Now to my favorite recipe of Cream of Pumpkin soup, this is a sure hit among my guests, kids and sandy. It's the best comfort food for this winter and quite easy to make once you know the trick. I have tried this recipe with and without white sauce as detailed below. Depends on how much time you have to make this and if you are worried about the calories :) So hold on and try any of these versions. But if you are making it for the kids, do try with white sauce. They love it!!
This is a basic cream soup recipe which you can modify for any vegetable.

Pumpkin peeled and cubed - 1 (I used the small whole ones like in the pic, never tried with the country pumpkin big ones)
Onion sliced - 1
Whole Spices for flavour - Cinnamon 1", Cardamom -1, bayleaf - 1
Green Chilli - 2 (as required)
Oil/Butter - 2 tsp
Salt and Pepper
White Sauce Ingredients:
Butter - 1 tsp
Maida/ Refined flour - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Grated cheese - 1 cube or 50g
Finely chopped garlic - 1 tsp (Optional)
salt and pepper
1. Heat Oil/Butter in a pressure pan. Add the whole spices and let the aroma soak in.
2. Add the onions and green chilli. Saute well until translucent.
3. Toss in the pumpkin pieces. Add salt and let it cook well. Add a cup of water and Cover the cooker. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Let it get cooled. Don't worry if it's mashed. You are anyway going to grind all of this into a puree in a blender. Keep the puree aside.
4. For the White Sauce version, heat a pan with butter. Saute the garlic if using (optional). Keep the flame low and add the flour. Stir the flour until you get the cooked flour aroma. Then add milk slowly and make a paste like consistency. The flour might tend to form lumps. Switch off or keep the flame too low and mash the lumps with the back of a wooden ladle. Allow it to cook until it forms a creamy thick liquid. Add water/milk as required. Add salt, pepper, cheese and any herbs, sim it until it melts.
5. Now add the pumpkin puree to the white sauce and let it boil and combine well. Keep stirring. Add salt and pepper as required. Garnish with parsley, roasted mushrooms or croutons.
6. Now for calorie-conscious people who don't want the rich white sauce, here is a guilt-free version. after you make the pumpkin puree, heat a pan with some butter. add garlic if using. Then add this puree and let it boil. Add in a dash of milk or heavy cream if you like. Finish it off with some grated cheese if your diet allows, or pretty much just boil the pumpkin puree with salt and pepper for the diet version.
You can try this basic recipe for any cream soup like the cream of Cauliflower or Broccoli soup. You don't have to go to the restaurants to drink some cream soup hereafter, you know what goes in now.
Happy Cooking and Healthy eating!!