How to make Vegetable Stock Recipe

Stock what is that? 

Not the stock market like my husband thinks. To make Vegetable Stock simmer vegetable, vegetable scraps in water. Likewise to make meat stocks simmer meats and bone.

Making of a stock is new to my very Indian kitchen. We do not discard lentil water or water left after boiling vegetable it is part of my everyday cooking. It ends up in making a curry or a dal on the same day. But making stock per se is new to us.

More about Stock

• Stocks are off 2 kinds 
  • vegetable stock, and
  • meat stocks. 

I am not qualified to speak about meaty stocks so I will leave it alone. 

The advantage of a good Vegetable Stock

• You can quickly make Vegetable stock, unlike the meat ones.
• A good vegetable stock matches the meat stock in their depth of flavour.

What do I use vegetable stock for? 

Add stock to soups, pulao, dals, gravies of veggies anything at all. During monsoons, we make a lot of soups and in my house stock gets pressed into heavy-duty service. 

In anticipation I many times make the stock and freeze into cubes. Yes, it is freezer friendly only then I pray that we do not have a major power outage.

So what are the best ingredients to make stock?

• Onions, carrot, mushrooms, garlic, celery and leek are standard ingredients for Vegetable Stock.
• Likewise, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and parsley stalks are standard aromatics.
• Use fresh vegetables if you wish your stock will be very flavorful. I generally use the scraps of vegetables I have used during the week. Leftovers wilted carrots, onions, mushrooms, make an ideal beginning. You can add or remove what you do not want. 
• Since I am using the stock for soups now I will add 1 garlic, a few pepper, and tomatoes.
• Deseed the tomatoes before adding to your stock they give a bitter taste.
• Celery, leeks are veggies I don’t buy as they are too expensive. Thyme and parsley are not much appreciated so I use a pinch or 2 of dry herbs.
• If you plan to add cabbage do it in the last 5 minutes else your stock will smell.
• For a brown stock rich and intense use dried mushrooms and tomatoes. These ingredients are umami-rich and give the stock a deep colour.
• For a South Asian style stock add lemongrass, ginger and green chillies.

Method of making stock?

• To make my stock cost-effective I store the peels in a bag in the fridge. Almost everything that can be saved ends up here. Right from wilted carrots to pumpkin peels.
• Once I am ready to make stock I wash the stored veggie trimmings well.
  • These days I have taken to soaking them for some time in baking soda water. I know you will say there will be a nutrient loss, soluble minerals will leach out. That is fine by me currently.
  • I am sure once my terror of the pandemic eases I will get back to washing and rinsing them to get rid of visible dirt.   
• Chop them up roughly and add them to a pan.
• Add enough cold water to stay over the vegetables. Add the aromatics and let it simmer. 
• For Brown Stock, I chop the veggies up and roast them in a pan with a little oil or butter. It gives a nice aroma and becomes brown.
• If you are planning to boil it down to reduce the quantity of stock add salt in the end. I do not add any salt.

What vegetables do I avoid when I make my stock?

• Generally, avoid starchy veggies like potatoes and make the stock cloudy. A peel or 2 are fine gives a lovely flavour.
• Beetroot too imagine a red stock! No thanks.
• Smelly vegetables like turnips they also make the stock cloudy. Since I have never tried I cannot say.
• Avoid veggies like beans and zucchini. I tried once the stock was so bitter I threw it out. Cabbage you can add in the last few minutes but best avoid it.
• These vegetables are available in plenty in India avoid them in vegetable stock.
  • Ladyfinger 
  • Cabbage 
  • Corn 
  • Asparagus
  • Coriander leaves 
  • Ginger
  • Turmeric
  • Radish
  • Turnip 
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Brinjal/Eggplant