White Pumpkin aka Ash Gourd in India is a very versatile vegetable (wow.. alliteration right there). You can make both sweet and savory dishes with it. My mom makes halwa with it, but I’ve never tried it myself. I usually make aviyal or this curry with it. But this time wanted to try something slightly tangy and sweet with it. Curry tastes even better the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 Ash Gourd Pumpkin small piece of / White / Gummadikaya (about 3-4 cups when chopped)
- 1 Onion – medium, chopped
- 2 chilies Green – slit
- 2 tbsps Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsps Tamarind paste - (Thanks Anise for pointing this out)
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsps Jaggery Brown sugar /
- 2 tbsps peanuts Roasted – , coarsely ground
- 2 tsps Sesame seeds – , dry roasted and ground to powder
- to taste Salt
For tempering:
- 1 tsp Urad dal (Minapappu)
- 1 tsp Chana dal (Senagapappu)
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 - 2 chilies Dry Red
- 6 - 8 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Microwave the chopped pumpkin with ½ cup of water & pinch of turmeric until ¾th cooked but not completely cooked, about 5-6 minutes.
- In a sauté pan, heat 2tbsp oil; add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add onions and green chilies.
- Sauté until onions turn translucent.
- Add tomato paste, sambar powder, turmeric and ½ cup of water. Cook on medium-low flame until almost all the water evaporates.
- Add the cooked pumpkin along with the water; cover and cook until the veggie is completely cooked through.
- Add tamarind paste and jaggery and more water if the curry looks too dry. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in ground peanut & sesame seeds, mix well and simmer for 5 more minutes for all the flavors to meld.
- Serve with steamed rice and plain dal or with rotis.
Notes
Tried this recipe?Mention @cooks_hideout or tag #cookshideout!
Priya Suresh
Fabulous looking tangy curry..
Hari Chandana
Choosthene Norooruthondi.. looks too good and perfect.. thanks for sharing dear !!
Taste of Mysore
I have frozen gummadikaya and have never tried this pulusu, looks like it is a good time to try it out. Thanks for the recipe.
Divya Vikram
Great way to cook this humble veggie!
Monique a.k.a. Mo
Beautiful!
anise
How much tamarind paste? The instructions indicate for it to be added, but a quantity is not listed within the ingredients. Also - I'm unclear if water is added twice, and if so, how much should be added when the pumpkin is put in "along with the water". Or, does this mean when the pumpkin is added to the mixture which already has water??Thanks...I'm making it this evening so any advice anyone has would be helpful 🙂
Pritya
Pavani, lovely presentation.
Pavani
Hi Anise, I updated the post with the quantity of tamarind. Thanks for pointing that out. Regarding water, I meant to say whatever water is "leftover" after microwaving the pumpkin needs to be added. If you feel the curry is getting too dry, feel free to add more water. I hope you will enjoy the dish as much as we did. Thanks for stopping by and do let me know how the dish turned out..Thanks Pritya.