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Pumpkin Salad with Spice Infused Coconut Cream Dressing

I was planning to make something with pumpkin for the blog hop I have been participating in from last couple of months. I was torn between a hearty pumpkin soup and a lite pumpkin salad. I decided to ask my readers what they would like me to cook. I posted a question in my twitter and Facebook page and most people picked salad over soup.

Now I was left with a challenge to create a pumpkin salad recipe out of some very basic ingredients that I had in my mom’s kitchen. Challenges are always great! I am so glad I took it up as there was no way a recipe like this would be born without limitations!

with toasted coconut slices

This pumpkin recipe is very Indian in its nature as the core ingredients are Indian. Yet when you look at it, it doesn’t remind you of Indian food at all! Salad has simple pumpkin slices which are grilled on a griddle with very little coconut oil. It’s topped with little toasted coconut slices and crispy curry leaves. Dressing used here is coconut cream simmered with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, curry leaves and fresh green chilies. It’s c-r-e-a-m-y, sweet and aromatic. I would say that this has to be one of the best salad recipes I have created! All the flavors worked extremely well together.   It looks stunningly beautiful and tasted out of the world!

Pumpkin is creamy and sweet which is complimented with the sweetness of all the coconut used in the salad. When you take a bite its first Soft and then crunchy with the toasted coconut. Crispy curry leaves give it a nuttiness and the slightly spicy coconut dressing binds it all together.

I am proud of this creation! This pumpkin salad is vegan and healthy. This can be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dinner table.

I am sending this salad as my entry to the ‘Healthy Thanks giving Challenge’ by Cathy of ‘What Would Cathy Eat’. I am also sending this to what it was actually created for the blog hop where this month’s subject is #squashlove.  Last but not the least… this lucky salad will also be sent to Healing Foods: Vegetarian Thanksgiving event, this month guest hosted by  Sreelu of Sreelu’s Tasty Travels.

I would also like to share a $50 gift card with you all! I got this surprise gift from a Fairy Hobmother recently who is visiting blogs and showering gifts to many bloggers. David saw my comment on Sanjeeta’s blog and gifted me a $50 Amazon gift card! I just bought myself some really cool books which should reach me soon.

If you want the fairy hobmother to visit your blog, leave a comment at this post and you could be the next lucky person 🙂

Pumpkin

Humble and healthy

Cut into thin slices

Fresh Curry leaves

Whole spices used in the dressing

Stunningly beautiful and tastes out of the world

Perfect for Thanksgiving

[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px” color=”#b36f98″]Ingredients:[/typography]

• Pumpkin slices 2 cups
• Coconut slices – ½ cup
• Curry leaves 1 cup
• Coconut oil 2-3 tsp

[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px” color=”#b36f98″]Dressing:[/typography]

• Coconut cream 1 cup
• Cloves 3
• Cardamom 2
• Cinnamon 1 inch
• Fresh green chilies 2
• Curry leaves 1 spring
• Salt

Place the griddle on the stove. Spray or brush it with a little bit of coconut oil. When its hot place the pumpkin slices on it. Sprinkle some salt and grill them till they are lightly golden on both sides and cooked soft. Don’t crowd the griddle too much. Make sure each piece is golden. You can even sprinkle a tiny bit of water to help it cook better if you want to reduce the amount of oil. When all the pumpkin is grilled and ready keep it aside.

Lightly toast the coconut slices till fragrant.

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the curry leaves till crisp.

For the dressing – combine all the ingredients together in a pan and gently heat it. Make sure not to fully boil. Let it almost come to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes till all the spices infuse their aroma into the coconut cream. Let it get thick and creamy. If the coconut cream wasn’t thick enough and the mixture still looks too watery then add a little bit of corn flour to thicken it but it’s completely optional.

To assemble – This salad tastes best when served in room temperature. Place the pumpkin slices on a plate. Top it with some toasted coconut slices and sprinkle the crispy curry leaves.

Drizzle the salad with a generous amount of dressing as that’s where the most amount of flavor is.