Easiness! Unfortunately, unlike the word itself, the realisation of the word does not come so easily, atleast now a days. We always have something or the other to do, some things piled up, some emails to be replied, some projects to be closed, etc. And if not piled up, we aways have something to organise to avoid piling up. Phew! Looks like our entire lifetime will be wasted on decluttering or may be cluttering things around us.
But, thankfully, since the mechanism of our body and mind is not controlled by us, or any of the stressful money minded materialistic machine, the greater god somehow has created unique kind of alarm in every one of us which also beeps whenever the body or mind are pushed beyond the limit. And just like any unattended alarm, it keeps on making noise in innovative ways in every body till the pause button is pressed. Wise are those who press the pause button as soon as it kicks off. Because the more we wait the more annoying the noise becomes.
And as soon as we press the pause button, the process of rejuvenation gets underway. And the very first step of the process is eliminating everything around us, but relax. From waking up in the morning (if we feel like) till retiring to bed (the last one of the day, among the many ones), the only things that matter are ourselves and our wellness. We take a break from everything that are part of the routine and things that accelerate our day and ignite our stress. And we pick each and everything that identifies with our lazy and much alive being. We disapprove all the chaotic noises of the mind that time to time pop up in the disguise of guilt, responsibility, and prioritise our “Happy Self”. For this is the one we deserve the most above everything. And hence, there are days for us which got to be easy.
Naturally for those easy days, our food also needs to be easy. Ofcourse, we do have the option of take aways and food deliveries, and they do serve the purpose and aid towards the mission of ‘Happy Self’. But sometimes, we might have to choose health and also the hidden urge of creating something comforting without stressing our ‘Happy Self’ at all. The ‘Mashed Pumpkin’ recipe is exactly for those days when we seek nourishment, taste as well as rest.
So, without stressing more, let’s get on to ‘Mashed Pumpkin recipe’, to perfect your ‘Happy Self Day’ Mission.
Click here to get your hands on more yummy recipes.
Recipe: Mashed Pumpkin Recipe
Preparation Time: Around 19 minutes Cooking Time: Around 48 minutes on low flame Equipment Used: Knife, Chopping Board, Pressure Cooker, Non-stick Pan, Wooden Turner, Bowls, Measuring Cups, Measuring Spoons Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
- Green Pumpkin slice (I have taken a slice little less than half)
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 onions
- 2 teaspoon of rice bran oil (approx)
- 1 green chilli
- 1 and ¼ teaspoon salt
Method:
- Take a green pumpkin and cut and take out a portion using a big knife as per the quantity required to be cooked
- Clean the pumpkin part you have taken out and scoop out the seeds and soft pulp from core
- Cut the pumpkin into manageable sizes with a big knife, and then peel and cut the pumpkin into cubes or any size you are looking forward to with a regular sized knife
- Pressure cook and boil the pumpkin cubes
- Peel and chop the garlic cloves
- Slice an onion (or the onions) after cleaning and peeling the same
- Heat a pan
- Add oil and heat oil in the pan
- Saute the chopped garlic in the oil once light smoke comes out from the oil
- In the meanwhile, chop green chilli (or chillies) and keep it ready
- Add chopped green chilli and sliced onion in the pan
- Add the boiled pumpkin pieces when the onion pieces are translucent and cooked
- Add salt
- Cook till the water evaporates from pumpkin pieces and you get a smooth paste
- Switch off the flame and adjust salt
Cut and take out a portion of green pumpkin using a big knife as per the quantity required to be cooked.
Clean the pumpkin slice and scoop out the seeds and soft pulp from core.
Peel and cut the pumpkin into cubes.
Pressure cook and boil the pumpkin cubes.
Peel and chop the garlic cloves.
Slice an onion.
Heat oil in a pan.
Sauté the chopped garlic in the oil.
Chop green chilli and add chopped green chilli and sliced onion in the pan.
Add the boiled pumpkin pieces when the onion pieces are translucent and cooked.
Add salt.
Cook till liquid evaporates. Switch off the flame and adjust salt.
Tips:
- The size of the pumpkin should depend on the quantity required to be cooked
- If hot food is something which is not an issue for you, then increase the taste quotient of the dish by adding few more chillies. This dish demands drama inside your tongue. Also, kicks of green chillies really go well with mashed pumpkin
- Don’t throw away the seeds, for they can be put to use for some tasty delicacies, or if nothing else then spread the seeds across your garden to see a new life sprouting through
- Smaller the size of the pumpkin cubes, smoother the texture of the dish will be
- The dish should have a hint of sweetness which should naturally be arrived as pumpkins are sweet. However, you can add little bit of sugar if you do not get the right amount of sweetness naturally
