Best Mixed Pumpkin Squash And Eggplant With Bengali 5 Spices Recipes

EGGPLANT AND SQUASH CURRY

Steps:

• For fresh tomatoes:
• Score the skins with a sharp knife in an X on the bottom of each tomato. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer to ice water bath to cool. Peel, halve, and slice tomatoes, and reserve.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss the squash with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Arrange the squash on a baking sheet and roast 25 to 30 minutes, until tender and brown at edges.
• Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet with tight fitting lid. Add the peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, and season with salt and pepper, sweat out the vegetables a few minutes then add the eggplant, curry, chile powder, and cardamom. Stir to toast and combine, then cover the pot and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is tender. Stir in the roast squash, tomatoes, chutney, and stock. Cool and store for make-ahead meal.
• If serving immediately, start the rice a few minutes after the squash goes into the oven. Otherwise, reheat the curry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes after you start cooking the rice. To prepare the rice, follow package directions adding lime zest or leaves to water before rice, add the scallions to the rice and lime juice when the rice is done and you fluff with fork.
• Serve curry on bed of lime and green onion rice with extra chutney for mixing in.

PUMPKIN PAKORA FRITTERS WITH BENGALI 5- SPICES

Steps:

• 1. Prepare the chaat masala and the 5-spices. Then prepare the basic batter and mix in the 5-spices and the sugar.2. Add the pumpkin slices to the batter. Heat the oil and fry the pumpkin slices as per directions in INFORMATION AND SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: __Frying Fritters (Pakorae Talna). Transfer all the fried pakoras to a serving platter, sprinkle the chaat masala on top, and serve.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

BENGALI-SPICED SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Cut the kabocha or butternut squashes into long wedges (I sliced the upper part of the butternut squash and halved the slices) and remove the peel, seeds and fibres from each piece.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion wedges, garlic, chilli and ginger to the pan and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onions are just tender.
• Add the spices and cook for a few seconds more.
• Add the pieces of butternut squash and toss everything together until well coated in the spicy mixture.
• Put the squash into a roasting tin and roast it for 35-40 minutes, or until the squash is tender and lightly browned around the edges.
• This is delicious served together with roasted chicken and mint raita, made from chopped fresh mint into natural yogurt.

HOW TO COOK A PUMPKIN OR SQUASH

Steps:

• THE EASY WAY: Wash outside of fruit, cut in half, scrape out seeds (save for roasting into snacks) and that stringy stuff, place halves face down on a cookie sheet.
• Bake at 300 (or so) until "meat" is tender; discard shells/skin.
• Use meat as called for in pie or cake recipe.
• OR mash or blend meat until very smooth (add a bit of water), heat in a soup pot, and then ladle into clean HOT jars, seal with canning lids, and process in hot water bath or pressure cooker. Label & use for pie filling or cake recipes.
• THE HARD WAY: Cut fruit into spears, remove seeds & stringy fibers, then using a paring knife or peeler, remove skins. Cut into large chunks and cook down in a soup pot to make pie filling or roast with other autumn vegetables (balsamic vinegar & sea salt make a nice marinade!).

SPICE-STUFFED INDIAN EGGPLANT

Steps:

• 1. Prepare the ginger-garlic paste. Then cut the eggplants: Starting at the bottom, make a deep cross-cut toward the stem, stopping about 1/4 inch from the stem. Keep the stem intact. (You should be able to pick up each eggplant by the stem.)2. In a small bowl, mix together the coriander, fennel, cumin, fenugreek, pomegranate seeds, mango powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and salt. Fill each eggplant with about 1/2 teaspoon of the spice mixture, making sure that the cut surfaces are covered. Save leftover spices.3. Heat the oil in a large wok, preferably cast-iron, or a nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the eggplants and cook, turning a few times, about 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook, turning occasionally, until the eggplants are almost black and crispy on the outsides and meltingly soft inside, about 1 hour. Add the leftover spice mixture during the last 10 minutes. Mix in the cilantro, transfer to a serving dish, and serve.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MIXED PUMPKIN, SQUASH AND EGGPLANT WITH BENGALI 5-SPICES

Steps:

• 1. Prepare the 5-spices powder. Heat the oil in a large nonstick wok or saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the red chili peppers until golden, 30 seconds. Add the 5-spice powder they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the curry leaves and vegetables and cook until golden, about 7 minutes.2. Add the paprika, salt, and sugar, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, 10 to 12 minutes. (If all the juices evaporate before the vegetables are done, add 1/4 cup water and finish cooking them.) Transfer to a serving dish, mix in the cilantro, and serve.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.