The other day, it was just me and BB at home for dinner. S was eating out with friends and R was also out. GG had to stay back in school and so would not have lunch with us. I was wondering what to cook for just the two of us when I saw that a quarter of an orange pumpkin which was starting to go bad. After thinking about what to make, I decided to make a dal with the pumpkin. It turned out great and is super easy to make. There’s hardly any cooking to be done once you cook the dal and then just lightly temper it.
Pumpkin Dal
Ingredients:
- 1 cup orange pumpkin or squash, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup yellow split moong dal, washed and kept aside
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
To temper:
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
- 2-3 red dried red chillies (optional)
- 2 tsp ghee
Method:
- In a pressure cooker, add the moong dal and pumpkin and pressure cook it for 3 whistles or until the dal and pumpkin are fully cooked. and
- If you are using the stove top to cook, cook it till the dal is soft and mushy and the pumpkin is fully cooked and starts to disintegrate.
- When the pressure cooker cools down, open and mash the dal and pumpkin together till it becomes a homogenous mixture.and
- Add salt and red chilli powder to taste and keep aside.and
- In a smaller pan, heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. When it splutters, add the asafoetida and the dried red chillies (if using) and pour the tempering to the dal immediately. Cover the dal for five minutes to let the tempering infuse the dal.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or any flat bread
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