Cauliflower Corn Soup

Most of the cauliflower recipes call for the use of a lot of butter or cream. I made cauliflower corn soup with milk and a little cheddar cheese and added almonds paste to enhance the richness of the soup. The outcome was a hearty, creamy and filling cauliflower corn soup.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets - 2 cups
Corn kernels - 1/2 cup(Fresh or frozen, thaw, if using frozen)
Potato - 1 small sized, diced
Celery - 1 stick, roughly chopped
Onion - 1/4 of a small onion, roughly chopped
Almonds - 15, soaked in warm water for an hour and remove the skin
Milk - 11/2 cup
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Flakes - a large pinch(optional)
Grated Cheddar Cheese - 2 tbsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. In a vessel add cauliflower florets, diced potatoes, chopped celery and chopped onions. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Cook covered on high till the water starts boiling.
2. Once the water starts boiling, switch off the heat and let the vegetables cool down. Keep them covered with a lid.
3. Use a slotted spoon and add the boiled vegetables to a grinder or a food processor and puree them if you do not want any vegetable pieces in your soup. Add the water in which the vegetables are boiled, if necessary to make the puree. Alternatively, you can even use a hand blender to puree the boiled vegetables.
4. Grind the soaked almonds to a smooth paste by adding a little milk.
5. Heat a non stick saucepan and add the cauliflower puree, water used to boil vegetables(if any remaining), milk, almond paste and corn kernels to it. Mix well and adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more milk if the soup is too thick.
6. Let the soup boil and add salt, chilli flakes and pepper to it. Adjust the salt and let the soup thicken a little bit. Mix a tablespoon of cheese into the soup and switch off the heat.
7. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with a little cheese and serve the cauliflower corn soup while it is hot.

Sending this to 'DNSW:C' being hosted by Akhila and 'The Soup event' being hosted by Chaitrali