spiced cream of parsnip soup- vegan

What to do with the enormous parsnips from our allotment? Well, apart from roasting them, the obvious thing is to make soup. This one's a variation on a "curried" parsnip soup I used to make for a cafe a few years ago. It is really nice as a simple weekend lunch with wholemeal chapattis. The quantities given here will make enough for 4-6 portions, depending on how hungry you are:
600g fresh parsnip, diced
400ml soya milk
2 sticks celery
a little oil for frying
2 heaped tsps ground cumin
2 heaped tsps ground coriander seed
2 heaped tsps ground turmeric
a pinch of chilli
a pinch of hing
seasalt to taste

• Chop the celery and fry in the oil in a large deep saucepan
• Add the spices and diced parsnip, remove from the heat and mix together (this way teh spices won't scorch)
• Return to the heat, adding a litre of water
• Simmer until parsnips are soft, then blend until smooth
• Return to the pan , adjust seasonings if necessary and heat gently to serve

Suggestion: This soup is great with some home-made wholemeal chapattis dunked in, but to make a more substantial meal it could be teamed up with salad and some kind of protein like cheese, walnuts or tofu.