Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I've never cooked with butternut squash before but had tasted a butternut squash curry once during a trip to South Africa and it tasted delish. After we bought the squash, I put it in the refrigerator with all of the other veggies. That was probably a mistake because when it came time to cook it, it was really too hard to chop. I needed a little help from my Sioux chefs. B microwaved the squash for about a minute, Vibha peeled and B seeded and cubed the squash. That was the hard part. The rest was a piece of cake!!

1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 big butternut squash
1 tsp curry powder *( Did not have on hand so I used garam masala instead)
1 tsp red chili powder
4 vegetable stock buillion cubes plus about 2 cups water (or just add 6 cups vegetable stock/water)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Heavy whipping cream or sour cream (as garnish)

1. Peel and cube the squash into one inch cubes.
2. Bring about 4 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat and drop in the unwrapped buillion cubes. Once the cubes are dissolved with the water, mix well and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in pan. Add the cumin seeds and allow to sizzle. Then add the onions and sautee until soft. Also add the garlic paste and sautee for about 30 seconds.
4. Next add the cubed squash and vegetable stock water.
5. Season with red chili powder, salt, black pepper and curry powder. Bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool. Then puree the curried squash in a food processor. Return the puree back to the pot and let the soup continue to simmer until ready to serve.
7. When serving, add a tbsp of heavy whipping cream or sour cream and mix well. Enjoy!

A few notes to this recipe: I would have originally just added 6 buillion cubes if I would have known how much soup one squash makes. Water or regular vegetable stock works fine, too. The original recipe calls for curry powder, but since we did not have on hand, I added garam masala instead. Next time I will make with the curry powder to taste the difference. Otherwise, this soup was a hit!! I will definitely be making this one again.

You could also make this recipe up to Step 5 into a squash curry and serve it with roti or rice. Hmm .. good idea that I must try out sometime!!