Making pumpkin puree at home is a breeze. You really don't need to purchase the canned ones. This post talks about an easy recipe on how to make pumpkin puree from scratch. Use this delicious pumpkin puree in all of your favorite fall and holiday recipes. 

Which type of pumpkin works best?

Choose smaller baking pumpkin. "Sugar pumpkins" or "pie pumpkins" are what you want to look out for. These are smaller, fleshy varieties with are usually less watery and have better flavor.

Should you add sugar or any spice mixes to your Pumpkin Puree?

While you certainly can  add sugar or any spices to the puree, it is recommended you keep it as is without adding any additional seasoning. This will ensure you can use the puree for making both sweet or savory dishes later on.

Which all recipes can be made with Pumpkin Puree?

There is an array of recipes you can make with the pumpkin puree like pumpkin breads, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin butter, pumpkin soup, pumpkin sauce for pasta and many other recipes that you can think of.

22 October

As the calendar starts points towards October I feel a great amount of joy. It not only that time of the year when we Bengalis have our biggest festival - Durga Pooja or the entire country is into Navratri and Diwali celebrations but it also means my most cherished festival Christmas is not far behind. 

But before December October and November are the months which remind me of the beautiful fall time I had experience while living in Atlanta. We used to go on so many roadtrips in the Blueridge parkway region. I absolutely used to love those vibrant fall colors enveloping the rolling hills. 

But fall didn't only mean roadtrips or camping for us, it also meant Halloween, thanksgiving and baking some amazing stuffs with the seasonal pumpkins. The house would smell like a bakery - cinnamony, spicy , warm and bright. Those delicious pies and breads would make everyday of autumn so much more enticing. India doesnt really have a vibrant fall season. But still those experiences linger on in my mind and owing to lockdown situation last year I did have some time on hand to try a few autumnal recipes for the first time in India. 

• Do you leave the skin on when roasting pumpkin?
• It depends on the type of pumpkin and on your preference. I prefer leaving the skin on as it helps hold the shape.

• How do you ensure the roast pumpkin isn't soggy?
• To prevent sogginess, you need to roast the pumpkin at high heat. I baked it at 200 degree in my convection oven.

• What do you do with the seeds?
• When making roasted pumpkin do not discard the seeds. They can be later roasted with spices to make a delicious healthy snack!

One of the main reasons I love Kolkata is because of the fish we get here. Its so fresh and one can get restaurant grade fish quality even in the small neighborhood produce markets. I have been eating all sorts of fish from the time I have landed in Kolkata. If you follow my blogs you would know that recently I had gone to Meghalaya. Over there also while others in the group had chicken or veg, I was the only one who opted for fish every chance I got. And I was so happy I did. I am crazy about seafood and this long stay in Kolkata is proving to be a boon.

A couple of days back mom had got some lovely golda chingri (giant river prawns) from the market. I kind of pestered her to get these big prawns because they were the only thing remaining to check out in the list of fish in Kolkata. I wanted to initially make microwave bhapa chingi with these as a weekend special. But yesterday we had a random plan and went to City Center 2 and then to Eco park in the evening. CC2 was not to talk about - usual mall in any metro city. I had visited CC2 last about I think 10 years ago when it had just opened and reaching it was a nightmare. I had expected the look and feel would be better after such a long time. But it kind of seemed okayish. In fact I still love City Center 1 better. The vibe over there is much premium than CC2. There was only one plus of the CC2 visit, there was a sweet festival going on there in which all famous sweets from different corners of Bengal were being sold. We got one each of the most popular sweets back home. In the evening we went to Eco park. Eco park is huge and it might probably take a whole day to cover the entire park. But I didn't want to do that much in the strong afternoon sun. The biggest USP of the park is the 7 wonders and it looks stellar in the evening. Hence I had targeted evening time only. And I was not wrong. The illumination around the 7 wonders are absolutely spectacular. I think I will write a separate post covering my visit there. We intend to again visit the park and try covering some more interesting areas like the Japanese Garden or the Eiffel Tower.

Since yesterday the Chingri making plan was cancelled, I took that up today. I was in a mood to do some elaborate cooking so instead of a microwave chingri I thought of making malaikari with these beauties. I have already posted one version of Chingri maikari previously on my blog. But it had Shah jeera which is not a very conventional addition in malaikari. Also I had used garlic in it. Now a days I do not add any garlic in my malaikari. Ginger itself gives a nice aroma to the dish.You can check out the other recipe here.

So this recipe is an absolute traditional take on malaikari. Time and again I have mentioned in my blog that for some of the most traditional recipes I follow Lila Majumdar's book. I also checked out Supriya Devi's ( Utaam Kumar's wife) book and she had mentioned a similar recipe. Most of the malaikari recipes you would find now a days suggests adding curd. While I do like curd in certain gravies, malaikari has a very distinct aroma of coconut milk, adding curd to the gravy would alter the traditional flavors and taste I feel. So in this recipe I have not added any curd. The key to a good malaikari gravy is frying the onion till they release oil. Check out the recipe below:

• Golda Chingri / Large Prawns with shell and head -  3 or 4
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - 2 " stick
• Cardamom - 3 bruised
• Cloves - 2 bruised
• Coconut milk - 1 Cup
• Tej Pata (Bay Leaf ) - 2 small 
• Green Chilli - 2 (slitted)
• Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Sugar as per taste
• Mustard Oil

For this recipe I had used Maggi Coconut Powder. I used 2 spoonful of the powder and added it to a cup of full cream milk. Now microwave it for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the milk powder properly taking care no lump is formed. You can also use the canned Coconut milk readily available in any supermart. Else if you want to use fresh coconut milk then you can scrape the coconut and add hot water to the scraped coconut. Make a thick paste of the scrapings and strain it to get the coconut milk. However it doesn't make much difference in taste even if you use the market available milk or powder. So it's entirely your take whether you want to indulge into the extra effort of extracting coconut milk from fresh coconut or not.

