Today’s recipe is a pumpkin-centric fusion recipe of my mother.
Spicy Pumpkin Tart
Time taken: 1 ¼ hours
Serves 4
- Wheat flour – 1 cup
- Vegetable margarine – ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (sauce/ cream)
- Pumpkin – 1 cup, boiled and mashed
- Carrot – ½ , boiled
- Beans – 4, chopped
- Guava – ½ large or 1 medium-sized, chopped
- Leeks – ¼, chopped
- Capsicum or malu miris – 1, chopped
- Green chillies – 2, chopped
- Onion – 1, chopped
- Ginger – 1 tsp, chopped
- Garlic – 1 tsp, chopped
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Vegetable stock – ½ tsp (optional)
- Crushed chillies – 1 tsp (optional)
- Low fat oil – 1 tbsp
- Baking soda – ½ tsp
- Tomatoes – chopped, for topping
- Onion – chopped, for topping (optional)
- Rosemary or mixed spice – 1 tsp
- Water, as required
Method:
- Mix the flour, margarine, salt and a little water to make a dough. Knead to make it smooth and let the dough rest while making the tart filling.
- Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and fry the ginger and garlic first for a couple of mins.
- Then, add the chopped onion followed by the chopped vegetables. Stir fry for a few mins.
- Finally, add the boiled pumpkin and carrot as well as the guava. Mix well and continue cooking for about 5 mins.
- Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from stove.
- Heat 2 tbsp margarine in a saucepan over low heat.
- Add 2 tbsp flour and add ½ cup of water to the saucepan. Stir, for about 10 mins, until it thickens to a cream. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and optional ½ tsp vegetable stock and 1 tsp crushed chillies.
- Transfer the vegetable mixture from the pan to the saucepan. Stir.
- Add ½ tsp baking soda to the saucepan. Mix well before removing sauce pan from stove.
- Roll out the dough and line the pie tray with the dough.
- Fill the tart base with the vegetable filling.
- Top with chopped tomatoes and optional chopped onions. Sprinkle 1 tsp of rosemary or mixed spice.
- Bake the tart at 220⁰C/428⁰F for 30 mins.
- Slice and serve warm.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.