A piece of flaky fried bread turns into a scoop as you dip it into a pipping hot bowl of pumpkin curry, the action languorous. The pumpkin pieces look plump & juicy and hold a promise of being sweet & tart, the flavors scrumptious. To the onlooker you are but eating a humble pumpkin, the thought incredulous. To the omniscient, the crescendo is just building up, the excitement palpable.
The kaddu ka ambal – sweet and tart pumpkin curry is sweet, tart, spicy, hot and is a great example of balance in flavors. An important part of the Dogra cuisine (Dogras are the indigenous people of the Jammu region of Jammu & Kashmir), it is a dish served at almost all feasts when in season.
A gentle simmer to infuse the pumpkin with the spices, a gentle coaxing of the pumpkin to release its sweetness into the sauce, a touch of tartness from the tamarind to cut into the sweetness and you have yourself – kaddu ka ambal. Served over rice for a gluten free meal or along with crispy roti or even a fried puri for a more indulgent meal. Sometimes, a great dish doesn’t have to be slogged over for hours. It just needs to look like you did.
We are Celebrating Pumpkin With the #Progressive Eats Group where our Host, Jeanette from Jeanette’s Healthy Living chose pumpkin as the theme for this month. Here are some fabulous pumpkin dishes to choose from when deciding what to do with all those pumpkins!
Savory
- Pumpkin Cappuccino Soup from The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Pasta with Mascarpone Pumpkin Sauce and Toasted Walnuts from Creative Culinary
- Kaddu Ka Ambal – Sweet and Tart Pumpkin Curry from Spice Roots
- Roasted Pumpkin Herb Focaccia from Pastry Chef Online
Sweet
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies from Never Enough Thyme
- Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Gingersnap Crust from All Roads Lead To The Kitchen
- Pumpkin scones from Mother Would Know
- Caramel Topped Pumpkin Cheesecake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Snack Cake from Miss In The Kitchen
- Skinny Pumpkin Chai Latte from Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month’s theme is all about Pumpkin and is hosted by Jeanette Chen who blogs at Jeanette’s Healthy Living. With Autumn’s arrival, it’s the perfect time to start using fall’s harvest in our menus. We have some great ideas this month to use pumpkins in all sorts of dishes, both Savory and Sweet.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats, a theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out.
We have a core group of 12 bloggers, but we will always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.
Kaddu Ka Ambal – Sweet and Tart Pumpkin Curry
Ingredients
- 3 tbs oil
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3- 4 dried red chillies
- 3 Cups peeled and diced pumpkin 2 - 3 inch cubes
- Salt to taste 1 tsp
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Hungarian paprika good quality
- 1/2 tsp cayenne only if you want it hotter
- 1 C water
- 1 tsp tamarind paste or 1/4 C seedless tamarind soaked in 1/2 C water
- 4 tsp molasses or 2 tsp jaggery or 2 tsp brown sugar or 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot on medium heat.
- Add in the fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. As soon as the fenugreek starts to crackle and turn a bit red, add in chillies and then the diced pumpkins.
- Add in the salt and stir to coat.
- Add in the turmeric and the Hungarian paprika and the cayenne (if using cayenne).
- Stir to mix well and then cover and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Add the 1 C of water, cover and cook on medium heat until the pumpkin is tender - about 10 minutes.
- While the pumpkin is cooking, prepare the tamarind
- If you are using the seedless tamarind soaked in water, using your hand, massage the pulp into the soaking water. once the tamarind and water are sort of mixed in, using a strainer, strain out the water to filter out any seeds or shoots . Reserve the water discard the debris.
- If you are using a paste then mix it in half a cup of water and keep it aside.
- Once the pumpkin is soft and tender but still holding its shape, add in the tamarind water (now filtered) and also the molasses/sugar/jaggery ( whatever you are using)
- Mix it all in, cover and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat. The oil will float up to the top and the pumpkin will look a bit glossy when its ready.