This Indian golden sauce or soup recipe is passed down as an oral tradition in small South Indian villages. Served with spicy roasted potatoes over steamed rice, the “buttermilk” is actually tangy plain yogurt. There’s no curry powder in this recipe—as the term “curry” is used simply to refer to something with a sauce or gravy, rather than a spice. Make this recipe with pumpkins or winter melon (a similar Indian gourd).
Ingredients
- 1½ cups pumpkin or winter melon, cut in 1-inch cubes
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup slightly sour plain yogurt
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon raw rice
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- ½ cup frozen and shredded coconut
- 1–3 green chilies, depending on desired spiciness
- 1 teaspoon split pigeon peas*
- ½ cup water for soaking
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- Pinch of asafoetida powder**
- 4–5 fresh curry leaves
About this recipe
We asked Essential, the company featured as "Iron Chef" competition winners in our Playground Global, Food for the Work Culture article, for their winning recipe for Buttermilk Pumpkin Curry, just one of the culturally-inspired Indian dishes they served to 300 people during the competition in this shared workspace and company incubator. Rich with spices and family secrets, this spiced, balanced curry is a centerpiece to any winning fall menu.
Instructions
1. Make the spice paste
Combine cumin seeds, rice, coriander seeds and split pigeon peas in a small bowl. Add ½ cup water and let mixture soak for 30 minutes.
Roughly chop green chilies. (To reduce spiciness, if desired, remove some or all of the seeds.) Place shredded coconut, chilies and soaked seed mixture in a food processor. Blend until smooth and mixture resembles hummus.
2. Cook the pumpkin
Peel the pumpkin, discard seeds and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place in a medium-sized saucepan and add water, turmeric and salt.
Cover and cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until pumpkin pieces are soft enough to pierce completely with a fork and breakdown when pressed with the back of a spoon.
When pumpkin is soft, turn heat to low. Do not drain liquid.
3. Blend spice paste and pumpkin
Add spice mixture and yogurt.
Whisk and blend all ingredients together until mixture is smooth.
Bring mixture to a very low boil until the mixture thickens and becomes frothy; remove from heat.
4. Make topping
In a small nonstick pan on high heat, add coconut oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. When mustard seeds start popping, remove from heat and add contents to the top of the pumpkin mixture.
5. Serve
Serve over hot steamed rice with a side of Indian-style spicy roasted potatoes.
