Since the day Lia was born, I would daydream about the day she would start eating. I thought on all the different foods I would create for her and how she would react when having her first teaspoon of mashed veggie puree.
As a baby, she’d love to eat any mashed vegetable! But now that she’s going to be three years old in a few months, this little person started to be a little picky with vegetables. She loves eating a mix of mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower, but if I add pumpkin and she gets the taste of it in there is a no-no. She would take the plate and pushed it far away from her while looking at me with this sweet and naughty expression on her face telling me; I’m not eating this today, Mom.
So while looking for different ways to camouflage pumpkin from Lia, I found myself making a simplified version of curry. And it was a big yes! She loved it and would eat every single bit of pumpkin covered in that aromatic, juicy curry sauce.
It’s delicious. And you can easily put together this recipe in twenty minutes' time max. I used five different spices here except chili, but if you want some heat into it, you can also add some chili powder for that extra hot punch. I use coconut cream, but you can substitute with fresh pouring cream as well. We like having this pumpkin curry, as our time saver weeknight meal for the whole family. Simply because preparation time plus cooking time is super short in this dish and we get to have some nice homemade food. Which adds some amazing bonus points. When having little time and much to do.
You can also make this dish ahead of time, take it for lunch or reheat and serve on those days when you don’t feel like cooking. If you feel like adding some protein to it, you can add some cooked chickpeas or chicken. Or serve it with cooked lentils instead of rice. I also like having this pumpkin curry with cauliflower rice, but J. and Lia prefer brown rice. Either way is delicious.
I'm using coconut cream but you can substitute with fresh pouring cream. I'm not using any hot spice here but you can add some chili powder for some extra heat if you wanted to be hot too.
3 C. Butternut Pumpkin, cut into cubes
1/2 Medium Onion, chopped
1 Garlic clove (optional)
1 C. Vegetable Broth
1 C. Coconut cream or fresh pouring cream
1/4 C. Water
Salt to taste
Spices for this Curry:
1 1/2 tsp. Garam masala
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
1 tsp. Coriander powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Pimenton or paprika
Ghee or vegetable oil to cook the onions
Fresh Coriander to serve
Preparation:
In a frying pan over medium heat add 2-3 tablespoons of ghee or vegetable oil. Add garlic and onion and cook until onions are tender but not brown. Add pumpkin and spices and salt to taste. Cook for 2-3 more minutes stirring until onions + pumpkin + spices is well combined. Add the broth + fresh cream or coconut cream + water. Bring to a boil. Then let it simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. And it is ready!
Serve with cooked brown rice or grated cauliflower. And some naan bread!
Serve with cooked brown rice or grated cauliflower. And some naan bread!
