Keralan pumpkin stir fry
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Thorans are Indian stir-fries, dry vegetable curries, from Kerala. Because pumpkin/squash takes a while to cook, this recipe uses water, but will end up dry. The beauty of a stir fry is that the ingredients cook quickly and retain most of their nutrient value, just be prepared and have all ingredients ready and measured out before you start cooking.
Author: Diana Henry
Recipe type: Curry
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 750g pumpkin or squash
- 8 shallots (or 1 onion), peeled
- 1½ tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- handful of curry leaves (or 1 tbsp dried)
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 30g root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- ½ tsp turmeric
- about 150g grated fresh coconut (you can buy coconut chunks)
- 1 green chilli, sliced into thin rounds (seeds in or out as you prefer)
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin or squash into segments, peel and deseed. Chop the flesh into small cubes.
- Quarter the shallots lengthways (if you’re using an onion, cut it into slim crescent-moon shaped slices).
- Heat the oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, cover them with a lid then remove it when they stop popping.
- Add the curry leaves, chilli flakes, cumin and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the pumpkin, turmeric and a pinch of salt.
- Stir-fry everything together until the pumpkin has a good colour, then add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add about 50ml water. Cook until the pumpkin is soft, adding a little more water if necessary and tossing the vegetables every so often.
- The mixture should be dry by the time the pumpkin is soft.
- Add the coconut and green chilli and stir-fry until the coconut is a little toasty. Serve with rice.
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