Pumpkin crescents with curry leaves

One of my favourite ways to eat pumpkin is to roast it in the oven. This caramelises the sugars in the pumpkin, making it sweeter and bringing out deeper flavours. Pumpkins and gourds are omnipresent in Indian cuisine because they are cheap and easily grown. The vegetable markets are filled with huge mounds in plain sight.

This is a straightforward recipe that is lovely. It plays core to simple Indian flavours, chillies and curry leaves. The sweetness from the pumpkin is balanced by the curry leaf's bitterness and the chilli's heat. This dish is usually served as a side, but I love to bring it out as an appetizer. I served it with a Pumpkin skin chutney that paired very well.

This is a wonderful cookbook that highlights Parsi cuisine and recipes from Mumbai. It is packed with traditional recipes from the community, with short narratives about the history, dish, or culture. It tends to favour the famous Bombay (Mumbai) style dishes, as well as some of the home recipes from the author's family kitchen. It is a wonderful specialized cookbook.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

1 small red pumpkin cut into thin crescents that can stand

2 tablespoons olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, to taste

1-2 fresh red chillies, minced, without seeds for a milder mix

20-25 curry leaves

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Mix the olive oil, garlic, salt, chillies, and curry leaves. Toss the pumpkin crescents in the mixture and mix well, coating them with the oil.

Layer the pumpkin crescents on a lined baking sheet and fill the leftover mix into the crescents. Bake for 25-30 minutes till the pumpkins are soft.

Serve while hot with a simple sauce or Tzatziki.