Spicy squash curry (mattan laddu north Indian style)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have been away from blogging my recipes for such a long time, so decided to start again in the new year with a fresh combination of south and north of India.

Yellow pumpkin (mattan) by it self is sweet when cooked. My mother adds just a tinge of red chillies for the light spiciness and some lentils for the protein. Generally in south yellow pumpkin curry is a side dish for sambhar or rasam. On the contrary, in the north yellow pumpkins are cooked with a lot of spice and served as side dish for puri or kachori. I am using butter nut squash, here is a simple recipe:



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro)
4 cups of sliced squash
1 cup split bengal gram (chana dal, kadala paruppu)
3 tablespoon oil
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (perungayam, hing)
1 teaspoon cumin seed (jeeragam, jeera)
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (vendayam, methi seeds)
1 tablespoon coriander powder (malli podi)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (manjal podi)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (milagai podi)
1 cup water
4 whole red chili (sevappu milagai)
1 tablespoon shredded ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice

How to make:

* Peel and chop the squash into cubes.



* Mix the following in 1/4 cup water: ginger, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder. Keep aside.
* Cook lentil till it is 3/4 cooked. Keep aside.



* Heat oil in a pan.
* Add cumin seeds. After it crackles, add fenugreek seeds and whole red chillies.
* Add the spice mix and cook till oil separates.
* Add the lentil and squash. Add remaining water and cook. Cook till squash is tender, not mushy.
* Add asafoetida and salt (to taste).
* Remove from fire, add coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Note:

* Use any squash, but spaghetti squash and pumpkin (it's not the best when used with all the spices).
* Do not add lemon juice in the earlier stages, since they leave a sour taste.
* This recipe can be used to mix with rice. Just add enough water to make a gravy.






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