The perfect soup for a chilly winter day- hearty, warming, and packed with fragrant herbs and spices that support digestion and nourish the body. There’s something especially comforting about a bowl of soup when we’re spending a little more time cozied up indoors.

This Herb Rich Barley Bean Soup brings together warming spices, fresh herbs, barley, and split mung beans for a satisfying, nourishing meal that feels as good as it tastes.

And there’s more to these herbs and spices than flavour! Scroll down after the recipe to discover their Ayurvedic qualities and some of the ways they have traditionally been used to support digestion and immune system.

Herb Rich Barley & Bean Soup

Yields: 2 - 3 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

ingredients

¼ cup pearl barley, if using hulled barley soak overnight
½ cup split mung beans, can soak overnight too with hulled barley but not necessary
2 tsps ghee or olive oil
2 tsps ground fennel
2 tsps ground coriander
⅛ tsp turmeric
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
3-4 leaves of sage
¼ tsp black pepper
1 medium taro
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 zucchini
2-3 bunches of bok choy
3 cups water or vegetable broth
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse barley and split mung beans well and set aside.
Prep spices, stem the herbs, and set aside.
Prep and peel taro and vegetables, cutting into chunks.
In a large pot, heat ghee or olive oil in medium-low heat.
Add ground fennel and coriander, and turmeric, stirring into the oil.
Add barley, split mung beans, taro, carrots, celery and water or broth, and turn heat up to high to come to a boil.
Turn heat down to medium-low, add herbs and black pepper, and cover with a lid.
Cook for 30 minutes, and add zucchini and bok choy stems, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add bok choy leaves last and cook for just a minute until the leaves turn bright green. Add salt and stir.

Serve warm with a squirt of fresh lime juice.

Enjoy!

Ayurvedic Profile of Spices

Black peppercorn - heating effect; anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, anti-obesity, anti-cancer, hepato-protective, and neuro-protective

Coriander - cooling effect; binds toxins and heavy metals for elimination through the urinary channels; pacifies acid stomach

Fennel - sweet and pungent taste; enhances digestive fire; fennel and coriander, with a bit of cumin and turmeric makes for a balancing digestive spice mix for all body types

Oregano - pungent, heating; anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic

Rosemary - mildly heating, not aggravating to pitta dosha, with a sweetness; enhances cellular metabolism (dehagni) helping connect heart and mind; a rich source of antioxidants

Thyme- pungent taste, heating effect; anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic; high in phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals; supports digestion

Turmeric - cleans the liver, known as “a friend to the liver” in Ayurveda; anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties. SVA recommends to cook with turmeric, and avoid consuming turmeric or curcumin supplements, or turmeric as a tea, as it needs fats to deliver its beneficial properties, and over time turmeric tea will overtax the liver.

Sage - heating effect; support the nervous system; high in anti-oxidants, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial

Soma Salt - cooling effect, so not aggravating to pitta dosha; high in minerals