Cold Cucumber Soup

Name: Cold Cucumber Soup
Yield: serves 6¿8
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil; 2 tablespoons urad dal (or yellow split peas); 1 tablespoon whole brown or yellow mustard seeds; 2 dried hot red chilies; 15 fresh curry leaves, if available, or 6 basil leaves, torn up; 4 cups chicken stock; Cucumber, enough to get 3 cups after peeling and blending, plus some finely diced cucumber for garnishing; 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 2 cups plain yogurt; 8 cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice, for garnishing

December 9, 2011

I love to make this soup in the summer, when my garden (or the local farmers market) is bursting with cucumbers and tomatoes and the weather is balmy. The first time I had this soup, or a version of it, was in the Maldives, at the Cocoa Island resort on the South Male Atoll, just southwest of India. For the soup, the chef, Stana Johnson, had combined South Indian seasonings and the notion of North India’s favorite cucumber raita, a yogurt relish, to fashion a light summery, cooling soup. I remember sitting in an airy pavilion, the calm blue sea on two sides of me, balmy breezes blowing past, sipping the soup a tablespoon at a time, and thinking, “This is what heaven must be like.” While the flavors were easy on the tongue, the soup was complicated to make. I have spent two years simplifying it, trying to retain its essence while cutting down on all the steps a large-staffed restaurant can do with ease. I like to serve the soup with a dollop of Yogurt Rice, page 26 or 217, right in its center. This is not essential. Just a light sprinkling of diced cucumbers and diced cherry tomatoes will do. But do try it once with the Yogurt Rice as well as the sprinkling of cucumbers and tomatoes. (You do not actually have to make the full Yogurt Rice recipe. A very quick version, made with leftover rice, follows.)

Recipe notes