Minty Opo Squash and Lentil Soup/ Pudina Wali Lauki Dal
Happy Sunday! I hope you guys are having a fun filled weekend. I had a slow week at work last week and am so sore from my workout yesterday. So, we decided to have a quick and light lunch. I had an Opo Squash sitting in my fridge for a week now, so decided to use that up. I chose moong dal (split yellow peas) to go into my soup with the Squash. The soup turned out so delicious that we both couldn’t stop at 1 bowl. Yummy!
This warm soup will fill you with energy for the rest of your day and give you loads of nutrition. Opo squash is free of fat, free of cholesterol and is a very good source of Vitamin C. Yellow moong is extremely light and is very easy to digest. So, if you have an upset stomach or not feeling 100%, then do give this soup a try. It will definitely make you feel better and warm. Adding mint gives it a refreshing flavor and an interesting twist on taste. The soup is low in calories and perfect for weight watchers.
The soup is versatile and you can tweak it to suit your taste buds and ingredients availability. Moong dal can be replaced with any kind of yellow colored lentils. If you don’t have mint, skip adding it and you won’t miss anything in the final product. Add any kind of tempering and garnishing. I pressure cooked the squash and lentils for quick cooking. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, then cook it covered until squash and lentils are tender. To make it smooth, you can blend the soup after making it before adding the tempering. I chose to keep it as is since I love biting on squash pieces.
Ingredients
To be boiled together
- Opo squash cubed – 2 cups
- Moong dal – 1/2 cup
- Mint leaves – 10 sprigs
- Ginger finely chopped – 1 tbsp
- Tomato finely chopped – 1
- Green chillies finely chopped -2
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Water – 3 cups
For tempering
- Ghee (clarified butter) – 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Nigella seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Asafetida – a pinch
- Red chili flakes – 1/2 tsp
For garnish
- Chopped coriander leaves – 3 tbsp
- Lemon slices
- Mint sprigs
Method
- Wash the dal and drain water.
- Add the washed dal, cubed squash, ginger, mint leaves, tomato, salt, turmeric powder and water in a pressure cooker. Cook it on high for one whistle and on low for one more whistle. Switch off the flame. Wait for pressure to be released automatically, it will take around 15 minutes.
- Add chopped coriander to the soup. At this point, you can choose to blend the dal if you want a smooth consistency.
- Now, prepare the tempering in a different pan. Add ghee and turn the flame to medium. When the ghee is hot, add mustard seeds. When the seeds start spluttering, add nigella seeds, cumin seeds and asafetida. Switch off the fame after 10 seconds. And add red chili flakes.
- Pour this tempering over soup and serve hot. You can have the soup as is or with warm dinner rolls, rice or chapati.
Enjoy!
