Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash was again one of those fruits that I didn’t know much about when I first encountered it in the grocery stores here. I realized it was in the pumpkin family, and that was basically it. Later, I observed my aunt make a delicious soup with it, and I caught on to it. I was glad I could pick one more different fruit from the store and know what to do with it, and not fall back on the same old boring ones.

I love butternut squash for its sweet, buttery taste. My only gripe with it is - it’s difficult to cut! I am one of the most clumsiest people you’ve ever known. I am especially so in the kitchen, having inflicted several wounds and burns on myself. I used to always sport a band-aid on my hand/fingers that band-aid sort of became my perpetual accessory. So I resisted buying yams, beets, butternut squash and other such tough fruits and vegetables, until Anand came into my life and showcased his excellent fine-motor skills - something I lack terribly. He is extremely dexterous with the knife, and can finely dice vegetables and fruits like a professional chef. He is my kitchen-knight! I abandoned my dreams of owning a food processor the minute I sensed both his talent as well as passion. If he is a pro, his dad is a much greater pro - a champion vegetable and fruit dicer!

Anyway, I digress. So, I finally arrived at a point where I could buy any vegetable/fruit, unmindful of the peeling, cutting and dicing involved. Butternut squash has hence become a favorite at home. So I’ll get onto the preparation of soup (adapted from my aunt).

 

Ingredients:

1. A medium-sized butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
2. Two tomatoes - cubed
3. A piece of ginger
4. Two cloves of garlic - peeled
5. 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
6. 2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
7. Salt to taste
8. ½ cup of milk or cream (optional)
9. a sprinkling of grated cheese (any cheese of your liking; but this is again optional)

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook (or ordinarily cook) the butternut squash, tomatoes, ginger and garlic, till the butternut squash is tender. In order to generate some vegetable broth, add an extra cup of water while boiling/cooking. A rule of thumb: add water to cover the veggies/fruit, and then add a cup or two more (if you want to save some stock, or if you like your soup to be broth-like).
2. Allow the cooked fruit/veggie to cool
3. Blend the cooked fruit/veggie in a mixie/blender using water from the resulting stock
4. Transfer the blended, orange-y goodness to a saucepan on medium-heat.
5. Add required amount of salt and the teaspoons of cumin powder.
6. If you want to thin the soup, add the remaining stock. And more water, if you prefer. The consistency of soup is totally to your preference.
7. Reduce the heat to low. Stir occasionally and let the soup come to a boil.
8. Add ½  cup of milk or cream at this stage (optional). I add 2% percent milk, and it still does a wonderful job of imparting a creamy texture to the soup
9. Heat the soup for about 5-10 minutes and switch off the heat
10. Add some ground pepper, and sprinkle some grated cheese (due to the spiciness and warmth of the cumin and the bite of the pepper, pepper-jack cheese goes well as it contributes a bit more spice and flavor. Or you can go with the simple cheddar or swiss. Or you can go all fancy with gruyere, fontina...I don’t think parmesan will go well with this)

Perhaps due to my association of soup with comfort, and comfort with rasam, I tend to go with cumin and pepper flavors while making soup. The combination adds so much warmth and spice that they are ideal companions to rely on when you battle a long tiring day, or need some warmth and pick-me-ups during cold, gloomy, bleak days. A bowl of this soup is rich and hardy, and will have you full and satisfied. Dip some grilled/toasted/garlic bread/any bread along with it, and you will look forward to a nap after the meal! 

Adaptations:

I add tomato to the soup because it is universally a good sauce/soup base. Tomatoes brings volume to the soup and complements the sweetness of the squash with its tangy-ness. My aunt also adds half an onion - red or yellow. In addition to boosting the soup further, the familiar blend of onion+tomatoes+ginger+garlic assures the Indian tongue that the strange looking orange concoction that unappealingly resembles carrot pulp, is likely to taste good :)

The cubes of butternut squash can also be roasted in the oven with a little coating of olive oil, at 400 F for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool, and puree with water/vegetable stock. Then follow from step 4. This definitely tastes much yummier.

Since butternut-squash is in the pumpkin family, it comes close to tasting and looking like one of our familiar Indian gourds. So cubes of butternut squash can even go in Sambars. The slight sweetness makes it all the more better.