This soup, mellowed with coconut milk, is as delicious as it is surprising in its final blend of silken textures.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

　　1 medium onion, chopped

　　1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

　　4 ounces (about 25) green beans, trimmed and coarsely cut up

　　25 smallish fresh okra, trimmed at the top and bottom and cut into 1/3-inch pieces

　　1 pound Swiss chard, chopped, stems and all

　　1 teaspoon ground cumin

　　1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　4 1/2 cups chicken stock

　　l cup coconut milk from a well-shaken can

　　Salt, as needed

　　

Step 1

Pour the oil into a large pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the onions, carrots, beans, and okra. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the chard, cumin, and cayenne. Sauté another 2–3 minutes. Now add half of the stock and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer gently for about 25 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Put the soup in a blender and blend in as many batches as is necessary. Return the soup to the large pan. Add the remaining stock to thin the soup out, as well as the coconut milk. Stir to mix and taste for salt, adding as much as you need. Heat before serving.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.