Monday 19 July 2010

Kumror Chokka / Pumpkin with Potatoes

( Vegans can skip the ghee. )

Too many things on my mind these days ... and too many things to get done.
So in no mood to ramble ... yeah, can hear that sigh of relief from you guys. :-)
So straight to my recipe today.

But before that can't resist mentioning that I did get the first Ilish or Hilsa of the season
and had a great leisurely lunch last afternoon ...
... read had enough time on my hands to sit back and
pick through the fine bones
and munch on some great Ilish maach bhaja ...
and lick my plate clean while savouring the Ilish maacher ambol.

Also made some Chorchori with the maatha and
my very own home grown pui ...
yes I did chop off a few stems and leaves.
Was great! :-)

Still have a few pieces left ... am trying out all my Ilish recipes that I posted last year.

Today's recipe is a simple veggie dish that I make very often.

This is my way of making the Kumro (pumpkin) r Chokka or Kumror Chakka ...
... fuss free and not too much of spices.
I do not know why it is known by this name ... so do not ask me.


I like to throw in some kala chana / bengal gram ... so soak a few if am planning to do this dish.
If you are making it impromptu and do not have them ... no problem at all.
And this is one of those rare Bengali dishes in which I use Hing ... am not too fond of the thing ... so usually use it only in the Rajasthani dishes.
But it does give a wonderful flavour to this otherwise simple dish.

You can use coriander and jeera powder with this too ...
I did not.
And I did not use the bay leaf / tej patta to as I had
run out of it.

Need :

Kumro / Kaddu / Pumpkin - cut into medium biggish cubes
Potatoes - cut into a little smaller size than the pumpkin
( can use boiled ones too )
Kala chana / Whole Bengal gram - soaked overnight
( better if you can boil them with a pinch of salt ... just run it in the MW at 60% for 10 mins )
Whole Jeera / Cumin seeds
Grated or paste of fresh ginger
Haldi / Turmeric powder
Hing / Asafeotida
Whole dry red chillies
Oil to cook ( I use mustard oil )
Salt to taste
Ghee


How to
:

Heat oil in a deep kadahi / wok.

Add the jeera, hing and the dry red chillies.

Add the ginger paste and stir for just a little while.

Add the potatoes and stir well ... till the sides turn brownish.

Now add the pumpkin, haldi and salt.

Cover and cook till the vegetables are well done.
If needed add a little water so they do not burn.

When the vegetables are done, remove cover and throw in the boiled kala chana.

Give a good stir to mix everything well.

Cover for some more time ( take care not to burn ).

Serve hot.
Top it with a little ghee just before serving.


This dish should be slightly mushy, which the pumpkin will turn to anyway and will get the natural sweetness of the pumpkin.

Goes great with luchi/puri, rotis or parathas.
Or even with dal and rice too.

If you do want some spices in it, you can sprinkle some garam masala or roasted jeera powder on the top before serving.

Enjoy !!



26 comments:

  1. Dear Sharmila
    Simply awesome...you always come up with recipes which takes me back to Athgarh days. Thanks for sharing...off to the market for Komro..cant wait
    bhalo theko
    ushnishda

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  2. Nice recipe ....looks gud ..love the combo

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  3. luchi die eta khete ki bhalo lage bolo? amio aj baniechi tabe chola charai. rate ruti die khabo bole. ami tomar ager akta kumro'r recipe majhe majhe banai. Hubby'r khub favourite ota. even boleo oi tomader Sharmila'r oi kumror tarkari ta banao na :-)

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  4. Simple but delicious. Keeps us happy. I think the channa is a must. It does elevate the dish.

    I can imagine the satisfied look on your face after the leisurely meal.

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  5. Love kumoror chokka and adding kalao chola is too good Sharmila...and ramblings lekho porte bhalo lagey..eyi je tumar masakali ra balcony te kemon ache? ache na orey chole geche !!
    hugs and smiles

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  6. nice combo.. looks delish and simple.. do drop in at my space sometime :-)

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  7. Ushnishda ... lemme know how you liked it ... and how you made it too. I know you will make it differently. :-)

    Priti ... thanks. :-)

    Sayantani ... me too love this with luchi. Both of you like my Chatpata Kaddu ... jene khub bhalo laglo. :-)

    Indo ... I was like a contended cat. Was having fish after 3 months ... so the gluttony. :p
    And you are right! I think even I wouldn't like it sans the chana. :-)

