Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

  • Home
  • About
    • In the Press, Published Work and Interviews
    • PR and Disclosure Policy
  • Food
    • Recipe Index
      • Indian
        • C.K.P recipes
        • Curry – Meat, Seafood
        • Curry – Vegetarian
        • Sides
        • Chutneys
      • Healthy
        • Soups
        • Salads
      • Quick and Easy
      • Baking
        • Desserts
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
        • Salads
      • Vegan
    • Product Reviews
    • Events
  • Travel
    • UK
    • India
    • Around the World
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Kitchen
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Miscellaneous
  • Giveaways
  • Work with me
    • Meet interesting foodie entrepreneurs here

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

March 14, 2015 by manjirichitnis 12 Comments

As spring begins to unfold and the weather changes to beautiful sunny days and chilly evenings, I like that we can still enjoy warming and wholesome soups. Butternut squash is so versatile and there are various ways to use it in soups, curries, salads, etc.

Soup and stews are a great meal option for so many reasons, here are my top 5 reasons why I enjoy cooking both:

  • Delicious, hearty and wholesome
  • Easy, fuss-free one-pot style cooking, saves time
  • Great for batch-cooking
  • Ideal for busy mid-week meals
  • Easy to please fussy eaters!
  • Just combine with bread, various toppings and add an extra dash of something special
  • Add lentils to bulk out soups and stews

This recipe is created by Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living who make sure that all of their recipes are nutritious and tasty, making them great for everyone, not just the elderly. Of the many recipe options, they sent me I choose to make this one because I simply adored red lentils as those who read my blog will know. The buttery aroma of onions sauteing which filled my kitchen was simply amazing and very satisfying. Needless to say, the soup went down and treat and even normally fussy hubster greedily licked his bowl clean – no better compliment than that folks isn’t it? I must admit I couldn’t resist adding a bit of my own personal finishing touches as my palate is so used to all the spicy and tangy little add-on’s that I normally use 😉

Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

5 from 2 votes
Hearty and delicious Butternut squash soup with added protien and taste with quick cooking red lentils
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Servings: 4 people
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 400 ml vegetable stock
  • 150 gms Butternut Squash – peeled and diced into bite-sized bits
  • 60 gms Dried red lentil i.e. masoor dal – split without skin
  • 3 Carrots – peeled and diced into small bits
  • 2 Red onion – peeled and chopped fine
  • 12 gms Unsalted butter
  • Sea salt with a hint of garlic
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • A small quantity of fresh coriander to garnish

Equipment

  • Saucepan

Method
 

  1. In a large saucepan or stockpot melt the butter on a medium flame
  2. Sauté’ the finely chopped onions in the butter for just under 4- 5 minutes till they turn a beautiful golden-brown colour and reduce
  3. Then add in the chopped carrots, squash, and sauté’ for a further 2- 3 minutes.
  4. Now stir in the vegetable stock and the red lentils
  5. Reduce to a low flame and let the soup simmer gently
  6. Cook until the vegetables and lentils are tender
  7. Allow the soup to cool down to room temperature, then using a hand blender puree’ until smooth, or as I did, give it a whizz in your food processor
  8. Season with sea salt with garlic or plain sea salt and add a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper
  9. Garnish with just a small amount of finely chopped fresh coriander
  10. Serve hot ideally with a slice of warm crusty bread with a dollop of butter. If your conscience allows it stir in a small amount of fresh cream into the soup or smother your crusty bread with some freshly made garlic butter

Looking for easy to make, delicious Soup and Stew recipes? Why not browse through some of my easy to follow recipes:

  • Creamy celeriac and smoked red pepper soup
  • Clear Vegetable soup – Fusion recipe with an Indian twist
  • Red Lentil Soup
  • Tomato and Lentil soupy broth
  • Chinese chicken noodle soup
  • BBQ Pulled Pork and aromatic noodle soup

*With thanks to Sunrise Senior Living and the  PR team for reimbursing the expense for ingredients. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. 

Filed Under: Food, Healthy, Recipe Index, Vegetarian Tagged With: Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup, Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living, chop, crusty bread, dice, easy and quick soup recipe, eat well for less, food blog, food blogger, Food Photography, Food Processor, food styling, food writer, foodie in London, garlic butter, garlic salt, garnish, hand blender, Healthy recipes, healthy soup recipes, how to stay healthy and positive, lifestyle blogger, live healthy, Manjiri Chitnis, Manjiri Kulkarni, masoorachi dal, peel, Red Lentils, red onions, reviews from travelsfortaste blog, saute, slice of my life, sliceoffme, sliceoffme recipes, small changes for a better life, sprinkle, squash, start small, think healthy, travel blogger, travel writer, travelsfortaste, unsalted butter, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian soup recipe, weight loss recipes, whiz

Wordless Wednesday – a new beginning.

