Yellow Pumpkin and Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 10-12 black peppercorns
• 1 green chilli broken into halves
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Chopped green coriander
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika powder
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 5 spring onions (only white portion), each cut into halves
• 5 medium sized Tomatoes, each chopped into 4 pieces
• 6 Mugs of vegetable stock or a cube of vegetable stock
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 5 large Cloves of Garlic Peeled and Crushed with a Knife
• 1/2 kg Yellow Pumpkin cut into chunks
• 1 medium sized Onion sliced

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add Bay Leaves and black Peppercorns. Let them crackle. Once they stop crackling, add crushed garlic, Onions and green chillies. Saute for a couple of mins.
2. Add pumpkin, mix and add tomatoes. Add cayenne pepper or paprika powder, mixed herbs, salt, stock (cube and water, or water stock) and fresh coriander. Mix well.
3. Close pressure cooker lid, give 2 whistles, lower flame and let it cook in pressure for 5 mins. Turn off the flame and let the cooker de-pressurise on its own.
4. Open lid, cool a little and either strain vegetables, keeping water aside, and puree them, or use a hand blender and blend everything in the cooker itself.
5. Give a boil, Dish out in soup bowls, garnish with fresh coriander sprig and serve hot.