That reminded me of an old friend from Delhi. No he doesn't resemble a pumpkin but he was the one who introduced me to "Pumpkin Kootu", a delicious south indian dish from the heartlands of Tamil Nadu..
For many and to me till then, the pumpkin was a Big bland Orange blob. My friend introduces me to the delightful world of pumpkins.
So the instant I saw this beauty, I picked it up and brought it home.
Well thats when I realised that its been a long time since I have made the kootu.
So it was time for pestering my friend to part with the recipe. My persistence paid off
and finally I got my hand on it.
Well folks, heres the recipe.
1. Peel pumpkin and cut into small pieces (say the size of a cashew nut)
2. Add water and boil or pressure cook for just one whistle (don't add in pressure cooker along with dal, will get over cooked)
3. Cook toor or moong dal separately
4. Grind little bit of coconut, jeera, red chillies into a paste
5. Mix dal and pumpkin and the paste add salt to taste and bring to a boil
6. Fry curry leaves and mustard seeds and add to the mix.
You are done!
Note: If coconut is not available - add sambar powder and fried urad dal, asafoetida and red chillies to the mix.
So tonight it will be the special pumpkin kootu.
Lets hope I dont end up like this (and I am sober tonight).
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