Spicy Sweet Squash (Meetha Kaddu)

This post has been languishing in my drafts for months, like many others. Today is one of those days when I am blissfully unaware of anything. Little S is napping and I am listening to Begum Parveen Sultana happy to have this  hour to myself. I skip from one beautiful, soulful singer to another and a sort of peace descends over me. 

These peaceful moments are very rare these days and I try to grab every moment I can. Just like in cooking, my son's choice of food dominates. There are days when  all we eat is varan-bhaat and call it a night and others when we gobble grilled cheese sandwiches and watch cartoons and enjoy ourselves. 

I like pumpkin/ squash a lot and try and make it when possible. It adapts itself wonderfully well to any seasoning, sweetish or spicy and is a treat to eat it in any avatar. Roll it in a fulka or enjoy with a dish of sabudana khichadi on days you fast. Or simply try it this method I have shown below. either way you have a tasty vegetable dish on your table.

1/2 lb. Red pumpkin ( I used Butternut Squash)
2 Tbs. Oil
Pinch Asafetida
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
2 Tsp Ginger, chopped
1 tsp. Green Chiles
1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red chile powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Mango/  Amchur powder
1 Tbsp. Jaggery grated/ powdered
2 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped


Wash, peel and cut the pumpkin/ squash into 3/4 inch cubes
Cut the peel into 1 inch pieces
Heat Oil in a pan and add asafetida, fenugreek seeds and saute until golden brown (dark brown will result ina bitter taste)
Add ginger, green chilies, turmeric, red chili powder and cut peel and cook for 1 minute. Add the cubed pumpkin and mix.
Add salt to taste and 1/2 cup water. Cook covered on high heat, stirring occasionally until the water evaporates.
Uncover, add mango powder and jaggery, cook for a minute
Add cilantro, mix well
Serve hot with pooris/ roti.

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Simple Pleasures :Lal Bhoplyachi Rassa Bhaaji

Hope you all had a Rocking Diwali!! So???? Did you all gorge on goodies? Deep fried, soul satisfying, crunchy-munchy stuff?? I know I did ! This year I teamed up with a couple of my friends and we made our lot of goodies together. This made it easier for me, we could keep a watch on the children and have a good time cooking, laughing and gossiping too.


But now, simple food is on my list.. I haven't really cooked a vast deal and somehow a kind of inertia has gripped me, I open my drafts folder, type a sentence and log out. Maybe it is because I am totally tied up with Little S and have little time for myself, specially since the husband works away from home and is here only for the weekend.
A simple Sambar- Rice with a side of this vegetable or something similar is on the menu when M comes home and a quick sandwich and I am done when I am on my own!

The other day I picked up a neatly cut and cored piece of Butternut Squash and came home with the intention of making one of my childhood fvourites.
Of course, back home this is made with pumpkin, but the pumpkins here are not my cuppa, I doubt if I will ever be able to chop them, so , b'nut squash is my choice.
usually made during fasting (upvaas) days, this mild vegetable is a great accompaniment to sabudana khichadi or Vari rice, but I also like it with a phulka or plain daal-rice.

I make this so often that I use andaaz, so the measures are guesstimates.

You need:

~ 2 cups of Butternut squash (peeled, cored & cubed)

1 Thai chile

1/2 tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds

2 tbs. Oil / ghee

1/2 cup powdered peanuts or Peanut butter to save time ( I used creamy peanut butter)

1 tsp Tamarind concentrate or Soak a walnut size ball of tamarind in warm water and extract the pulp.

1 lump Jaggery

Salt to taste

Cilantro to garnish

Water

Heat oil or ghee in a wok, add the cumin seeds. After they sizzle, add the chile.

Add the cubed butternut squash. Mix well, Add about 1/2 cup or less of water , cover and cook till tender ( should not be mushy).

Once the squash is tender, add in some more water ( this depends on the thickness of the gravy you want) , add the tamarind and jaggery, salt and the peanut powder /butter.

Let the whole thing come to a boil. Switch off the heat and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with rice, phulka, vari rice or sabudana khichadi.

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L is for Lal Bhoplya chi Bhaji

The everyday pumpkin is Lal Bhopla in Marathi. This is my entry for Nupur's A-Z of Vegetables....

All thru my childhood I associated 'bhopla' with a zero (that I used to get in my math paper!) my Father would count, re-count the marks and send a prayer upward for the unseen hand which guided me to passing marks , I would count the 'bhoplas' and grin impishly (and shamelessly)!

As for eating pumpkin vegetable, I did not mind it... though not a particular favourite of mine. My Mother made it with a sweet-sour tamarind jagery gravy and peanut powder. I used to call it 'Upvasachi bhaji' (vegetable consumed during a Fast).

Then came a delightful version of Gharge, which satisfied my sweet tooth and my respect for this bland vegetable went up.

Today I am trying out another version, taken from Lokpriya

1/4 kg Red pumpkin
1 tablespoon Grated coconut
2 Red chillies
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
1/4 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 pinch Asafoetida
2 tablespoons Grated jaggery
1 tablespoon Oil
Salt (As per taste)

1/4 tsp Cumin - I added this

Method

Chop the pumpkin into 2 inch cubes.Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and add mustard seed, red chillies, turmeric and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds start crackling add the fenugreek seeds. Fry for 1-2 seconds.
Add the chopped pumpkin and saute for 2-3 minutes. Cover and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour 1/2 cup of water on top of the lid, this enhances steaming. Add water into the pan only if required.When the pumpkin is half-cooked, add the jaggery and stir well and cook covered till it is thoroughly cooked. Add the coconut and simmer for 2 minutes.Serve hot with rotis.

Verdict: Simple and Tasty! I was a bit apprehensive as there are no spices (lesson learnt... spices are not always necessary!), but the methi (fenugreek seeds) and jaggery are sufficient.

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