The Goan pumpkin bharta – a delicious mash, that is so versatile you can eat it as a side to an Indian meal or as a dip to devour with crackers. This vegan dish uses just a handful of easily accessible ingredients to celebrate pumpkins in all their sweet fleshy glory.
While you might have seen more North Indian/Punjabi style “bharta” (Indian style mash) popularly made with smoked eggplants done on stove top, this Goan version is nothing like those.
The Goan “Bhart”
In Goan cuisine, the “bharta” is mildly spiced with green chillies but no spices. The focus is on the balance between the sweetness of the pumpkin, the sourness from tamarind pulp and the gentle heat from the smoked green chilli. There is no oil, no tempering used either.
The addition of raw onion is another unique feature of the Goan pumpkin bharta – the bite from it not only adds texture but also sharpness. Add very little coconut and coriander leaves so they don’t distract from any of the other principal flavours.
Here in Australia, I prefer to use the Japanese/Kent/Kabocha variety of pumpkins for this dish. It is sweeter with a darker yellow flesh. Bringing it to a boil and simmering very gently until tender yields perfect result every time. You want the pumpkin to retain its colour and texture as much as possible.
Serve as a side dish along with this dal with some steamed rice for a complete meal. Feel free to add some fish/meat along too. You can also enjoy it with crispy pita chips or crackers, it works just as well!
Goan Pumpkin Dudhi Bharta
Ingredients
- 2 cups Pumpkin (peeled and cubed into 3cm chunks)
- 2 Green Chillies
- 2 tbsp Red onion (very finely chopped)
- 2 tsp Fresh Grated Coconut
- 1/8 tsp Tamarind paste
- 1 tsp Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
- 1 pinch Sugar
- Salt (to taste)
- Water (as required)
Instructions
- Add the peeled and cubed pumpkin into a small pot and add enough water to cover. Remember that the pumpkin shrinks so don't add a lot. Add a pinch of salt and bring it to a boil. Then keep the heat low and cook until pumpkin is tender.
- Drain any excess water if left in the pot and leave the pumpkin uncovered for about 10-15minutes – this helps to cool it down as well as dry out a little and hold shape.
- Using the back of a fork, roughly mash the larger chunks till you get a very coarse mash. You want it to have lots of uneven textures so careful not to over-do it.
- Using tongs, hold your green chilli to direct flame on stove top and let it blister and get smoky in patches, you want to do this lightly so parts of the chilli still remain vibrant and green. Cut the chilli into 2-3 pieces.
- Add the red onion, coconut, green chilli, tamarind, sugar to the pumpkin. Adjust the salt as necessary. You are looking for a sweet, tangy flavour so balance with sugar and tamarind depending on the sweetness of your pumpkin. Garnish with coriander leaves.
For other delicious recipes from the blog, click here. If you make this recipe and love it, let me know in the comments below. If you are sharing on Instagram, please do tag me @rupalbhatikar.
Leave a Reply