Never judge a pumpkin by its looks!

M probably would say this to someone after he ate the pumpkin kootu I made the other day! He doesn't care much for the poor old plain veggie - the pumpkin. I don't really blame him, see he doesn't cook much and so he cannot do what I mostly do - work out a mental recipe while I look at veggies at the market. To him, it will always be the boring, plain looking, least appetising thing. To me, it's what in season now, fresh, in it's prime of life and cheap! So I was adamant to buy it and make something nice. I made this very very simple kootu (veggies cooked in a lentil and spice gravy) and it changed the way we look at pumpkins!

• 2 cups diced (peeled) pumpkin - any variety. I used kent pumpkin - it's skin is green and has streaks of creamy yellow (see picture, source: www.moraitis.com.au)
• 1 cup cooked toor dal

For tempering -

• 1 tbspn oil
• 1/4 tspn mustard seeds
• a pinch of hing
  
• a few curry leaves
• 2 red (dry) chillies
• 1/4 tspn turmeric powder
  
• 1 small onion, sliced

To grind into a paste -

• 1/4 cup grated coconut (can use desiccated coconut as well)
  
• a small piece of ginger
• 3-4 green chillies
• 1/2 tspn jeera (cumin seeds)
  
• a handful of fresh green coriander/cilantro
  

1. Microwave (or cook) the pumpkin till soft.
   
2. Meanwhile, grind the ingredients mentioned above into a paste.
3. Heat oil in a pot and add all the ingredients for tempering in the order mentioned above.
4. Once the onion is cooked, add cooked pumpkin, cooked toor dal and the ground masala paste.
5. Add salt to taste and water to adjust consistency. Kootu is generally a fairly thick gravy, so do not add too much water.
6. Serve hot with rice and papad.

I'm so thrilled with this recipe, for two reasons - I can now incorporate pumpkin in our menu and M sheepishly accepted that it tasted good :)