Black-Eyed Pea Pumpkin Curry

Fall comes all too quickly in this part of the world, but along with the cooler temperatures comes colorful fresh autumn vegetables like pumpkins. Every pumpkin season I buy a few pie pumpkins to roast and freeze so that I have pumpkin purée all year long. And it's always an excuse to make one of my favorite treats of the season though I adore them no matter the time of year, homemade roasted pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin season always brings with it renewed inspiration for cooking ideas too, and the first sweet pie pumpkin of the year in my kitchen found its way into the oven for roasting and then combined with earthy black-eyed peas and Indian spices to make this colorful, filling and nourishing curry. This is an easy recipe to make too, with most of the prep time taken with cutting the pumpkin and scooping out the seeds.

What makes the use of pumpkin unusual in this recipe is that the skin is roasted with the pumpkin and left on in the dish — roasting the skin makes it tender enough to eat very easily, and allows the pumpkin to have its own pieces within the curry instead of disappearing as a purée, but it is essential to use a pie pumpkin instead of a large carving pumpkin. You can also use a squash if it does not have a thick or hard skin — delicata, acorn, red kuri or freshly harvested butternut squashes would be a good choice here as well.

Black-Eyed Pea Pumpkin Curry

Recipe by Lisa Turner
Cuisine: Indian
Published on October 8, 2019

Nourishing and colorful spiced autumn roasted pumpkin curry with black-eyed peas

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 to 55 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 cup dried black-eyed peas (3 cups cooked or 2 14 oz cans)
1 small pie pumpkin or squash (about 2 1/2 lbs or 1 kg)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powder, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
handful of dried curry leaves, crushed (optional)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 to 3 green or red chilies, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 large tomato, chopped
1 13 oz (400 mL or 1 3/4 cups) can coconut milk

Instructions:

Rinse the black-eyed peas and soak for at least 2 hours in enough water to cover. Drain and rinse, then transfer to a medium saucpean and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender — about 50 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat an oven to 400°F.
Slice the pumpkin or squash in half, remove the stem, and scoop out the flesh and seeds. Discard the flesh and reserve the seeds for roasting another day. Slice the pumpkin or squash into roughly 1-inch wedges, and transfer to a medium bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garam masala, chili powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and plenty of fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet, and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the pumpkin or squash is fork tender.
In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves to the pan. Fry until the mustard seeds turn grey and begin to splutter and pop. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion. Sauté for about 10 minutes, until the onion softens and begin to brown. Stir in the chilies and garlic and sauté for another few minutes. Add the turmeric and tomato, and cook for another few minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and the black-eyed peas, and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
Now add the roasted pumpkin or squash, and stir well to coat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and more fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings