Pumpkin and potato curry

Bengali Kumror Chakka

• 1 small pie pumpkin, chopped into small cubes
• 5-6 medium potatoes, cubed to same size as the pumpkin
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp panch phoran
• a pinch of hing
• 1 dried red chilli, broken into two pieces
• 1 tejpatta
• 2 inch knob of ginger
• 2 medium size cloves of garlic
• 2 green chillies, sliced vertically and seeds discarded
• 1.5 tsp jeera powder
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp amchur powder
• salt to taste
• some chopped cilantro, for garnish

1. Pound the green chillies, ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle into a corase mixture.
2. Heat oil in the pan of your pressure cooker.
3. Add the panch phoran and when it splutters, add hing, then red chilli pieces and then tejpatta.
4. Then add the pounded mixture of green chillies, ginger and garlic.
5. Add the potatoes and the pumpkin and stir.
6. Mix all the dry spices except for the amchur powder with a few teaspoons of water to make a paste.
7. Add this to the pan and stir well. Cook for a few minutes till you can smell the fragrance of the masalas start to waft through. About 3-4 minutes.
8. Add 2 and half cups of water and cook under pressure until the first whistle or its equivalent.
9. Allow to cool till you can open the pressure cooker without hurting yourself. Add the amchur powder and mix well. Then add chopped cilantro leaves and serve with naan or roti or paratha.

Note:

• If you don't have panch phoran, don't fret. Take 2 pinches each of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds. You can buy pre-mixed panch phoran in the stores but I find it unnecessarily expensive when I can put it together in a jiffy as I usually have all these seeds in my pantry.
• The long list of ingredients may seem daunting but it's just a question of organizing yourself to have these things ready before you start cooking. And they are everyday spices. Maybe not panch phoran for many of you but you will find that once you have used panch phoran, you will start looking for more recipes with this fragrant mix of seeds.
• I have adapted this from the original recipe that was posted here by the lovely Sangeeta. I have increased the amount of pumpkin and potatoes and reduced the level of spice. This seems to work very well for us, especially now that Medha can handle a little more spice than before.
• Be careful while cutting that pumpkin! Cut your pumpkin first and then figure out how many potatoes you will need. You want as much pumpkin as potatoes.