Hearty Bean & Pumpkin Soup

Rajma or kidney beans seem to evoke quite a lot of emotions in people. There are people who absolutely love them and there are others who just hate anything which has kidney beans in it. I personally love rajma chawal and so does hubby, though it wasn't part of our diet till about 15 years ago.
I started having rajma on a regular basis when I was sharing a flat with four other girls. One of them was a Punjabi and she made the most amazing dals EVER! I used to have a whole bowl of it even before dinner! Anyway, C used to cook up a huge amount of rajma every Sunday and the four of us would sit down together - hair oiled, MTV blaring in the background and as we chatted about work, boyfriends and everything else in our lives we slurped up the rajma chawal savouring every single mouthful.

It was a matter of time before I discovered Tex Mex food and the joys of having refried beans with "Mexican" rice ;). And then of course there was that childhood favourite - baked beans on toast!

So, as you can see - beans in soup was a welcome addition and according to me makes the soup so much more than just an appetizer. Its practically a meal in a bowl.

This soup is so warm and comforting, it is guaranteed to satisfy the most picky palate. Beans, pumpkin and tomato - what's not to love?! I found it perfect for one evening last week, when the temperature suddenly dipped after rising to an unseasonal high the previous few days. I prefer not pureeing even part of the soup, the chunky texture really suits this soup and adds to the taste. But if you have kids who might fuss, it might make sense to puree some of it and keep a only a little of the chunky bits in for them.

Hearty Bean, Potato & Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:
Kidney beans (rajma) - 1/2 cup - soaked overnight and cooked in a pressure cooker till soft(reserve water)
Pumpkin - 200gm, peeled and diced
Potato - 1 big, diced
Tomatoes - 2 - blanched, peeled and chopped
Onion - 1 chopped fine
Garlic - 2 cloves minced
1 bay leaf
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
Freshly crushed pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
1 cube Better than Bouillon stock cube dissolved in half litre water.

Method:
1. Heat oil and put in the bay leaf and garlic, then add the chopped onion after a couple of minutes and saute until transluscent.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and cumin powder and saute for another 5 minutes till mushy.
3. Put in the cooked beans and chopped pumpkin and potatoes and fry5 minutes.
4. Pour the stock in along with 1.5 cups of the beans stock and a little salt and bring to boil. Reduce flame and simmer for atleast 15-20 minutes till the pumpkin and potatoes are cooked and the soup thickens.
5. Adjust seasoning, add the crushed pepper and remove from flame. Serve warm.