To start the soup, roughly dice the onions. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the oil and let the onions sweat. Peel and cut the squash into about 1/2" to 1" -inch cubes.

Once the onions are completely translucent, add the squash. If you notice that the mixture looks a little bit dry, add another tablespoon of oil. Turn the heat to medium. Prepare the cauliflower by first cutting out the core, and then roughly chop into about 1" -inch pieces.

Give the squash a stir from time to time, so it cooks evenly. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Once the squash has softened, add the white wine vinegar. Turn up the heat slightly and add the Panang paste. Cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add the chickpeas, cauliflower, palm sugar and stock. Bruise the makrut lime leaf before adding it to the soup. Increase the heat and bring everything to just a boil. Then turn the heat down and simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through.

Before pureeing the soup, test the vegetables. They should be soft and easy to cut through. Add the mango chutney, if using. Note: If you don’t have mango chutney, you can add 1/2 fresh, diced mango.

Before pureeing, make sure to remove the lime leaf. Remove about 1 cup of the liquid. This is a great habit to get into when pureeing soups. You’ll always be able to control the amount of liquid, so you don’t wind up with a really thin soup.

Blend about 1/3 of the soup at a time, making sure there is enough liquid so it blends easily. As a safety precaution, hold the top of the blender with a cloth and be careful of the steam when you take off the lid. Blend for about a minute or until smooth. Transfer each batch to a clean pot. If you see that the consistency is quite thick, add the reserved liquid into the last batch. If you feel the soup is still too thick, you can add additional chicken stock, keeping in mind that the coconut milk will thin out the soup a bit more.

Once all of the soup is pureed, place it over a low heat. Stir in the salt and coconut milk. Taste one last time for seasoning and gently heat through. Garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk, if desired.