For some odd reason, I posted this on Oct 28th instead of Nov 28th so I am re-posting it today. 

I guess I have some pleasant memories of Thanksgiving dinners of past years that I tend to personally take note of the day. Last year’s Thanksgiving dinner was a memorable one with three special friends at Mount Kilauea, after we watched the crater eruptions from a very safe distance. My very first Thanksgiving dinner, a little over a decade ago, was hosted by a special vegetarian couple so much so that Thanksgiving food for me has since meant an opportunity to explore creative ways of incorporating pumpkin into everything from starters to dessert. 

So, today, I will share another of my mother’s pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin cutlet

Time taken: 30 mins

Makes 6

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin – 2 cups, ripe and boiled
• Onion – 1, small
• Green chilli – 1
• Pepper – 1 tsp
• Wheat flour – 3 tbsp
• Bread crumbs
• Low fat oil, for deep-frying

Method:

1. Remove peel of boiled pumpkin and mash it in a bowl. Add a bit of salt.
2. Finely chop up the onion and green chilli. Add them to the bowl of mashed pumpkin.
3. Add the pepper to the bowl. Mix well.
4. Divide the pumpkin mixture into six portions.
5. Mix 3 tbsp of wheat flour in some water to make a watery batter.
6. Dip the pumpkin ball in the batter and then roll it in the bread crumbs so that the pumpkin cutlet is well coated. Repeat for each of the 6 cutlets. Set aside on plate while the oil is heated for deep-frying.
7. Heat the oil over low heat. Deep-fry the cutlets until they are golden-brown.
8. Transfer to a plate lined with grease absorbing paper and serve hot.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.