Wattaka Kalu Pol
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Wattaka Kalu Pol
Recipe by Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
Ingredients
1 medium pumpkin, skin on, cut into
2 cm chunks
2 tbsp curry powder
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 red onions, finely sliced
2 long green chillies, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 tsp black mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods
400 ml coconut milk
½ cup water
for dry-roasting
2 tbsp short grain rice, uncooked
½ cup desiccated coconut
Method
To make the curry:
Combine the pumpkin, curry powder, chilli powder, turmeric and salt in the large bowl, and mix to coat the pumpkin.
Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan on medium-high heat.
Fry the onions in the oil until translucent, stirring often.
Put the green chillies, garlic, mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods into the saucepan. Fry until fragrant.
Add the spiced pumpkin to the saucepan and mix through.
Pour the coconut milk and water into the saucepan to cover the pumpkin. Stir to distribute the flavours.
Bring to the boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20–25 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Stir occasionally.
To dry-roast the rice and coconut:
Toast the rice in the small frying pan, stirring continuously on a medium-high heat until lightly golden.
Add the desiccated coconut and continue stirring until the coconut becomes golden brown and fragrant.
Put the dry-roasted rice and coconut into the mortar and pestle and grind into a fine powder.
To serve:
Tip the ground rice and coconut carefully into the hot, cooked pumpkin curry, and stir until the curry thickens slightly.
Serve the curry in a bowl.
