Armenian Pumpkin Pilaf

Priya Hunt

I mentored a lovely young MBA student virtually for a while. He came to see me before he left the country and shared some lovely Turkish recipes. This one is inspired by a traditional Armenian Pilaf but I have changed it a bit to make it healthier (in the form of mixed grains) and of course, given it an Indian twist with some additional spices. After all, we cannot create magic without masala!

What you need

• Pumpkin (choose any variety you like): 400g or 1 small pumpkin
• Rice (any variety, I used brown Basmati): 1/2 cup
• Bulgur wheat: 1/4 cup
• Quinoa (a mix of red and white if possible): 1/4 cup
• Wild rice: 1 Tbsp (Soak this in hot water before using as it cooks slower than other grains) 
• You can remove the bulgur wheat, quinoa etc. and just use 1 cup of Rice but the multiple grains give it a really different texture and taste
• Red onion: 1 small, chopped fine
• Green chilly: 1 small, deseeded and chopped fine (optional)
• Cumin seed: 1Tbsp
• Green peas or Petit Pois: 3 Tbsp
• Green cardamom: 7-8 pods
• Cinnamon powder: 1 Tsp
• Cloves: 4
• Sugar: 1 Tbsp (I used coconut sugar as it’s healthier)
• Butter or Ghee: 3 Tbsp
• Salt: To taste  

What you do

• The easiest way to skin a pumpkin is to cut it in half and either roast it in the oven for 20-30 minutes (170 C) or place over a bowl of water and microwave for 10 minutes
• The skin will then come off easily (once you let it cool a bit) and the flesh will be part cooked
• Heat a tablespoon of butter or ghee in a wok and crackle the cumin seed
• Add the chopped chillies and the onions and fry for a few minutes
• Add the rice and other grains, peas and two and a quarter cups of water and cook until all the water is absorbed (use the same cup you used to measure the rice). Season with salt.
• Heat the oven to 200 C
• Remove the cardamom pods and powder the seeds with the cloves
• Mix the powdered spices with cinnamon and sugar and keep aside
• Heat the remaining butter/ghee so you can pour it
• Butter an oven-proof dish and layer the bottom with a few slices of the part-cooked pumpkin
• Sprinkle a little bit of the spiced sugar and half of the butter 
• Layer on the cooked rice and then cover the top of the rice with the remaining slices of pumpkin
• Sprinkle the remaining spiced sugar on top of the pumpkin and pour the remaining butter on top of it
• Place the dish in the hot oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until the pumpkin looks caramelised and browned on top
• Serve hot with a sauce of your choice. For a real Indian twist, I serve it with a spicy, tangy South Indian sauce called ‘Vatthakuzhambu’ – keep an eye out to see a recipe for this