For the past few weeks, I’ve been uploading all the recipes that my mom so kindly lent me and waited for me to take pictures, I’ve been so lazy to actually cook something up and put that recipe up. But I finally did. I know I have previously put up a pumpkin recipe and this is very similar, but this is my mother-in-law’s recipe. My MIL who was unaware of my website/blog would finish up cooking in the time it took for me to give Arlo his bath and then put him to sleep. Also while in India, I tried to wean him off daytime feeding, which was incredibly difficult for him. He was clingier than usual. So I couldn’t spend as much as I would have liked in the kitchen. At mom’s, I never go into the kitchen except to smell and look at what’s cooking. I’ve been getting myself pampered so much when I’m at mom’s that whenever I come back I hate going into the kitchen or even into my own house. So when I was back from India, it was incredibly hard for me to get back into the kitchen and cook for the family. Arlo is the most pampered in the family, who gets hot and freshly prepared meals. Everyone else has no choice but to eat leftovers (when there are). I know I’ve previously put up a picture of my MIL’s pumpkin curry, but now I’ve prepared it and it was loved by everyone.

Costco, my favorite store, has chopped butternut squash. The main reason that I don’t like getting squash is the peeling part, so Costco did me a great deal of help. My MIL made this with pumpkin, but I made it with butternut squash. The taste wasn’t very different, except or the sweetness. I found that when I made it with pumpkin it was sweeter. Since VJ doesn’t like too much sweet, I decided to go with the butternut squash. I have to say that VJ loved it a lot. I rolled my eyes at him and reminded him that it was his mom’s recipe. Obviously, he will love his mom’s recipe. I’m sure he’s missing being pampered too. My MIL spoils VJ with fried food (his favorite), so he loves it there. I wished I could have taken pictures while MIL was making this recipe, but since I couldn’t I have to do with this. I made this recipe very spicy since the first time I made it my sister complained that it was a bit bland. I overdid it a bit, but you can adjust accordingly. So here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

Butternut Squash – 1 whole (I used the whole box)

Onion – 1 whole chopped anyway you want

Jaggery – 4 tablespoons (I used the powder)

Ginger – 2-inch pieces

Green Chilies – 6 or 7

Coriander leaves – 3 or 4 spoons

Salt – As required

Turmeric – 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin Powder (optional) – 1 teaspoon

Oil – 3 tablespoons

Channa Dal – 2 tablespoons

Urad Dal – 2 tablespoons

Asafoetida – 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Curry Leaves – 6 or 7

How to Make

Step 1: Take the ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves in a food processor and make a rough chop or paste.

Step 2: In a pan, add oil, once heated, add the channa dal and urad dal. As the dals are changing color, add asafoetida and mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering add the cumin. After 30 seconds, add the curry leaves and paste made in Step 1.

Step 3: Keep frying it for a few minutes until the raw smell of ginger goes away. Now add the onions mix it up first and then add the squash. Give it a quick mix and add salt, turmeric, jaggery and cumin powder.

Step 4: Mix it up and keep a lid to cook. You can add a few tablespoons of water, but it isn’t required. The steam and the water from the squash will help the squash get soft.

Step 5: Once the squash gets soft (gets smashed when touched with a spoon), turn it off.

Step 6: Serve it with rice or roti (though rice is recommended) with a dollop of ghee.

 

Tips:

1. This is traditionally made with the Indian Pumpkin (Gummadikaya)
2. Instead of using ginger and green chilli paste you can use red chili powder.
3. The coriander used with the ginger and green chilies is optional and you can instead use coriander for garnish before serving.
4. I did not use cumin powder here, but that can be used (MIL used it).

Po