Pumpkin Prawns

This is a family recipe, which we really relish with a plateful of rice. Sweet pumpkins are cooked and mashed with masalas, then there are bits of prawns, which provides a nice texture. 

Ingredients

• Prawns - 300 gm, shelled and deveined
• Pumpkin - a wedge, chopped into bite size pieces
• Potato - 1, optional
• Onion - 2, chopped, 1, made into paste
• Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
• Green chilli - as per taste
• Salt, turmeric, kashmiri chilli powder
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Mustard oil

Marinate the prawns with a pinch of salt and turmeric. Then fry them a little and keep aside.

In the same pan, add chopped onion, when they turned brown, add the ground onion and fry well.

Add the garlic paste along with chopped green chilli and saute well.

Next goes all the ground masalas with a sprinkle of water.

When masalas are sauteed well, add the cubed pumpkin and mix well with the masalas.

Add a sprinkle of water and then cook covered till the pumpkins are cooked well.

When pumpkins are almost mashed, and oil is coming out, add the fried prawns. 

Continue cooking till the prawns are cooked through and all ingredients are mixed well. Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar. Check the salt. 

Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander. 

Curried Rice Noodles

A hearty one pot meal by itself, this rice noodles dish is best enjoyed on a rainy evening or Winter night. I have used readymade red curry paste for this recipe. Use vegetable of your choice and sprinkle loads of coriander leaves at the end to get that spicy kick.

Ingredients

• Rice Noodles - 1 pack
• Coconut Milk - one pouch
• Real Thai Red curry paste - 1 pack
• Chicken - 300 gms, boneless
• Vegetables of your choice. I have used pumpkin and green beans
• Onion - 1, chopped
• Green chilli - as per paste
• Coriander Leaves - a bunch

Cook the rice noods as per the pack instruction and keep aside. Steam the vegetables lightly and keep aside. Reserve the liquid. Pressure cook the chicken with bayleaf. Reserve the stock.

In a wok, add white oil, then add chopped onion and green chilli. Fry a little.

Then add the red curry paste and mix well with onions.

Sprinkle the reserved stock and cook till oil comes out of the masalas. Then add the boiled chicken and stir to coat them with masalas.

Next goes the steamed veggies.

After 30 seconds add the vegetable and chicken stock and boil over low heat for 5-7 minutes.

Then add a cup of coconut milk and mix well.

Boil for 10 minutes over very low heat. Adjust the seasoning. The gravy is ready.

To serve, arrange the prepared noodles in a bowl, then add the chicken vegetable soup over it. The noodles should be submerged in the soup. Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves and chopped onions and serve hot.

Kumro Ilish - Hilsa with Pumpkin

Again a bengali ( or better say, BANGAL ) delicacy, kumro ilish is a prominent feature in our menu during hilsa season. While, there is nothing to say about hilsa, pumpkin adds a little sweetness to the dish and helps bring out the flavor of the hilsa even better. BTW, I never fry the hilsa, always try to cook it in the gravy itself. This way the flavor of the fish is infused into the gravy.

Ingredients

• Hilsa Fish - 8 pcs
• Cubed Pumpkin - 1 bowl
• Green Chillies - 4
• Coriander leaves - a bunch, chopped
• Turmeric, Salt - as required
• Kalonji / Onion Seed / Kalojeere - a pinch
• Mustard Oil - 5 tbsp

Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric and salt and keep aside.

Heat good amount of mustard oil in a pan. Add sliced green chillies and a pinch of kalonji / onion seed into it and let it splutter. Now add the pumpkin cubes and fry a little.

Add salt and turmeric mixed in water and add to the pumpkins. Pumpkins should be coated thoroughly with spice mixture.

Add the marinated fish and mix well with the pumpkins.

Add 2 cups of hot water and let it simmer for 15 minutes or till the pumpkins are soft and a bit mushy. Oil should be visible as well.

Serve hot with plain rice.

Kumro Patol Dalna-Pumpkin Pointed Gourd Curry

A very authentic bengali vegetable dish... I have collected this recipe from one of the 'Thakur Barir Ranna' types book. A very simple and common vegetable cooked in bengali household, just addition of sesame seed paste makes all the difference in taste.

Ingredients

• Pumpkin - 250 gms, cut into cubes
• Patol / Pointed Gourd - 250 gms, halved
• Poppy seed paste - 2 tbsp
• Sesame Seed paste - 3 tbsp
• Green chilli  - 3 - 4
• Salt, Sugar, Turmeric - as required
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Bayleaf - 3
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Add oil and ghee in a pan. Then add the bayleaf and green chilli.  Shallow fry the pumpkin and Patol with salt and turmeric for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle some water and cook covered for 10 minutes on low flame.

When pumpkin and Patol are almost cooked, add the poppy seed and sesame seed paste and mix well. Add your sugar at this point. Adjust the seasoning.

Cook for 2 - 3 minutes over high heat till the water evaporates and the vegetables are evenly coated with masalas.

Serve with plain rice or roti.

Braised pumpkin with chicken soup

Today I was browsing the net and got this wonderful recipe. Although the original recipe has asked for crab meat, I have replaced the crab meat with chicken and modified the recipe a bit to my Bengali pallet. The end product is a hit and even my neighbour has appreciated it. So, I thought,' let me share it with you'.

Ingredients

• Pumpkin - 250 gms ( cooked and pureed with skin off)
• Pumpkin - 100 gms ( thinly sliced)
• Chicken stock - 1 cup
• Chicken 100 gms( boiled and shredded)
• Chicken powder-1 cube ( I tried Maggi chicken cube)
• Corn Flour - 1/2 tsp (to glaze)
• Salt and Turmeric ( a pinch each)
• Spring onion- Julienned, to garnish

Cook 3/4th portion of your pumpkin in a microwave and puree it in a blender with little salt.

Add olive oil in a pan and heat it through.

Now add remaining pumpkin pieces and fry it a little.

Add chicken stock and pureed pumpkin and mix well. You may add a little turmeric here to get a rich color.

Add shredded chicken and cook it covered for a while till the pumpkin pieces are done.

Add 1 crushed chicken cube and the corn flour dissolved in a little water and mix it well. Finally, garnish the soup with the spring onion juliennes and serve.