Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Pumpkin Pickle
Pumpkin Pickle ()

Pumpkin Pickle

VegetarianMakes ABOUT 400 G (14 OZ)

A sweet-sour, chilli-hot pumpkin pickle, with whole onion seeds and dried chillies perfuming the oil. It keeps for a few weeks in a clean jar.

Whole spices for the oil

12 gAdded to the hot oil at the start (step 2)
Keep whole: they go into the hot oil together.

Ground spices for the pumpkin

11 gStirred into the pumpkin after it has softened (step 4)
Keep ground: add both to the pan together.

Everything else

01
91 g100 ml
oil/fat
02
Pumpkin · Kaddupeeled, seeded and finely diced
1500 g1 pumpkin
vegetable
03
203 g200 ml
souring agent

Method

  1. Warm 91.3 g vegetable oil in a heavy pan over a medium flame.
  2. Add the whole spices for the oil (7 g onion seed and 6 g dried kashmiri chilli) and let them sizzle in the oil.
  3. Add 1500 g pumpkin and cook gently for 10–15 minutes, until it is just tender.
  4. Stir in the ground spices for the pumpkin (7.8 g kashmiri chilli powder and 3 g ground turmeric) and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Add 203 g white distilled vinegar and 100 g jaggery or caster sugar and stir.
  6. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the vinegar has cooked away.
  7. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
  8. Pack into a clean jar and keep for up to 2–3 weeks.

Don't have something?

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Nigella seeds
  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight. Imparts an earthy, slightly bitter note in temperings, though it lacks nigella's oniony sharpness.

  • Black sesame seeds

    Use equal weight. Gives a similar speckled appearance and light crunch on breads, but provides a nutty rather than herbaceous, onion-like flavour.

Dried kashmiri chilli
  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use 1 g powder for every 1.5 g whole dried chilli; whisk with a spoonful of warm water and stir into the masala to provide identical ruby colour and mild heat.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 35% to 40% of the weight; discard seeds before tearing into oil to temper. Delivers a much fiercer heat, with significantly less red colouring.

Pumpkin
  • Ash gourd

    Use the same weight; peel and cube. Firmer and less sweet, so cook 5–10 minutes longer and taste for sugar.

  • Sweet potato

    Use the same weight; peel and cube. Sweeter and starchier; reduce added sugar and cook until just tender.

  • Courgette

    Use the same weight; cut larger chunks. Watery and soft, so cook 5 minutes less and reduce liquid.

Kashmiri chilli powder
  • Dried kashmiri chilli

    Grind deseeded dried pods to an equal weight of powder; gives identical vivid red colour and gentle warmth.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use 25% of the weight mixed with sweet paprika for colour; straight red chilli powder is substantially hotter and will make the dish fiery.

  • Chilli powder

    Use one-third of the weight; the sauce will be less intensely red and notably sharper in heat.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

White vinegar
  • White malt vinegar

    Use 100% of the weight. Imparts a very similar clean acidity with a faintly softer, grain-based finish.

  • Vinegar

    Use 100% of the weight as a direct 1:1 replacement.

  • Lime juice

    Use 100% of the weight. Stir into the sauce at the end of cooking; adds vibrant fruity acidity rather than acetic punch.

Jaggery or caster sugar
  • Light brown soft sugar

    Use the same weight. It has mild molasses and is close to caster sugar with a little colour; taste and adjust.

  • Dark brown sugar

    Use 90% of the weight. It has stronger molasses, which suits dishes where jaggery was intended; dissolve fully.

  • Honey

    Use 75% of the weight. Reduce other liquid by about 20% and add off the heat; it brings its own floral flavour.

Similar dishes

Pumpkin Chutney
It tastes sweet, earthy and lightly spicy, while this dish is sweet-sour and chilli-hot.
  • Same: Pumpkin Chutney shares pumpkin, vegetable oil, ground turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and dried Kashmiri chilli with this dish.
  • Different: It uses only 300 g pumpkin and adds cumin, black mustard seed, curry leaf, cumin seed and sea salt, while it lacks this dish's onion seed, white distilled vinegar and jaggery or sugar and is a smooth roasted chutney with a mustard-seed tempering rather than an oil-preserved pickle.
Sitaphal ki Subzi
Pumpkin Curry
Sitaphal ki Subzi tastes sweet and savoury with gentle chilli heat and coconut, while this dish tastes sweet-sour and chilli-hot with vinegar and onion seed.
  • Same: Sitaphal ki Subzi shares pumpkin, turmeric, vegetable oil, dried chilli and jaggery with this dish.
  • Different: Sitaphal ki Subzi is a curry with mustard seeds, urad dal, fresh coconut, rice flour and salt, and it lacks onion seeds, vinegar and kashmiri chilli powder; this dish is a vinegar-soured pickle.
Kumro Chenchki
Bengali Five-Spice Squash
Kumro Chenchki tastes lightly sweet and aromatic with gentle heat, while this dish is sweet-sour and chilli-hot from vinegar and dried chillies.
  • Same: Kumro Chenchki shares with this dish a base of pumpkin or squash cooked in vegetable oil with turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, dried red chilli and jaggery or sugar.
  • Different: Kumro Chenchki uses panch phoron, ginger, ground coriander, water and fresh coriander and lacks the vinegar, onion seeds and pickle-style preservation of this dish.
Kumhare ki Subzi
Dry Spicy Pumpkin
Kumhare ki Subzi tastes tangy from amchoor and lightly warm-spiced, not sweet-sour and chilli-hot like this pickle.
  • Same: Kumhare ki Subzi shares pumpkin, vegetable oil or ghee, turmeric and chilli powder with this dish, and both add some sugar or jaggery.
  • Different: Kumhare ki Subzi uses fenugreek, cumin, coriander, amchoor and green chilli and is simmered dry then mashed, while this dish is a pickle with onion seeds, dried Kashmiri chillies, a lot more oil and distilled vinegar.