Of soups and men

Did I say how delightful it was to snack on soups during bitterly cold winters? A steaming hot bowl of soup on a cold winter night, alongside my  much-thumbed copy of Pride and Prejudice is enough to warm the cockles of my heart. But of course,  this isn't the winter - its the monsoon season and its been pouring constantly. And yes, it has been cold (relatively speaking) in Mumbai. Hot soups are a joyous treat even in these cold, rainy nights.

Truth be told I have never truly been a connoisseur of soups. In fact,  I actually avoid them, especially in buffet-style restaurants.  Of course,  there was this one time when in a bid to cut out some cereal from my diet, I had lunched on Hot and Sour Chicken soup, every day for more than a month. Of course, I never lost any weight. Something to do with all that deep-fried crunchy noodles they give you alongside the soup!

A soup for me needs to be hearty, flavourful and full of interesting bits to relieve the monotony of drinking just a bowlful of liquid. And hence, when I tried this awesome Thai pumpkin soup, I made sure to add interesting bits.

Thai-style Pumpkin Soup

Saute diced onion. Add skinned and diced yelliw pumpkin, green chilli, and lemongrass. 

Once the pumpkin is cooked,  add oyester sauce, soy sauce, salt, red chilli powder,  coriander powder,  and fennel powder. Allow to cool.

Puree in a blender and return to heat. Add coconut milk or some dessicated coconut and regular milk. Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Squeeze some lemon into it. Serve with sliced tomatoes and crisp fried onions.