Everyone knows a Pumpkin Soup – a sweetish comfort food, often spiced with nutmeg or cinnamon, and topped with vinegar and pumpkin seeds. Today we are going to cook a butternut squash – a vegetable (which is, in fact, a berry), that belongs to the same family, yet has a distinctively different flavour. Besides, you’d will be surprised how many health benefits an average pumpkin has, which give you a great reason to experiment with this famous berry!

Our version of a butternut squash soup is warming and rich in flavour, with a sour and slightly tangy note of tamarind. The taste is so addictive, you won’t be able to stop eating it. It can be enjoyed not like a soup, but even as a sauce, if you make it thick enough.

It’s just the perfect recipe for fall and winter, because it can give your body and soul the warmth it needs during this challenging season. Adjusting your diet according to season is a crucial part of healthy eating, and this is an aspect that, for example, is covered in detail in Ayurvedic nutrition.

Ingredients (3-4 portions):

butternut squash – 1 medium-sized, about 800 gramm

garlic paste (or finely chopped garlic) – 2 tsp

ginger paste (or finely chopped ginger) – 2 tsp

dry sour tamarind – 1 heaped tbsp

salt to taste

rosemary (optional)

Method:

Step 1. Put tamarind in 100 ml of warm water and put aside to soak.

Step 2 . Cut, peel and de-seed your butternut squash. Add butternutto the pot, cover with water (the water should be about 1 cm above the pumpkin) and boil it until you can mash it with a fork, for about 20 minutes.

Step 3. When ready, mash the cooked butternut in the same pot with a fork or with a hand mixer, or process in a blender together with the water in which it was boiled. It should have a consistency of a thin puree.

Step 4. In a small amount of cooking oile fry garlic and ginger until they release the aroma. Mix with the butternut puree, and bring to boil again.

Step 5. Remove tamarind pulp form the water where it was soaked, squeeze the pulp to get out the water it has absorbed. Mix tamarind water with the pumpkin puree, add salt and boil for another 3 minutes.

It tastes best with some black pepper on top, and a bit of fresh rosemary.