My pumpkin curry recipe

[1adam12]

Hi all,
Allstonian in the Boston board suggested that I post up my pumpkin curry recipe, so here it is. Hope you enjoy it, and if there are questions then please do ask!

13.5 fl oz can coconut milk
2 cups water
2 lbs pumpkin. Jarrahdale is best. Queensland blue is also good for this recipe. Can also substitute hubbard squash, but reduce to 3 dried pears to compensate for extra sweetness.
2 onions, sliced
9 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cinammon
1 tsp ground ginger
4 small hot red peppers, finely sliced
gee or a neutral oil (peanut, for example) for frying
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
8 - 10 curry leaves
4 dried pears, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt

Prepare the pumpkin by cutting into halves and roasting in an oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until soft enough to easily shell and cube but NOT so soft that the pumpkin is falling apart.

Add gee to frying pan. Fry cumin, turmeric, and coriander, pepper, and cinammon for a few seconds. Add onion and pumpkin, and fry until onion starts to soften.

Add water, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, and red pepper to pan. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add chopped dried pear, and continue to cook until pumpkin is soft, about 15 minutes.

Add garam masala and salt, stir, simmer 3 more minutes, and serve.

[jkling17]

That looks great - thanks!

[mickeygee]

this might seem silly, but if I don't have curry leaves, can I sub curry powder, or would I need to adjust all the other spices too. I've never really made curries before, at least not with fresh curry leaves (mostly just curry paste & coconut milk). And I have a pumpkin that's been sitting on my counter forever waiting for something interesting to try.

[karykat]

Others will know more about this. But curry leaves aren't a component of curry. It's a separate plant. But I do think curry powder would meld perfectly with this and would be great.

[bear]

I would just skip the leaves. There is plenty of curry flavor as is and additional curry powder might overpower the dish.

[1adam12]

Not a silly question. Curry powder is actually just a blend of several spices which was invented to approximate the flavor of the spices we've already included in this recipe individually.

Curry leaves are a whole different thing - they are the fresh leaves of a small tree, and they impart a fragrant and slightly bitter flavor. You can find them fresh at any decent Indian market, but if you can't find them then don't worry about it. You can safely leave them out and the dish won't suffer.

[jkling17]

Good curry powders are regularly available at any asian or indian market. Having several is nice, as there are easily hundreds of ways of making curry. Premade mixes also can be fantastic - Shan makes good ones I feel. Note: they are strong - you don't need as much as the box says.

I do recommend large Indian markets though, like Patels - as they will also have not merely a really good selection of curry blends BUT also all the individual spices that can be used to make whatever you want, some are just so special that having a small bag is really essential - like green cardamon and fenugreek leaves (dried, frozen and fresh). I prefer using the dried. These are not to be confused with fenugreek seeds. Note: avoid the black cardamon - it's been leached of most of it's flavor.

Indian markets will also have the best prices on raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, and stuff like dates, rice, etc.

[karykat]

The curry leaf plant grows easily in our area and is kind of fun to have handy. So it might be worth trying to grow next year.

[sr44]

Which area is that?

[bear]

We had this for dinner last night. It was very good, and thanks for sharing. I didn't have the dried pears so I added about a tablespoon of brown sugar and that worked well. I used blue hubbard, which did have a nice natural sweetness.

[karykat]

Very timely recipe for me. I just bought 4 pie pumpkins and am looking for uses for them.

This sounds like it would be good for book club this weekend.

Quick question. Think it would work to do everything ahead and then just rehead for that last 15 minutes?

[1adam12]

karykat, like many curries it's actually fine to make this a day or two in advance. No need to save the last 15 minutes. The flavors blend better and the final dish is tastier if you let it sit in the fridge beforehand.

[karykat]

Sounds good. That will be easier. Looking forward to pumpkin not-in-a-pie for bookclub.

[wyogal]

Yum!

[goodhealthgourmet]

sounds delicious! thanks for sharing.

[bear]

That sounds sooooo good. Thanks for posting.

[Kiyah]

Looks great, thanks for sharing!