I was at the India grocery store last week and I asked the storekeeper for pumpkin. He helpfully went in the back and cut me a fresh two pund slice of a yellow sweet variety! Yikes! What I had wanted was the white ash pumpkin. I has said "pooshinikkai" and he insisted that this was indeed "pooshinikkai". I didn't have the heart to argue after he had tried to be so helpful. So I brought it home and tossed it into the refrigerator and let it age a bit for a few days.
Today, I decided to make soup with it. It was rather hard and dry like a butternut squash. Not at all soft, crisp and moist like the ash pumpkin I had wanted.
Still, I cut it all up and froze half and made soup with the other half along with some assorted vegetables and fresh herbs from the garden. And voila ! I was again rewarded with an extraordinary soup full of flavors. I ate three bowls of it for lunch and shared the rest with the neighbor family for their dinner.
And I didn't use any rasam Powder this time. I think I am getting better at making soups. While I added some milk and butter at the end, this can be completely vegan as well. One could add a bit of coconut oil for additional flavor?
Saute onions in a large soup pot. Then add leeks and garlic and turmeric. After a minute, add the carrots and saute till they begin to caramelize. Add the rest of the vegetables and some salt and cover with water and bring to a boil. Add the fresh herbs. Cover and simmer for 15 - 20 min. Then, let it cool for ten minutes.
Blend/puree with a wand or blender.