Kabocha Soup
Ingredients
For the soup
- Small Onion – 1
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Ginger – walnut-sized knob
- Ground Turmeric – 1 tsp
- Ground Chili – 1 tsp
- Kabocha
- Cilantro – small bunch, roughly chopped
For the onion topping
- Onions – 2 medium sized
- Vegetable Oil – 2 tbsp
- Hot Chilies – 2 small, (i used chili flakes, not having any fresh)
Instructions
- 1. Peel the onion and chop it roughly. Peel and crush the garlic and put it with the onion into a medium- sized, heavy saucepan. Peel the ginger, cut it into thin shreds and stir that in too. Add the lentils and pour in 1 1/2 liters (6 cups) of water. Bring to the boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Stir in the ground turmeric and chili, season and leave to simmer, covered, for twenty minutes.
- 2. While the soup is cooking, bring a medium-size pan of water to the boil. Peel the kabocha and scoop out the seeds and fiber, and then cut the flesh into fat chunks. Boil the kabocha pieces for ten minutes, until they are tender enough to take a skewer without much pressure. Drain them and set aside.
- 3. To make the onion topping, peel the onions and cut them into thin rings. Cook them in the oil in a shallow pan until they start to color. Cut the chilies in half, scrape out the seeds and slice the flesh finely. Peel and finely slice the garlic and add it with the chilies to the onions. Continue cooking until the onions are a deep golden brown. Set aside.
- 4. Remove the lid from the lentils and turn up the heat, boiling hard for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and then add the drained kabocha. Put the soup through the blender until smooth, and then pour it into a bowl. Stir in the roughly chopped coriander and check the seasoning. I find this soup likes a more generous than usual amount of salt.
- 5. Serve in deep bowls with a spoonful of the spiced onions on top.