Sizzling Spice Roasted Pumpkin With Yoghurt

Preparation time: 60-80 minutes | Serves: 2-4 people

This delicious Indian inspired roast pumpkin with sizzling spices uses the technique of ‘tadka’ to infuse it with flavours. The pumpkin is served on a bed of creamy Greek yoghurt, topped with dried chillies, cumin, mustard, curry leaves and garlic toasted slightly and tempered in ghee. It's the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy, creamy, and crunchy textures, and comes together in under an hour for a delicious vegetarian side dish.

The versatility of pumpkin -
You can use it for sweet or savoury dishes, roast it, blend it into a puree, slice it up or serve it whole. While pumpkin soup is a comfort food during the colder months, it also shines in baked goods like spiced pumpkin loaves and makes a wonderfully creamy base for pasta sauces.

What exactly is tadka?
While roasting spices is a common method to draw out their flavours, blooming them in a source of fat (known as tadka or tarka) is a method used in traditional Indian cooking. In this authentic cooking technique, whole spices are are heated in oil or ghee (clarified butter) until sizzling, adding layers of flavour to daals (lentils), rice, vegetables or meat. They can also be incorporated into cold dishes like yoghurt or chutneys.

This roasted pumpkin recipe makes for a great side to grilled/ Tandoori chicken or a spiced rice. Find more tricks in my recipe notes below.

Ingredients

• 1/2 butternut squash or kent pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into thick cubes

• 2-3 tsps. oil

• 1/2 cup thick yoghurt (I prefer Greek)

• 2-3 tbsps. ghee or light olive oil

• 1 tsp. cumin seeds

• 1 tsp. mustard seeds

• 10-12 curry leaves

• 1 dried red chilli

• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

• 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced thin

• 1 tbsp. pepita seeds (optional)

• Salt, according to taste

• Coriander leaves, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a large baking tray.

2. Toss the pumpkin with oil and a big pinch of salt, roast for 30-40 mins until golden and cooked through.

3. In the last 10 minutes of the pumpkin roasting, heat the ghee/ oil in a saucepan.

4. Add the chilli, garlic, turmeric and swirl in the pan, then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds after a few seconds. Turn off the heat and add the curry leaves and pepitas if using.

5. To assemble spread the yoghurt on the base of a plate or platter, top with the pumpkin, tadka and a handful of fresh coriander.

RECIPE NOTES

Swaps, Serves & Storage

1. What can I use instead of pumpkin?
   You can use roast sweet potato instead of pumpkin in this recipe?

2. How can I make this recipe vegan?
   Use oil instead of ghee and switch to a dairy free yoghurt for a plant based version of this recipe.

3. How do I store this dish?
   I would recommend eating this dish fresh as the tadka won’t stay crunchy upon reheating. That being said, you can roast the pumpkin ahead of time and store it in an air tight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Tips & Tricks

1. Roasting pumpkin - If you’re short on time, cut the pumpkin into smaller cubes - the smaller the cubes, the quicker it will roast. You can also roast them in an air fryer.

2. Tadka techniques - Follow the order of spices mentioned above as cumin and mustard seeds tend to burn quickly. The mustard seeds will also start popping and go all over the place, don’t be alarmed! I’d recommend using a deeper frying pan if you have one, or stir frequently to minimise the popping.