Praising the pumpkin

I just tried out this new pumpkin recipe and was very happy with the results. This is the first time since I got married last December that I made kaddoo. 

Don't get me wrong, I adore the vegetable. I like the inherent sweetness it has and love to cook it sweet-and-sour. Love to eat it as well, served with pooris and an aloo-tamatar sabzi, it forms a lot of my happy childhood memories. Lets just say that pumpkin, red or green, is not very welcome in my new home. 

 

So, today when I had just myself to cook for, I decided to make kaddoo. I read up on how the Bengalis make pumpkin and made some changes to their standard recipe.

Ingredients:

250 gram red pumpkin, washed and cut into large chunks

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and pounded into paste

1 green chilli, slit

1 tsp paanch phoren (the standard Bengali tadka, an equal mix of cumin, fennel, mustard, fenugreek and nigella seeds)

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Jaggery

A little tamarind, soaked in 1/4 cup of water

2 tbsp mustard oil

Method

1. Heat the mustard oil in a pan until it smokes. Let it cool a little and add the paanch phoren.

2. Once the mustard seeds are done sputtering, add the green chilli.Saute till its fried.

3. Add the ginger paste and cook for 10 seconds.

4. Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric. Cook with a teaspoon of water until it gets a smooth consistency.

5. Add pumpkin pieces. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Add a bit of jaggery and continue to cook until the pumpkin pieces are done completely.

7. Uncover and add the tamarind paste.Continue to cook uncovered until it is dry or semi-dry.

8. Serve with hot rice or pooris.

I had the kaddoo with hot rice, lal masoor dal, yogurt and some green coriander chutney. It was awesome.