dollop of coconut yogurt and pine nuts, as well!

db2 years ago

This was great. Added some cabbage and extra carrots based on what I needed to use up.

Michelle2 years ago

This is one of the best recipes ever--thank you, David Tanis. I've made it a dozen times; it's always delicious, but the better the potato the more sublime the soup. I tend to double the tarka now. We eat it with yogurt--and sometimes for breakfast with a poached egg on top.

Alexis2 years ago

Delicious, even though I couldnt help myself and also added some leeks in with the onions

it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity2 years ago

I love this soup! Great template to tweak with leftover broth in fridge and other stand in ingredients. I was shy one onion, cannot say if that is a travesty, seems perfect. I’m vegan, used safflower oil instead of ghee; used four carrots; probably added about 7 c of mixed leftover mushroom and veggie broth from other projects rather than water only; no hing in pantry,oops or black mustard seed, used scant half tsp of ground mustard.

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