It's Thanksgiving time and pumpkin time! Pumpkin Soup is a hot and
hearty soup
- just the dish for a chilly night. You can enjoy this soup on its own
or with rice. This gummadikaya pulusu, as its known in Andhra, is my
favorite.
Servings: 4 Cooking Time: 15
minutes
Ingredients
1 cup toor dal (red gram)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 cups pumpkin, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 green chillies, slit and halved
3/4 tsp-1 tsp tamarind paste
Jaggery, a small piece or 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
For Seasoning
4 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
2 1/2 tsp urad dal (split black gram)
1 1/4 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 red chillies, broken into pieces,
4-5 cilantro leaves, cut into small pieces
Preparation
Cook the dal in the pressure cooker with 2 cups of
water and a little turmeric powder for about 5-6 whistles.
In a deep pan, add 1 tsp of oil and saute the green
chillies for a couple of seconds and add the pumpkin pieces. Add some
turmeric powder and salt and 1 1/2 cups of water. Boil on medium heat.
When the pumpkin is semi-cooked, add the tamarind
paste and chilli powder, and boil for 2 minutes until the pieces are
fully cooked.
Add the cooked toor dal after mashing it a bit. Add
more water to get the consistency you want and set it aside.
Heat oil in a small pan for seasoning. Add the hing
and urad dal.
As the dal starts to brown, add the mustard and cumin and fry for a
couple of seconds.
Add the red chillies and fry until brown. When the
mustard starts to pop, pour this seasoning over the dal.
Add the jaggery or sugar, salt, and the cilantro
leaves. Check the taste and let the soup come to a boil.
Serve the pumkin soup hot, with rice, pappadums,
and some ghee.
