I’ve passed on the standard witch diet of eye of newt or frogs’ legs for this week and instead intend to persuade you that pumpkins are for more than just carving. Pumpkins come into season around mid-October and are a fantastically cheap and healthy vegetable that’s big enough to feed you for a week. You may have never gone near a pumpkin with a knife and fork, in which case don’t be put off as they are similar in taste and texture to butternut squash or a sweet potato. Give this mild, creamy, coconut flavoured curry a go and you’ll be cursed with a pumpkin addiction for life. Maybe.
Ingredients – (Serves 2)
1 mug of white rice
1 onion, finely chopped
1⁄4 of a medium pumpkin, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons of Patak’s Madras Curry Paste (Try any of Patak’s range and taste to your liking)
6-7 tablespoons of Lentils (Red or Yellow)
1 tablespoon of ground turmeric
2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut (not essential but boosts
the flavour)
300ml of vegetable or chicken stock
1 tin (400mls) of coconut milk
Method
• Firstly, set off your rice so it’s ready for when the curry is done. • Finely chop the onion and gently soften in a sauté pan with a little oil.
• Once softened add the curry paste and gently fry for a minute, then stir in the lentils so that everything is covered in the paste.
• Add the hot stock, the coconut milk, desiccated coconut, ground turmeric and the cubed pumpkin and stir together. Simmer the curry with the lid off to cook the pumpkin and reduce down the liquid. It should take around 10 minutes simmering for the pumpkin to be cooked.
• The sauce should become thick and slightly lumpy as the lentils absorb the water and swell up. Continue to gently simmer the sauce until it gains this creamy texture.
• The pumpkin should be soft when stabbed with a sharp knife, but not so soft that it breaks up when punctured, much like a boiled potato.
• Serve with boiled rice.
If you wish to include meat in this dish, turkey or chicken match the mild flavours. Simply fry it with the onion at the beginning of the recipe before adding the curry paste. Frozen peas could also be added during the last three to four minutes of simmering as another healthy addition.
Nick Smith