Spinach Coconut Mylk Soup Vegan MoFo day 8

I cut it really close today. I figured out what I was going to prepare for tonight's blog post at 4:55pm. Since the last of the photo-adequate daylight usually disappears at around 5:30pm, that left me about 20 minutes to make the soup so I'd have 10-15 minutes to click a decent number of good photos to choose from. Thankfully, soups are fairly quick to make and I managed to whip up this Spinach Coconut Mylk Soup and grab a bunch of nice pics.

This one below is my favourite. Depending on the way one views it, it could look like a painting.

In my hurry to make the soup, I didn't blanch the spinach long enough and didn't wait for it to cool before blending. Then to top it off, I added lime juice while everything was still hot. All this resulted in a light bitterness in the soup (which wasn't too bad but it would've been nicer without it). So when you make it, please make sure to show more patience than I did and you'll be much happier than I was with the end result.

Before we move on to the recipe, I wanted to share something awesome with you. To the lay person's eyes, this picture below would look like a common logo on a packet of Gingelly Oil (that's what we call Sesame Oil, here in South India). However, in the eyes of a Vegan, it is something very special. Can you figure out why that is? No peeking at the answer below the pic until you've tried guessing. :)

Gingelly Oil is known for its health benefits and positive spiritual energy. It is widely used in South India in cooking as well as in lamps at holy altars. It is also an excellent moisturiser and conditioner. Once a week, apply Gingelly Oil on your skin, scalp and hair about 20-30 minutes before your bath. Once you're done bathing, you'll be rewarded with soft, glowing skin and silky, shiny hair.

The most common way that Gingelly Oil is consumed traditionally is by stirring it into Sambar/Rasam Rice or mixing with various Chutney Pudis (like Rithika's Gun Powder) to create dips for Dosas, Idlis, Chapathis and Breads. If people don't mix Gingelly Oil into these, the alternative they fall back on is highly concentrated fat made of stolen bovine body fluid aka Ghee.

So now you see why the Pasumark Gingelly Oil logo is so special? Because *finally* it's an image of a smiling cow with an actual reason to smile. She's happy because you're using Gingelly Oil instead of stealing her baby's food. :)

Hubby and I normally like the taste and smell of Idhayam Gingelly Oil best, but as soon as we saw the logo we couldn't resist buying this packet of Pasumark. It turned out to be pretty tasty too but hey, what else can you expect from a brand with such an honest logo? Haha

Now on to today's recipe, which has nothing to do with Gingelly Oil or any oil for that matter. It's a pretty healthy soup.

Spinach Coconut Mylk Soup

1 big bunch Spinach Leaves (around 200 gms)
1/4 C Coconut Cream or 1/2 C Coconut Mylk
1 T Sesame Seeds
Salt
Pepper Powder
Pinch of Sugar
Lime Juice (optional)

Wash the spinach leaves well and blanch them in boiling water for half a minute.
Drain and keep aside until cool enough to blend (5-10 mins).
Put them into a blender jar along with the rest of the ingredients (except lime juice).
Blend into a creamy finish by adding 1 to 2 C of clean, filtered water.
Pour into bowls.
Taste and adjust the salt, stir in lime juice if you want to.
Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top.
Enjoy! :)