Pumpkin Curry Recipe
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When cooked, pumpkin becomes sweet and makes the perfect partner for fiery chilli and warm spices such as cumin and turmeric. Despite its quick cooking time, this dish has a rounded flavor. Serve as a vegetable aside to meat and fish dishes or by itself with steamed basmati rice or flatbreads and maybe an accompanying salad.
- 1 pound pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 7 ounces freshly grated coconut
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 2 small red chiles, split in half lengthwise
- Salt
- Put the pumpkin or butternut squash in a saucepan with the turmeric, smoked paprika, and the water. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 6-8 minutes or until tender.
- Grind half of the coconut in a spice mill or a mortar and pestle with the cumin seeds. Stir this into the pumpkin mixture and stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a small, nonstick frying pan, heat the oil until hot and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and red chiles. Stir and cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes, then pour this mixture over the pumpkin curry. Season and serve.
CHOW note: We tried this recipe with dried, grated, unsweetened coconut (available in health food stores), and it was delicious. Do not use sweetened shredded or flaked coconut.
Beverage pairing: Finding the perfect wine to pair with curries can be daunting, because the spices will clash with many wines containing too much tannin. And because of those same spices, high alcohol levels are also to be avoided. An off-dry Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley will not overpower this dish and also pairs very nicely with the sweet/earthy pumpkin component. Try the 2005 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
I was confused about whether I should be using fresh coconut (as stated in the recipe) or dried (as specified in the Chow note) so I went with fresh. Unfortunately, I had about the same results as lazygirl ... chunks of pumpkin in something more like a broth than a sauce, with oodles of coconut floating around (7 oz. is a HUGE amount of fresh grated coconut btw ... is that a typo?) I was baffled by how it could've gone so wrong. (In hindsight, I'm looking at one of calowell's comments and wondering, "wait, were you supposed to drain of the cooking water from the pumpkin?" That would certainly explain the problem.) I doctored it by adding a can of chick peas for body, plus about a 1/4 cup of red lentils and 1/2 cup of brown lentils, to thicken it up and absorb the excessive liquid. Of course, that extended the cooking time, too, which meant the pumpkin got somewhat mushy, helping to thicken it overall. However, once I got the texture fixed I thought it was kind of bland. It had heat but no taste. I adjusted the salt, added a tsp. of curry powder and a tsbp. sugar. After all of that, it was finally passable. It was actually a bit better the second day. Frustrating recipe though. I should've stuck with my standard pumpkin curry recipe from Linda McCartney's "On Tour" cookbook.
And my LAST comment on this recipe ; ) Put some high smoke point oil like grapeseed into a medium - medium hot pan. When it reaches heat, add the mustard seeds and cover. The seeds will pop. Move the hot pan from the heat when the popping really gets going and keep it off until it stops. THEN add the pepper and curry leaves (the leaves will spit if fresh so be careful!). Stir and cook for about 30 seconds, then add to the pumpkin, oil and all. Also - I ditched almost all of the water, leaving about 1/4 cup or less and then added coconut. I like the chicken broth suggestion - but I didn't go that route and simply added salt and pepper to the pumpkin just ahead of the oil. Kitchen cheers!!
Hmmm - in reading folks comments, I bet starting with a ginger, garlic, onion sweat might be a better way to go.
So - do you drain the water, or use it? And when you grind half the coconut in the cumin seeds - when do you add the other half to the dish? Thanks!
You can get fresh curry leaves at www.indianfoodsco.com. Thanks
I followed the CHOW note and used dried unsweetened coconut and it was awful. Watery sauce with ground up coconut floating in it.
Trader Joe's sells canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix). Anyone try using a pumpkin puree in this recipe?
I now have all the ingredients and am going to try this in the next few weeks. I will definitely be using chicken broth instead of water and I have grated dried coconut- Glad to hear that it's been tested. I love the idea of frying the innards and seeds and getting the flavor out too. Maybe tomorrow then!
Many thanks, Gaedon!
Fry the innards and seeds of the squash to a nice golden brown. Use low-sodium chicken stock instead of water. Simmer innards in broth for 6-7 minutes or so. Pour through sieve and discard the innards/seeds. Add pumpkin or butternut squash in a saucepan with the turmeric, smoked paprika and chicken broth mixture.
So, sweet smoked it is. Any thoughts about what might add some layers of flavor to this dish? I really like all the fall squashes so I'm always on the lookout for new recipes.
I had the same questions RI Swampyankee....I made it last night using hot smoked paprika. I felt the dish was missing that subtle sweetness I like about some curry dishes. It would have definitely been better to specify which type. Overall, I was pretty disappointed by the recipe. I had all the ingredients, and all were fresh and high quality spices. It was still pretty bland.
Is the smoked paprika sweet or hot? I have both and, as you might imagine, they are quite different.
Another way to use pumkin as a side dish or main dish with basmati or loochees(fried -in -oil dough that puffs) is to cut up butternut squash or calabaza gourd(I always use this) 1/2" cubes along with potato, cutting it the same. Heat oil in a pan. when hot, add kalonji(Black onion seeds. These can be bought at any indian grocery store). When it sizzles and pops, ad pumpkin and potato. Cook on medium high until done. add 2 green thai chilis cut in half, salt to taste, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Watch the consistency of the potatoes and pumkin as they cook so they won't be too mushy.This was a dish shown to me by my mother-in-law from calcutta and it is my husband's favorite.
Vincenzo... in your rice recipe... does LIME refer to ground limestone or the fruit's juice?
THE PERFECT BASMATI RICE RECIPE FOR THE WHITE BASMATI RICE- GET THE REAL FALVOR OF BASMATI Types Of rice Cooking Time Pure Basmati Rice 10-12 Minutes Brown Basmati 25 Minutes Basmati Parboiled 20-25 Minutes Thai Jasmine Rice 10-12 Minutes American Long Grain 12-15 Minutes Soak the Rice for atleast 30 Minutes in case of basmati rice and atleast 2 hours in case of Parboiled basmati Rice to get best cooking results . Open pan Method 300 Gms Of Kitchen King Basmati rice ( 4 Servings) 1 table spoon of Salt (Optional ) 1 table Spoon of Lime Wash the Rice in Running Water Soak basmati rice for about 30 minutes in Lukewarm water to make it tender and soft Boil the water in a large Pan add salt to it When Boiling , Tip the rice in the boiling water pan , Donot stir the rice as it is very tender Bring the regulator to Simmer and Let it Boil for about 5-7 minutes and add 1 table spoon of lime to the boiling rice to make it look white andso that it doesnt stick - make's each grain seprate To test if rice is cooked , remove a few grains with a fork ,Press a grain between and your thumb and finger, If get pressed with no hard core in there , It is ready If you find the small core , Cook it for another 2-4 minutes Once the rice is cooked , allow the cooked rice to stand for 2-5 Minutes in covered pan or colander so the mositure gets retained Do the needful Garnishing of Curry Leaves or Mint Leaves on the top and serve it Hot Enjoy the Best Perfect basmati Flavor
I'll try that, probably tomorrow. I don't have any chenin blanc in the house but I have a simple low alcohol french rose in the fridge so I'll try that.
Kelly, try a scant 1/2 cup. Also, you might want to mix in a tablespoon or two of unsweetened coconut milk to make up for the loss of moisture. Grind half of the dry coconut with the cumin, then stir in the remaining coconut and the coconut milk towards the the end of cooking. Let me know what happens. (And I hope you'll try the wine pairing too!)
re: my question above- How about 1/4 cup dried coconut? Or should I try more like 1/2 cup? I have all the ingredients and would really like to make it this weekend. thanks!
There's really no substitute for fresh curry leaves, gridder, but you can stir a teaspoon or two of curry powder into the sauce with the other dry spices. It won't be the same, but I think it will still be very tasty. But DON'T add the powder to the tempering (the hot oil and mustard seed bit at the end) as it will burn.
I wonder about subs for curry leaves? Not going to be able to find that in my neck of the woods.
How much grated dried coconut would I use in place of the fresh? thanks.
It wasn't bad. Couldn't help thinking it would have a much fuller flavor with some shrimp tossed in.
Ralsarra, I think you can definitely add coconut milk to this recipe. I would subsitute a cup of unsweetened coconut milk for 1 cup of the water. However, I'd cook the pumpkin in 1 1/2 cups water, then stir in the coconut milk closer to the end of cooking. (You might need a lid to get the pumpkin tender in the lesser amount of water.) I haven't tested this method, so let us know how it turns out.
Can I substitute coconut milk for dried coconut? If so, what kind of adjustments should I make to the recipe?