Bean-Mix Soup

A simple and delicious soup recipe with bean-mix that's hearty, healthy, filling and will warm you up in the winter. Best thing about the recipe, it works with all kinds of bean-combo and goes without saying, beans are very healthy too! (high in fiber, rich in protein, low in fat and contains no cholesterol).

To speed up the cooking, I cooked beans in a pressure cooker (after 6-8 hours of soaking). But, if you have the patience & time, you can cook beans directly on the stove. It takes about 1-2 hours, depending on what kind of beans you have in the mix. If cooking directly on stove top, you can make this recipe entirely using vegetable broth - just replace water with more vegetable broth.

Meaty, juicy tomatoes makes delicious addition to the soup. I have used about 8 small campari tomatoes. Adjust according to the type and size of the tomatoes that you are using. Homemade chili paste adds an exceptionally rich flavor and fragrance to this wholesome soup, but you can use store-brought chili paste too!

These days, I seem to be on the look-out for simple, easy & healthy recipes and is there anything more perfect than soups? Combined with slices of bread and a salad, you can have a wholesome & filling meal.

Basic Info

Complexity - Medium

Prep time - 6-8 hrs

Cook time - 1 hr

Serves - 6

Ingredients

1 cup bean-mix, I used 13 bean soup-mix

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 jalapeños

2 cups water

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chili paste

1.5 tbsp tomato paste

8 small tomatoes, campari type, chopped

Salt to taste

A handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice from 1 lime

Instructions

Wash and soak bean-mix overnight (or) 6-8 hrs in cold water. After 6-8 hrs of soaking, rinse the beans 2-3 times and drain. Pressure cook in 2 cups of water for 2 whistles.

Roast jalapeños directly over flame until blackened. Roll it loosely in a kitchen towel and set it aside for 5 mins. After 5 mins, the outer layer should come off easily. Peel & chop jalapeños finely.

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil. When hot, add minced garlic, chopped jalapeños and sauté briefly. To this, add chopped onion and sauté until translucent.

Next, add cumin powder, tomato paste, chili paste and give a brief stir. Add chopped tomatoes and wait for it to soften. To this, add 2 cups of veg broth and let it come to a boil.

Add cooked beans (along with cooked water), salt and let it simmer on low-medium heat for 10-15 mins. Mix chopped cilantro, lime juice and serve hot.