I have started to monitor what you guys type in the search box on the website. Few of the blog readers had searched for ‘Soup’. It is winter and I make soups pretty much once every couple of days. We pretty much empty the container and I’d have nothing left over for photos. I doubled the quantity & took some snaps this time. Less than 10 ingredients, takes 30-40 minutes to make.
More soups coming up this month. Making Mint and Pea Soup today for dinner. Anyone coming over? 🙂
I realised something last month. I have never EVER had a hot drink in my life from a cup. I just don’t know how to drink something that’s hot from a cup without a spoon. As in, I have never had coffee, tea or anything hot. Last month, on a freezing winter day, I go to one of my favourite takeaways & asked them for a takeaway soup. The lady at the counter did not have my usual soup bowl and gave it in a coffee mug. And I didn’t know how to drink from the mug. I tried to sip, burnt my lip. I tried to heat-check it with my tongue and burnt that too. Then, realisation hit me. My parents never taught me how to drink something hot from a cup. EVER. How weird is that? I used to drink milk before going vegan and that was straight from refrigerator. Back to the story, I rang my dad up and asked him how to have something hot from a cup and accused him and mum for not teaching me. He was like “Oh! You’re 28 and you should have figured it by now”. Being the best dad of the century that he is, he tried to explain. But didn’t help. I opened the cup. Used a spoon and had a warm soup 🙂 When I was explaining this to my students, one of them said I should write a blog about list of things I have not done. Lol.
Back to the soup recipe, I don’t use store bought vegetable stock. Feel free to replace water with vegetable stock.
You need:
- Rice bran Oil-1.5 tsp
- Cumin seeds-1 tsp
- Fennel seeds-1 tsp
- Nutmeg shavings-1/2 tsp
- Garlic-4 cloves
- Red/Brown onion-1-diced as cubes (or 1 cup)
- Pitted Medjool Date-1
- Butternut pumpkin-1 (around 750 grams)-chopped as chunks (around 3 cups)
- Water-2 cups + 3/4 cup
- Salt-to taste
- Pepper-to taste
- Cashews-1/2 cup (soaked in hot water for 3 hours)
- Chickpea croutons aka Roasted Chickpeas-OPTIONAL
Method:
- In a large stock pot, add oil, heat it up and add cumin, fennel seeds & nutmeg shavings.
- Wait for them to roast, add garlic, onion and saute until onions are transparent.
- Add medjool date, butternut pumpkin chunks, salt, ground pepper, stir them, add 2 cups water (or vegetable stock), cover and cook until mushy.
- Whilst pumpkin chunks are getting cooked, make cashew cream. In a food processor/blender,add 1/2 cup soaked cashews with 3/4 cup water and make a cream. Keep it aside.
- Once pumpkin has cooled, add stockpot contents to the blender and make a puree from it.
- Add contents back to the stockpot [both pumpkin puree & cashew cream] and bring it back to heat
- If you have Vitamix, it is even easier. Use soup setting and add both stockpot contents & cashew cream and hit start.
- Serve hot/warm.
- Rice bran Oil-1.5 tsp
- Cumin seeds-1 tsp
- Fennel seeds-1 tsp
- Garlic-4 cloves
- Red/Brown onion-1-diced as cubes (or 1 cup)
- Pitted Medjool Date-1
- Butternut pumpkin-1 (around 750 grams)-chopped as chunks (around 3 cups)
- Water-2 cups + ¾ cup
- Salt-to taste
- Ground Pepper-to taste
- Cashews-1/2 cup (soaked in hot water for 3 hours)
- In a large stock pot, add oil, heat it up and add cumin, fennel seeds.
- Wait for them to roast, add garlic, onion and saute until onions are transparent.
- Add medjool date, butternut pumpkin chunks, salt, ground pepper, stir them, add 2 cups water (or vegetable stock), cover and cook until mushy.
- Whilst pumpkin chunks are getting cooked, make cashew cream. In a food processor/blender,add ½ cup soaked cashews with ¾ cup water and make a cream. Keep it aside.
- Once pumpkin has cooled, add stockpot contents to the blender and make a puree from it.
- Back to the stockpot, add pumpkin puree, cashew cream and bring it back to heat [or] if you have Vitamix, use soup setting and add both stockpot contents, cashew cream and make soup.
- Serve hot.
Do you have a recipe for Amy’s Golden Lentil Soup (a copycat recipe?)
I have never had Amy’s. But here’s an Indian spiced lentil soup I love.
In a pan, add a Tbsp of oil, when hot, add 2 cloves, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1 Tbsp cumin, 1 Tbsp fennel seeds, add a knob of ginger ( thumb size),garlic (few cloves-around 6), 1 red onion, 2 baby carrots-fry until onion is translucent, then add 2 tomatoes, 1 tsp turmeric fry until mushy, add soaked red lentils (1/2 cup), soaked split yellow peas (1 cup), fry for a couple of minutes, add 1 medjool dates, 4 cups of water/vegetable stock, cover and cook until lentils are cooked though. Cool this, puree and make a soup out of it. Return back to low heat, add salt (Do not add salt while cooking lentils-it increases the cooking time). Add lot of coriander leaves. Optional: In a small pan, add 1.5 tsp of oil, heat it, add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin and pour over the soup. You could also add curry powder whilst cooking lentils. Hope this helps. You could add a dash of coconut yogurt and serve 🙂