Pumpkin And Coconut Milk Soup - Guest Posted By Deepthi Shankar

 Deepthi Shankar aka Deesha. You know the pretty, petite, ever-smiling blogger behind Vegetable Platter. We bumped into each other courtesy blogger-ville. And then discovered we have both lived in the same town, although never met each other earlier having studied in different schools. Small world! Deepthi's 4- year-old blog is full of amazing pictures and recipes of drool worthy food, primarily South Indian cuisine.  Savory Onion Crackers / Baked Nippattus made all the more wholesome with whole wheat and oats, wicked Mango Burfi and a very interesting Tomato Bhartha have been on my to-try list from her space. Love her photography, the knick knacks she uses to make the food truly stand out. Thanks Deepthi for taking time out for this post! You are too generous with your kind words for me!

Here is a lip-smacking Pumpkin Soup laced with the flavors of galangal and coconut from Deepthi..

It’s lovely to be writing a guest post for Suma who is a fellow Bangalorean, an amazing baker & an
enthusiastic blogger. We all know that her cakes & bakes are to die for. When she asked me to write
a guest post on her blog, I knew I should not be writing a baking recipe on a Pro Baker’s blog so it
had to be something else. And, I came up with a Pumpkin & Coconut Milk Soup which is perfect for
Bangalore’s weather right now.

This soup has subtle Thai flavors with the amazing creamy coconut milk & galangal. So, if you are
a fan of Thai cuisine, you will fall in love with this soup. So, while Suma takes a tiny little blogging
break, I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Thanks Suma for the opportunity. Now let’s head to the recipe, Shall we?

You will need:

1 large white onion – Roughly Chopped
1 small Red/Yellow Pumpkin – peeled & cut into small cubes
200ml coconut milk
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped galangal
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
1 ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
Salt as per taste

How To:
Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add pumpkin cubes & cook till they are nice & soft.
Reserve the water & set aside.
• In a pan, melt butter & sauté garlic & chopped galangal for about 30 secs. Add chopped
onions & sauté until the onions turn slightly pink. Set aside & allow it to cool a bit.
• In a blender, add cooked pumpkin cubes, sautéed onions & grind it to a smooth paste adding
very little or no water.
• In a soup pot, bring the water that was used to cook pumpkin to a boil. Add pureed
pumpkin, red chilli powder & onions. Throw in some salt & simmer for 2-3 mins. Now add
coconut milk, soy sauce & brown sugar, check for salt & gently simmer for about 10 mins.

Serve HOT with crusty bread & enjoy your meal!

NOTE:
I used store-bought coconut milk but can make it on your own too.You can also use canned pumpkin puree & a tbsp of ready-made Thai curry paste instead of the spices, I’ve used here. Makes it even more easy & quick.

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.

Creamy Pea and Mint Soup

Old habits are so hard to break...one of mine being fanatically collecting recipes from magazines - Woman's Era, Savvy and Femina being the most popular ones during my school and college days. Like most of us, I also have a huge Recipe folder in my system . Gosh!! Will I ever be able to try out all of these, I sometimes wonder. Not that this thought will stop a foodie from collecting more recipe books, browsing for more recipes, frantically jotting down a recipe from a television show... And can anything beat the pleasure of  glancing through a recipe book once your kids are in bed or left for school?? Think not:-))
Here comes one of the recipes from an old issue of Savvy. Its a light, creamy and refreshing soup with just a hint of mint. Perfect for dinner on a warm summer evening.