East African Pea Soup

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 small habanero pepper, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 dash clove (no more than 1/8 tsp)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, diced (about 2 cups)
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 lb frozen green pea, thawed

Recipe

• 1 sauté the onions gently in oil in a covered pot, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onions are just translucent.
• 2 add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
• 3 mix in the ginger, salt and all the spices and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring often.
• 4 add the tomatoes and sweet potato.
• 5 stir well.
• 6 add 1 1/2 cups water and stir.
• 7 bring the soup to a boil.
• 8 reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 5 minutes.
• 9 add half of the peas and simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes, or until the peas and sweet potato are tender.
• 10 remove the soup from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 cups of water.
• 11 purée the soup in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth.
• 12 return soup to the pot, add the remaining peas and gently reheat.