Pumpkin Curry, Parangikkai Curry

          Today, it's going to be another simple and healthy dish with pumpkin/parangikkai. The pumpkin pieces are cooked and flavored with a fresh spice powder and the dish has a sweet, tangy and spicy taste from the tamarind and jaggery added. It's a semi-dry curry and tastes great when mixed with rice but would also pair well with some rotis too..

Need To Have

• Peeled And Chopped Pumpkin - 1+1/2 cups
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Green chilly - 1 sliced
• Dried Red Chilly - 1, broken into halves
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Thick Tamarind Extract - 1 tablespoon
• Jaggery - 1 teaspoon
• Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

To Roast And Powder

• Coriander Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 8 seeds
• Dried Red Chillies - 2
• Grated Coconut - 1 teaspoon
• Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Roast in very little oil the coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and the red chillies, when the coriander seeds change color, add the sesame seeds and coconut, when the sesame seeds starts popping, switch off and keep mixing till the popping stops. cool this and powder it into coarse powder and keep.

          Heat some oil add the mustard seeds and urad dal, when the seeds start sputtering, add the asafoetida, green chilly, red chilly and curry leaves and saute for half a minute. Then add the chopped pumpkin and salt, cover and cook till the vegetable is cooked, if needed sprinkle some water in between.

          Now add the ground powder, tamarind paste and jaggery, mix, cover and cook for another 5 minnutes, then remove, garnish with the chopped coriander and serve.

Note
The pumpkin should be cooked, but still hold its shape.
For the tamarind extract, add very little hot water to the tamarind, let it soak, then squeeze out.