Coimbatore - Srinagar - Barshi (Contd..) - Third Stop - Gaargi - Pumpkin Donut - Poosanikai kachayam

Folks from DH's running group also post recipes that can be cooked when they reach their virtual destination. This recipe was posted by one of the runners and it has also become a hit in our house. With an abundance of pumpkins any recipe that utilizes pumpkins is welcome. The only thing that stops us from cooking this more often is that it requires deep frying, partially to avoid overeating deep fried foods and also the logistics of having to deal with the cleanup afterwards.

If you read books and articles on nutrition and health, there is always conflicting information, health benefit claims, importance of micronutrients and many dos and donts. The problem with all of this information is it is hard to follow and more importantly very confusing to most of us.

While we definitely have to control the sugar we consume especially people with sugar addiction like mine but eating varied kinds of food and in moderation is the key to leading a healthy life. Also these recipes were cooked because of the motivation provided by the running group. So being active means all of these different foods can be enjoyed without guilt.

I think in the traditional recipe you take a small amount of dough, flatten it in the palm of your hand with a hole in the center. But if the texture is a bit loose dropping hand full of dough and cooking it in oil also works.
The recipe in pictures,

Peel and chop the pumpkin and set it steam in a pressure cooker.
Mash the pumpkin so there are no lumps.
Add flour, jaggery, cardamom powder and poppy seeds and make the batter. Drop into hot oil for deep frying.
Remove from oil when it turns golden brown.

A very simply recipe with delicious results.

Gargi - Pumpkin Kachayam
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1/2 medium sized pumpkin (about 4 cups of steamed)
2. 2 cups of wheat flour
3. 1/3 - 1/2 cup of jaggery
4. 1 tsp cardamom powder
5. 1 tsp poppy seeds
6. Oil for deep frying

Method

Peel and cut the pumpkin and steam for about 10 minutes.

Cool and mash the cooked pumpkin, add the wheat flour, sugar, poppy seeds and cardamom powder. *

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.

Now drop about a table spoon of dough in the hot oil.

Let it cook till the bubbles subside. It should be dark brown in color, not black.

Perfect as an evening snack. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!