Meghalaya pumpkin seed chutney (Shyieng pathaw)

I must admit to having cheated!. I wanted to make this curney at the last minute, and did not have pumpkin seeds. What I did have were sunflower seeds. So I did a quick substitution and was very happy with the chutney.

Pumpkin is an important ingredient in the Meghalaya household, and has been cultivated for centuries. First, pumpkin is always part of the house vegetable patch, with vines crawling everywhere and fat pumpkins waiting to be picked. It is an immediate source of food and nutrition for the house and village. Meghalaya tribal villages are built on a model of self-sustainability. Built around water sources, usually streams, the houses have attached kitchen gardens with greens, beans, and other staple vegetables. Further afield, rice, millets and corn. Here, pumpkin plays an important but different role; the large leaves form a widespread ground canopy to prevent evaporation and later become mulch. The fruit is harvested, of course, and consumed, and may also become a small income for the families.

Every part of the pumpkin is used: the skin, flesh, and seeds. This recipe is about the seeds, which are nutty and a source of nutrition for the village. The chutney is bold, the chillies pop, and the nuttiness of the seeds counterbalances the chillies. This chutney is good as a side with almost any cuisine, but I particularly love it with dosas.

Chutney is a compendium of recipes from across India. This is a new cookbook in my collection, and I am loving it. It is an in-depth work on the beauty of chutneys from across India, their recipes, their stories and most importantly, their cultural significance. It is a massive tome that establishes Chef Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal as the leading authority on the topic. This is a must-have book for those who love a world of flavour and spice.

For more recipes from this book, click here.

Ingredients:

1/3 lb pumpkin seeds

1 onion, finely diced

4-6 green chillies, sliced, or to taste

1 teaspoon ginger

Salt, to taste

Method:

Dry roast the pumpkin seeds over low heat until aromatic and toasted. remove and cool completely.

In a mortar, pound the chillies first until very smooth. Pound the seeds with the remaining ingredients until a coarse paste forms. Do not add water. Mix the ingredients well and taste for salt and spice.

Note: You can make this chutney in a small blender, but I find it harder to control the texture. I prefer to hand-pound this cut of meat, not just for the perfect texture, but also because the biology of damaging the cells rather than cutting them adds a superior flavour.

Store in the fridge and serve at room temperature.