Thursday, November 26, 2009

Barley Pinto Bean Soup

Usually when I eat out and try something different, unique, refreshing and delicious , I cannot wait to try and recreate it. I might make some changes to the ingredients but usually aim to achieve the taste that I remember. For the first time, I faced somewhat of a reverse situation to the one above. I was at a restaurant and I saw a barley pinto bean soup mentioned on their menu.

I thought the soup sounded pretty neat,but when I tasted the soup it was a huge disappointment. It did not taste bad,don't get me wrong,it just tasted so bland and boring that by the time I was done with the bowl of soup I was already mentally recreating this soup the way I thought it would taste good.

And that is just what I did the next week, I made this soup with the main ingredients basil, barley and pinto beans just as the one in the restaurant, only I flavored the soup with spices that I thought would work well and it added far more flavor and taste to the soup. R and I both loved this soup a great deal, it was healthy, hearty and it seemed perfect for the long cold evenings that we face these days.


Barley Pinto Bean Soup 3

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make Barley Pinto Bean soup

3/4 cup pinto beans soaked overnight in sufficient water with a pinch of soda (the soda is optional)
1 large yellow onion cut fine
2 medium tomatoes cut fine
1 inch piece ginger minced
3/4 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 small bay leaves
3 stalks of celery cut into little pieces
2 large carrots cut into little pieces
1/2 cup pearl barley
salt to taste
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Approximately 6 cups of water (or vegetarian vegetable stock) (I used water)


Drain the soaked pinto beans and fill with fresh water. Either on a stove top or in a pressure cooker cook the beans until soft but not mushy.Keep aside

In a separate pot, cook the barley in sufficient water until soft. Or use the pressure cooker to cook barley too. Do not throw away the water in which the barley was cooked. Keep aside

I placed both the beans and barley in small containers and placed the containers in a pressure cooker and pressure cooked both of them until soft ( for me that took about 3 whistles)

In a large heavy bottomed pan, heat olive oil. Add onions to it and saute until onions are transparent.

Add the minced garlic and minced ginger and stir for about a minute.

Then add tomatoes and stir until tomatoes become soft and mushy.

Now add celery, carrots, bay leaves, dried basil, the other spices, salt to taste and water.

Let the vegetables cook until slightly soft, the add the cooked pinto beans, cooked barley. Adjust water if required and let it all simmer together for about 30 mins or so until all the flavors blend together.

Serve hot with bread of choice or crackers.

Serves about 3-4

17 comments :

Preeti Kashyap said...

New to me, but the recipe seems to be interesting...shd try this winter...bookmarked!

karuna said...

That's a healthy bowl of soup, perfect for the nice chill that's in the air.

mona said...

Ah, the soup sounds so delicious, and the use of all those ingredients is making me try it even more.

chef and her kitchen said...

Different kind of soup....sounds great

Pari Vasisht said...

Love the combo, perfect delight for winter.

Unknown said...

i love lentil soups..am sure this would taste great..nice picture..

Priya Suresh said...

Yummy and healthy soup, sounds prefect for this cold weather..lovely bowl!

Alka said...

Sounds and looks delicious, and not to forget its so healthy too .A soup like this ..piping hot in chilling weather is such a bliss..isn't it?

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Healthy soup, looks delicious.

Cham said...

Healthy soup and looks very tasty!

Devasena Hariharan said...

Healthy one... Again ur photography is excellent.

Deepthi Shankar said...

I love soups .. But I am often lazy to make them .. very filling this is

Erica said...

I love pinto beans! what a delicious soup recipe.

Gita Jaishankar said...

I have never tried pinto beans in soup...looks comforting Usha...I should try this soup soon :)

Anupama said...

Looks super delicious... how comforting???!!!

sangeeta said...

this kind of soup is my staple n i have many versions of barley soups n other preparations on my archives...
lovely pictures and you cranberry chutny looks yummy too..

Unknown said...

Hot hot soup in this chill weather, pass on the bowl pls :)
Liked the new header!

Related Posts with Thumbnails