Kerala style Pachadi (White Pumpkin cooked in coconut-yoghurt gravy)
Pachadi is one of the main items in the Onam Sadya, the popular feast on the day of Onam, celebrated all Keralites alike.
Onam is one festival which brings everyone together, and is celebrated for 2 days primarily. Pachadi is a very easy to prepare dish, usually made with Yellow Cucumber (Vellarikka in Malayalam). You can also make it with white pumpkin if yellow cucumber
is not available.
Ingredients:
White Pumpkin - 1.5 cups (cut into small pieces)
Coconut - 3/4 cup (dessicated or frozen or freshly scraped)
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Green Chilli - 5
Yoghurt - 3 tbsp
Dry Red Chilli - 4
Oil - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
Water - 1 cup
Method:
1. Cut the white pumpkin into small pieces. It should not be very fine.
2. Add water in a vessel, and put the pumpkin pieces in it. They should be immersed in water. Add Salt and a green chilli.
3. Allow to cook untill the pieces are cooked well. The white colour turns into a transparent white colour and thats when you can say it is cooked well.
4. Grind coconut, grated ginger, and the remaining Green chillies, and make them a fine paste. Before you take off the mix from the mixer, add the mustard to it, and just pulse the mixer. Make sure to not grind them too long as we dont want it to be ground finely, but coarsely.
5. Add the paste to the cooked pumpkin, and allow it to boil, and cook for 2 mins. Check the salt and add more if needed.
6. Add 1/2 cup of water, if there isnt enough water in the curry. It should be a semi-gravy dish.
7. Once it is boiled, switch off the stove, allow it to cool.
8. Once it cools down,add the whisked yoghurt into the curry, and mix well. Do not add the yoghurt before cooling down, as it will shred the curd and the curry may not taste very good, as the texture changes.
9. Now it is time to do the tempering. Heat oil in a tawa, and add curry leaves, and dry red chillies to it.
10. Once they start to give the aroma, switch off and add them on top of the curry.
Here you are..Pachadi is ready. It is best served with Rice. Enjoy !