Minoo prepared a Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk for the comfort food theme. The colour of the meals at today’s kitchen is simply a shade of yellowish orange, just like fall colour.

The Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk is gingery and sweet. It can also served as a dessert soup if we leave out the salt.

Ingredients

• 7 to 8 cups diced butternut squash (1 large 3 lbs squash)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 onions, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger root
• 1 tablespoon curry powder or curry paste
• 4 cups chicken broth or water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons sugar, optional
• 1 x 14oz can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Source: adapted from Vegetarian classics

Serves 4

Instructions

Cut off the top and bottom of the squash to have a flat surface to stand the squash. Peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler or paring knife.

Scrape the pulp and seeds from the bottom part of the squash. You can roast the seeds for snacking as they are nutritious.

Since we had some chicken bones leftover from the simple butter chicken recipe, we make a chicken broth with the chicken bones.

Heat the oil in a deep stock pot over medium heat. Fry the onions until lightly brown for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add in the ginger root and garlic. Sprinkle on the curry powder and cook for another 1 minute, tossing continuously to mix well.

Add the squash and stir to coat well. Add the chicken broth or water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a lively simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the squash is very tender.

Add the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.

Puree the soup in batches in a blender or a hand blender. Reheat the soup before serving, if necessary. Serve hot.