Procedure

1.  Carefully de-vein the prawns. Marinate with salt and turmeric. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes. 

Tip: I use a kitchen scissor to cut open a vertical slit on the back of prawn shell.  Then make a fine vertical cut with a sharp knife to expose the veins. Then using a toothpick I pull out the vein. 

Note: In this recipe I have kept the entire shell on the prawns. If you like you can remove the shell form the mid section. But keep the head and tail intact for a nice look.

2. Heat mustard oil in the skillet. When the oil heats up toss in the marinated prawns. Fry till they turn pink for 45 seconds each side. Due to the presence of the head and tail the prawns will curl less.  Overcooking the prawns would make them rubbery hence take care not to cook them for long. Keep the fried prawns aside.

3. Chop the onions and make a paste of onions with a little water. Make a paste of ginger and 1 green chilli separately. Keep aside.

4. In the same skillet in which you fried the prawns, add more mustard oil and let it heat up. When the oil is hot enough add the bruised cardamom and clove, cinnamon stick and bay leaf . Fry for a few seconds until fragrant.

5. Add the onion paste and sauté till the raw smell of the onion is gone. 

Tip: Add a pinch of salt to the onion paste, it accelerates the cooking process of onion.

6. Add the ginger-green chili paste and fold in. Cook with frequent stirring till the onion releases oil. You can also add a bit of water in between to keep the onion from sticking to the skillet.

7.When the raw smell is gone add the turmeric powder and chilly powder. Mix everything.

8. Add the Coconut milk now. Add sugar as per taste and adjust the salt level. Let the gravy simmer for 3-4 minutes covered, so the gravy gains some body. Give it a toss occasionally to prevent the masala sticking to the skillet. Add a little warm water if things turn dry. Let it cook until oil floats up.

Note: This gravy is supposed to be a little on the sweeter side. 

9. Now add the fried prawns into the gravy and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes on low flame and not more than that else the prawn will become rubbery and hard. Adjust the salt and sugar level at this stage. The gravy is supposed to be a thick one with a predominant sweet taste. 

10. Add garam masala powder and close the lid. Let the gravy sit inside till its time to serve. As the gravy sits the rich aroma of prawns and coconut milk will gradually bring in the soul of the dish together.

Serve it with steamed rice or a pulao of your choice. Since this is a very rich gravy, a rice with mild seasoning would go better with this

6 October

|| শুভ মহালয়া ||

Subho Mahalaya to all my readers!

We are just days away from the biggest festival of Bengalis - Durga Pujo. I was expecting a crystal clear Shorot er akash but all I got was a rain cloud dotted sky. It didn't rain today but it was quite windy. Weird weather in the month of October. By now the air usually smells like Durga Puja with all the shiuli flowers ground around. that's right even if I am in Pune we do have a few homes in the vicinity who have Shiuli flowers blossoming in their courtyards at this time of the air. 

To remind us of the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil Mahishashur, we celebrate the auspicious day of ‘Mahalaya’. Not only does this annual festivity hold a religious and spiritual significance, it also reminds us of the power of truth, of courage and of the universal fact that in the end, good will always triumph over evil.

On this day, Goddess Durga officially begins her journey from Mount Kailash — where she resides with her husband Lord Shiva — to her maternal home on Earth. Goddess Durga to Bengalis is like a daughter and hence to welcome her home the Bengalis make a plethora of delicious veg and non veg dishes. That is also the reason why non veg is made during the Durga Pujas in Bengali homes. 

Celebrating the day with one of the favorite Bengali snacks - Vegetable chop or vegetable croquettes. Made with a medley of veggies like beetroot, carrot and potatoes, the signature aroma of a vegetable chop comes from the freshly roasted bajha moshla, crunch from coconut chunks and toasted halved peanuts. Who can not fall in love with these chops when u have it with a dash of kashundi and tomato sauce on the side. It is one of the most loved snacks for a Bengali.

3rd October

We are finally into October! Mahalaya is just around the corner which means its time for Durga Puja! And Durga Puja definitely means grabbing on a lot of good food. So to prepare yourself for this festive season it is always recommended to keep a healthy detox drink as part of your regular diet plan. 

Hence I am starting October on a healthy note by sharing a favorite detox drink - Kokam juice. This tarty and citrusy fruit is a  favorite among the Konkans and is widely available in the Malabar regions of India. You can find many dishes like dal and curries being made with Kokum in Maharashtra.

My tryst with Kokum started with Sol kadi - a flavorful concoction of Kokum, water, coconut milt, ginger and green chili. Its a lovely summer drink here in Maharashtra and I absolutely love it with a fish curry thali specifically. Slowly I started exploring and knowing more amount this amazing fruit and what all you can do with this little wonder fruit. 

Kokum comes with an array of known health benefits. The presence of vitamin C helps boost immunity,  the garcinol it contains has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergenic properties. But what has brought kokum into the spotlight is the presence of hydroxyl citric acid (HCA) in it, which is said to shrink appetite and reduce fat in the body, further helping you lose weight, the healthy way. It has become a new fad to include Kokum juice in your regular diet for healthy weight loss. You must have also heard some Bollywood celebs taking about Kokum drink as their preferred post workout drink.

Kokum juice or kokum sharbat will not only cool you down your body but also help detoxify your body. You can include this in your early morning routine and it will work wonders for you. The recipe is also very simple, you can just create the Kokum Juice paste in advance and use it to prepare your detox drink anytime you want. I am sharing two recipes with Kokum below. Check them out below.