Afghan Pumpkin- Part I

Once upon a time, I went to an Afghan restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut. I had a dish so delicious, I have spent all the time since (well, not ALL the time, but you know what I mean) wishing that I could have it again. Although this time was almost 10 years ago (aack), the restaurant still exists, the problem is that I'm nowhere near Hartford. The dish was a wonderfully spiced mashed pumpkin dish that continues to haunt my dreams.

In my CSA box, I got a pumpkin.

 

Slightly daunted, I nonetheless decided to tackle the pumpkin head on. At the point when this photo was taken, I had no inkling of how much pumpkin one medium sized pumpkin actually contains. Let me tell you, it is no joke.

I made some things that you normally make with pumpkin, but with the last half, decided to go out on a limb and pursue my Afghan pumpkin dreams. Now, the first difficulty was, I had no idea what the dish was called. I finally figured out that there is an Afghan pumpkin dish called kadu bouranee. The second difficulty was that, most likely because I have no way of knowing alternate spellings or names, apparently every single person on the internet copied the internet from the same place, because there is almost zero variance in what people are doing out there. The recipe didn't really look right, but without any other options, I decided to carry on.

In a pan, heat 1/8c oil, and brown your cubed pumpkin (I used only about 1/4 of my pumpkin).

 Mix together in a bowl:

-1 teaspoon chopped garlic

-1 cup water
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup sugar
-4oz tomato sauce
-1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger (I used ginger paste)
-1 teaspoon corriander
-1/4 teaspoon pepper

When the pumpkin is lightly browned (not all the way cooked, just started), pour over the tomato sauce:

 Now let it cook down, this will take a while.

To serve on top, make a quick and easy yogurt sauce (this is actually a great versatile sauce).
-3/4c plain yogurt (I used nonfat)
-1/4 teaspoon garlic
-1/4 teaspoon salt

I served this as a side dish, next to a lentil walnut patty (which was pretty good, and I would totally make them again). Now, I just don't know. This was almost like a sweet and sour sauce... it was incredibly sweet, and I actually couldn't really eat much of it. This was obviously a disappointment, given my pumpkin dreams. However... stay tuned for round 2...