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Khatta meetha kaddu
Sweet-sour pumpkin
खट्टा मीठा कद्दू: soft yellow pumpkin cooked with fenugreek seeds, ginger, amchur and jaggery into a sweet-sour mash for vrat and bhandaras
Kaddu ki sabzi with puri is the meal served at countless bhandaras, the free community feasts outside temples in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and at home it is a fasting favourite for Navratri. Chunks of yellow pumpkin are cooked until soft with sizzling fenugreek seeds and cumin, then half-mashed and finished with jaggery and dry mango powder, so the dish swings between sweet and sour with gentle heat from ginger and chilli. The fenugreek gives it a faintly bitter, maple-like depth. This fasting version uses rock salt and leaves out the turmeric, asafoetida and fennel that bhandara cooks add. Serve with kuttu puri or regular puri, and a bowl of raita. Chef's tip: keep the skin on part of the pumpkin; it holds the pieces together while the peeled pieces melt into the sauce, giving a better texture.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oilor ghee (then not vegan)
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana) (optional)skip on strict fasts; many homes leave seeds like methi out on vrat days
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fresh gingergrated
- 1 green chillifinely chopped
- 1 ⅓ lb yellow pumpkin (kaddu)cut into 2–3 cm chunks, half of them with skin on
- ¾ tsp sendha namak (rock salt)
- 3 tbsp water
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ⅞ oz jaggerygrated
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (optional)chopped
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil in a kadhai over a medium heat. Add ½ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana) and fry for 15–20 seconds until reddish-brown. Common mistake: letting the seeds go black; burnt fenugreek makes the whole dish bitter.
Step 2: Add ½ tsp cumin seeds, then 1 tsp fresh ginger and 1 green chilli, and stir for 30 seconds.
Step 3: Add 1 ⅓ lb yellow pumpkin (kaddu) and ¾ tsp sendha namak (rock salt), stir to coat, sprinkle over 3 tbsp water, cover and cook on a low heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the pumpkin is soft enough to crush with a spoon.
15 minStep 4: Lightly mash about half the pumpkin with the back of the spoon, leaving the skin-on pieces mostly whole.
Step 5: Stir in ½ tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur) and ⅞ oz jaggery and cook uncovered for 3–4 minutes until the jaggery melts and the sabzi looks glossy.
4 minStep 6: Scatter over 2 tbsp fresh coriander and serve hot with kuttu ki puri.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does khatta meetha kaddu take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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