Warm Ginger and Curry Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Rice Paper Spring Rolls

A Lighter Fare

While we were discussing today's menu, no one was particularly hungry and there were a bit of left-overs from yesterday. So we decided to settle on something light - Ginger and Curry Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Rice Paper Spring Rolls. This is my take (read Indianized) on fusion cuisine. I added a bit of curry powder, mind you curry powder that you get in regular grocery stores and not garam masala, to the soup to make it a bit more Indianized. As for the rice paper spring rolls, instead of adding glass noodles and raw veges, I cooked the veges in some oil and flavoured them with green chili paste, once again to get it a bit closer to Indian flavours.

All in all, it was a mixed response. Dear Husband, who would be from now on referred to as "H" loved both the dishes. Dad liked the spring rolls but was not a great fan of the soup since in India, we are not used to having thick soups. Mom was on the phone while we were having dinner and refrained from commenting. So not really sure how she felt. And as for my dear Son, who would be referred to as "A" from here on loved the soup but not the spring rolls. But I am so happy that he has at least agreed to try everything that I cook. It is a huge encouragement and relief as I don't have to keep thinking whether or not he would be eating it. (Though I have a little secret - I keep some frozen pizzas, perogies and pasta handy....Just in case....You never know....)

Ginger and Curry Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Cooking time : 15 minutes
Serves : 5
 Kid-O-Meter : 3.5/5

Ingredients :

3/4 of cleaned Butternut Squash (You can get it in packages in the grocery store that are already skinned and seeded thereby saving tons of time)
1 medium Onion
3-4 cloves Garlic
1 inch Garlic - grated
1/2 tspn Curry Powder
1 tspn Red Chillie Powder
2tbspn Butter
Salt to taste

Directions :

Cook the Butternut Squash in the microwave for 5 minutes. In a soup pan, heat the butter and the saute the onions and garlic. Next add the cooked squash, ginger. curry powder and chillie powder. Saute for a couple of minutes more. Add 2-21/2 cups of water or vegetable stock and puree it with a hand blender. Add salt and bring it to a boil. Serve hot.

Rice Paper Spring Rolls

Cooking time : 15 - 20 minutes
Serves : 5
Kid-O-Meter : 1/5

Ingredients :

10 Rice Paper sheets
1 medium Onion
1 carrot julienned
2-3 florets of Cauliflower chopped finely
Paste of 2 Green Chillies
1 cup of finely chopped Cilantro
Oil
Salt

Directions :

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and saute them till they are cooked but still are white in color. Next add the carrots and saute till the are semi cooked. Finally add the cauliflower and cook for a couple of minutes more. Next add the chillie paste and salt. All the veges should be cooked just enough so that they don't taste raw, but also hold their shape and have a very slight crunch. Transfer the veges to a different bowl and keep them to cool. (I either keep it in the fridge on in the backyard. if its winter. to speed up the process). Once cooled, add the chopped cilantro

Now take the rice paper sheets and soak one sheet at a time in room temperature water so that they become soft and pliable. Remember to work just with one sheet at a time as if you soak all of them at the same time, they will tear and stick and won't be easy to work with. Next place one tbspn of the veges in the center of the sheet and roll them up tightly. Serve them with mint or cilantro chutney.