Burmese pumpkin curry (Shwe payon thee hin)

Pumpkin is a lovely vegetable if it is treated right. It is loaded with nutrition and serves as a cheap and healthy alternative to vegetarian diets. Here is a beautiful recipe with vegetables.

The stew is mild, with notes of tartness, spice, and, of course, the earthy pumpkin. You can use any variety of pumpkins, from kabocha to the small yellow pumpkins, but also squashes for this recipe. Of course, the cooking times will change depending on the variety of vegetables you use. The curry is light and runny, but it packs a flavourful punch. This is a summer dish for hot days, and the lightness of the curry helps make it so.

I recently purchased this book, which I enjoy reading and cooking from. The renowned Rangoon sisters, Amy and Emily, have gained fame in London for their exceptional Burmese cuisine and innovative pop-up restaurant cooking. This cookbook is a collection of fabulous recipes, and I will definitely cook from it often.

For more recipes from this wonderful cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons peanut or sunflower oil

2 onions, finely diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons ginger paste

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1-inch piece cinnamon stick

1 1/2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate

Salt, to taste

5 cups water or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 small pumpkin, Kabocha or other yellow variety, peeled if desired and cubed

Heat the oil on low heat in a saucepan and add the onions. Fry on low heat till the onions are very soft and have a very light golden colour, about 10-12 minutes.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for an additional 2 minutes till the ginger is aromatic. Add the pumpkin and cook till the onions and oil cover the pumpkin, about five more minutes.

Add the turmeric, chilli powder, cinnamon and give the mix a good stir. Add the tamarind, add water or stock and soy and bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid closed for 35-40 minutes till the pumpkin is soft. Taste the curry for salt, spice and tartness and adjust as needed.

Serve hot with rice.