Indian Pumpkin Curry (Rasedar Kaddu)

This indian pumpkin curry with coconut milk is an easy, one-pot indian vegetarian curry perfect for pumpkin season. It is vegan & gluten free and absolutely cozy for fall dinners. Comes together in about 30 minutes in an instant pot or pressure cooker especially if you have pumpkin prepped and ready to use.

Pair it with plain rice or jeera rice or indian flatbreads like methi puri or paratha. It pairs wondefully with quinoa or brown rice as well.

I love to prepare kaddu (pumpkin) in a few ways. One of my favorite  dry curry recipe to pair with pooris (deep fried flatbread) is khatta meetha kaddu ki sabzi that has a sweet, spicy & sour taste profile.

About Indian Pumpkin Curry

Indian pumpkin curry with coconut milk is another weeknight favorite. This pumpkin curry is a comforting dish and is very easy to make. Pumpkin sabzi or rasedar kaddu is savory and spicy curry in a tomato & onion masala. When mom used to make it, she didnt add coconut milk.

However, I love it with coconut milk added at the very end for a mild sweetish and creamy touch. If you want, you may skip the coconut milk all together, this curry will still be delicious.

I chose a south indian flavors with this recipe and hence for the spices I use mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Since curry leaves and coconut milk are heavenly together, those went in too. It always comes out flavorful even though we use simple spices. 

I feel that instant pot or pressure cooker serve best here since the texture of pumpkin gets quite soft and tender, that too fast.

Choosing Pumpkin

Depending on the variety of pumpkin you use, the taste of pumpkin curry will range from savory to sweetish. This article by The Kitchn is one of my favorites to read about all things pumpkin. Here are few of my thoughts to help your selection.

• Indian Kaddu - Ideally, I make this curry with indian pumpkin, aka hara(green) kaddu (pumpkin). Indian pumpkin comes in many varieties, though at my indian grocery store here, I prominently find 3 kinds- hara kaddu, yellow pumpkin and petha. All these varieties differ extremely in terms of taste, sweetness level and texture. In indian cuisine, their usgae ranges from curries to stir fries to raita (yogurt dishes) to desserts.
• Winter Squash like acorn squash, delicata squash or white acorn squashes that have a mildly sweet profile are my second favorite to use in this recipe.
• Sugar pumpkin or squashes like red or green kabocha squash, red kuri squash, butternut squash are your pick if you enjoy a creamy, sweet flavor in your curries.

Jump to:

• About Indian Pumpkin Curry
• Ingredients
• How To Make Indian Pumpkin Curry
• Variations
• Recipe Tips
• Instant Pot Indian Pumpkin Curry (Rasedar Kaddu)

Ingredients

• Pumpkin - Use fresh pumpkin. I peel the skin, though you can keep it. Green pumpkin has a nutty, savory taste and works great in curries.
• Coconut Milk - Full cream, unsweetened. You could use light coconut milk if you wish.
• Whole Spices - Brown or black mustard seeds, dried chilli (or use chilli flakes or 1-2 green chillies), fennel seeds(or use fennel powder). You could also add a pinch of methi dana (fenugreek seeds). Feel free to add bay leaf or a cinnamon stick while tempering,I don't.
• Ground spices- Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Salt, Garam Masala powder
• Curry Leaves - These fragrant leaves that are a common herb in south indian cuisine have a complex citrus & anise flavor. Unfortunately, there is no subsitute. You can find them fresh, dried or (sometimes) frozen in indian grocery stores. If you cannot find, skip them.
• Other Ingredients - Chopped tomatoes, onion, ginger and garlic, cilantro and lemon juice.
• Oil - I use avocado oil. You could use olive oil or coconut oil for an intense flavor.

How To Make Indian Pumpkin Curry

1. Prepare the pumpkin. You may peel off the skin or keep it (in that case, make sure that skins are edible). Dice into 1.5 inch pieces.
2. For reference, I use 3 qt Instant Pot for making this curry. Plug in the instant pot. Press saute and set the timer to 15 minutes.
3. Add oil and let heat up(image 1). Add the mustard seeds, fennel seeds & the dried chillies(image 2). Wait for spices to crackle. If they dont pop, mustard seeds will taste bitter.
4. Immediately add the chopped ginger and garlic(image 3). Fry for 8-10 seconds, taking care that they do not burn.
5. Next goes in the chopped onions(image 4). Fry the onins for 5-6 minutes or until they start turning golden brown(image 5). If your IP shows hot or burn, add a tablespoon or two or water to bring the temperature down.

6. Sprinkle the spice powders and add the curry leaves(image 6). Fry for 5-6 seconds(image 7).
7. Add the chopped tomatoes next(image 8). Cook for 1-2 minutes and the tomatoes will start turning soft.
8. At this point, add ¼ cup hot water (image 9) and fry the tomatoes till you see oil seperating and a chunky masala forms(image 10) .
9. Introduce the diced pumpkin, sprinkle salt. Stir to coat the pumkin in the masala and fry for 2 minutes with the masala(image 11).
10. Next, add garam masala and ¾ cup water, just enough to soak the pumpkin cubes(image 12). Press the cancel button.
11. Press pressure cook on "normal" and set timer for 2-3 minutes with vent in seal position(image 13). Let pressure release naturally for 3-4 minutes and then release the pressure manually.
12. Open the lid, you will see that the curry is hot and bubbling. Wait for it to come to a simmer (2-4 minutes) (image 14). Don't stir else hot pumpkin will get mushy.
13. Add in the coconut milk and lemon juice(image 13). Simmer the curry for 1-2 minutes(image 16) on saute mode taking utmost care that coconut milk does not boil. Don't stir the curry else the pupmkin will break, the coocnut milk will mix on its own as curry simmers.
14. Garnish with fresh corinader leaves and serve warm.

Variations

• Add Spinach or Kale - Add roughly chopped leafy greens such as spinach or kale along with pumpkin. If you are using baby spinach, add it when you add coconut milk.
• Pumpkin Chickpea Curry- You could add ½ to ¾ cup boiled chickpeas to this curry when you add pumpkin.
• Add Seafood - Yes, you heard it right. Pumpkin and prawns/shrimp are a great combination. Either use pre cooked shrimp or cook them separately in a small pan before adding.