Not just any soup though, this soup is a symphony of flavours. With its simple curry base, and subtle sweetness from the squash, this humble soup has a surprise lurking in its sunshiny yellow depths.
In Indian cooking, near the end of the cooking process whole spice seeds/pods are fried in ghee or butter, and then swirled into the stew/soup or lentil dish. This gives the dish such an amazing pop of flavour! I will definitely be experimenting with this technique, called sambara, more often. It was amazing to taste those spices individually and as a beautiful medley, each bite was a delicious pop of flavours and sensations.
This soup has many steps, but doesn’t require a lot of fussing or babysitting so I don’t consider it a high maintenance or difficult dish.
Curried butternut squash soup:
• 2 medium sized Butternut squashes
• 4 cups of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
• 2 cans coconut milk (I only used one can to acheive a thick chowder like consistancy, but feel free to add more milk for a thinner soup)
• 2 tbsp medium or hot yellow curry powder
• 2 tbsp garam masala spice mix
• 1 onion diced
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
• sambara spices:
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cardamom seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 cups of raw shrimp, peeled and tails removed
Preheat your oven to 350oC.
Slice your butternut squashes in half and removed pulp and seeds.
Grease a baking sheet with butter and lay the squashes cut side down.
Bake for 45 min or until soft when pierced with a knife.
Get your stock simmering. (All of my soups start the same way. Simmer the stock with half an onion, some cloves of garlic and a couple bay leaves.)
Allow the squash to cool until you can handle them, and then scoop the flesh into a food processor or blender. (You may need to do this in two batches.)
Add 1 can of coconut milk and create a smooth puree.
Strain your stock and return to heat. Add in the puree and whisk it into the broth. Add the curry powder and garam masala and allow it to simmer for 15 min. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Get out a large frying pan and get it hot. Add a ¼ cup of butter and allow it to melt and get nice and hot. Pour your sambara mixture into the pan, and carefully stir so all of the seeds are coated in butter. Once the seeds begin to pop (stand back, when I say pop, I mean POP! Burning hot molten butter covered seeds flying menacingly at your face!!!) Toss the onion and garlic into the pan and turn the heat down to medium low. Sauté until the onions until they have softened to your liking (I like a bit of crunch left in them) and add to the soup. Cover for 5 min and then remove from the heat. Add the raw shrimp, and cover. The heat from the soup will cook the shrimp, without overcooking them. Do not overcook shrimp, or they will be tough, and tasteless!
I think next time I make this soup I will top the soup with a raita (an Indian yogurt herb condiment, much like tzatziki) and some green onions.
From my kitchen to yours, enjoy!
Because I'm a novice blogger and photographer, and the mother of two rambunctious monkeys I had a rather difficult time capturing the making of this soup. But, I thought I would share a couple of "prep pics" just because they made me smile. I'll promise to strive toward better blogging, if you promise to keep checking in!
