Name: Pumpkin Curry
Yield: Serves 4-6
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: 1 sprig curry leaves, leaves picked and roughly chopped; 2 tablespoons coconut oil*; 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds; 4 small pink Asian shallots*, sliced; 750 g (1 lb 10 oz) Jap pumpkin, seeded and cut into 5-6 cm (2-2½ inch) pieces (skin left on); 2 small pink Asian shallots*, sliced; 1 sprig curry leaves, leaves picked; 2 thin green chillies*, cut into thirds; 1½ teaspoons Manike’s thuna paha (or store-bought roasted curry powder); 1 teaspoon salt; 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) coconut milk*; 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) coconut cream*; 1 teaspoon unroasted chilli powder*; 8 cm (3¼ inch) piece rampe (pandanus) leaf*, cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) pieces; ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Preparation info

Serves
4-6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka

By Bree Hutchins

Published 2013

About

This thick, creamy curry, made with tender chunks of pumpkin, is enhanced by a burst of flavour from tempered onions, curry leaves and mustard seeds. Tempering is a method used often in Sri Lankan cooking and is a great way to increase the flavours of a curry. The technique involves frying onions, mustard seeds, sometimes fenugreek or cumin seeds, and curry leaves in oil until they are brown, slightly crisp and aromatic. This mixture is added to the curry just before it is served.