For building immunity, we need to have good proteins, vitamins and minerals like zinc, selenium etc. This soup consists of all these three groups of food and thus makes it a holistic meal altogether. Pair it with a whole grain toast for the carbs!

This is a thick soup and that makes it quite filling too. I am also listing down the key benefits of some of the ingredients we are using in this soup. Include such immunity boosting recipes in your daily meals and help your body naturally build it’s immunity.

The recipe for this soup was shared by Anupama Menon (Food Coach and Nutritionist) and her team at Right Living, which is a health solutions firm based in Bangalore. You can get in touch with Anupama for your corporate as well as personal health goals through her instagram page https://www.instagram.com/iamanupamamenon.

Few thing to keep in mind

• Split Red Lentils (Masoor Dal): Red lentils cook very fast and do not need to be soaked earlier. They are rich in protein and thus take care of your protein intake through this soup.
• Pumpkin: Pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A thereby protecting the cells of the immune system.
• Coconut Oil: It is preferable to use coconut oil in this soup, instead of any other oil, as coconut oil is rich in medium chain triglycerides and helps in better absorption of the nutrients.
• Turmeric: Turmeric contains an active component called curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties, thus increasing the immune response in the body.
• Ginger and Garlic: Garlic has an active component called allicin. Both ginger and garlic have anti inflammatory and anti oxidant properties that help increase our immunity.
• Pepper: Pepper helps to increase the absorption of curcumin from the turmeric.

Recipe

Ingredient List

• Coconut Oil – 2 tbsp
• Onion – 1 medium size, sliced
• Ginger – 1 inch, chopped
• Garlic – 3 cloves, chopped
• Pumpkin – 250 gms, peeled, de-seeded and chopped into cubes
• Split red lentils (Masoor Dal) – 1/4 cup, washed and drained
• Vegetable Stock – 1.5 cups (Refer below for the process of preparing this)
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Leaves – a few, cleaned and chopped
• Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Flakes – 1 tsp
• Coconut Milk – 1/4 cup
• Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
• Salt as per taste

For the Vegetable Stock

• Water – 1 litre
• Onion – 1, chopped
• Carrot – 1, chopped
• Mushrooms – 100 gms, chopped

Step by Step Process

For the Vegetable Stock

1. Boil the water and add the chopped vegetables to it.
2. Keep it covered and let it boil for 45 min – 1 hour.
3. The water will be reduced to about one and a half cups by this time.
4. Strain the stock and keep it separately.

For the Soup

1. In a pressure cooker, on high flame, add the coconut oil.
2. Once the oil is heated, add the onions and cook till translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and keep stirring till fragrant.
3. Add the pumpkin and red lentils to this and continue stirring.
4. Add the turmeric powder and coriander leaves and stir.
5. Next add the vegetable stock and let it all come to a boil.
6. Close the pressure cooker and cook till a single pressure. Take it off the heat and let the pressure release completely before opening the cooker. Let the mixture cool down before adding it all to a blender and blending it well.
7. Once blended, bring it back to heat in the same pressure cooker. Add salt, pepper and chilli flakes and mix well.
8. Finally add the coconut milk and lemon juice and let the soup come to a single boil before turning off the heat.
9. Garnish with some coconut milk, chilli flakes and coriander leaves and serve hot.