Sunday, November 27, 2011

Red lentils and pumpkin soup




I know I have been making a lot of soups lately. There are two reasons for it. One is that it is getting cold and I love having a hot bowl of soup after a hard days work and the other reason is that  I find it easy to put it together as compared to making a full fledged Indian meal. I was very happy with the way this soup turned out but I was more excited about the creamy coconut milk and sour cream dip that I made to go along with it.





Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup masoor dal (red lentils) washed and soaked in water for half and hour
1 can of pumpkin puree
1 heaped tbsp. grated ginger
1 can coconut milk
3-4 ground cloves (laung)
2 shallots
3-4 large cloves or garlic (finely chopped)
1 stick cinnamon
2 tsp curry powder
1tsp. turmeric
2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
olive oil for cooking




Method
Heat olive oil in a pot and add the chopped shallot, garlic and ginger. Stir for a few minutes then add the cinnamon and ground cloves. Cook for about 5 minutes then add the turmeric and ground cloves. Drain all the water and add the lentil in the pot. Mix well till the lentils are well coated with onions and spice. Add the curry powder, chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, salt and mix everything well. Pour about 2 cups of water, cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Cook the lentils till they are completely cooked. Now add the pumpkin puree and after removing the cinnamon stick blend the soup using a hand blender. Finally add the coconut milk in it and adjust the seasoning.








I topped this soup with curry flavored sour cream. To make it I mixed 1/2 a cup of sour cream with 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1tsp chipotle seasoning, a dash of salt, curry powder and 1 tbsp haberno and pineapple dip (optional). I added the haberno dip as I had it at home but I would have added sweet mango pickle or any sweet chutney instead.

For serving pour the soup in a bowl and top with the sour cream.












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11 comments:

  1. Even i tried this combo few days back,we simply enjoyed a lot..looks fabulous.

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  2. Love the combo and soup looks fab ...nice clicks

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  3. Hey! I just want to thank you so much for the comment that you left in my blog for semolina cake post. It is so special for me! I am trying hard to reach out to the whole world to get my posts noticed and this gives me motivation to keep trying!!! Thanks so much for visiting my blog.. by the way I have moved the contents to www.wot2eat.blogspot.com

    I will be posting more recipes soon... Please do visit!

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    Regards
    Uma

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  4. I love the melange of spices in this satisfying soup!
    We're expecting a big snowstorm later in the day, and your soup would be so welcome!

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  5. I've never had lentils before... hm... I will look for them next time I'm at the grocery store!

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  6. Wonderful wonderful pics ... Simply love them . The idea of pumpkin with lentil is mouth watering.. I am a die hard lentil fan and can add any veggie in it .. Will try this soup for sure, book marking it :)

    Happy to follow u

    Love,
    UK Rasoi

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  7. This looks and sounds amazingly delish! I will be making this asap because I can't stop thinking about how my whole family is going to go nuts over this soup! We are BIG soup lovers! I have also spied another of your soups that I will make soon. Look's like we are gonna be eating a lot of soup round here! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Cathy! Let me know if you make it. Hope your whole family enjoys it!

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  8. Made this delicious soup today! Creamy and spicy and very satisfying. A big hit with the family! I have posted it on my blog to share with my readers -stop by and have a look. Looking forward to making your asparagus with cheese ravioli soup next. :)

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