Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry

A SRI LANKAN FAVOURITE

We have come to the end of this Halloween season, and I am sure many of you have spent time carving pumpkins for this time of year. Did you know that last year, a study found that the UK alone bins 8 million pumpkins after Halloween. There are 8,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin that ends up in the bin each year. That's the same weight as 1,500 double decker buses! [1]

Compared to America, Brits don't have a tradition of cooking with the flesh of their Halloween pumpkin - Only a third of Halloween pumpkin buyers in the UK bothered to cook any of it, according to the annual #PumpkinRescue campaign [2].

So this year, I am sharing a seriously scrumptious pumpkin curry, inspired by my trip to Sri Lanka last year and a cooking class I went to. It is super creamy (from the coconut milk) and is packed full of flavour from a multitude of spices. Who else is going to the #PumpkinRescue campaign this year?

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Serves: 6. Cooking Time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• Half a large pumpkin (peeled and cubed)

• 2 cans coconut milk

• 2 medium white onions (finely sliced)

• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)

• 2 tsp medium curry powder

• 2 tsp ground turmeric

• 4 green cardamon pods

• 2 tsp mustard seeds

• 2 branches of dried curry leaves

• 1 tsp chilli flakes (more or less to taste)

• 3 tbsp coconut oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

• To Serve: Cooked brown rice

METHOD

1. Melt the coconut oil in a large pot, and add in the onions. Cook until onions are soft and transparent.

2. Stir in the garlic, mustard seeds and curry leaves for 2-3 minutes before adding the curry powder, turmeric, cardamon pods and chilli flakes.

3. Add in the 2 cans of coconut milk, followed by the cubed pumpkin. Leave on a medium-low heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste then serve with cooked rice and enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Ruth xxx