Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 30 gm ghee or vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 long green chilli, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
  • 1½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 1.2 kg Jap or butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
  • 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock (4 cups)
  • Thick plain yoghurt, coriander leaves and lime wedges, to serve
  • 130 gm chickpea flour (also called besan) (1 cup)
  • 80 gm thick plain yoghurt
  • ½ onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 12 fresh curry leaves, plus 1 extra sprig to serve
  • 2 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander
  • 2 tsp finely grated ginger
  • ½ tsp each brown mustard seeds and cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp each ground turmeric, ground chilli powder and garam masala
  • Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying

Instruction

  • Heat ghee in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion, garlic and chilli and sauté until onion is translucent (4-5 minutes). Stir in ginger and spices until fragrant (30 seconds to 1 minute). Add pumpkin and stock, bring to a simmer and cook until pumpkin is very tender (20-25 minutes). Blend with a hand-held blender (or in batches in a food processor) until smooth. Season to taste.
  • For onion bhajis, stir flour, yoghurt and 100ml water in a bowl to a smooth batter, then stir in remaining ingredients and season to taste. Heat 3cm oil in a large deep frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add spoonfuls of onion mixture and fry, turning occasionally, until golden (2-3 minutes). Drain on paper towels and season to taste. Add extra curry leaves to the oil and fry until crisp, then drain on paper towels.
  • Ladle soup into bowls, top with a little yoghurt, curry leaves, extra green chilli and coriander and serve with onion bhajis and lime wedges.