Good to Know - Pumpkin is a low calorie, low fat food. Rich in potassium, a nutrient that helps maintain blood pressure and kidney function, pumpkin has a high fiber content, which has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Pumpkin flesh also contains a fair share of vitamin C, an antioxidant essential for healthy skin and gums.

Pongal is a rice and bean based main dish & sambar is a lentil based stew cooked with vegetables and spices and is a very popular dish in South India

Cooking Time: 20 mins
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Pumpkin - Chopped around 3 cups
Sambhar powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Red chilly - 1
Tamarind - gooseberry size ball
Thoor Dhal - 2 handfuls
Water
Salt

Method of Preparation

1) Remove the seeds and the skin of the pumpkin and chop the pumpkin into small pieces.
2) Heat oil and add mustard seeds once it stops spluttering add chilly, curry leaves, thoor dhal, asafoetida, sambhar powder, turmeric powder and water.
3) Now add the chopped pumpkin pieces and boil for around 5-10 mins and once the pumpkin is half cooked add the tamarind puree.
4) Make the tamarind puree thick by adding small quantities of water and let it boil for another 5- 10 mins and the sambhar is ready.
5) This will be in between consistency of kootu and sambhar. Much thicker than sambhar but thinner than kootu.
6) The thoor dhal in this sambhar will become soft but will not be very soft and mushy the usual way it is done for regular sambhar.
7) This is one of the traditional side dish for pongal in southern parts of Tamil Nadu.

This dish is our contribution to RCI-Pondicherry Cuisine, hosted by Lavi as an entry from Tamil Nadu. RCI was originally started by Lakshmi.