Borscht is a sour soup made from beetroots, carrots, potatoes and cabbage. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals and fibre. A warm, healthy and a tummy-filling soup for a cold winter dinner night.

Borscht is pronounced as Borsch, the ‘t’ is silent. Borscht is said to be originated from Ukraine and is also seen in Russian cuisine. This soup tastes sweet and sour, the sourness comes from the vinegar and the sweetness from the beets. Traditionally the vegetables are cooked in the bone broth. Since bone broth is not available here and I’m lazy to make one. I have used vegetable stock cubes/bouillon to make the base of the soup. Dissolve 2 stock cubes in 1 litre of hot water and your vegetable stock is ready. You can also use the packaged vegetable stock which is available in the supermarkets.

I have used a food processor to chop all my veggies as it is faster and saves a lot of time in the kitchen.

This soup is best served with a dollop of sour cream/cashew cream (for vegan) with few chopped dill leaves and a toast on the side.

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Borscht

Preparation time:15 min

Cooking time:30 min

Total Time: 45 min

Yield: 4-5 servings

Ingredients

• 2 beetroots, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper/capsicum, grated
• 1 large potato, cut into chunks
• 1/4 head cabbage, grated
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2-3 tbsp vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 vegetable stock cubes/bouillon
• 1 and 1/2 litre water
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp pepper powder (reduce or add more according to your taste)
• few dill leaves
• 1 tsp sourcream/cashew cream

Instructions

1. Firstly, chop all your veggies, use a food processor to save time.
2. In a deep bottomed pot, on medium flame, add oil, add onions. Saute till the onions turn soft, add all the chopped veggies i.e., beetroot, carrots, cabbage, celery, potatoes and capsicum.
3. Add vegetable stock cubes/bouillon and water. Add tomato paste and bay leaf. Mix everything. Cover the pot with a lid and cook the vegetables till they become tender.
4. Once the veggies are cooked, add salt, pepper and vinegar. Adjust the sourness according to your taste.
5. Serve it warm with sour cream/cashew cream and chopped dill leaves.