Few days back, in a TV cookery show, I saw few recipes from Sri Lankan cuisine. I found them similar to Kerala and South Eastern cuisine. It was very interesting.

Today being sunday, I thought I’ll make something different today. So, decided to try Sri Lankan cuisine. I made yellow pumpkin gravy in Sri Lankan style. I browsed the net for the recipe. After seeing many recipes, I understood that the use of Sri Lankan curry powder was important.

Today’s pumpkin gravy is a mix and match of many recipes that I saw on the net. The curry was rich, creamy, mildly spiced, very aromatic and absolutely delicious. Everyone loved it at home:)

Srilankan

Ingredients

Yellow pumpkin – 1/2 kg
Shallots ( sambar onions) – 10
Garlic – 8-10 cloves
Green chillies – 2
Curry leaves – few
Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon – 2 inches stick
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Curry powder- 1 tsp
Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
Thick coconut milk- 1 cup

Raw rice – 2 tbsps
Grated coconut – 2 tbsps

For the curry powder
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Coriander seeds( dhania) – 3 tbsps
Fennel seeds ( saunf/ sombu)- 1+1/2 tbsps
Cumin seeds( jeera) – 1+ 1/2 tbsps
Cardamom – 5-6
Cloves – 3-4
Cinndmon – 2 inches
Pepper – 1/2 tsp
Raw rice – 1+1/2 tsps
Curry leaves – few

Method

To make the curry powder
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Dry roast all the ingredients mentioned till you get a good aroma. Cool and grind to a powder.

Wash, peel and dice the pumpkin.
Peel, wash and slice the shallots.
Peel, crush and chop garlic.
Wash and slit green chillies.

Dry roast raw rice and coconut till it turns golden. Cool, grind it to a powder and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add fenugreek, cinnamon and curry leaves. Sauté for few seconds and add the sliced shallots and chopped garlic.
Sauté till the onions turn pink and add the pumpkin, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and curry powder. Mix well and sauté for few mins. Add 1+1/2 cups of water and salt to taste. Mix well and check for the seasonings. Close the pan, reduce the flame and let it cook till the pumpkin becomes soft.

Mix the ground rice and coconut powder with the coconut milk well. Add it to the cooked pumpkin. Mix well and let it cook for few more mins.

Serve the curry hot with steamed rice/ idiyappam/ appam 🙂