I posted this picture on WhatsApp status with a caption
“ Day 1 of lockdown self-sufficiancy. Pumpkin tendril to go into sabji” Sabji is a vegetable side dish. A dear old friend messaged asking for the recipe and here it is. This could be long and drawn out to read through, more of my blabbering , less of the recipe, but bear with me.
First of all, let's start at the very beginning. The pumpkin seed has to be procured, sown, watered, checked everyday to see the first sprout, rejoiced,and keep watering and watching it everyday till the plant becomes strong enough so that even if you pluck the tender tips the plant doesn’t wither away. Once you get hold of the tendrils make sure to check them for bugs(Oh, some will be there) wash them, and chop them up, leaves and all. I checked some recipes on YouTube and they all seemed to have just the stalk without the leaves, but this is how I learned to make it, with the squiggly tendril, tender leaves and the tender part of the vine. Pumpkin flowers are also used in other recipes, I’ve watched them on MasterChef programs. The next time I make this recipe I’d throw in some flowers too. Next, chop up some onions, green chilli and garlic. Break up one or two dried red chilis. Get some curry leaves. Grate some coconut. Now, there are many other things you could add to the sabji. The best combination is potato. So cut them in the form of wedges after peeling them. I guess that would do for now. Heat some oil in a pan and throw in some mustard seeds, green chili, red chili, curry leaves, garlic and onion. Saute this for a while with just a pinch of salt. I keep adding small pinches of salt throughout the different stages of cooking so the salt gets incorporated in all the ingredients well. That’s something I picked up from potty mouth Gordan Ramsay. Once the onions soften up and start giving out an aroma, throw in the potatoes and the chopped up pumpkin tendrils, leaves and all. Give it a stir and again add just a little salt, cover and cook on low flame till the potatoes soften. Then add some red chilli powder, preferably kashmiri for its vibrant vermillion like red, and a little bit of turmeric. Give it a good stir. Sprinkle water if it sticks to the pan. No restrictions, go with your instinct. Just don’t burn anything. When everything has been incorporated and cooked, add the coconut gratings( or not, if not preferred). You have the basic pumpkin tendril sabji. It has an amazingly comfort giving taste. Another variation I've tried is mixing it up with black eyed peas. That too has a wonderful comforting taste. Make your own combination. There's no end to experiments.
