This soup is all about warmth, comfort and cozy-ing up under the blanket and reading a book or watching a very good film. I’ve just returned from a trip that included braving snowfall and icy cold winds, so you’ll have to forgive me for posting this recipe while most of you have been burning in the heat in India.
The beautiful thing about pumpkins is that you can get them all year round in India – which means, you can save this recipe for a cooler time. It’s an underplayed ingredient in the Indian cuisine, and I’ve often been confused as to why. You can experiment with a variety of flavourings, creating something new each time.
Everyone has his or her own version of pumpkin soup and there are no rules. I use a bay leaf and cinnamon stick along with peppery fresh rosemary. The combination works wonderfully, and the bit of fried garlic on top adds the perfect crunch. Although this recipe makes for a thick soup, it has no cream, milk or potatoes; the measurement of stock is less in comparison to other recipes. If you like a thinner soup, or you aren’t in the middle of a snowstorm and don’t need the kind of comfort I usually do, you can increase the amount of stock or reduce the pumpkin quantity.
The Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1/2 Onion, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups Vegetable stock
- 1/2 Cinnamon stick
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 tsp Garlic, minced
- Pumpkin seeds
- Fresh rosemary sprigs
- 2 tsp Olive oil
- 2 tsp Garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups Pumpkin cubes
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 Fresh rosemary sprigs
Instructions
- Place the pumpkin cubes with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt and pepper on an oven tray and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 30 minutes. Open the oven door at half time to give the vegetables a stir.
- When the pumpkins are cooked through remove from the oven and set aside.
- In a non-stick pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium and fry the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Then add in the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and stir for another 5 minutes.
- Add the roasted pumpkins, rosemary sprigs and salt and stir for around 10 minutes.
- Pour the stock in and bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Then remove from heat and let the soup pot cool down before picking out the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs and place in a blender to blend.
- While the soup cools down, fry the garlic in a small tadka-vessel in the 2 tsp olive oil. The garlic should crisp up to a light brown shade.
- Serve the soup with a spoon of fried garlic on top, some pumpkin seeds and rosemary sprig.
