Kerala Matanga Pulingari (Red pumpkin in tamarind sauce) - Satvik food

This being my first recipe on this blog . I felt to start up few satvik food of my grandma. Inspired by Grandma  who is hailing from Gods own country. She was a hardcore  orthodox  Hindu religious believer with her life style  which was similar to Jainism which was also reflected in her  food preparing and consuming pattern as she  never used onion garlic in her preparation. Her food was very simple, less masala made up of vegetables available locally. Her foods were not at all complicated.  Foods were cooked in fire. Using gas stoves was very rare. We hailing from Gods own country- Kerala. The vegetables that were grown in Kerala and mainly used by my grandmother where pumpkin (red and white), raw banana, drumsticks, papaya, tapioca and coconut .

        After 96 years of her life’s ups and downs she left to heaven. So I thought of going back to her memories through this blog with her recipes which were very easy to cook. I always observed that when I used to consume these kind of cuisine from her recipe books I felt light at stomach and emotionally it made me calm and happy. 

This recipe is one of her masterpiece.  It's similar to sambhar without coconut and less vegetables.  Rice being the main food.  Her curries are best combination with rice than chapati 

Ingredients:

• Red pumpkin (ripped) – 1/4kg (Peeled and chopped to medium sized cubes.)
• Onion – 1
• Sāmbhar dal – 1/2cup
• Tamarind – small lemon size ball (Soak in water for few minutes)
• Aseofotido – small cake piece
• Turmeric -1/2 tsp.
• Red chilli powder – 1tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Sugar – a pinch (optional) I usually add sugar if pumpkin are yellow in colour.

Tadka:

• Coconut oil – 1tbsp
• Small onion – few sliced
• Curry leaves - 2stirng
• Rai – ½ tsp.
• Fenugreek seeds – a pinch
• Dry chilly – 2-3numbers

Method:

Pressure cook dal and take the tamarind pulp keep it aside. In a cooking pan boil pumpkin and onion with turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Once cooked add asefodita and salt. Add cooked dal and tamarind paste and boil it till right consistency. Add a pinch of sugar. The consistency should be not that thin still loose. So when it cool down it will become bit more thick. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, dry red chilli, fenugreek seeds add sliced small onion and curry leaves. Fry till onion turns brown. Pour this seasoning to the curry .Close the curry for 10 minutes. Then mix slowly and serve with plain rice