"What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?"
- Lin Yutang
The festival of lights- Diwali, is an occasion that one looks forward to each year. This festival for me has a lot of nostalgia attached to it - of times spent with my parents and sisters. On Diwali day my parents would religiously visit the temple in the morning, and if they could, would try to get us to accompany them. For Jains, Diwali is a special day, as on this day, Lord Mahavir, the last of the Jain Tirthankara, attained moksha (salvation). Jain ceremonies are more towards simplicity and there is less of pomp and over the top celebrations.
Festive occasions in India, apart from their religious significance have one major theme - food. My father was from western UP- a prosperous area synonymous with good food and he sure was fastidious about his food.Though my mother was a total novice in cooking at the time of her marriage but she gradually honed her cooking skills once she realised that my father enjoyed good food.
On Diwali, my mom used to make pithi ki kachori (a fried bread made from wheat flour which has spicy lentil paste stuffed in the dough). Kachori was something that we all enjoyed and it was not just made on festive occassions-we only needed an excuse to have it.(I guess it's got to do with my genes - apparently my grandfather used to have kachoris for both his meals). There were lots of different vegetables made with the kachoris and along with that were some side accompaniments like methi ki launji and kaddu ki sabzi (sweet and sour pumpkin curry).This vegetable was one of my mom's favorite and she could have her entire meal with just this.This vegetable is also known as petha / kashiphal / sitaphal (pumpkin).
Though I don't do such elaborate cooking as my mom, but on Diwali day kachori is a must and so is the khatti meethi 'kaddu ki sabzi'. The pumpkin curry has some sugar added to it for sweetness but the sugar is optional and can be omitted. It is a nice tangy and spicy vegetable, but feel free to experiment as the masalas(spices) should always be to your personal taste. Most of my everyday cooking is andaaz se (intuitively)- nothing is measured out because mostly things will turn out fine as long as you give it your undivided attention.
Sweet and Sour Pumpkin/ Kaddu ki sabji
SERVES 4
150 gm pumpkin (kaddu)
4-5 fresh green chillies
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon fenugreek seed (methi dana)
1 teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)
large pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tablespoon sliced ginger
1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania )
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (lal mirch)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp diluted in water(4 tablespoon)
chopped coriander
Salt to taste
Cut the pumpkin into 4 cm cubes. Slice the pumpkin peel into slivers (optional). Slit the green chillies into two.
Heat oil, then add the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds splutter, add the slivered ginger and fry for about one minute. Stir in the pumpkin cubes, peels and the green chillies and continue stir frying for 5 minutes until the pumpkin looks glossy.
Stir in the sugar, salt, coriander powder, garam masala, chiili powder and turmeric powder and mix well. Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook it on a simmer, stirring the vegetable a couple of times in between for 20-30 minutes until the kaddu is tender.Take care not to mash the vegetable while stirring.
Stir in tamarind juice, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Serve garnished with chopped green coriander.
I love this kaddu ki sabzi and can simply to feast on it with poori, kachori or even just roti. (traditional Indian breads) ... try and my guess is you too would love it
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