This 30-minute spiced pumpkin soup recipe is the weight-loss friendly answer to all your weekday dinners

My kitchen and I have never really been on good terms. I use it just to fetch the dishes or grab a few snacks, leaving the cooking to our lovely cook who whips up delicious treats in minutes. And it punishes me by hiding the jars of spices that I could have sworn were on the top shelf. 

Needless to say that I don’t cook very often. But my cook didi is on leave and these are desperate times, which means all the cooking is left to me. And after a long day of working from home, I just about have the energy to whip up a bowl of two-minute noodles! But come on, there is only so much Maggi a millennial woman can eat. So I’ve had to resort to some easy-peasy recipes–ones that require minimum effort, taste good, and are also healthy. 

Enter: the spiced pumpkin soup that has been my saving grace
Did you know that pumpkins (or kaddu, as we desi kids like to call it!) are low calorie but very high on nutrition. In fact, according to the USDA just 245 grams of pumpkin offers double your daily requirement of vitamin A. Not to mention, that same amount just has 49 calories, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and 0.2 grams of fat! It also has a whole lot of antioxidants and other vitamins which make this veggie great for heart health amongst other things! 

Also, Read: Hurray! Ditch that greasy blob of butter for this 3-ingredient healthy pumpkin seed butter

Now if this isn’t healthy, I don’t know what is! And if you are worried about taste–after all, nobody likes their dinner to be bland–then I’ve got you covered there too. Because with a slew of whole spices, this soup is as tasty as a soup can be. Which is a whole lot!

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Ingredients

• 250 gm orange pumpkin
• 2 medium-sized carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil  
• 1 cinnamon stick 
• 4 – 5 cloves
• 4 – 5 whole black peppercorns
• 3 cups water 
• Salt to taste 
• Oregano to taste 
• 1 tbsp butter (optional)

Preparation:

1. Clean, peel, and coarsely chop the pumpkin and carrots. Keep aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker on medium heat. Once hot, add the cinnamon, clove, and peppercorns. Toss them around till the spices release an aroma.
3. Add the chopped garlic and saute it with the spices till it is translucent. 
4. Add the chopped pumpkin, carrots, water, salt, and oregano. Put on the lid and let the pressure cooker release two whistles on medium heat. This should take about 15 minutes.
5. Let the soup cool for a few minutes before opening the lid. Using a hand blender, puree all the ingredients in the cooker until everything is well blended.
   Tip: If you don’t have a hand blender, then you can make use of your mixer-grinder. Just wait for the soup to cool down completely before you transfer it to the mixie jar, lest you want the steam to literally blow off the lid of your blender. Transfer the soup to the cooker again once you’re done
6. Bring the pureed soup to a boil. You can add more water if you like for a thinner consistency. Shortly before taking the soup off the heat, add the butter for some richness. Et voila your done!
   
   Tip: You can strain the soup before bringing it to a boil for a smoother consistency. 

Ready in just 30 minutes, this soup has been nourishing my soul on most nights these days. Will you give this spiced pumpkin soup a try? Let me know in the comments below.