Growing up around New York has led to a very mashed up identity of about 30% Indian, 50% American, and 20% New York Jewish. As such, along with french fries and yellow daal, matzo ball soup has always been a comfort food for me. When I turned vegetarian a few years ago, I mourned the loss of my beloved soup. Today, a bit under the weather, the craving became strong, and I was motivated to find a recipe, adapting it with a few extra Indian touches, just to complete the mashup.

It's possible this will improve with time but, for a first time, it was pretty perfect to me. You can definitely add more veggies if you like--since I was under the weather, I kept it simple with some carrots. Let's be real, it's all about the matzo balls anyway.

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

serves 3-4--adapted from Tori Avey's recipe

Ingredients

For the soup:

4 cups water
4 tsp Seitenbacher Vegetarian Vegetable Broth & Seasoning (seriously, this is the best veggie broth seasoning ever. Should be a pantry staple for all vegetarians!)
1 cup sliced baby carrots, into coins
pinch of saffron (this adds a really great complexity. Saffron is expensive but you use so little each time, and it's worth the investment for this dish)
1 inch piece ginger, sliced into matchsticks
1 tsp whole cumin seeds

For the matzo balls:

1/4 cup matzo meal
1 egg
1/2 tbsp seltzer water
1 tbsp light olive oil or canola oil
1 tsp chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder (I didn't have this, they still turned out good!)
1/8 tsp salt

Directions

Mix together all matzo ball ingredients until well combined. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes
Bring all broth ingredients to a boil and boil until carrots are soft, about 15-20 minutes
Once matzo ball batter is chilled, form into walnut-sized balls (they will expand a lot as they cook)
In a second pot, bring about 5-6 cups of water to a boil with another small pinch of saffron
Drop the matzo balls into the boiling water, turn the heat to simmer, and cover for about 20 minutes
Remove matzo balls from cooking water. If serving soup immediately, add to broth. Otherwise, keep them separately and add when serving, so they don't get soggy!