    Jaya ... akkel gudum thake aajkal ... ramblings tomader opore ottachar hobe. :p
    Masakkali ... hahaha. Good one.
    Na neyi ... chole geche.
    Another couple tried to build a nest again ... so packed up the ledge ... boddo jhamela. :-)

    Aipi ... will do. :-)

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  8. hi sharmila,
    this curry looks gr8 ..never tried this combo ,i know its very tasty ...
    i love bengali food ,specially sweets...i am new to ur blog..happy to find u dear ..
    if u get time do visit my blog

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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  9. My Ma always adds kala chana to chakka. Now that she is here, I might as well get her to cook this :)
    Thanks for reminding

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  10. Tomar recipe pore Ma'ar katha mone pore gelo. Robibarer special jalkhabar manei phulko luchi aar kumror chokka. Ei week ei kumro kinte hobe aar tarpore tomar recipe ta definely try korbo.

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  11. yummy sabzi... you make it look so tempting too!
    Enjoy your hilsa....

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  12. Sharmila di,
    chobi-ta darun hoyeche.
    lucky that u got the first hilsa of the season. ekhano to ja ilish pai, ta prae amar-e boyesher ;)
    Swagata.

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  13. You brought back a lot of memories!
    In my school, there was a girl who regularly brought kumror chokka and roti for her lunch. It looked so tempting. My mother sent me exotic sandwiches and noodles. I used to look at her lunch box with such longing. When I told this to my mother, she almost died laughing. And then she made it once and somehow, it did not look so tempting anymore!But I love pumpkin and my family don't. So I make a vegetable quite similar to this one with kancha pepe. They hate that too :(

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  14. I was suddenly reminded that I haven't tried cooking Thai food lately. I think this recipe will do because I am a potato lover. If you wont mind I'd love to guide Foodista readers to your post. Just add the foodista widget to the end of this post so it will appear in the Foodista pages and it's all set, Thanks!

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  15. hey first time here...u have a great blog....hope to try ur dishes soon.

    Lavanya

    www.lavsblog.com

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  16. Satya ... welcome. :-)

    Sandeepa ... kala chana chara amar o eta khete khub ekta bhalo lagena. :-)

    Madhu ... aha .. phulko luchi. Perfect. :-)

    Somoo .. it will be the only hilsa of this season for ... so am trying to savor every bit. :-)

    Swagata ... tumi khub e choto bujhi? Choto ilish e moja nei ... boddo kaanat. :-)

    Aparna ... LOL. It was that bread+jam+sheddho dim+kola in my lunch box has created a never ending hate in me for mixed fruit jams and the rest of the stuff. I used to swap with my Punjabi friends' roti and achar. :p
    Kancha pepe ... me hate too. ;-)

    Christine ... Thai food? This? Well ... thanks. :-)

    Lav ... welcome. :-)

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  17. kumror chakka is one of my fav. with luchi/ruti...amar ma bhaja badam o use kare aar seshe roasted panchphoron powder..check my post here : http://indranid.blogspot.com/2009/12/kumror-chokachakka-pumkin-delight-from.html
    Tomar ta dekhte darun hoyeche with skin of pumpkin

    tumi kemon acho ekhon? kal ekta post karechi after long break..visit me

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  18. I'm the only one in my house who likes pumpkin, but this looks so good!

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  19. That's a new combo for me..thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe :-)

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  20. too many things on your mind? That makes two of us. Just dropping in to say hi and hope u are doing well!

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  21. Indrani ... am much better now. Thanks. :-)

    Go ahead and make some for yourself I. :-)

    Latha ... thanks. :-)

    Gulmohar ... thanks. :-)

    Bharti ... great to see you again! Often think of you ... hope you are doing great too. :-)

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  22. Hello Sharmila,

    Isn't this a thai food?

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  23. Sharmila, janina keno ei post tat te comment korini when I remembered reading it. Ami amar chokka post edit korar jonne came here to link to you.

    Thai food shune hneshe pete byatha hoye gelo:-)

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  24. No Christine, it is a traditional Bengali (Indian) recipe. :-)

    Soma ... Thai food erokom holey ami chetepute khetam. Thanks for linking me ... and for not forgetting me. :p

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  25. lovely write up (made me bask in nostalgia for a while) and a wonderful recipe. I make a variation of this with potol - yum always.

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