Butternut Chickpea Soup

Butternut Chickpea Soup

This is predominantly sweet, and astringent with enough spice to help it digest well. Balanced for any doṣa, especially nice in the late fall, winter and early spring. I’ve never had chicken noodle soup but I remember my mother saying, after she became vegetarian, that this broth reminded her of that. In any case, it is is deeply nourishing without causing obstruction in channel systems–a nice combination for chilly days.

Ingredients:
1-2 c. chickpeas (soaked overnight, rinsed with fresh water)
1 TB organic, extra virgin olive oil (omit for kapha)
1 large, diced onion
1 peeled, diced de-seeded, chopped butternut squash
2 chopped large carrots
4 stalks celery, chopped
½ cup washed organic white basmati rice
salt, to taste (omit for pitta and kapha)
black pepper, to taste
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 large piece of kombu

Directions:
Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas, with water that covers them by a few inches, and the kombu for 30 minutes while putting the rest of the soup together. Or boil them until they’re very soft. This takes a long time. Once soft, remove and compost the kombu.

Putting the rest of the soup together: Sauté (either water sauté or sauté in oil) the onion until translucent. Add the carrots, celery and squash and sauté a few more minutes, while stirring. Then add salt (omit for Pitta or Kapha), spices, rice and cooked chickpeas, along with their cooking water and, if the water doesn’t generously cover everything plus about an inch, add some more water to do so. Cook till everything is soft—about 30 minutes.



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