Creamy pumpkin soup

"Yippee!! He's leaving!yo yo yo!!" I yelled as I saw Bush leave the White House.

Fresh, young , sensible and of course a true leader: Obama has become the 44th President of the US on Tuesday (Jan20, 2009). What a memorable day!

BARACK OBAMA: Fired up n ready to go!!!!

The sea of cheering enthusiast have landed at Washington despite the sub-zero temperature to witness the change in American history. It was a very special and emotional moment for everyone. I was glued to the TV and I felt very emotional and elated as I heard him speak.
A brilliant orator has raised the hopes of millions around the globe.From Chennai to China to Chicago, people are thrilled and excited about the new US President. He seems to be a new ray of hope; not alone for America but for every other nation. A new wax-work of Obama was unveiled by Madame Tussuad's, London.
Welcome Mr.President!

To mark this celebration, I made a yummy pumpkin soup for my family. Well, a simple celebration to start with :-) (wink).


This simple soup is so easy to fix. The lovely cute yellow pumpkin, the handsome potatoes and the sexy carrots gives it a beautiful texture and sweetness.The mild spices adds a lovely aroma in every mouth. The almonds enriches the richness of the soup and makes it more creamier and thick. The heat comes from the pepper corns and its just the perfect dinner soup for the season.
Ingredients

• 1 cup cubed yellow pumpkin
• 1/2cup cubed carrots
• 1/2 cup cubed potatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced onions
• 500-750ml vegetable stock
• 10-12 soaked deskinned almonds
• 250-300ml semi-skimmed milk
• Olive oil
• White pepper
• Salt

Masala

• 1 tsp black pepper balls
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 1/2 Bay leaf
• 2-4 cloves

• 

Method
Heat the olive oil in a cooking vessel. Saute the onions for a couple of min, then add the potatoes and yellow pumpkin. Cook for 5-7 min. Pour in the vegetable stock and the whole spices. Bring it to a boil and simmer the flame for 10-15min.Once they are cooked, turn off the flame and let it cool.

Fish out the whole spices. Grind the vegetables along with the almonds to a fine thick paste. Mix in the semi-skimmed milk and transfer it to fire. Cook on medium flame for 3-5min.
Dont add too much milk or vegetable stock, the soup tastes great when its thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on pre-warmed soup bowls with soup sticks/cheese toast / pepper pappads. Enjoy!



This is my entry for Harini's Food in Colours - Jan 2009.