Recipe: Rangoon Sister's Burmese Pumpkin Curry
The Covid-19 lockdown in the UK has disrupted society as we know it. Not just our physical movements, but our psyches and mental health. Strangely, I found that I wasn’t so interested in food anymore. Looking for cooking inspiration was a chore. So for the first time I found myself looking to other people’s recipes in hope of kick starting my appetite, and thus I had an idea to cook recipes shared by my Instagram friends.
Here is a vegan pumpkin curry recipe from my dear friends the Rangoon Sisters. (Emily was also one of my featured #ChineseFoodiesofIG — read her interview here). It’s a preview from their book ‘The Rangoon Sisters: Recipes from Our Burmese Family Kitchen’ (out in July, available to pre-order!), and I can vouch for how easy and economical it was to make, while healthy, filling and full of vibrant colours and spices. They made a version of this curry when they cooked a collaborative supper club with Sirichai Kularbwong, head chef of cult Leytonstone restaurant Singburi.
Let me know if you try this recipe and share your results on Instagram with #CelestialPeach.
Ingredients (serves 1)
6 tbsp vegetable/sunflower/peanut oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
1tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp chilli powder
1 cinnamon stick
1 batch of tamarind water
1 tbsp light soy sauce
300ml vegetable stock
850g peeled pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 3cm chunks
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook slowly, turning the heat down to low-medium, stirring every 4-5 minutes until softened and starting to colour lightly and become oily (15 minutes).
Meanwhile, crush the garlic and ginger to a paste using a pestle and mortar or food processor.
Once the onions are browned, add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for a minute until fragrant, followed by the turmeric, chilli powder and cinnamon stick, stirring well for another minute.
Add tamarind water, soy sauce ,stock and pumpkin.
Bring to a gentle simmer and cook over low heat, covered, for 25 minutes.
The pumpkin is ready when it can be pierced with a fork and feels soft.
