Pumpkin Erissery (Kerala style curry)

I made it for the first time many months ago and did not think much about posting the recipe. A month earlier I was routinely asking my daughter what she wants me to make for lunch. Its a question which comes up every now and then in my house when I am out of ideas on what to make. Imagine my surprise when she says "Amma, make that pumpkin thingy you made long back"! First of all I did not think she would remember a specific dish made once many months ago and second  I did not have pumpkin in the refridgerator. So I took a rain check on it and made her favourite pulav instead.
In keeping with this week's Thanksgiving run-up I decided to bring the vegetable home and make her favorite curry today.

Pumpkin Errisery is really simple to make and turns out into a delicious dish. I think it would be a perfect side dish and looks awesome in the middle of a spread. So make it for a pot luck or party  and get some kudos while taking it easy!

Pumpkin Errisery (Kerala Style Curry)

Servings: 3 cups
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients 

To Boil

4 cups Pumpkin (cut into 1-inch cubes)
Salt to taste
A pinch of turmeric

To Grind

1 tsp Cumin seeds
3 Green Chillies
1/4 cup Coconut

To Temper

1/2 Medium onion or 4-5 Shallots
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 Red Chillies
8-10 Curry leaves
3 tsp Oil

Garnish

2 tbsp Coconut

Instructions

1. Grind coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds to a coarse mix and keep aside.
2. Boil pumpkins in water till nearly soft along with turmeric and salt. 
3. Add the ground paste to the pumpkins and continue to cook on simmer till pumpkins are well done.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add mustard seeds.
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add red chillies and urad dal and saute for a couple of minutes.
6. Add in onion and saute till transluscent and then put in the curry leaves.
7. Mix well and pour the tempering on top of the cooked pumpkin
8. In the same heavy bottomed vessel fry 2 tbsp of coconut till they are crisp and mix it into the pumpkin curry.
9. Mix well and serve with hot rice or chapathi

Pumpkin Soup Curry flavored

Here comes yet another post using the pumpkin puree that I made day before yesterday. After a tiring day pumpkin soup is something you could snack on to both relax and fill your tummy. It is wholesome and the curry flavour gives it an extra spicy kick. This soup can be made as sweet or spicy as desired. 

Pumpkin Soup Curry flavored

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 cup Water
1 tbsp Butter (or less) or 1 tbsp Oil
1 medium sized Onion
2 Garlic pods
1/2 inch piece Ginger grated
1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
A pinch of turmeric
2 Cloves whole
2 tsp Red Chilli powder
Few coriander leaves cut fine
Salt to taste

Instructions

• Cut onions and garlic fine
• Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed wok and saute the onions till transluscent.
• Add garlic and ginger and saute for a couple of minutes
• Add in all the spices and saute for a couple of minutes
• Pour the pumpkin puree along with water into the wok and continue to boil for a few minutes.
• Add salt and simmer for five minutes.
• Garnish with coriander or parsley
• Serve the soup hot

Spiced Eggless Pumpkin Quick Bread

Pumpkin bread is the kind of food that you want to take with you when your mind wanders into nostalgia. It evokes a lot of emotions, most of all happiness. Done with the right spices, this wonder food, which is a big source of Vitamin A, can be relished as a snack any time of the day.

With my resolve to post a pumpkin recipe everyday of this week leading to Thanksgiving day, I made a list of all the dishes I wanted to prepare and this bread topped the list. It is an extremely simple quick bread which means there is no wait time required between making the batter and baking.

The pumpkin bread is symbolic of warmth. The recipe below does not make an overtly sweet bread. Its a sure-fire crowd pleaser and I am very happy to report that the two food critics in my house absolutely loved it! I recommend it as a kid friendly recipe and it can easily make its way into the school snack box.

Spiced Eggless Pumpkin Quick Bread 

Recipe adapted from Gayathri's cookspot
Servings: 1 9-inch loaf
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 60 mins

Ingredients 

1 cup All purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Pastry flour
1 cup granulated Sugar
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Double acting Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2-3 Cloves (If using powder then 1/2 tsp)
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Oil
3 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Water
Chopped walnuts (handful to 1/2 cup)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line a 9 inch loaf tin with parchment paper or grease with oil.
2. Sift together all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour. sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves together in a bowl.
3. In another bowl mix together pumpkin puree, oil, water, honey
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to form a thick batter. Mix only till well combined, do not overmix.
5. Fold in the walnuts
6. Fill the loaf tin with the thick batter and lightly spread to be even topped
7. Bake at 350 deg F for 60 minutes till a skewer inserted comes out clean with no batter sticking to it. Check from 55 mins to see if it is done
8.  Remove from oven and cool in the loaf tin for 5 minutes. Continue to cool on a wire rack.