Basic soup: saute your aromatics (onions, garlic and similar) in oil to get the flavor locked into the oil, add fresh ground spices and then use the spiced oil to thoroughly coat uniformly chopped veggies to get flavor throughout. Cover plus a half inch with stock, simmer til tender. Stick blender all for creamy soup, blend just half and stir for chunky soup. Add dairy ingredients just before serving.
The above was taught to me by a naturopath in HI that I took a short series of cooking classes from. It works with just about any sort of spice profile, with any kind of veggie soup. My faves are the potato soup I have posted around here somewhere, and a carrot and potato version that's spiced with fresh-ground toasted cumin and coriander and something else I can't remember.
Indian-y and oh-so-warming.