I love pumpkin and the dishes made with it, to which I was brought up in my hometown. But all of them had been savoury! It was after moving to the US that I realized how popular pumpkin is here, in fact way popular than in India. It is a key element to the Halloween celebrations and has a variety of dishes that too for the sweet tooth. I keep getting surprised even nowadays seeing the different sweet pumpkin dishes & desserts … pumpkin pies, tarts, smoothies, pancakes, soups, cakes… is there anything more you can ask for?

So coming back to the savoury side of pumpkin, Erissery is one of the most popular side dishes of Kerala, India; served mainly for our biggest & our traditional feast; Sadya. The preparation and the ingredients used vary in different parts of the state, with pumpkin sometimes being replaced with yam, banana, or butternut squash.

Pumpkin when combined with legumes makes a very healthy diet. Red cowpeas also known as Lobhia or Vanpayar, are an excellent source of protein and this legume has different variations, like the black, brown, and white creamy peas.

Tadka, or tempering of spices in oil, is one of the key steps in this recipe’s preparation, where both fresh and roasted coconut is used; fresh for the base in a grinded paste form, and the roasted as a garnish along with spices. The beautiful aroma from the roasting of coconut itself makes your mouth watering, pair this dish with steamed rice and enjoy…!

Happy Cooking..!!!

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Prep time: 40-45 mins
Serves: 4 – 5 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup pumpkin (sliced)
• ¾ cup red cowpeas / vanpayar
• ½ + ½ cup coconut (grated)
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cumin / jeera
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 green chilies
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 dry red chilies
• 2 pearl onions (chopped)
• mustard seeds (a pinch)
• salt (as required)
• oil (as required)
• 2 cups water (for pressure cooking)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak red cowpeas overnight OR Pressure cook red cowpeas with a little salt and 2 cups of water, on a medium flame for up to 3 whistles. Take the cooker off the flame, and allow it to rest till the pressure goes off.
2. Drain the cowpeas.
3. Clean the pumpkin by peeling off its skin and removing its seeds. Slice it into small pieces.
4. Add a little water to a pan and cook the pumpkin slices with salt and a pinch of turmeric powder, until it turns mushy. Mash well with a wooden spoon.
5. In the meantime, make a paste of coconut, cumin, green chilies, garlic and turmeric powder.
6. Turn down the heat of the pan to low and add the cooked cowpeas and coconut paste, mix well.
7. Adjust the salt and boil the curry until it thickens. Turn off the flame.
8. In another pan, heat some oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, dry red chilies and pearl onions. Saute for a minute on a low flame, and add the other half of the grated coconut.
9. Roast the coconut by stirring frequently till it brownish and aromatic.
10. Garnish the pumpkin curry with the roasted coconut paste.

Serve warm with steamed rice.

Interested in more Pumpkin recipes, check this out:

Pumpkin with Yogurt (Mathanga Pachadi)

Interested in more side dish recipes with Red cowpeas, check this out:

Broccoli with Red Cowpeas

The post Pumpkin with Red Cowpeas / Mathanga Erissery appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Halloween is around the corner; Trick-or-Treating, Ghost Stories, Costume Parties, Pumpkin Recipes, and many more… a fun time for families and kids..! And when it comes to food, your options for the sweet tooth are endless… Kids love Halloween, the time of the year where they run around collecting sweets, stocking them, and bragging about their collection. They would go bonkers for lollipops, and if it’s a spooky treat? Ho Ho, You’ve just made their day…!

This is my first Halloween since I’ve started my blog and every year I have been quite intrigued with the spooky edible food decorations, in all shapes & colors throughout the stores. I love to watch all the Halloween creativity, isle after isle, and be mesmerized. So this year I made up my mind to definitely put on the Pepper Delight Witch’s hat and cook up some spooky treats. Woooooooohh……

Cake pops is something I have been eyeing on for a while. In fact my recent baking experience with cheesecake  showed me how wonderfully graham crackers go with cream cheese. I had some leftovers and so it was the perfect timing to use them with something new. I was so tempted to grab all the edible spooky decorations from the store, but decided to stick myself to those cute candy eye balls and spookify them on my lollipops with little blood red gel.

This treat is an attention grabber n sooo easy to make. And the bonus:

• no cooking
• no baking required
• 4 ingredients
• Both kids and adult friendly

The only tricky part for any newcomer is the tempering of the chocolate. You may not get the glazed coating right the first time, and if you didn’t, don’t Worry..! Even I couldn’t, and actually that adds even better to the spookiness..He He..!

Happy Halloween my dear friends, Enjoy…!

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Prep time: 30 -45 mins
Serves: 12 lollipops

INGREDIENTS

• 14 graham crackers
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
• 4 tbsp powdered sugar
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels (chips)
• Lollipop sticks
• Candy eye balls
• Edible decor (red color decorating gel)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Grind graham crackers in a food processor until finely powdered.
3. Transfer it to a bowl and add the cream cheese. Using a mixer or with your clean hands, blend it well until properly mixed into a dough.
4. Divide the dough into ice-cream scoop size portions and roll them into equal sized small round balls.
5. Place them on the baking sheet, and refrigerate for 10 mins to harder a bit.
6. Take the tray out and insert the lollipop sticks half way through each ball, and place back in the refrigerator for another 15 mins to set.
7. Melt the chocolate chips in a deep microwave safe bowl by microwaving at 30 second intervals and whisking alternatively until completely melted, loose and runny.
8. Dip each ball in the liquid chocolate to give it an even coat. Tap the stick of the pops on the edge of the bowl to allow any excess liquid to drip off. Allow it to stand by fixing it on a lollipop stand or a Styrofoam block.
9. Attach the candy eye balls to the pops and pipe some red color gel on top of it, Or use your favourite Halloween icing decorations to create your spooky lollipops.
10. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes to set completely.

Note:

1. Ensure that the dough is thick enough to stay intact and not fall apart.
2. Roll the dough into small balls so that it would be easy to coat with chocolate, and also will not fall apart from the sticks due to its weight.

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