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Taste with a twist
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Sample these simple recipes with pumpkin
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Pumpkin delights: Spiced or sweetened, there's a lot you can do with this vegetable — Pic. by K. Ramesh Babu
TRUE THAT Halloween is nowhere near. But still, one can make the best use of pumpkin: not only to carve it to decorate the table, but also to make dishes that are not too calorie-rich. Swirl it into a subzi or twist it a little for a dal, it tastes superb with the slightest touch of spices. For those who swear by sweets, there is always the dear old halwa. Try out these fast-to-cook recipes with kaddu.
Kaddu ka dalcha
Ingredients
Channa dal - 100 gm
Bottle gourd cubes - 800 gm
Tamarind pulp - 50 gm
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies (slit) - 10
Garam masala (whole) - 20 gm
Onion (sliced) - 50 gm
Ginger garlic paste - 30 gm
Tomatoes chopped - 50 gm
Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tsp
Oil - 50 ml
Salt / pepper to taste
Curry leaves - 5 sprigs
Method: Boil and mash the channa dal. Sauté whole garam masala and sliced onions in a pan and allow them to turn golden brown in colour. Cook ginger garlic paste with red chilli powder, curry leaves, turmeric powder, slit green chillies, salt/pepper and chopped coriander leaves for a while. Add cubes of bottle gourd, chopped tomatoes and mashed channa dal and cook till the bottle gourd is done. Finish with tamarind pulp and give it a dum for 10 minutes.
Shorba
Ingredients
Red pumpkin - 300 gm
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp
Onions (chopped) - 50 gm
Carrots (roughly chopped) - 50 gm
Basil - 1 tbsp
Maida - 30 gm
Butter - 30 gm
Pepper to taste
Cream - 3 tbsp
Method: Peel and cut the pumpkin in dices. Boil the pumpkin in water with onions, carrots, basil and coriander. Strain the vegetables and puree it. Make a white roux of maida and butter. In a pan, cook the pureed vegetables; add in cream and the roux. Adjust the consistency and seasoning of the soup according to your choice. And the shorba is ready.
Kaddu ki subzi
Ingredients
Red pumpkin - 500 gm
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Kalonji - ½ tsp
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Fenugreek - ¼ tsp
Anise seeds - ½ tsp
Bay leaves - 2
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Method: Soak the raisins in water. Cut the pumpkin into cubes with the skin. In a pan, add oil and sauté kalonji, cumin seeds, fenugreek, anise seeds, mustard seed and bay leaves till they start crackling. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir it for some time. Cover the pan and let the pumpkin cook on a low flame till it is done.
Halwa
Ingredients
White pumpkin - 1 kg
Ghee - 100 gm
Milkmaid - 250 gm
Sugar as required
Dry fruits (chopped) - 2 tbsp
Method: Peel and grate the pumpkin. Boil the pumpkin in water. Drain the water and keep the pumpkin aside. Fry the dry fruits in oil till you get a light golden colour. Sauté pumpkin in ghee for 10 minutes. Then add Milkmaid and again cook it for five more minutes, sugar, if required more, can be added at this time. And the pumpkin halwa is ready.
O. P. KHANTWAL
The writer is Executive Chef at ITC Hotel Kakatiya Sheraton and Towers
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