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Recipe: Chef Saby's Nutty Pumpkin Soup

August 21, 2022 12:54 IST

Enjoy Chef Sabyasachi Gorai's silky, smooth Walnut Pumpkin Soup with its right balance of flavours and the tantalising inclusion of vanilla. 

Chef Saby, who won the National Tourism Award for Best Chef of India, is from Asansol, West Bengal and started out studying art before he switched to hotel management and trained to be a chef.

Photograph: Kind courtesy California Walnuts

Walnut Pumpkin Soup

Serves: 2

Ingredients  

Method

Editor's Note: Vanilla essence is an intriguing flavour in this recipe. But it may not be for everyone and you might choose to skip.

Interesting additions are 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 1 tsp chopped fresh celery, dash tabasco, a handful of basmati rice while boiling the pumpkin in water and 1-2 tbsp cream cheese before serving. Even 1 tsp curry powder can add great flavour and provide a fusion accent.

For a Jain version of this soup, skip the onions, garlic and fresh ginger and use saunth or dried ginger and add more chopped fresh herbs, spices as suggested above.

Instead of walnuts you might consider almonds or a bit of both.

Pumpkin soup will pair well with Meera Khanduri's Chicken Sandwiches or Reshma Aslam's Tuna Sandwiches

Else have it with a salad: Deepa and Ashish Mehrotra's Brown Rice Salad With Honey Mustard Dressing or Chef Ranveer Brar's Nutty Broccoli Salad or Zelda Pande's Fattoush Salad.

 

Chef Sabyasachi Gorai is a consultant chef and mentor.

Chef SABYASACHI GORAI