Pumpkin Stir-fry is a delicious Indian dish made with pumpkin. With only 4 ingredients, this dish is very simple and easy to make & goes well as a side to chapathi, poori, roti, parathas, jowar roti, sadda roti, masala jowar roti, ragi roti.. basically goes well with any kind of flat bread. This curry is mildly spicy, sweet, flavorful and delicious. This recipe uses no fancy ingredients, but is made with a pantry staples. If you have the pumpkin cut and ready, it just takes about 10 mins to make this curry. This is one of our favorite curries at home. This curry is especially made on Sankranti festival day as a side for Bajra/Sadda Roti.

Pumpkin is loaded with nutrients and it is available all year round, so we use it often at home. Pumpkin is one of the vegetables which is commonly eaten during religious fastings and fesivals. So we don’t use onion or garlic in this recipe.

Pumpkin is high in Vitamin A and Beta carotene, also rich in other vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, pumpkin is incredibly healthy. What’s more, its low calorie content makes it a weight-loss-friendly food. Its nutrients and antioxidants may boost your immune system, protect your eyesight, lower your risk of certain cancers and promote heart and skin health.

If you’ve tried this Pumpkin Curry recipe or any other recipe on Siri’s Food Lab, then don’t forget to rate, like and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

How to make Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Curry

PREP TIME: 5 MINS COOK TIME: 8 MINS TOTAL TIME: 13 MINS COURSE: SIDES CUISINE: SOUTH INDIAN SERVINGS : 4

Ingredients

pumpkin pieces – 3-4 cups
oil – 5 tsp
green kobbera karam – 2-3 tsp (green chillies+fresh coconut+salt+little lime juice+little turmeric)
salt
sesame seed powder – 5-6 tsp
jaggery – 3-4 tbsp

Instructions

Peel the skin of the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.
Heat a pan with oil, add 1/2 tsp each black gram (urad dal), mustard seeds, jeera, few curry leaves and 1-2 red chillies.
Once the dal turns golden and mustard seeds sputter, add pumpkin pieces, mix everything well. Then cover and cook for 5 mins on low flame. Stir occasionally.
When the pumpkin is half cooked, remove the lid and cook without lid for 2-3 mins till the pumpkin becomes soft and cooked 75% .
At this stage, add crushed jaggery and cook for 1 more min till jaggery melts.
Add roasted sesame powder, little salt, and green kobbera karam (green chillies+fresh coconut+salt+little lime juice+little turmeric). Gently mix and cook 1 more minute.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve hot or warm with jowar roti or sadda roti or chapathi or poori or masala jowar roti or sorakaya thappilent or with any flat bread.

Tips

If don’t like sweet taste, you can reduce the quantity of jaggery.
You can also use red chilly powder instead of green chilly, coconut paste. (I shared another pumpkin curry without jaggery, check that out).
Pumpkin cooks really fast, so just be aware.

Step by step photo instructions

Peel the skin of the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.

2. Heat a pan with oil, add 1/2 tsp each black gram (urad dal), mustard seeds, jeera, few curry leaves and 1-2 red chillies.

3. Once the dal turns golden and mustard seeds sputter, add pumpkin pieces, mix everything well. Then cover and cook for 5 mins on low flame. Stir occasionally.

4. When the pumpkin is half cooked, remove the lid and cook without lid for 2-3 mins till the pumpkin becomes soft and cooked 75% .

5. At this stage, add crushed jaggery and cook for 1 more min till jaggery melts.

6. Add roasted sesame powder, little salt, and green kobbera karam (green chillies+fresh coconut+salt+little lime juice+little turmeric). Gently mix and cook 1 more minute.