No-waste pumpkin curry

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan/gas 7. Prepare the pumpkin by peeling off the skin using a strong Y-peeler or a sharp knife. Slice the skin into smaller strips. Spread them out on a baking tray, give them a generous coating of olive oil and use your hands to make sure they are coated properly. Roast for 30 minutes, then dust liberally with salt, cumin and chilli powder.
2. Meanwhile, remove the seeds from the pumpkin, then put them a bowl of water to rinse off any flesh. Drain, then pat dry (you want about 50g of seeds in total). For the chutney, dry roast the seeds on a tray below the pumpkin skins for about 12 minutes. Toast the coconut in a dry pan over a medium heat until golden. Tip out into a bowl, then toast the garlic, curry leaves and whole dried chillies for a few minutes. Let the garlic, curry leaves and chillies cool, then put in a food processor with the cumin, chilli powder and asafoetida. Whizz into a rubble, then mix with the toasted coconut and roasted seeds. Season to taste with salt and set aside.
3. While the pumpkin skin and seeds cook, soak the kokum or tamarind in about 50ml of warm water for 15 minutes (you can skip this step if using tamarind paste). Cut the pumpkin into bite-size chunks. Squeeze the kokum or tamarind fruit to release any liquid, adding that to the soaking water. Reserve the soaking water and discard the fruit.
Recipe continues after advertising
Advertisement
4. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once the leaves start to splutter, add the green chillies and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and tomato and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the salt, turmeric, coriander and chilli powder and cook, stirring constantly, for another 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the pumpkin along with the kokum or tamarind soaking water, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 7-10 minutes until the pumpkin is cooked through.
7. Finally, add the coconut milk (and the tamarind paste if substituting for the kokum/tamarind) and let the curry simmer for a few more minutes. Serve with the coriander scattered over, plus the pumpkin skin chips and the chutney on the side.