Misti kumra bhaji is an old Bengali veg recipe which is hugely popular in East India and Bangladesh as well. It is one of the comforting and super lite recipes of Bengali cuisine where pumpkin pieces are cooked with onion, nijella seeds and some dry red chillies. It is basically a dry curry which is mostly served as a side with hot steamed rice and dal, and sometimes with flat bread like rotis or parathas.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Health Benefits of Pumpkin
How to make misti kumra bhaji (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
About the recipe
The recipe name Misti kumra bhaji itself explains about the dish. It is a bangladeshi name where the word ‘Misti kumra’ stands for ‘Pumpkin’ or ‘Kaddoo’ in hindi and ‘Bhaji’ means ‘Fry’. It is a soothing dry curry recipe prepared using minimal spices.
Pumpkin is a very famous vegetable all over the world and many delectable dishes including soup, pie, dessert, curries etc. are prepared with this ingredient. In fact, mishti kumro is one of my most used vegetable in both Bengali vegetable recipe and non-vegetarian recipes.
Since my childhood, I have been brought up eating variety of luscious dishes with this versatile vegetable. Misti kumror chokka, misti kumro diye macher matha, misti kumro diye chingri macher jhol, misti kumror bora, misti kumra bhorta, labra etc. are few popular names of the dishes of Bengali cuisine.
Traditional Bengali food has always attracted me. I still remember how I used to ask my dad to bring Mishti kumro (Pumpkin) from market and my mom used to prepare variety of dishes with this fleshy squash.
After coming to the UK, I was missing the old traditional Bengali food very badly. Suddenly, one day in autumn, I spotted pumpkins in the supermarket. Then without wasting any time, I grabbed one and decided to prepare few of the dishes with it. Mishti kumror chokka, labra and misti kumra bhaji have occupied the top position of my list.
I have learnt this mishti kumro recipe from my mom and she got the recipe from her mom, I mean my grandmother. This is not a signature dish and there are no hard and fast rule to prepare it. It is prepared in various ways in different houses according their taste buds. Like many people prefer to add potatoes into the curry. Few people also like to add green chillies instead of dry red chillies.
Misti kumra bhaji is a very simple and easy recipe and the difficulty level of cooking this dish is low. It could be a perfect option for beginners. The longest part of the recipe is to cut and clean the pumpkin. Other than this, it gets prepared very quickly without any hassle. All the ingredients required to prepare the dish are easily available in any Bengali kitchen pantry.
Misti kumra bhaji with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the key ingredient pumpkin.
Health benefits of Pumpkin
- It is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and minerals which helps boost immune system.
- It is rich in antioxidants which helps to get rid of chronic diseases.
- It is good for our vision too.
- It is high in fibre and low in calorie which makes it a great option for weight loss.
- It is good for our skin health.
- In many cases, it helps to control the blood pressure and blood sugar level of our body.
How to make misti kumra bhaji?
To prepare the misti kumro recipe, first cut them into slices and then peel of the skin. Deseed them and cut into medium size cubes. Rinse them and strain excess water. Keep it aside.
Then put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot. Generally, most of the traditional Bengali food is cooked in mustard oil. It gives an outstanding flavour to the dish.
In the same pan, add whole spices – dry red chillies, nigella seeds and let them crackle. Then add the sliced onions into the pan and give a nice stir. Fry them over medium flame for 7-8 minutes until the onions get translucent and soft.
Then add the pumpkin cubes into the pan. Add salt, turmeric powder and give a nice stir. Fry them over high flame for 2-3 minutes and stir frequently. Then cover the pan and cook it over medium flame for 12-15 minutes until the pumpkin gets cooked. Stir in regular intervals. The duration of cooking completely depends on the type and quality of the pumpkin. It may vary.
After the pumpkin gets cooked, put the flame in high and evaporate the excess moisture from the misti kumra bhaji. Taste the salt and adjust accordingly. Switch off the flame and now it’s ready to serve.
Many traditional Bengali food have already been shared in my previous posts. You can check few of them like
Chanar Dalna
Aloo Posto
Mocha ghonto
Echorer dalna
Aloo potoler dalna
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 cup = 250 ml
- 500 grams Pumpkin (Misti kumro), peeled and medium diced
- 1 large Onion, thin sliced
- 1 teaspoon Nigella seeds (Kalo jeere aka kalonji)
- 2 dry red Chillies
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon Mustard oil for cooking
Instructions:
- First peel of the skin of the pumpkin. Deseed it and cut into medium size cubes. Rinse them and strain excess water. Keep it aside.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 2 tablespoons mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Add 2 dry red chillies, 1 teaspoon nigella seeds into the pan and let them crackle.
- Add the sliced onions into the pan and give a nice stir. Fry them over medium flame for 7-8 minutes until the onions get translucent and soft.
- Add the pumpkin cubes into the pan.
- Add salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and give a nice stir. Fry them over high flame for 2-3 minutes and stir frequently. Then cover the pan and cook it over medium flame for 12-15 minutes until the pumpkin gets cooked. Stir 2-3 times in between.
Note: The duration of cooking completely depends on the type and quality of the pumpkin. It may vary. - After the pumpkin gets cooked, put the flame in high and evaporate the excess moisture from the misti kumra bhaji. Taste the salt and adjust accordingly.
- Switch off the flame and now it’s ready to serve.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the misti kumra bhaji into a serving bowl or on a serving plate and serve hot or warm. Pair up the comfort food with steamed Basmati rice & dal and enjoy your comfort meal. You can also accompany the dish with flat breads like luchi, rotis, phulkas, parathas.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
- 500 grams Pumpkin (Misti kumro), peeled and medium diced
- 1 large Onion, thin sliced
- 1 teaspoon Nigella seeds (Kalo jeere aka kalonji)
- 2 dry red Chillies
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon Mustard oil for cooking
Instructions
- First peel of the skin of the pumpkin. Deseed it and cut into medium size cubes. Rinse them and strain excess water. Keep it aside.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 2 tablespoons mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Add 2 dry red chillies, 1 teaspoon nigella seeds into the pan and let them crackle.
- Add the sliced onions into the pan and give a nice stir. Fry them over medium flame for 7-8 minutes until the onions get translucent and soft.
- Add the pumpkin cubes into the pan.
- Add salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and give a nice stir. Fry them over high flame for 2-3 minutes and stir frequently. Then cover the pan and cook it over medium flame for 12-15 minutes until the pumpkin gets cooked. Stir 2-3 times in between.
Note: The duration of cooking completely depends on the type and quality of the pumpkin. It may vary.
- After the pumpkin gets cooked, put the flame in high and evaporate the excess moisture from the misti kumra bhaji. Taste the salt and adjust accordingly.
- Switch off the flame and now it’s ready to serve.
