Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

This is a great dinner party dish as it can be done a day or two ahead, and reheated on the night.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2.5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 level teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 level teaspoon of ground cumin
• ½ level teaspoon of ground cardamom
• ½ level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 750 g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 litre chicken stock (or vegetable for a vegetarian dish)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
• ¼ cup coriander leaves

Method:

Step 1 Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and spices. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onion is soft and the spices fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Step 2 Add the pumpkin and stock and bring to the boil. Put the lid on the saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3 Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4 With a hand-held blender or in a food processor, blend the soup until smooth.

Step 5 Pour the soup into four bowls, garnish each portion with a tablespoon of yoghurt and sprinkle with the chopped coriander (if using).