Keeping it warm

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A vestige of the culinary legacies of the Razdaan families of Kashmir and Awadh, the pumpkin shorba is a lesser-known vegetarian cousin of the much-loved Indian soupy treat. Recommending the perfect winter preparation that also features on the menu of Ummrao, an Indian diner where he helms the kitchen, master chef Mukhtar Qureshi elaborates, "Most people are averse to pumpkin, but it is in fact a very healthy veggie brimming with Vitamins. This shorba is great this time of the year. Traditionally, people prepare it with lentils, but we make it here with nuts and cream."

Pumpkin Shorba

Yield: 1 serving, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 12 minutes, Total Time: 22 minutes

Ingredients

• Pumpkin 100 gm
• Ghee 10 ml
• Shahi jeera, hing, turmeric, green cardamom 1 gm each
• Garlic 2 gm and ginger 3 gm
• Onion 30 gm
• Curd 100 gm
• White pepper 5 gm
• Fennel powder 3 gm
• Coconut milk 20 gm
• Cream 20 ml gm
• Salt, a drop of saffron

Instructions

1. Heat ghee in a saucepan and temper it with hing and sahi jeera.
2. Add onion and saute till translucent. Now, add ginger-garlic paste and cook it slightly.
3. Add turmeric, yellow chilly and pumpkin. Cook till pumpkin is soft.
4. Add curd and remaining powdered spice and cook it further. Remove and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
5. Once mixture is cooked, grind it in a blender till it's a fine paste.
6. Roast the mixture slightly. Add hot water and cook it further.
7. Once done, finish it with cream and saffron. Strain it.

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