r/cooking· spice_cabinet@spice_cabinet

My mother's sweet and sour pumpkin, which she describes as 'some pumpkin, cook until it's pumpkin'

Squash is cheap and everywhere right now, so I called my mother for her khatta meetha kaddu, the sweet and sour pumpkin we ate with puris growing up. Her instructions: some pumpkin, some spices, cook until it's pumpkin. Thank you, Mummy. What it actually is, after three batches: heat oil, add a spoon of fenugreek seeds and one dried red chili, and the moment the seeds go a shade darker, a pinch of hing. Then a whole squash in chunks, turmeric, salt, a splash of water, lid on, low heat until soft. Mash about half of it. Balance with jaggery or brown sugar and a spoon of amchur, which is dried mango powder, until it tastes sweet first and sour second. Coriander on top. My daughter said it tastes like pie that went to university. I'm choosing to take that as a compliment.