Mushroom-Cabbage Soup with a Touch of Millet

2026 gave the first Felix Culpa in a Soup Bowl

What’s your go-to technique to thicken soups? Roux, corn starch, gelatin, stock?

My favorites are Ragi flour and cooked lentils. Sometimes I even use the water drained from cooked beans and chickpeas.

I have one-pot solo brunches all the time. Soup, porridge, and stir-fry are my go-to meals — easy-peasy, versatile, and low cleanup.

This Sunday, I had some fresh mushrooms and felt like having a soup for brunch.

I started strong by putting my mushroom bunch under the bright winter sun for 20 minutes for better vitamin D.

Then I wondered if this was a common practice at all. And one of my resolutions for 2026 is to click more photos even if it’s not too good, and even if it’s not too convenient.

So I photographed my mushrooms sunbathing for me.

Image captured by author — Oyster Mushrooms Under Sunlight

I should have chopped them before putting them under the sun — my bad!

I mashed a couple cloves of garlic in my favorite cast-iron wok. Then sauteed the mushrooms (torn into large chunks — I love it that way!) with some rock salt.

Image captured by Author — Sauteed Mushrooms and Cabbage

I would’ve added a pinch of turmeric too, but I ran out of turmeric! I know, embarrassing for an Indian kitchen! It would’ve been a great combination with black pepper!

And why not add some vitamins and fiber, right? So chopped cabbage went in too (again, chopped large because I like to pretend that my cabbage is noodles!)

Once all of it was cooked, I added a glass of water, brought it to a boil.

Then came my Calcium-Star — Ragi — Finger Millet

Image captured by Author — Mushroom-Cabbage Soup thickened by Ragi Flour

To make a ragi slurry that thickens soups like cornstarch, you need 4 times as much. (If you use half a tablespoon of cornstarch, you will need 2 tablespoons of ragi flour.) Most millets and even rice flour work, actually!

Since I have my soup warm and not hot, I had time for some flaxseed powder to soak into the soup. (I’m too forgetful, I need my Omega-3)

I sprinkled some sesame seeds and black pepper in there, too.

Note: I know my photos don’t look too pleasing, not appetizing. But I promise, it’s just my photography. The soup is a healthy treat, if you meet (and eat) it in person!

Image captured by Author — Mushroom-Cabbage Soup in a Ragi Flour base, topped with sesame seeds and ground Flaxseed.

While I waited, delighted for my soupy-delight to soak up some iron from the wok, I thought I should read again about the Calcium-Vitamin D pair-up.

Turns out, I was missing something — vitamin K!

We discussed how we can add fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) for Vitamin K.

[embed]Are You Making these Bone-Health Mistakes? How to Take Your Calcium the Best — What I Learned from My Mistakesmedium.com

The thing is, one of the first stories of my life in 2026 that finally got photographed turned out to be edifying, educative, and edible!

I forgot to add last day…

• Garlic, sesame, and flaxseeds also contain trace amounts of K vitamins.
• You put black pepper in most soups, right? Try to incorporate some turmeric for that curcumin-piperine team-up.
• You can simply pair mushroom curries with ragi idli, dosa, puttu, kali, mudde, roti, or bhakri for that calcium-vitamin D combo.
• Just try to add some good-quality soy sauce, sauerkraut, or dairy (milk, yogurt, butter, or ghee) for Vitamin K, OK?