By Ramadan Mubarak, everyone. At the end of a long day of fasting, with an upset stomach perhaps, and very tired, there is absolutely nothing more wonderful than a bowl of soup to start our feast during Iftar. We all know the joy of pouring some nice hot soup into a big bowl after a couple of dates. It settles the stomach, warms the bones, and calms the nerves.
As the saying goes, the fasting person has two joys: when they break their fast and when they meet their Lord. And breaking your fast is even better with soup. Of course, I am grieving as many of us are this year, because the masjids are still closed in my area. One of my favorite things to do during Ramadan is take a huge pot of soup to the masjid to share with people. The barakah and the joy of just giving something to the community is beyond the capacity of words to express. And alas, this year, no soup to the masjid for me. Khair, inshallah. However, I do plan to make both soups for my family to break their fast, and they are super easy to prepare. You can throw them together in a few minutes and then sit down to the business of making dua. If you are interested in making something to share with others, try these two recipes for your iftar soup.
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 15 oz canned black beans
3 carrots
4 celery ribs
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup soy sauce
Salt and pepper
(These portion sizes are forgiving and arbitrary.)
Optional:
Sour cream, yoghurt, or plant based yoghurt
Shredded cheese
Chopped parsley
Chopped green onions
Directions:
Chop the carrots, celery, and onions and sauté them in a large soup pot until the onions are translucent and the carrots are slightly softened, about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the cumin, oregano, chili pepper flakes, and garlic, and cook for about another 3 minutes, on lower heat. Meanwhile, puree the black beans with the juice in a blender on pulse until they are roughly blended, but do not over blend them. Add the pureed black beans to the veggies, with the soy sauce, and cook on medium low heat for about 12 minutes. Spoon into bowls with sour cream, cheese, parsley, and green onions, and prepare for your iftar dinner with comfort food.
Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
4 carrots
5 celery ribs
1 medium onions
3 Garlic cloves minced
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
1 15 oz cans chopped tomatoes
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes, plus extra as needed
3 cups vegetable stock, plus extra as needed
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 cup chopped fresh green beans
1 tsp crushed thyme from 3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 tsp oregano or tablespoon fresh oregano
½ cup chopped parsley
Optional:
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans or white beans
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 can corn kernels, preferably in water with no added salt or sugar
Chopped mushrooms
Chopped cabbage, kale, chard, and/or spinach
Optional garnish:
Fresh minced parsley
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Chop the carrots, celery, and onions and sauté them in a large soup pot until the onions are translucent and the carrots are slightly softened, about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the chili pepper flakes, the thyme, the oregano, and the garlic, and cook for about another 3 minutes, on lower heat. Add the bell peppers and parsley and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the canned diced and crushed tomatoes, the vegetable stock, the green beans, and whatever other veggies you have decided to include. Add salt and pepper to taste. Increase the vegetable stock and crushed tomatoes as needed, also you can add water. Simmer gently until the vegetables are done to your taste, and do not overcook. This can be as quick as 5 minutes, because the fresh veggies have a ton of vitamins that you do not want to cook out. Garnish with fresh parsley. (Parsley has a strong ability to clean the blood, so eating a lot of it during fasting can be very helpful for strength, both mental and physical.)
May Allah Subhana wa ta’Ala bless the entire ummah, all of us, with the blessing of an accepted Ramadan, increase the reward for our good deeds, forgive all of us all of our sins, and make it heavy on our scales for good on the Day of Judgement. Ameen, inshallah.
Enjoy your Iftar soup!