Thai pumpkin curry is a coconut milk based curry made with pumpkin, Thai red curry paste and herbs. It has a balanced sweet, spicy and savory taste. The curry is easy to adapt with different vegetables and curry pastes. It is served hot with rice or flatbreads.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: Not specified
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: Not specified
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Thai, World

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or any neutral flavored oil)
  • ¼ cup red curry paste (or panang curry paste)
  • 2 cups or 200 grams pumpkin (– chopped, any variety)
  • 2 tablespoons Thai pea eggplants (– optional)
  • ½ cup green peas (– frozen)
  • 2 tablespoon lemon grass stalks (– chopped into large pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves (– chopped or torn)
  • ¼ teaspoon or 1 to 2 bird's eye chillies (– sliced or Thai red chillies)
  • 1.25 to 1.5 cups water (or add as required)
  • salt (as required)
  • 1 cup coconut milk (– thick, canned or homemade)
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (or ½ teaspoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves ((cilantro) or Thai basil, for garnish)

Method

  1. Heat coconut oil in a pan on low heat. Add the red curry paste and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until you see oil separating at the sides.
  2. Next add chopped pumpkin, pea eggplants and green peas.
  3. Turn off the heat or keep to a low.
  4. Add the aromatics – lemon grass stalks, kaffir lime leaves and small bird's eye chillies or Thai chillies.
  5. Sprinkle salt as required. You can also add a dash of black pepper at this step.
  6. Turn the heat on again if you had switched it off.
  7. Mix well and sauté for a minute.
  8. Add water and mix again.
  9. Cover pot with lid. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender.
  10. Cooking time depends on the size of pumpkin cubes. Small pieces cook faster, while large pieces with peel take longer but hold their shape better.
  11. Turn off heat and add thick coconut milk, dark soy sauce and raw sugar.
  12. Mix and simmer gently on low heat until the curry is hot and just begins to come to a boil. Do not let it boil further.
  13. Turn off the heat.
  14. Serve Pumpkin Curry hot garnished with cilantro or Thai basil with steamed jasmine rice or basmati rice. You can also serve with roti or paratha.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.