Coorg Pumpkin Curry

This Coorg style pumpkin curry is made with ripe pumpkin, coconut and spices. It is a spicy curry unlike most other pumpkin curries.

I don't usually crave pumpkins, at least not like I crave chocolate. But recently after eating a small bowl of pumpkin curry in office, I wanted more. And telepathically, my mother in law gave me a huge organic homegrown pumpkin. What's better than a pumpkin? A HOMEGROWN one.

The thing I hate most about pumpkins is actually peeling them. By the time I got through peeling this huge pumpkin, my palms were sore with the knife handle rubbing against them, my arms ached with all that effort. But the slightly sweet yet hot spicy coconut-ty curry made it totally worth it.

I usually make a simple dry pumpkin curry by boiling diced pumpkins with some fresh green chillies and garnishing it with freshly grated coconut. Simple and easy. It lets the sweetness of the pumpkin shine through. But this time I did not want a very sweet pumpkin curry. I wanted a change. I had something in mind but absolutely no idea how to make it.

Coorg is this beautiful place nestled among the Western Ghats of India. A bunch of friends went there several years ago and we stayed in this humble but beautiful homestay with a wonderfully warm family. The family cooked up all the traditional Coorgi delicacies and I remember one of them was this pumpkin curry with coconut, unlike I had ever eaten before. So I searched online for this curry and as usual Google spewed off many results, so I had to mix and match recipes to find the ONE. I tried this dish until I made something closer to the one in memory. 

Coorg Pumpkin Curry

Coorg style Pumpkin curry made with ripe pumpkin, coconut and spices.

Recipe Type:  Side
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Yield:                Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

3 cups diced Pumpkin
3-4 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
6-8 Curry Leaves
1 Onion
2-3 Garlic cloves
2 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 cup grated Coconut or 1 cup of Coconut milk
1 tsp Tamarind pulp
3-4 dry red Chillies or 1-2 tsp of red chilli powder
1-2 tsp of Jaggery powder or Sugar
1 cup Water
Salt
Fresh Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, finely chopped onion and garlic. Fry until the onion is translucent.
Add the pumpkin.
Add the turmeric and water and cover and cook until the pumpkin is done.
If using grated coconut, grind together the coconut, tamarind, dry red chillies or chilli powder, cumin powder and the coriander powder with a little bit of water to make a fine masala paste.
Add it to the pumpkin in the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes.
If using coconut milk, then add the coconut milk along with the coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and the tamarind paste to the pumpkin and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Add salt and the jaggery powder or sugar and mix well.
Serve hot.