Aromatic Rice Dish and Chunky Chilli Pumpkin: Delicious Indian-Style Pumpkin Recipes

It's pumpkin season and most anticipated season, not least for all the spiced dishes and other hearty meals of fall. Today's Northwest Indian sautéed dish is a regular in my kitchen, and the combination of ginger, chilli and jaggery lends it a wonderful flavor harmony. The biryani, meanwhile, is packed with aromatic spices, long-grain rice and ghee, which give so much more taste to the strata of rice and produce.

Squash and Mushroom Biryani

A celebration of curry dishes starts on early October, so what better way to mark the occasion than with a rich, warming, all-in-one-pot biryani? If you like, prepare the vegetable curry component ahead of time and assemble all components on the day you plan to eat.

Prep 20 min
Cooking 2 hr
Serves 4

For the squash and mushroom gravy
4 tbsp ghee, or butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g white onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, lengthwise slit
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp mild chilli powder, or kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tbsp greek yoghurt
300g butternut squash flesh, cubed
300g button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
400ml vegetable stock, or water
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander, for serving

For the rice
200g basmati rice
2 bay leaves
4 green cardamom pods
A pinch of salt

Biryani assembly
2 tbsp melted ghee
1 pinch saffron threads, steeped in warm water
1¼cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp ground cardamom powder
1 tsp garam masala
Raita and salad, as accompaniments

Begin by preparing the gravy. Melt the clarified butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan on a moderate flame, add the cumin seeds, bay and clove spices, and fry for a brief moment. Add the sliced onion and sauté, frequently turning, for 30-35 minutes, until softened. Once onions begin caramelizing, transfer half of them to a separate dish and reserve (for later use during the assembly).

Add the green chillies and ginger to the onions in pan, fry for a minute, then mix in the tomato paste, chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder, and fry for a minute. Reduce to a gentle flame, stir in the yoghurt and cook for a couple of minutes.

Mix in the squash and mushrooms, toss to cover in the spices, then cook for several minutes. Pour in the liquid, and season to taste. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 18-20 minutes, mixing midway to ensure nothing's stuck to the base of the pot. Garnish with coriander, then remove from the stove.

Preheat the oven to moderately hot temperature. Rinse the basmati, then place it in a pot with a litre of water and the bay leaves, cardamom and seasoning. Bring to a boil, cook for around ten minutes, until partially cooked, then drain.

To build the layered dish, put a tablespoon of melted ghee in a oven-safe dish for which you have a secure cover. Ladle in half the vegetable curry, then top that with some the rice. Add half the saffron infusion, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and spice blend, then add the reserved fried onions. Layer with the remaining curry mixture, then spoon on the leftover rice. Finish with the rest of clarified butter, saffron liquid, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and spice mix.

Cover with baking paper, cover with the lid, then bake on the center rack of the oven for about fifteen minutes, so all the flavours infuse the rice. Remove of the heat, leave to rest, still covered, for 10 minutes, then lift off the cover and present with raita and fresh salad.

Rajasthani Achari Kaddu (Squash with Pickling Spices Sauté)

The Indian word "pickling style" refers to flavouring a dish using preserving spices, and the combination contains mustard, fennel, fenugreek, cumin seeds, asafoetida and nigella, but their use extends beyond in preserved foods. The blend also appears in all manner of spiced dishes and sautéed preparations, like this recipe.

Preparation 10 min
Cooking 30 min
Serves 4

1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pinch asafoetida
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
750g squash flesh, or pumpkin, cubed
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, as needed
1 tbsp jaggery, or dark brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Place the mustard, fenugreek seeds and fennel seeds in a mortar, crush coarsely, then reserve. Put the oil in a spacious skillet or kadhai on a moderate flame. Add the crushed spices and the hing, and fry, mixing, for a few seconds. Mix in the ginger, fry for a short while, then stir in the squash, chilli and turmeric, and sauté, stirring, for five minutes more.

Add 50ml liquid to the pot, salt with salt to taste and heat until bubbling. Place lid, reduce the flame, and simmer for 20 minutes, mixing midway through. Add the palm sugar, breaking up chunks a bit, then add the mango powder, mix thoroughly and present hot with chapatis or leavened bread.