Pumpkin nutrition facts
Pumpkin fruit is one of the widely grown vegetables that is incredibly rich in vital antioxidants, and vitamins. While this humble backyard vegetable is less in calories but contains vitamin A, and flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanthin, and carotenes in abundance.The plant is a fast-growing vine that creeps along the ground surface in a similar fashion like that of other Cucurbitaceae family vegetables and fruits such as cucumber, squash, cantaloupes…etc. It is one of the most popular field crops cultivated around the world, including the USA at the commercial scale for its fruit, and seeds.
Pumpkin soup simply exotic.
Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Servings : 4
Cuisine : Indian
Level Of Cooking: Easy
- 250 gms Yellow pumpkin , cut into small cubes
- 5 tbsp Butter
- 1 Bay leaf
- 12 Black peppercorns
- 1 medium size Onion/ 1 cup, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp Maida/ all purpose flour
- 1 level tsp Salt or / salt to taste
- 3 cups milk
In a pressure cooker heat 2 tbsp butter, add bay leaf and black peppercorns. Add onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add cubed pumpkin, sauté for two minutes.
Add one cup water and close the lid. Pressure cook until pressure is formed, switch off the stove. Let the cooker cool down to room temperature, open the lid strain excess stock and reserve. Remove the bay leaf and put it in the pumpkin stock. Puree only the pumpkin onion mix.
Add the reserved stock to the puree, keep aside.
Heat in a non-stick pan three tbsp butter, add all purpose flour, stir fry on medium flame. When it gets the sandy texture remove from the heat and cool.
Take boiling milk and pour the boiling milk into the fried cold all purpose flour and butter mix/roux, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Simmer gently for two minutes. Stir this white sauce, and then add pureed pumpkin mix.Cook the mixture on medium flame for about 2 minutes while stirring it continuously. Add salt, mix and switch off the heat.
Pour the soup in bowls and serve hot.
Possible Health benefits of Pumpkin:
It is one of the very low calorie vegetables. 100 g fruit provides just 26 calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol
it is rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. The vegetable is one of the food items recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.
Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.With 7384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetables in the Cucurbitaceae family featuring highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes.
It is also an essential vitamin for good visual sight. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A help a body protects against lung and oral cavity cancers.
It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds such as α, ß carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zea-xanthin. Carotenes convert into vitamin A inside the body.Zea-xanthin is a natural anti-oxidant which has UV (ultra-violet) rays filtering actions in the macula lutea in retina of the eyes. Thus, it helps protect from “age-related macular disease” (ARMD) in the elderly.
The fruit is a good source of B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid.It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.
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