here again another of navratri recipes which is a favorite at home: kaddu ki sabzi.
kaddu is the hindi word for pumpkin. and this recipe only has pumpkin, pumpkin and pumpkin in it 
so a must try for all pumpkin lovers.
the recipe is another wonder from my mother in law’s collection. best to have the kaddu sabzi with pooris. it also goes well with ajwain parathas, plain parathas or phulkas. during the fast, we have it with kuttu ki poori – pooris made from buckwheat flour.
the kaddu ki sabzi recipe is easy and simple. only cutting and peeling the kaddu takes some effort and time. but i found an easy method to peel the kaddu… but this method only works with smaller pumpkins not bigger ones 
place the whole small pumpkin on a large plate or thali or on the table top. firmly keep your hand on top of the pumpkin. with the peeler in your other hand start to peel the pumpkin from sideways. keep on rotating the pumpkin with the other hand which is on top of it. work with both your hands in this manner till the pumpkin is peeled from all sides.
in the pic above you cannot see my hand on top of the kaddu as i am holding the camera in that hand 
forgive me about the peeler… the peeler in the pic is old but is very very sharp and is a great help in peeling carrots, potatoes, cucumbers and of course pumpkins.
once the kaddu is peeled, you start to chop the kaddu and you see the pith and the seeds. so what you do with the seeds? don’t throw them away.
if you have a garden, then plant the seeds… and if you have a garden or if you don’t have a garden then dry the seeds in the sun. when they are dried, roast them with some salt and have it in your food. pumpkin seeds are very nutritious and healthy. i am still drying mine in the sun… i have this age old indian habit of drying everything in the sun…can’t help it…
if you want to be quick and do not want the sun to dry the seeds… then roast or toast the pumpkin seeds in the oven. here are three links explaining the toasting of seeds in the oven:
elise of simply recipes – simply simple method
heidi of 101 cookbooks – three ways – three flavors
the ehow method – how to bake pumpkin seeds
the recipe of kaddu sabzi is easy and does not use more ingredients. the flavoring comes from the addition of methi seeds (fenugreek seeds) and jeera (cumin seeds). of course we add our usual indian spice powders to this recipe like turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala powder. some sugar/ jaggery is added for that sweetness which fuses subtly with the sweetness of the pumpkin.
i paired the kaddu sabzi with the jeera aloo and the combo was nice. we all loved it and i plan to make this combo again and again. the sour jeera aloo with the sweet kaddu sabzi… goes great with pooris, parathas or chapatis.
kaddu ki sabzi recipe details below:
ingredients
- 1 small pumpkin/kaddu
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds/methi seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
- 1 or 2 dry red chilies (optional)
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur
- 1 tsp sugar or 2 tsp crushed jaggery
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3/4th cup or 1 cup water
- a few chopped coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)
- rock salt/sendha namak or common salt if not making during fasting
method:
- wash the pumpkin.
- peel and chop the pumpkin.
- in a pressure cooker or pan heat oil.
- add the fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds and fry for a minute on a low flame.
- now add the red chilies and fry for some 15 seconds.
- add the chopped pumpkin and all the dry spice powders except garam masala and dry mango powder.
- add the sugar or jaggery.
- mix the pumpkin with the rest of the spices and sugar/jaggery.
- add water and salt.
- cover the cooker with a lid and pressure cook for 7-8 minutes.
- if you do have a pressure cooker than cover the pan with a lid and cook the pumpkin for some 15-20 minutes till they become soft and mushy.
- now mash the cooked and soft pumpkin with a spoon and add the garam masala and dry mango powder. stir the mashed pumpkin well and cook for minute or two.
- if the sabzi still looks watery to you, then evaporate the water from the sabzi by cooking it without the lid. the sabzi should not be dry nor watery, just in between.
- garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Dassana,
Nice recipe…very new to me.Will surely try it out.Just one small doubt,can we add lime juice instead of amchoor powder.
dear poorni, if adding lime juice, add very little. it should not spoil the taste.
Hi Dassana,
This sabzi turned out really well !!! In fact I enjoyed it even more with curd rice.
:)
The only difference between your recipe and my way of making was that I wouldn’t add Garam masala and amchoor. But this variation has now captured me
Thank you Dasanna.
welcome lakshmi
this kaddu ki sabzi is a staple at our home. during fasting we have this with singhare/water chestnut flour or kuttu/buck wheat flour rotis.
Dassana you are such a darling, in fact your presentations are too good which is making the receipe more wonderful, keep posting dear. 2 days back I tried making the parsi dhansak veg with whatever vegetables i could lay my hands on, it was really splendid.
Thanks for the wonderful receipe.
thanks neela for all your encouraging and positive comments. glad to know that the dhansak recipe was splendid.
Hi
The presentation is Mouth Watering and your write up is very sincere. I will definitely try it out at the earliest opportunity.I feel tempted to go through all your recipes and try them.
Thank you Very Much.
-Jagan
thank you and do let me know how the recipes turned out.
don’t excuse yourself for keeping an old, perfectly working tool in our “throw-away-society”!
looks wonderful, i don’t like western preparations of pumpkin that much and been searching for a recipe for all those beautiful pumpkins available now. I’ll definitely try this one.
sure lea…. do try the recipe…
Looks great! Would this work with crepes if it works with paratha?
the pumpkin sabzi goes best with parathas or pooris. i feel it should go well with crepes too, though i have never tried having it with crepes. try the crepes and pumpkin combination and do let me know.
This is such a gorgeous sounding dish, spicy pumpkin mash- heaven! I will definitely be making this this week, thanks for the inspiration, glad to have found a fellow veggie spice lover!!
Hmmm nice yum yum