PUMPKIN SOUP FOR THE PROPHET 

by Karimah bint Dawoud, muslim chaplain & well being writer

^{Serves 4 persons}

^{Cooking time 45 minutes} 

^{We normally think of pumpkin at Halloween time, sitting on a window ledge with a scary face cut out of it to ward away the jinn and evil spirits that maybe be walking round on the celebration of all hallows, however as Muslims we think of this lovely autumn/fall vegetable as one of the favourite foods of our beloved prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of The Creator be upon him, ameen.}

 ^{He loved pumpkin so much he would eat it over the meat in a stew or he ate it first as is the correct way to help digestion, eat the veggies before the meat.}

As Narrated by Anas: I saw the Prophet Muhammad being served with soup and containing gourd (pumpkin or squash) and cured meat, and I saw him picking and eating the pieces of gourd. [Bukhari Volume 7, Book 65, Number 348]

Pumpkin is cold and dry and relieves the heat of an inflamed stomach, its high in fibre so good for the heart and digestion, it is also high in potassium and vit C. the vitamin C good to boost the immune system. Its coldness is harmful to one part of the stomach so it should be eaten with something like onions or ginger zanjabil,  that is moist in first degree and hot in the second.

Ginger aids the digestion and is also good for the liver; it’s an aphrodisiac and should be eaten with caution by single persons who are not ill. 

^{Pumpkin seeds good for prevention of prostate diseases and associate urinary problems, they contain L-Tryptophan, a natural preventative against depression, they contain high levels of zinc that protects against osteoarthritis, they are anti-inflammatory without the side effects of drugs}

Ingredients

• 2-5 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1-2 cups of pumpkin
• 1 parsnip(optional)
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, chop and leave for 1 minute to process
• 3 fresh parsley stalks
• 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1-3 dried bay leaf
• 5 cups of water

Preparation method

1. Put all the ingredients except pumpkin into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
2. Let cool for 5 minutes, Take out bay leaves and then blitz wit hand held blender or use jug blender
3. Place back in saucepan and Add pumpkin chunks, cooked on medium heat covered for another 15minutes
4. When you put the pumpkin in, in vegetable oil another onion roughly sliced, cook for 5 minutes till it starts to brown add jeera/cumin seeds  and fry and stir till them brown , set aside on plate, add 2 tablespoon of pumpkins seeds to pan and fry till then pop and brown
5. Serve soup, add a splash of olive oil, onion and jeera masala and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, squeeze some lemons wedges and enjoy this soup makes you feel all cuddley inside, its healthy, low calorie, low cost ,gorgeous autumn soup, praise The Creator