Red Pumpkin Soup

Cool breezy evenings, the sky overcast with dark clouds, promising welcome showers. Can there be anything which can compare with the smell of the wet earth?  We scurry indoors, with the kids in tow, and yeah, the laundry on the washing lines too:-)). When it starts pouring, it is so cozy to be indoors with a bowl of piping hot soup and warm garlic bread. The chatter of the kids punctuated by the slurr...ps and 'Yumm..can I have some more??' is such music to the ears of the person who has made the soup. Now, in my case, the soup-maker being me, as always, I can't let Knorr or Maggi take the credit and the satisfaction. Can I;-)??  The soup making season has just about begun, though showers are few and far between in Bangalore. Sigh!! Wish the rain Gods would smile on us more frequently. Seduced by scores of soup pictures floating around the blogosphere and to make the most of the season, I tried Red Pumpkin Soup.

I have honestly never attempted to cook red pumpkin at home, though I do use the good old white pumpkin  a good number of times. So I tried out this recipe with some hesitation as I was not sure about having a soup which would be quite sweet. But the peppery soup tasted creamy, sweetish, spicy and quite good. Try this soup if you do not abhor sweetness in anything other than a dessert. And do serve in small quantities, probably in shot glasses as this is not something you can have a bowlful.

Recipe from, yes, Sanjeev Kapoor!! With a little bit of modification.

Ingredients:
1 kg red pumpkin, diced
1 tablespoon butter(I have used vegetable oil)
3 bay leaves
15-20 peppercorns
3 large onions,sliced
4 cups vegetable stock
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon white pepper powder(I did not use any)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup cream(optional)
1 cup low fat milk( My addition)

Method: Heat the butter in a pressure cooker. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns. Add the onions and saute for two minutes. Add the diced pumpkin and saute for half a minute. Add four cups of stock and pressure cook for one whistle. Cool. Strain and reserve the stock. Puree the vegetables. Add the reserved stock and salt and bring to a boil. Add the milk and boil again. Take off the heat. Stir in the lemon juice.

Serve hot garnished with cream. 

Please Note: If you are adding milk, be careful to add the lemon juice only after you take the soup off the fire. Or the milk may curdle.

Looking forward to more 'soupy' days!!!