March 26, 2014 by manjirichitnis 23 Comments

Have been meaning to start off a Wordless Wednesday series with a linky and blog hog for ages now – for this week though will share these 3 images and by next week will set up the linky and/or  blog hop.Would love to have all you wonderful bloggers, photographers, readers out there linking up from next week 🙂

Recipes from a Pantry - Bintu (Copy)

 

1-IMG_5862 (Copy)

 

Both the images above have been sent by the lovely Bintu who blogs at Recipes from a Pantry.

The photograph below was taken by me ages ago when I didn’t have an DSLR am , it was a clear day almost 3 years back and I was chopping these brilliantly coloured peppers to make Pav-Bhaji 🙂

IMG_2627 (Copy)

 

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday Folks !:)

P.S: Leave any queries you have as comments on this post and if you would rather email me ,my id is fruitsnveg@yahoo.com – I try and reply to all my emails asap !

 

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Camera, clicks, DSLR, Food Photography, images, pav-bhaji, photo speak, worldless wednesday

FBC’12 – A Flashback!

July 4, 2013 by manjirichitnis 4 Comments

It’s a few hours to FBC5 , time seems to have flown by since I first went to experience the FBC.I managed to only attend the last day but what a power packed day it was with workshops , sessions and of course the vibrant street party. I do hope to soak in all this and sooo much more this year and really ”connect” with  the bloggers.

I walked in to attend a session on Niche Blogging by Summaya Jamil of Pukka Paki ,thanks Summaya for this pic with moi.

Niche Blogging session with Summaya

I most enjoyed the Seychelles Inspired Street Food stall – Vinn Goute

Vinn Goute

And these moustached boys from Gourmetti  kept hungry bloggers coming back for seconds with their ”Fiodena” – Wild pig slices & onion jam in crackling focaccia.ummm

Gourmetti

The photography workshop had all the eager bloggers gathering around to get some photography tips and up their skills and taste some delicious Indian fare made by private chef Maunika Gowardhan who blogs at Cook in a Curry.

FBC 12 Photography 12

Maunika stirs some Indian Food Magic

Monique’s session on starting a food business was very engaging full of great advice,insights and had a very good question answer session.

Tea time was great for interacting with the sponsors, loved chatting with the head chef at Vitamix.

Thanks to Rekha Mehra from Pistachio Rose for smiling for my cam!

Pistachio Rose

Just ONE of the many attractive food stalls at the street party. 

Street Food Party FBC12 IMG_0139 (Copy)

Tummy full, satiated with being amongst so many like minded foodies, Food Blogger Connect lived upto its name of  connecting us all. Kudos to Bethany and her team and FBC 5 is just going to be bigger and better!Oh yes and the goody bag was bursting with so many goodies I had to call hubby over to get me from the station 😉

Nitey nite, can hardly wait for tomorrow!

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Bethany Kehdy, cook in a curry, Dirty Kitchen Secrets, FBC, FBC12, FBC5, Fiodena, food blogger connect, Food Photography, Gourmetti, Maldon Sea Salt, maunika gowardhan, Monique Borst, Photography Workshop, Pistachio Rose, pukka paki, Rekha Mehr, Seychelles, summaya jamil, Vinn Goute, Vitamix, Wild pig slices & onion jam in crackling focaccia

Food,travel and lifestyle writer. Photographer.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

  • Baking
  • Breads
  • C.K.P recipes
  • Cakes
  • Chutneys
  • Cocktails
  • Curry – Meat, Seafood
  • Curry – Vegetarian
  • Desserts
  • Events
  • Featured Food and Drink
  • Featured Lifestyle
  • Featured Travel Adventures
  • Food
  • Healthy
  • Home
  • India
  • Indian
  • Kitchen
  • Lifestyle
  • London and rest of U.K
  • Meat
  • Miscellaneous
  • Product Reviews
  • Quick and Easy
  • Recipe Index
  • Rest of the World
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Salads
  • seafood
  • Sides
  • Smoothies
  • Soups
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Featured Blogger on Great British Chefs

GBC_blogger-badge_150x300px    

Need a New Power Blender?

13076814_10154185434898293_7387808474266473605_n

Travelsfortaste is Featured on Expats Blog

England expat blogs
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Squaremeal.co.uk - Restaurant Reviews

About me

Writer and Photographer. Food,Travel & Lifestyle, Blogger and Digital Marketer. Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, Fortnum & Mason – Afternoon Tea Review
  • Brown’s Brasserie and Bar celebrates 50th Anniversary with Covent Garden Grand re-opening
  • Hampton Court Palace Food Festival – Review
  • Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea, Covent Garden, London – Review
  • Maplin Photo Walk around Central London

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT