Kaddu Ki Sabzi (Yellow pumpkin curry)

Kaddu ki sabzi
(Yellow pumpkin curry)

Kaddu ki sabzi is a sweet, sour and spicy dish. In Hindi khatta means sour and meetha mean sweet. The sourness comes from dry mango powder and the sweetness comes from sugar and as well as from kaddu. Pumpkin is known as Kaddu in Hindi.

Kadu ki sabzi is one of the popular dishes prepared during Navratri fast, religious ceremony, festivals and weddings as a part of special meal consisting of simple Aloo tomato curry, boondi raita (yogurt dish) and couple of seasonal vegetables such as Aloo gobi (cauliflower) Bhindi (Okra) or Arbi (Taro roots) accompanied with pooris or kachauri (dal stuffed poori), followed by Halwa or rice kheer (rice pudding).

For cooking kaddu ki sabzi first hard thick skin need to be peeled off and remove the inner seeds. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces and cook this dish with some aromatic spices. It’s sweet and savory amazing taste can’t be compared with any other vegetable. On special occasion people prepare this dish with nine kinds of nuts and it is called Navrattan kaddu sabzi. Here is the most popular traditional recipe, for cooking kaddu ki sabzi, it is very simple and easy to make

Ingredient:

2   Pounds peel and cubed yellow pumpkin
1   Teaspoon fenugreek seeds (Methi)
1   Teaspoon Panch Phoron masala (optional)
1    Pinch of asafetida (Hing)
1   Teaspoon coriander powder
½   Teaspoon red chili powder
½ Teaspoon turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon Mango powder (amchoor)
1   Teaspoon sugar or to your taste
1    Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Teaspoon salt or to your taste.

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Pumpkin

Fenugreek seeds (Methi)

Coriander powder

Mango powder

Salt

Panch Phoron masala

Red chili powder

Sugar

Asafetida (Hing)

Turmeric powder

Oil

Directions:

1. For cooking kaddu ki sabzi we usually buy a thick slice of Pumpkin according
    to our need. Cleaning and peeling the skin of Pumpkin is little tough but not
    difficult. First with a knife or a spoon scrape out the pulp and seeds from the
   pumpkin.

2. Insert the knife in the ridge of the Pumpkin and cut into about 1" thick slices.

With a spoon scoop out the seeds

Slice the big wedge into small wedge

3. With a large sharp knife to carefully remove the skin from each wedge. It is
easy to peel the small wedges then a bigger piece.

4. Now cut the peeled wedges into small pieces.

5. Wash pumpkin pieces well.

Peel the skin of the wedge

Cut the wedge into small pieces

Chopped pumpkin pieces

Wash pumpkin pieces

6. In a Pressure cooker or in a sauce pan add oil and heat.

7. Add Fenugreek seed, Panch Phoron masala and asafetida (Hing) and fry them
or about one minute or until they become brown.

In a pressure cooker add oil and heat

Add Fenugreek seeds (Methi)

Panch Phoron masala

Add Asafetida (Hing)

8. Once seeds become brown add coriander powder turmeric powder, red chili
powder, and fry for few seconds.

All the seeds are fried

Add Coriander powder, Red chili powder & Turmeric powder and fry

Mix spices and fry

All the spices are fried

9. Add pumpkin pieces in the pressure cooker and add salt.

Add pumpkin pieces in cooker

Add salt and mix

10. Mix Pumpkin pieces with fried spices.

11. Close the lid of the pressure cooker, place the weight on the lid and turn the
heat to low for few minutes so that water comes out from pumpkin then raise
   the heat.

12. In 5 to 7 minutes as the pressure cooker starts steaming turn the heat down to
     medium and cook for another 5 minutes turn the heat off and wait until steam
     goes down. (Different brand of cooker required different time to cook)

Mix pumpkins with spices

Close the pressure cooker

13. Once the pressure goes down open the pressure cooker and check if pumpkin
pieces become tender.

14. With the serving spoon mix and mash the pumpkin pieces. Pumpkin leaves
lot of water, raise the heat so that all the water dries up quickly.

Check if pumpkin is tender

With a spoon mash Pumpkin pieces

15. Once pumpkin water evaporated then add sugar and Mango powder and cook
for 2 to 4 minutes, turn the stove off. (If Pumpkin is sweet then you don’t
have to add sugar)

Pumpkin is mashed

Add sugar and mix

Add Amchoor (Mango powder) & mix

Kaddu ki sabzi is ready (Pumpkin curry)

Kaddu Ki sabzi /Yellow pumpkin curry

Tips:

1. Nuts like almonds, cashews, pistachio and raisins could be added to pumpkin
     curry.

2. If you do not have Panch Phoron masala you can cook pumpkin without it. It is
    generally available pre-mixed at Indian grocery stores or you can mix it at
    home. Take 2 pinches each of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds,
    cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Panch Phoron masala adds flavor to the dish.

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you

Geeta Seth

Other recipes:

Aloo tamater (Potatoes with tomatoes)               Egg curry (Ande ki curry)

Potatoes with moong dal mangori               Arbi with gravy (Taro roots)

Poori                                                        Muttar paneer (Paneer with green peas)

Sarson ka saag                                       Palak paneer (Spinach with paneer)

Kaddu ki sabzi (Yellow pumpkin curry)

Kaddu ki sabzi
(Yellow pumpkin curry)