Mother's recipe :)

Ever since we started frequenting the Farmer's Market in Atlanta, A'd point out the yellow pumpkin known as 'petha' in Hindi and talk about one of his favourite preparations made by his mom. His mom is a fantastic cook. I stayed at their place after marriage before coming to the US and all I did was eat. She cooks with a disarming charm, and thankfully is not obsessed about measuring food like A does, ALL the time. She is an amazing multi-tasker and finishes cooking way before anyone woke up! A has some very nice memories of his mom's cooking and like most men, believes his mom is the best cook. This time around, I agree ;)

This post really goes out to her because she graciously shared the recipe with me, so I can cook for her son. (Okay, the son pestered her every weekend :D) It is a recipe that I did not believe will work out. In fact, my sis-in-law does not like this particular dish and advised me not to try it. So on one of the Farmer's market trips, A and I bought a wedge of this pumpkin. I could see the glee on his face. So, two days later, I decided to make this for him. Here is the recipe for you guys.

Ingredients:

1.25 lb orange/red pumpkin or 'petha'

1 can of Black eyed peas or Lobia

1 tomato

1 tsp Jeera

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp oil

1tsp ghee

Salt to taste

1. Chop the pumpkin into cubes and the tomatoes and set aside

2. Heat oil and once it is ready, throw in the Jeera, let it splutter

3. Add the pumpkin and allow for 5 mins

4. Add tomatoes and allow to cook for another 5 mins

5. Add the Lobia or the Black eyed peas, mix well

6. Add the turmeric, and the Garam Masala and salt to taste and close with a lid. Let the sabzi cook for a good 15-20 mins or until the pumpkins get tender.

7. Add a dollop of ghee in the end and mix. Switch off the gas :)

I added canned Black eyed peas which come pre-cooked. So, if you are using raw black-eyed peas, make sure to soak it for a couple of hours. I also added a little more Garam Masala accidentally :P But like my mother-in-law, I do not measure and just added the ingredients according to my whim ;) What a relief! I share atleast one of my mother-in-law's cooking traits ;)

This sabzi turned out so well, that I ate my words. I believed that this was a perfect combination of simplicity and superior taste. That is another reason I've not added coriander or done anything to the picture. I wanted to keep it simple. Every time A pesters his mom for a recipe, the perfect in-laws that I have, my father-in-law sits and types out the recipe into a Powerpoint and sends it titling the presentation N's kitchen, N being my mother-in-law's name's first letter too! Also, with this recipe, he said this for the last step: Add a dollop of ghee and mix. Serve with love :) So, here I am sending it to Srivalli's Curry Mela with love!

P.S.- Sorry, Srivalli, I'm technically challenged, so replicating your logo even if it is just Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V is slightcha complicated ;)