The right combination of flavours always creates culinary magic. the same happened in my kitchen when I mixed two of the most popular ingredients and undoubtedly my favourite ones too, and the outcome turned into a wonderfully tasty and super creamy pumpkin-red lentil soup. Lentils are a staple in my kitchen and I use them in one or the other way every day. These are some of the best sources of protein
My everyday menu is changing with the change of season. As the evenings are getting colder, I long for some hot soup after a tiring and hectic day. This pumpkin soup is really cosy, warming, and full of some amazing spices. This soup is super easy to make and in fact, if you have a hand blender this becomes a one-pot soup
This pumpkin-masoor(red lentil) soup is a bowlful of flavours and aromatics. A few whole spices add an extra layer of smoky flavour to the soup. Its warm notes come with ginger and some garlic cloves. The fresh red chilly is not firey but reduces the sweetness of pumpkin/sitafal/kaddu
Course – soups/ appetizer
Cuisine – World
Prep Time – 10 Min
Cook Time – 25 Min
Total Time – 35 Min
Yield – 4 Servings
Author – Bharti Dhawan
Ingredients
1- Yellow pumpkin( peeled and chopped coarsely) – 250 gms
2- Red masoor dal/red lentil – 1cup or 100 gms(washed and soaked for 2 hours)
3- Oil – 1 tsp
4- Butter – 2 tsp
5- Water or vegetable stock – 5 cups or 1 l
6- Chopped onion slices – 1/4 cup
7- Fresh red chilly (optional)- 1 no
8- Garlic – 3-4 cloves
9- Ginger – 1-inch piece
10- Bay leaves- 1 no
11- Cloves – 3-4
12- Green cardamom – 2-3 no
13- Cinnamon stick – 1 inch
14- Mace(javitri) – 1 small piece
15- Salt – 2 tsp
16- Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
17- Coconut cream(optional) – 1 tbsp
18- Some pumpkin seeds for garnish
Instructions
1- Heat oil and butter and add all the whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, Mace(javitri), and both the elaichi and cloves. Roast them for a while
2- Now add garlic, ginger, onions and fresh red chilli. Cook them till they change their colour. Avoid burning them
3- Add chopped pumpkin and cook till the colour changes to golden brown
4- Add soaked dal and stir. At this stage, add water or vegetable stock and salt. Bring it to a boil
5- Add cumin and pepper powder and mix well. Now simmer the flame and cover the pan. It will take 10 minutes for the dal and the pumpkin to cook until they reach a softer consistency
6- Switch off the flame and let it cool completely. When the soup is cooled down, take out the bay leaf and other whole spices. Now blend the mixture into a fine purée
7- Transfer it on the flame again to add some coconut cream and mix well
8- Serve the soup piping hot in the soup bowls
9- Garnish the soup with some fresh chilly flakes, pumpkin seeds on top and some toasted bread to dunk into.*Chilli flakes to balance the sweetness
