5 from 5 votes
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Palak Shorba (Spinach Soup) with Mint Pesto
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 

This shorba/soup recipe is filled with seasonal freshness, lots of flavor and my childhood faves. The deep spinach green color and the cumin flavor makes it so earthy. Citrus zest really brings out the refreshing flavors. Since I am all about mixing different cultures into one dish; I serve this with mint pesto.  It’s a warm flavorful bowl of green happiness!

Course: Soup
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: palak shorba, indian soup, mint pesto, spinach soup
Servings: 2 -4 people
Author: Esha
Ingredients
For Palak Shorba (Spinach Soup)
  • 3/4 cup Spinach (6 oz or 170 grams approx)
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp Cumin powder
  • 2 tbsp Garlic, finely minced
  • 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Orange zest
  • 4 cups Vegetable stock (1 litre or 32 oz apport)
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper powder
  • Salt, to taste
For Mint Pesto:
  • 1/2 cup mint (15 grams or 0.4 oz approx)
  • 2 cloves garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
For Palak Shorba (Spinach Soup):

  1. Blanch spinach and blend it to make puree.

  2. In a heavy bottom pan, heat butter. Add cumin seeds, garlic and cumin powder and sauté on medium heat, till garlic starts to caramelize and gets fragrant. This might take 2-3 minutes. 

  3. Add the orange zest and give it a stir. 

  4. Add flour and cook for 2-4 minutes to form a roux.  

  5. Take off the heat and add the stock in 3-4 batches, while whisking thoroughly with a whisk to avoid lumps. 

  6. Put the pan back on stove on medium heat, add black pepper and cook to form white sauce. Keep whisking to avoid and scorching. This might take 8-10 minutes. 

  7. Once it starts to thicken up, add spinach puree and bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes while stirring in between.  

  8. Once the soup gets little body to it and thickens, take off the heat and strain through sieve. 

  9. Add lemon juice and adjust for seasoning. 

  10. Put a tablespoon of mint pesto into individual bowls before serving.  

For Mint Pesto:

  1. Put mint, garlic cloves, salt and pepper in blender and blend till mint gets finely minced.

  2. Add olive oil slowly while the blender is running till it incorporates well. 

  3. Add lemon juice and pulse for 3-4 seconds, till well blended. 

  4. Add pine nuts and blend till it’s all crushed up into the pesto. Then add parmesan cheese and pulse till incorporated. Adjust for salt. 

  5. Store in air tight container in refrigerator. This can be used to top off the soup before serving. Or you could use this on your morning toast or as pasta sauce.  

Recipe Notes

This soup can also be served with boiled sautéed corn. For this, Boil some corn or thaw the frozen boiled corn. In a pan, heat some oil or butter, and sauté the corn for 2-3 minutes. Top 1-2 tsp of sautéed corn on the soup before serving. Thats how my mom serves it. I prefer with pesto or/and with corn.

You could use olive oil instead of butter or vegan butter to make this soup vegan. Also, you can avoid Parmasean cheese in the pesto to make it vegan.