Burmese Pumpkin Curry
*This recipe is taken from Essential's 50th Anniversary Vegan Cookbook*
Message from Rachel at Demeuth's Cooking School (August 2021)
I was lucky enough to visit Burma in 2016 when the country was full of optimism for the future. It was a recipe I enjoyed teaching at Demuths Cookery School. I’m now retired and walk everywhere, still love cooking and have taken up Ceramics.
This is a recipe that was inspired by a wonderful trip to Myanmar in 2016. It has a lovely sour taste from the tamarind and you can use which ever squash you like and it is also lovely with cashews instead of the traditional peanuts.
Ingredients
Method
Soak the tamarind in 200ml boiling water for 15 minutes, then press the tamarind through a sieve and keep the tamarind water.
Fry the onion in the oil until translucent, then add the chopped garlic, ginger, chilli and turmeric and stir-fry until fragrant.
Add the pumpkin cubes and stir-fry.
Add the tamarind water and top up with just enough water to cover the pumpkin.
Simmer for 15 minutes until the pumpkin is tender but still holding its shape.
Season to taste with salt.
Add the peanuts and to serve stir through the coriander.
Serve with rice.
Tips:
Tamarind Tamarindus indica has a sour flavour with a sweet aftertaste and is used in the same way as lemon juice to sour and to bring out the flavour in food. Tamarind paste is extracted from the pods of the tropical tree. You can buy tamarind in blocks, which look rather like squashed dates. To extract the pulp, break off a chunk from the tamarind block, cover with just enough hot water and leave to soak, then squeeze out the pulp and discard the fibre and seeds.
Buy raw peanuts and roast them in a hot oven for 5 minutes and then the skins will rub off easily. As an alternative to peanuts use cashews.