Cinderella Curry Bowl

You know the old phrase "up to your elbows…" Well, that is literally what I was up to in pumpkins & squash this weekend.  I had the whole collection of my beautiful decorator gourds piled high, by the front door, to go out to the dumpster when I heard a still small voice saying that I should check to see if any or all of them were edible.  Actually, the little voice sounded oddly like my mother who was very pragmatic & hated to throw away anything of value - nutritionally or otherwise.  I like to call it the "saving syndrome." I don't scoff at all at this syndrome.  In fact, I think many of us would do well to be more stricken with it.  So, I trudged off to the phone to call the little market where most of the decor came from.  Here, I must quickly plug My Country Garden where the little fellows closest to my decorator heart came from. My Country Garden is a little roadside stand a ways out on K L O Road in the Mission area of Kelowna.  They have a most amazing array of produce, as the season permits, but, in the fall - the most incredible display of pumpkins, squash & gourds.  Also, while growth prevails, you can pick your own bouquet of flowers from the rows & rows of flora.   Only, Miss Cinderalla remained.  I could not remember the spot, on my way home from wine tasting in the Pentiction area, where I had stopped & bought her, so Google saved the day.  All, were not only edible, but considered to be highly sought after & highly nutritious.

I gathered up my best carving fortitude & my sharpest knife & set about the task.  I Facebooked & whined a little as I went along & some friends commiserated or offered solutions to my sore wrists.  The solution several people offered was to leave the flesh on the skin & simply roast it.  When tender, the flesh comes easily off the skin & can be canned or frozen with ease.  I, of course, had to complicate said situation by wanting to mainly use the contents for savoury dishes like soups & curries.  Therefore, I wanted to freeze the flesh in a cubed form.  I did freeze a bag or two absolutely plain to attempt a pie, or more probably, some loaves or muffins. For the record, whether it is Better Homes & Gardens approved or not, I removed the flesh from the skin, cut into reasonable sized pieces, tossed in a swish of EVOO, seasoned slightly with Montreal Steak Spice & roasted for appx. 30 mins at 400 degrees.  I then portioned into Ziploc bags & froze for my cooking pleasure.  What follows is a little glimpse of the process & my first (most delicious) recipe made with the Cinderalla pumpkin.  The recipe is loosely based on the Ymir Curry Bowl from my best-loved Whitewater Cooks series & hence the slight name change to accommodate big bright orange Cinderelly!!

If you can possibly get your hands on some of this, you will not be disappointed. When I checked, there are many recipes online to make your own.  It is a delicious accoutrement to the Cinderelly Bowl.

Duqqa:  an Egyptian treat made of spices & nuts that is most delicious alongside your favourite loaf with some exceptional EVOO

The Cinderella Curry Bowl 

A curry that definitely leans into the Thai side.  Smooth but intense flavour!!

2 tbsp EVOO
2 white onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced (I LOVE my new microplane for this job - it's sturdy & sharp & just makes me happy using it!)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (never sub the spice for fresh!  You can finely chop, or whiz in your food processor,  a whole piece of ginger from the store with a little vinegar & keep it in the fridge for weeks, in a sealed container, to use when fresh ginger is called for.  The vinegar does not change the taste but acts as kind of a preservative.  Always peel it first.)
1 red pepper, diced
1 tbsp red curry paste (I like Patak's the best)
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
3 medium potatoes, diced (or…you know when you roast those little baby potatoes for company & you overshoot the amount by about a pound…freeze them & they are perfect for such a time as this! And, alongside, your pumpkin that is already to go, it cuts down your cooking time exponentially!)
2 cups (or so) of Cinderalla pumpkin, yam or squash of your choice, diced
1 stalk lemongrass (just the tender white end) trimmed & finely chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves                                                                                                                                
*I put the lemongrass & lime leaves into a little cheese cloth bundle & tie it off with string.  I could not get fresh leaves on short notice today, so I had to use my dried ones & a big bite of lemongrass or lime leaf is not pleasant, fresh or dried.  So, after they have done their business in the dish, you can pluck the little packet out of your curry & discard*

2 tbsp fish sauce
juice & zest of 2 limes (& again I used my most handy & much LOVED microplane)
3 - 14 oz. cans of light coconut milk
1 - 19 oz. can chickpeas
2 cups chicken stock (I am fortunate enough to have an instant boiling water tap - *because the "much-loved hubby is strictly a tea drinker* & so I just swear by the "Better than Bouillon" product.  A teaspoon or so in 2 cups of boiling water is amazing & you are not always left wondering what to do with the rest of the 1L container of stock)
4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

In a large stock pot, sauté onions, carrots, garlic, ginger & red pepper in the oil. When soft, add curry paste, garam masala, & cumin.  Add potatoes, pumpkin, & lemongrass/lime leaf packet.  Saute for 5 mins.  Add fish sauce, lime zest & juice, coconut milk, & stock.  Bring to a boil if you are lucky enough to have potatoes & squash in the freezer already cooked - or - simmer until potatoes are tender. Squash will be done by then too.  Add chickpeas & cook for 10 more mins.  Serve over Yellow Basmati Rice & garnish generously with cilantro.  Serves 8 - 10 people!!

Yellow Basmati Rice

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed & well-drained
3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or, again, stock made with "Better than Bouillon")
seasoning packet made up of:  1/2 cinnamon stick (or if you can find cinnamon sticks in the Indian cooking section of your grocery store, they are larger & can be broken into smaller pieces.  Then, use about 3 small bits) 3 whole cloves, 1 pod of large dark brown cardamom, 3 pods of the smaller regular cardamom.  I know this sounds crazy & like a lot of work, but believe me, the taste of the rice is soooo worth it!  What I do is, while I am at it, I cut up many little squares of cheesecloth & make several of the packets tied up with string, so that they are at the ready when I get the urge to do a curry supper.
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp tumeric

Heat the EVOO in the saucepan & add the seasoning packet.  Turn your heat back a bit & let the spices infuse the oil a little. Turn the heat back up & add in the rice. Constantly stir the rice in the oil until every kernel looks coated - just a couple mins. Then, add the chicken stock & turmeric.  Stir for just a min or two.  Pour all of the rice, stock, & the seasoning packet into a baking dish sprayed with Pam.  Cook in the microwave with a lid on for 10 mins on PL 8.  I have never had it "not" cook in 10 mins, but every microwave is slightly different, so put back in, for a min or two at a time, if the rice does not come out perfectly in the 10 mins suggested.  Remove the spice packet & enjoy with your Cinderelly Curry!!

Pictured is the Cinderella Curry Bowl & a bit of the process involved in its arrival…Hope you give it a try!!