Pumpkins aplenty

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

You either love pumpkins, or hate them. I myself was not a great pumpkin lover, until I moved to Australia. The wonderful varieties so abundantly available here (the world-famous Queensland Blue, the lighter Butternut, the sweeter Japanese, and the cute Golden Nugget) beckoned from the grocer’s shelves; I simply had to try them out.

Of course the variety of ways in which you can cook the pumpkin added to its attractiveness, for me. You can make a subzi, make a soup, bake it, stuff it, make muffins, put it in a raita, stuff it in a paratha, or even convert it into an Indian dessert.

Here’s a collection of my favourite pumpkin recipes that I’ve gathered over the years. First, the recipe that started off my love affair with the pumpkin - I learnt it from my mother-in-law, a fantastic cook (apparently she learnt it from law, so I can safely stamp the Luthra name on this one!)

Pumpkin Subzi

400 gms pumpkin (preferably Jap), cut into medium-sized cubes

1 large or 2 medium onions, sliced

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp fennel (saunf) seeds

4-5 numbers large black cardamom

1-inch piece cinnamon

Salt to taste

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1-2 tsp garam masala

½ tsp sugar

Red chilli powder to taste

Fresh green chillies to taste

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish.

Heat oil in a kadhai and add fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and green chilli.

When seeds splutter, put in the onion and pumpkin and sauté. When pumpkin pieces are well-coated with oil, add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Stir to combine, reduce heat and cover. Keep stirring at regular intervals to ensure the vegetable doesn’t stick to the bottom. Mash gently as the pumpkin gets cooked, but allow some pieces to remain lumpy. Add in sugar and cook till pumpkin is well done. At the very end, introduce the garam masala and mix well. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves before serving.

Pumpkin Paratha

1 ½ cups grated pumpkin (preferably Jap)

1 small onion, very finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala

Red chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Prepared roti dough

Ghee or oil for making parathas.

To make pumpkin stuffing, heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, add onion and garlic and sauté briefly. Introduce pumpkin and stir; add cumin, coriander and red chilli powders, salt and sugar. Cook till pumpkin is done. Break off a lemon sized portion of the dough, fill with stuffing, seal the edges and carefully roll into a 5-inch diametre paratha. Grease a non-stick tawa with oil and cook the paratha on both sides till golden brown in colour. Serve with chilled curds and pickles.

Pumpkin Raita (southern style)

(While this is really a raita to be eaten as an accompaniment in a main meal, it goes wonderfully well also as a dip with corn chips).

1 cup Japanese pumpkin chunks

2 cups thick yoghurt, whisked

1 onion finely chopped

Red chilli powder to taste

Fresh coriander for garnishing

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp urad dal

2-3 dry red chillies

1 sprig curry leaves

Pinch asafoetida

Salt to taste.

Cook pumpkin in the microwave for 3-4 minutes covered. Mash and let cool. Add yoghurt, salt, chilli powder, cut onions and mix well.

Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal. When seeds splutter, add to the yoghurtpumpkin mixture. Garnish with coriander to serve.

Pumpkin Scones

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp sugar

½ cup mashed pumpkin

1 egg

½ cup milk

2 ½ cups self-raising flour.

Cream butter and sugar. Add pumpkin. Add well-beaten egg. Add milk slowly. Add sifted flour. Knead lightly on floured board. Roll out 2-3 cms thick. Cut into rounds. Place on greased oven tray. Bake in a hot oven (230260 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Place on rack to cool.

Pumpkin Soup

(There are many recipes for pumpkin soup: this is my healthy version).

2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled (or vegetable

Pressure-cook all ingredients (except dill) together. Cool and process in the food processor till smooth. Return to cooker and heat through. Garnish with dill before

To make the soup more fanciful, you could add a granny smith apple. Also, you could reduce the amount of water while cooking and add milk, or coconut milk, after processing. To serve, you could add a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle ground nutmeg

½ butternut pumpkin, peeled and thinly 3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

Cook pumpkin partially by adding to boiling water. When slightly tender, drain. Cook

Butter or grease a baking dish and put in one layer of pumpkin slices. Lay out a second layer of potatoes. Top off with a third layer of pumpkin slices.

Whisk together eggs, sugar, cream and nutmeg. Pour over layered vegetables, allowing to trickle down through the layers. Bake in moderate (180 degrees C) oven for 35-40 minutes.

This is a wonderful preparation especially for cold winter nights, to accompany a meat dish. For a slightly less rich version, layer par-boiled pumpkin slices in a lightly greased baking dish. Drizzle honey over, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until pumpkin is cooked.

For a diet-version which is a favourite in my family, layer pumpkin slices in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle your favourite dried herbs over, cover with foil and cook in a moderate oven.

Pumpkin Halwa

2 ½ cups grated pumpkin (preferably Jap)

½ litre milk

1 tsp cardamom powder

1 tsp poppy seeds

Few numbers fried cashewnuts and raisins

¾ cup ghee

1 cup sugar.

Put pumpkin and milk together in a heavybottomed pan and cook over low heat till pumpkin turns tender and the mixture thickens. Add ghee and mix well. Then introduce sugar, cardamom powder and poppy seeds. Keep stirring till mixture becomes thick and dry. Take off heat and mash to a paste. Serve garnished with cashewnuts and raisins.

How could he do what he did?

Dear Auntyji

We came to Australia from Canada about 15 years ago. In that time, we lost touch with some very good friends of ours. Last month, I went to a wedding and I ran into an old friend from Toronto. She was very happy to see me and so was I. We talked for ever, but the sad news is that my friend’s husband left her a few years ago for another woman. I was very sad and disappointed to hear this. Now my friend’s husband is coming over in two weeks’ time to visit us, and I am quite uncertain as to how to behave towards him. I mean, how could he leave his wife and children? Has he no shame? And I feel that I won’t be able to act the way I usually did when we used to spend time together at parties, get togethers, etc. What do you recommend I do?

Auntyji says

I am always surprised to read about how judgmental people really are. My stance on this is that most people do not have enough self esteem to realise that everyone makes choices in life - right or wrong and we have absolutely no right to judge anyone, unless of course, they happen to kill someone we really love.

Now, about your friend. Unless he has grown horns on his head and has hooves instead of feet, I suggest you treat him exactly as you would have 15 years agolike the dear friend he and his wife were. So what if this guy left his wife and children -