Pumpkin and Chick Pea Curry

It’s the very end of the chilli season, and though it’s early in pumpkin season for everyone else, the turkeys have discovered ours. So the challenge is on to find just how many ways you can use pumpkin.

This pumpkin and chick pea curry is a good one – tasty, easy, healthy, low fat, using the pumpkin and the chilli, and also the other seasonal glut of the moment – lemons.  It also has turmeric in it, and the more I hear about the health benefits of fresh turmeric, the more I like using it.

The Recipe

This serves two generously, but the recipe doubles easily.

The recipe uses 1 cup of cooked chick peas, and chick peas need pre-soaking overnight and then take a long time to cook  (about an hour simmering or 20 minutes in a pressure cooker). So although the recipe is quick and easy, it does need some pre-thought.

I like using a mortar and pestle to grind spices. Grind together:

• 1 thumb ginger
• 1 thumb turmeric
• 1 chili
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, or 2 leaves culantro
• 1 teaspoon salt

Fry  a chopped onion in a little olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot till is just begins to brown, then add the spice paste and continue to cook it for a couple of minutes.

Add 2 cups of water and simmer for 20 minutes or so, then add:

• 1 cup of cooked chick peas
• 3 cups of raw pumpkin chopped into bite sized pieces,
• 3 desertspoons of lemon juice
• half a desertspoon of honey.

Simmer until pumpkin is cooked. Taste and add salt and more lemon juice and/or honey to taste. It’s good served with rice and a yoghurt, cucumber and mint raita.