White pumpkin and pesto Soup:

White pumpkin and pesto Soup:

Ingredients: 
2 cups chopped white pumpkins
1 tsp basil 
1 tsp parsley
½ tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil
6-8 pcs garlic
½ tsp ginger
Handful of pumpkin seeds
Cilantro leaves decoration
Method: 
Fry the pumpkin, garlic and ginger in the Olive oil/butter until softened. Add fresh basil leaves and parsley. Add a pint of the water and bring the pumpkin to a boil in the pressure cooker. Add handful of pumpkin seeds. Let it cool for a while and then use a blender, food processor or hand blender to puree it.
Bring the soup to a boil again. Add water needed, and then add this to the soup with some salt and pepper to taste. Chop the cilantro leaves.
Garnish each with the chopped cilantro leaves, some whipped cream and pumpkin seeds.
Serve the pumpkin soup immediately.


Tip: you can add cream also to make it testier. It is very good in summer because it is very cool vegetable.  
It is one of the vegetables which is very low calories;  provides just 26 cal per 100 g and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; but is rich a source of dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. You can control cholesterol and reduce your weight too. Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.
It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds such as α and ß carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. 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 reitina of the eyes. Thus, it helps protect from "age related macular disease" (ARMD) in the elderly.
Rich in B-complex group of vitamins like floats, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid.
It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.