This is a healthy, comforting option for cold winter days and hangovers too!

So the New Year has arrived, and in my case it hit me slightly harder than anticipating, with a really bad hangover. But knowing myself well, I had already prepared myself for the first of January and shopped, to make sure my first day of the year would be as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

One off the side effects of the common hangover is, the acute need for junk food, and since I live in junk food central, and know what junk food does to my body, I have found other solutions to my cravings, and this recipe is one of my favourites.

Yes it takes some time to prepare, but you can always make it the day before, thankfully I wasn’t completely struck down by my own incapability of laying off the champagne, so this was my first meal of the year 2015.

If you make this a day ahead, don’t add the spring onions and peppers until serving time to make sure they stay nice and crunchy.

Recipe:

2 tins of Coconut milk
2 medium size onion, finely chopped
3 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1 5cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 large bunch of Basil, chopped roughly
1 Lime
1 large bunch of Coriander or 2 tsp of Coriander Powder
1 tbsp of yellow Indian Curry powder—I use a kind called Rajah
1 Red Birdseye chilli
2 large carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
2 Large sweet peppers, orange and yellow, roughly chopped
1 bunch of spring onions, roughly chopped
200 ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat up some olive/rapeseed oil in a large pan, add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry until soft and slightly brown 5-10 minutes. Now Add half of the herbs and all the spices, including half the Birdseye chilli.

Stir for two minutes, so the aromas and oils are released from the spices.

Now add the chopped carrot and fry for two minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a slight simmer. Taste to make sure the chilli hasn’t made it too spicy, if you want it spicier add the rest of the chilli.

Now add the vegetable stock. Let it come to a simmer—don’t let it boil since it will ruin the aromas.

Add the remaining fresh herbs.

Let it stand and simmer at a low temperature for 10 minutes while you add salt to taste.

Add the spring onions and the peppers, let them simmer for five minutes and then the soup is ready to serve.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

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Author: Esther Maria

Editor: Renee Picard 

Photo: courtesy of the author