I distinctly remember the first time I ever ate Indian food. I was 19 and had still not been exposed to many of the world’s cuisines; my tastes were pretty mundane and the spices and heat were just so foreign.
It wasn’t until I met my future husband, Will, a few years later that I had Indian food that changed my mind about eating it completely.
We were visiting London over the holidays and ate our way around the city. If ever there was a place outside of India to eat good Indian food, that was the city to do it in.
Wow! Those foreign spices were suddenly so good.
These days, Indian food – rice or no rice – is a significant part of our diet. So much so, that I buy spices in 8 oz and 16 oz quantities – not your average spice bottle. My cupboards are filled with large glass bottles (repurposed from other things) filled with cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, curry powder, chile powder, and mustard seeds.
This week, I put them to the test on a favorite vegetable of mine: pumpkin. I relied on a Pumpkin Masala recipe from Sanjay Thumma of VahRehVah.com.
Pumpkin Masala Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 10 cashew nuts
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger (minced)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 ½ pounds pumpkin (kabocha, kuri or butternut squash work well), chopped into 1 inch squares
- 1/2 cup coriander powder – look for this at an Indian grocery if you have one nearby
- 1 tsp chile powder
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat a large saute pan (one that you have a lid for) to medium high heat.
- Add olive oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cashews, and chopped onion. Stir for 2 minutes. Then add salt, turmeric, curry powder, minced ginger and garlic to pan. Stir and cook for 2 minutes longer.
- Add pumpkin, coriander powder, chile powder, and water. Mix, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook until pumpkin is tender. About 15-20 minutes. Stir in chopped cilantro right before serving.
- Serve over basmati rice or as a side dish to grilled chicken.
