Pumpkin Shrimp

A hearty Bengali-style shrimp and pumpkin curry or kumro-chingri’r dalna is a light and easy dish usually made with small shrimps. Little use of minimal spices makes this preparation very light and this quick to put-together recipe tastes heavenly with some hot steaming plain rice.

This summer Mother Nature was very kind to me and I had a handsome harvest. The pumpkin used in this recipe was one of the last fruits from my summer garden and I couldn’t be happier to use some of it for this delicious and healthy recipe. If you're like me who puts her heart out both in the garden and kitchen, you'll know the feeling.

Pumpkin Shrimp

Ingredients:

Pumpkin, peeled, cleaned and cubed - 2cups

Shrimp, peeled and deveined - 1cup

Onion, finely chopped - 1 small

Green Chili - 2 or to taste

Nigella - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chili - 1

Mustard Oil - 2tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1tsp

Cumin Powder - 1tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves, chopped - 1tbsp (optional)

Process:

1. Clean shrimp and marinate with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Set aside. *

2. Peel and cut the pumpkin in to 1-inch cubes. **

3. Heat a teaspoon oil in a pan and lightly fry the shrimp. Take them off the pan and keep aside.

4. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp. oil. Once the oil smoky hot, add 1 dry red chili and nigella seed. Wait until the seeds stop crackling.

5. Add the cubed pumpkin pieces and mix well. Add the dry spices (turmeric and cumin powder) and sugar.

6. Cook it covered for around 5-7 mins, stirring occasionally in between.

7. Once the pumpkin becomes soft to touch, add the fried shrimp and mix well.

8. Cook for another 5 mins or more if you want your pumpkin a bit mushy. ***

9. Taste seasoning and add salt and green chili.

10. Give it one last stir and add the coriander leaves (if using) before taking it off the flame.

11. Serve hot with some steaming plain rice.

Notes:

*This recipe is usually made with small freshwater shrimps. My shrimps were large and hence I cut them into small pieces. You can keep them whole; they will taste equally good.

**My pumpkin was very young and fresh. So, I decided not to peel them. If you’re using a rather mature pumpkin, I would suggest peeling it.

***Cooking time may vary based on the tenderness of your pumpkin. Mine was young and got cooked in very short time. Also, it depends on your taste; if you would like to keep the pumpkin pieces little chunky, cooking time should be less.