Pumpkin Karhi

Hello there...
Most of the times ...it is a herculean job for the mother to feed veggies to the kids....What we generally do is chop green leafy vegetables and mix them in Dals and paratha dough. It is a smart way of making our kids eat the veggies without having to make them cringe and whine. Here's one such trial that I did which came out well...Sharing it with all my friends who undergo this skirmish all the time. My heart goes all out for you. so, here's my version of the simple yet tasty Karhi.
Ingredients:

For Pakoras
2 tbsps chickpea flour (besan)
1/2 onion chopped finely
1 tsp garlic paste
few sprigs of chopped coriander
1 tsp finely chopped green chillies (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
1/2 tsp red chilli pwd
salt to taste 
1/2 cup water
2 tbsps mustard oil

For Karhi:
1/2 kg sour curd (leave it out overnight)
1 & 1/2 cup water
2 tbsps chickpea flour (besan)
1 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cup pumpkin (skin on-pressure cook with minimum water till soft and mash-able)
1 small onion sliced
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
2 to 3 dried red chillies

Method:

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients of Pakora except mustard oil and try giving them a good whip with your hand.

My mom-in-law says that if you add garlic, either crushed or paste in any fritter batter, it comes out crispier. According to her, one doesn't require to add agents like baking soda or baking powder in them. 

In a pan, heat mustard oil. drop small dollops of the batter in the hot oil and make pakoras. Drain them on a kitchen towel. 

Boil pumpkin in a pressure cooker with minimum water till it becomes soft and mushy.Cool and mash it thoroughly with your hand. Keep aside.

 Take curd in a bowl and blend it till it becomes smooth. Add water and blend again. Now mix the mashed pumpkin along with it's residue water to the curd.

 Add besan and mix well till no lumps remain.

Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and garlic paste to the curd mixture and mix well. Keep aside.

In a karahi, heat up the mustard oil ( you can use the oil left over from the pakoras.). Add Fenugreek or Methi seeds and fry till they turn brown. 

 Now add cumin seeds and Hing. Split the dry red chillies and pop in the hot oil.

 After this, add the sliced onions and fry them till they turn golden.

Once the onions turn golden, add the curd-blend into the karahi and let it simmer till it comes to a boil, stirring it occasionally. 

Add the Pakoras early on, so that they become soft. Once the Karhi comes to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 15 to 18 minutes (Besan takes a long time to cook).

 Once the Karhi is done, sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves over it. You can also prepare a tarka(tempering) by heating 1 tsp Ghee in a tarka pan and adding hing and zeera and 1/4th of a sliced onion fried till brown. At the end, add some red chilli powder(preferably Kashmiri) and remove from heat. Temper the Karhi with it  and enjoy  with hot steaming rice.The colour and the aroma will make your mouth water, I can guarantee.

The pumpkin gives the karhi a wonderful flavour and texture. The sweetness of the pumpkin blends well with it. I am sure your Kids will love this. In the same way you can add grated cucumber( you don't even need to boil it) instead of pumpkin and the flavour is just...out of this world. Try it now!!