Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup

Curry Potato Soup with cauliflower, turmeric, Yukon Gold potatoes, bell peppers, onions, carrots, corn, and summer squash.

I set out to make a vibrant, yellow soup. This curried potato soup is filled with Yukon Gold yellow potatoes, cauliflower, yellow bell peppers, yellow onions, corn, and yellow summer squash.

Can one possibly get more yellow than that?

Wait, the butter is yellow too, and turmeric stains everything it touches yellow. This recipe uses a couple summer seasonal ingredients—the corn and squash—but you could easily substitute a sweet potato (put it in early with the Yukon Golds).

My mother and I both loved it, especially with some cilantro mixed in. My father doesn’t like curry so his vote doesn’t count.

Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup Recipe

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 8

Here’s a tip, don’t skimp on the butter.

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower florets (about 1/2 a head)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)
  • 1 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine)
  • 2 small yellow summer squash, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (or parsley) for garnish

Method

1 Sauté onions, bell pepper, carrot, and cumin: In a large pot (6-quart), melt butter over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and the bell pepper is lightly browned.

2 Add the turmeric, mustard seed, and curry powder and cook for a minute more.

3 Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

4 Add the potatoes, the broth, water, cauliflower, and salt. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high or medium, enough to maintain a simmer. Let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

5 Add the corn and summer squash, cook for 10 minutes more, until the vegetables are cooked through.

6 Purée half the soup: Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to purée about half of the soup. Adjust seasonings.

Garnish with chopped cilantro (or parsley, though cilantro is particularly good with this soup).