Make way for the pumpkin

Summer is the season when different variations of dudhi, padwal, tondli and bakar crop up on the dinner table. Author and culinary consultant Saee Koranne-Khandekar's memories of baakar, or pumpkin, are associated with her grandmother's. "I had heard about the Nagpuri baakar bhaaji from my grandmother, who had spent a few years in Nagpur. She used to make a more frugal version of the dish at home. The first time I made it, though, was when I was about 18, and was visiting my uncle on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border. One evening, we went to a farm belonging to a friend, and there were pumpkins ready to be harvested. We came home with one," she recalls. "This was decades before phone cameras were around, but I remember the rotund pumpkin and its graceful leaves like an impressionist still life work. The bhaaji turned out fabulous, of course, and this is one of my favourite ways to cook and eat the vegetable," she adds.

Recipe: Nagpur Baakar Bhaaji
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
2 cups of pumpkins (cubed and with the skin on)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
2 tbsp dried coconut (grated)
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp chirongi seeds (charoli or Cudappah almonds)
1 tbsp coriander stems (finely chopped)
1 tbsp goda masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp tamarind extract
2 tsp jaggery
Salt to taste
4 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
A pinch of asofoetida powder (hing)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander (finely chopped)

Instructions
Toast the dried coconut in a dry pan over a medium flame until lightly brown. Take off the heat and set aside. In the same pan, toast the poppy and chirongi seeds on a low flame until fragrant. Take off the heat and set aside. In a small mixer jar, place the coconut and the chirongi and poppy seeds, and blend to a course powder without adding any water. In a mixing bowl, add the onion, coriander stem, coconut-chirongi-poppy seeds mixture, tamarind, jaggery, salt, red chilli powder and goda masala, and mix well. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan; add the mustard seeds, asofoetida and turmeric. Throw in the onion mixture immediately, and saute over a medium flame until the onions begin to look translucent. Tip in the pumpkin and toss to coat well. Turn the flame down. Cover the pan with a large plate with walled sides. Fill this plate halfway up with water; this will create condensation inside the pan and help cook the pumpkin. Cook on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the pumpkin doesn't stick to the pan. The bhaaji is done when the pumpkin is cooked through and oil begins to leave the sides. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with poli or bhakri.

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