Baby pumpkin masala recipe
I first tasted tinda, baby pumpkin, in a curry at a very cheap restaurant called Tayyabs, in London’s East End. Tayyabs was one of the first London restaurants to build an authentic tandoor oven to make naan breads. It’s best known as a restaurant that specialises in meat, but the tinda masala could make a vegetarian cry, it’s so good. You’ll need to go to Asian shops to get hold of these tiny Satsuma-sized pumpkins with their slightly sharp, citrusy taste. You could also use tinned tinda or, failing that, this recipe might work with young marrows or round courgettes (normal courgettes are too watery).
Ingredients
- 100 g Ghee or butter (or 100ml vegetable oil)
- 0.5 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp curry spice mix
- 1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder)
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 2.5 cm (1inch) piece of root ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 16 small tindas (baby pumpkin), peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 pinch sea salt to taste
- 10 small fresh tomatoes quartered
- 300 ml plain yoghurt (or tin of coconut milk)
- 1 handful of fresh chopped coriander
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Heat the ghee, butter or oil in a saucepan over a low heat and drop in the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the curry spice mix, the amchur and the red chilli. Stir briefly, then add the garlic and ginger and continue to stir so that the mixture doesn't stick at the bottom.
- Add the tindas and cook over a low heat until they are tender, stirring gently now and again to stop the curry sticking. Add half of the fresh tomatoes. Taste and adjust the salt.
- When the tindas are almost ready - that is,tender - add the rest of the tomatoes, the yoghurt or coconut milk and the coriander to the pan. Continue to cook for 5-10 minutes. The curry should look slick and oily, so feel free to add more oil or ghee.
Also worth your attention:
More recipes from Kerstin Rodgers
Kerstin's book - Supper Club
Publisher - HarperCollins
Kerstin's Blog- The English Can Cook