Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 medium-size tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon each cumin seeds, ground coriander, ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon each ground red pepper (cayenne), fennel seeds
1 quart homemade or canned vegetable broth
1 pound spinach, coarse stems removed
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro
salted roasted peanuts
chopped fresh red chile (optional)

Directions

Melt butter in a 3-to-4-quart pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger. Cook, stirring often, until onion is lightly browned (5 to 7 minutes).

Stir in tomato, cumin, coriander, turmeric, ground red pepper, fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato is soft (about 8 minutes). Transfer to a food processor or blender, whirl until smooth. Return to pan and blend in broth.

Bring to a boil over high heat and continue to boil until reduced to 3 cups. Meanwhile, rinse spinach well; place (with moisture clinging to leaves) in a 4-to-5-quart pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until wilted (4 to 5 minutes). Transfer spinach to a colander and press with back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

Spoon spinach into soup bowls. Stir lemon juice and cilantro into hot broth. Ladle broth into bowls. Garnish with peanuts and, if desired, chile. For a heartier soup, spoon in cooked brown rice.

202 calories, 11 gram fat, 22.5 grams carbohydrates, 1,006 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol. Makes four servings.