Pungent mustard, chilies, and roasted coconut give this unique easy, healthy, vegetarian recipe an unusual but delicious combination of flavours.
Ingredients:
- pumpkin cut into ½” dice, about 150g
- ¾ teaspoon salt – divided into 2
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger – divided into 2
- 1 cup plain, unflavoured yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon whole cumin, roasted and ground
- ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chili or regular chili, ground
- ½ teaspoon mustard, ground
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- green chili
- chopped fresh mint, about 3 tablespoons
- 2-3 dry red chilies
- ¼ cup freshly grated coconut
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions:
- Boil diced pumpkin with ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, uncovered for about 10-12 minutes until very soft. Drain and allow to cool.
- Combine yogurt, milk, remaining salt, cumin, ground chili, ground mustard, black pepper, green chili, mint, and remaining ginger in a mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.
- Heat oil on medium heat and add dry red chilies grated coconut to oil and allow to cook 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until light brown in colour. Pour onto yogurt and pumpkin mixture. Serve immediately.
Critical Ingredients:
The yogurt and pumpkin are critical, although vegetables like boiled cauliflower and marrow, or raw cucumbers work just as well. The ground spices provide key flavour. The mustard powder gives a nice pungent flavour, but if you are afraid of the heat of the green chili leave it out. You will still have a dish with a lovely aroma of browned coconut. If you don’t have coconut oil, substitute any other non-flavoured oil for a lovely aromatic finish. Or, if you don’t want to add oil, just dry roast the chilies and coconut in a non-stick frying pan. If you are using desiccated coconut, soak in a bit of milk to soften before browning.
