Blood Soup

Punpkin-Beet Soup 

It's the season for soups and here's something that we had for dinner last night. The beet gives it this glorious deep red colour and there are a whole lot of flavours that come together to make this a very satisfying meal. We just pan fried pieces of paneer and that was dinner.


Ingredients
1 cup chopped pumpkin (the orange kind)
1 cup chopped beetroot
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
3" ginger, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 stalk lemongrass
1 star anise
1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary
8-10 peppercorns
a pinch of cinnamon pwd
a pinch of grated nutmeg
freshly squeezed juice of two small oranges (clementines)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
garnishes
salt to taste

Method
Heat oil and saute ginger and onions. When the onions turn translucent add tomatoes and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add pumpkin and beet and rosemary, and saute for another minute or so. Add bay leaf, lemongrass, star anise, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover with water. Add salt and pressure cook for around 4-5 whistles. Open and take out the bay leaf, lemongrass and star anise. Add the freshly squeezed orange and blend to a smooth puree in a mixie or with a handblender. Pour into a soup bowl and garnish. I used a little yoghurt and chopped parsley. Orange zest and/or mint should work, and cream of course.

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