Kaddu Ki Sabji (Pumpkin Sabzi)

This Kaddu Ki Sabji recipe (Pumpkin Sabzi) is delicious, healthy and easy-to-make North Indian stir-fried side dish also known as khatta meetha kaddu. A one-pot lightly spiced, healthy and vegan pumpkin recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to cook. This no onion, no garlic gluten-free dish is perfect to serve as a breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Table of Contents

• Why you will love this recipe?
• Health benefits of Pumpkin (Kaddu)
• Ingredients
• How to make Kaddu ki Sabji?
• Serving Ideas
• More vegetarian recipes for you:
• 📖 Recipe

Why you will love this recipe?

Kaddu ki Sabji (Pumpkin Sabzi), is a well versed side dish popularly known as Kohde ke Sabzi in Northern India. Served best with puffed pooris, parathas or roti / phulkas.

• What makes this dish special is the combination of spices and seasonings that gives it the most unique sour (khatta), sweet (meetha), a mild spicy and savory flavors.
• Typically, served in breakfast but it is not bound to breakfast only. Rather, you can serve over at lunch and dinner as well.
• This pumpkin recipe is perfect for not only for kids but for all ages to pack for their lunch boxes.
• The recipe is great for meal prep as it keeps well in the fridge up to a week.
• A homely comfort meal that can definitely beat any heavy or rich meal, you bet.
• Honestly, this pumpkin sabzi will surely become your favorite, once you make and eat it.

Health benefits of Pumpkin (Kaddu)

Do you know that pumpkin is one of the healthiest vegetable with tons of benefits? Here are some of the health benefits which you might not be aware of so far.

• It gives fuller feel to a human body providing only consists of 50 calories per cup with 3 grams of fiber.
• Pumpkin is high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and a great immunity booster.
• A cup of cubed pumpkin contains almost twice the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A, which promotes good vision. So you know now it's good for eye sight as well.
• Pumpkin may prevent hyper-tension by lowering blood pressure. Due to its high fiber content, it may help in lowering cholesterol keeping your heart healthy.

You can also introduce pumpkin into your kid's diet by making a nice soup or pumpkin pancakes for their breakfast, or as a sweet treat by baking lovely pumpkin bread.

Ingredients

Coming down to the ingredients, let me tell you, this kaddu sabji requires few basic ingredients only.

Pumpkin: Cut in small cubes. I prefer to use ripe yellow pumpkin with green skin for its optimal flavor. A perfect ripe pumpkin with tender flesh cooks faster than the unripe ones.

Tip: I love to cook this Khatta Meetha Kaddu with the peel on, since it gives out an immense flavor and texture to the dish. So, I recommend do not discard the peel. Although it can be made without the peels, the pumpkin gets too soft and mushy easily.

• Panch Phoran: You will need a mix of spices that is popular as panch phoran. The mix includes, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds (or radhuni) and nigella seeds.
• Spices powders: other powdered spices that goes into it are, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
• For sourness and sweetness: As the name also says Khatta Meetha, which means sour and sweet. The recipe calls of addition of dry mango powder for sour and tangy hint, while jaggery or sugar adds a sweet touch to the dish. If you do not have dry mango powder (amchur) with you, then simply swap it with lemon juice.
• Chilies: For Spiciness, we are adding green chilies and dried red chilies. You can indeed give the spiciness to the dish as per your liking. 🙂
• Mustard Oil: Cook kaddu ki sabzi in mustard oil only for the best flavors. However, if you do not have it or do not like it, go on ahead with regular vegetable oil.

The combination of all these spices and mustard oil in this pumpkin sabzi comes up with a deliberate flavor of the North-Indian household.

How to make Kaddu ki Sabji?

1. In a pan or kadai, heat mustard oil until smoky. Reduce the heat to low, add panch phoran and red chillies, allow it to crackle for few seconds.

2. Add pumpkin (kaddu), and sauté on high for 4-5 minutes. Add chopped green chilies and mix.

3. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and mix. Sprinkle few drops of water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Now, add garam masala powder, jaggery or sugar and dried mango powder (amchur) or lemon juice, mix well. Cook until done well but intact and not mushy.

5. Pumpkin Sabzi is ready to serve.

Dish out, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve  hot with poori, rotis or parathas.

Serving Ideas

We love to serve this delicious pumpkin stir fried sabji with hot puffed puris, or parathas with fenugreek raita along the side.

You can pair this delicious sabji in an Indian thali with any combination of these recipes like achari turai dal, palak dal, or yellow dal and achari bharwa mirchi fry, jeera aloo, mushroom masala, aloo matar, matar ka nimona or chole palak, with methi dal poori, rajma poori, pudina paratha, and jeera rice.

Or, keep a simple meal to serve this kaddu ki sabzi along with aloo sabji and bedmi puri.

More vegetarian recipes for you:

• Arbi Masala
• Aloo Parwal
• Baingan Bhaja
• Bagara Baingan

📖 Recipe