Easy Pumpkin Sabzi - Pumpkin #1

The original recipe called for butternut squash, but I used pumpkin. The pumpkins that I buy are always very orangey in colour. Which is why, I find the taste to be similar to butternut squash. I never knew that there was an obvious difference, not until Anne of Pigpigscorner told me during our meet up 2 years ago.

No wonder my overseas readers gave me feedback regarding my pumpkin buns, that the dough was very sticky for them. The pumpkin there are far moister then here. Here, most pumpkins do taste like butternut squash and the flesh is orange in colour. Not yellow. And I saw some yellow fleshed ones (they were sold cut into halves or quarters) , bought some to taste, and indeed it isn’t as creamy and sweet as the orange fleshed ones, of which is so so similar to butternut squash.

But then again… there is butternut squash, locally grown ones. There is no need to fork out huge amounts of money to buy Aussie grown ones. But you have to try your luck. Sometimes, not always, I do see them in the market and the market peddlers will just say they are long necked pumpkins. But they do know the long necked ones taste sweeter and creamier. So, if you could get the smooth long necked ones (of which is butternut squash), good, but if not any orange fleshed pumpkin will do. No yellow ones for this dish please.

I made this for some elderly guests who came dining with us and everybody loved it, young and old.
They even asked me for the recipe and requested I cook this for them the next time they come visiting again.

I also made this dish for Reuben's 1st birthday party and almost all the ladies present (who cooks at home regularly) asked me for the recipe, or at least what did I put in because they want to cook this at home. They told me it's very nice and it's a nice break away from their usual method of cooking pumpkin.

If you can, try to get this smooth skinned pumpkin from the market. The flesh is really thick and creamy!

Easy Pumpkin Sabzi

Adapted with some modifications from : One Life To Eat

1.2kg orange fleshed pumpkin (after peeling and removing seed, you will be left with about 900gm)
1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
3+1 Tbsp olive oil
2 sprigs curry leaf (stalks removed)
1 tsp black mustard seeds (biji sawi)
2 green chillies, sliced
½ tsp salt or more

Spice mix
2 dried chillies (use it dry)
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground turmeric

1. Preheat oven to 180(fan)/200C. Line baking tray with aluminium foil.
2. In a large bowl, put pumpkin and onion together. Put in 3 Tbsp of olive oil and toss. Pour these into the lined pan.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Give it a light toss and bake it again for another 10 minutes until golden.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the spice mix. Mill the dried chilli, coriander, and cumin together until fine. Mix with turmeric. Set aside.
5. Remove baked pumpkin and toss the pumpkin to make sure it’s not sticking to the foil. Collect it in a pile in the foil.
6. Heat wok on medium low heat, put in 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Put in mustard seeds and cook it until it sputters. Put in sliced green chillies and curry leaves and cook until fragrant. Put in salt.
7. Hold the foil and pour the pumpkin into the wok and put in the spice mix. Toss it to make sure everything is well distributed. Cook until everything smells good (won’t take long about 2 minutes)
8. Garnish with some chopped coriander.

*Take note that the pumpkin shrinks a lot after baking, so don't worry about it being too much



the pumpkins are nicely roasted and has a dry surface