South Indian pumpkin stew fondly called as Gummadikaya Pulusu in Telugu is a tangy stew made with pumpkin and onions, a great vegan accompaintment for rice or served as soup.
Heat ½ tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add ⅛ tsp of fenugreek seeds, fry them till they change the colour to brownish red, then add onions and pumpkin cubes. Fry for a couple of minutes
Add a cup of water(no measurement required honestly).
allow the onions and pumpkin to soften, add salt at this stage.
Add green chillis, extracted tamarind water/juice and boil it on a medium flame for 5 minutes or so. you may also want to add few curry leaves at this point.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and allow the stew to cook further on low flame, this step may take at least 15-20 minutes.
Once you see the stew is becoming to thicken, add a small piece of jaggery.
Adjust any salt or water depending upon how thick or think you want the stew to be and cook on low to medium flame for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
Seasoning Gummadikaya Pulusu
Heat oil in a small pan and crackle mustard and cumin seeds, add in dried red chillis, curry leaves, channa dal and hing. fry until a nice aroma comes.
Add it to the stew and cover it with a lid for 5 minutes, this step will ensure the hing smell is thoroughly incorporated into the Gummadi kaya pulusu.
Notes
Choose a yellow variety of pumpkin and wash well before using as the recipe calls for keeping the skin on.you can use mixed vegetables like squash, drumstick, ladysfinger, brinjal in place of pumpkin.Soaking tamarind in hot water makes it easier to extract more juice easily.Skip green chillis if you can't tolerate much spice but red chilli powder is essential.If you don't have jaggery, use a tablespoon of sugar instead.If you want to make the stew slightly thicker, mix 1 tablespoon of rice flour to 3 tablespoons of water and make a slurry, pour it before making seasoning and allow to cook for 5 minutes.