The minute I saw the post for the Monthly Mingle for Soups on Meeta’s lovely site, I knew I was gonna be a part of it. Added to it, we had gorged on some really rich food over the weekend and me and hubby were on a guilt trip since this morning…we wanted to bring down the guilt and what best to do it with than some healthy soup?!! Two birds in one stone I say! 
I learnt this recipe from my Husband’s Aunt sometime back. Thank you Bhama Aunty! The original recipe did not have barley in it. However, I added it since Im an ardent lover of Barley, simply because of its health benefits. Feel free to try this out either with or without the barley.
Ingredients:
- American sweet corn kernels (off the cob) – 1 cup (cooked with salt, till soft and cooled)
- Onions – 2 nos (medium sized, julienned)
- Garlic – 5-6 pods (vary to suit your taste)
- Barley – 3 tbsps (coarsely powdered)
- Milk (optional) – 1/2 cup (need not use if making a vegan version)
- Fresh Cream (optional) – 2 tsps (need not use if making a vegan version)
- Cooking Oil – 1 tsp
- Water – 2 cups
- Pepper powder – to taste
- Salt – to taste
Procedure:
- Sauté the onions and garlic with oil on a low flame, till the onions are cooked well and tender. Allow to cool.
- In the meanwhile, boil the coarsely powdered barley with 2 cups of water on a low flame. Since barley has a starchy composition, the result is a thick and starchy, milky liquid. (It should not have lumps).
- Now, blend together the cooked corn kernels, sautéed onions and garlic in a mixer, to form a smooth paste.
- Once the barley has cooked, add the corn-onion-garlic mixture to the barley. Stir well.
- Add the milk and fresh cream. If you are making a vegan version, you could skip this step.
- Allow the soup to boil on a low flame for 10-15 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh cream, and serve hot with bread/soup sticks! I served mine with Methi (fenugreek) flavoured bread sticks and it was simply yummy!
This soup finds its way to Monthly Mingle – Soups, conceptualized by Meeta and hosted this month by Harini of Tongue Ticklers.
Thank you Meeta and Harini for giving us all an opportunity to mingle! 
