Aloo Kohra Sabji - Vegan Potatoes & Pumpkin
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The perfect comfort food for fall, Aloo Kohra Sabji combines pumpkin, potatoes, and plenty of aromatic Indian spices. It’s vegan and gluten-free, making this delicious sabji accessible for everyone! Make the ultimate feast by pairing Aloo Kohra Sabji with kachori or puri!
As I write this post and record the video, it’s October 1st! I can’t believe it’s already October, and what does that mean? It’s pumpkin time! While I’ve never actually carved out a pumpkin before nor have I celebrated Halloween much, pumpkin has really grown on me and I’m excited to share a month full of pumpkin recipes! We’ll kick off the month with a special childhood dish of mine - Aloo Kohra Sabji! It’s also known as Aloo Kaddu Sabji. Aloo means potatoes and kohra or kaddu means pumpkin.
This potatoes & pumpkin curry is vegan and gluten-free making it excellent for the whole family! Cooking the dish itself is quite easy - the hardest part is honestly cutting the pumpkin. Don’t worry, though, I’ll give you tips and tricks to safely and efficiently cut up your pumpkin so it’s not too much of a hassle!
As I share in my top 5 tips to get motivated in the kitchen and explore your potential, Make Cooking Fun!!, having a theme can encourage you to explore new recipes you never have before! If you have some leftover pumpkin hanging around, then definitely incorporate it into this recipe for a new and exciting way to enjoy pumpkin! It won’t be sweet at all - rather it will be warm but not overly spicy. If you’ve always wanted to try some comforting homestyle Indian food then this is your chance! Make this as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge, which you’ll get along with my kitchen motivational tips by signing up for my newsletter! I would love to see how you’ve prepared your amazing Aloo Kohra Sabji, so be sure to share it with me by tagging me on Instagram!
To follow along with me preparing one of my childhood classics, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell button to receive notifications when my video recipes go live! I premiere my videos when the written ones go live as it gives me a chance to chat with everyone and it gives you the opportunity to ask me any questions as you’re watching the video! Let’s get cooking!
Why You’ll Love Aloo KoRha
Easy to make
Vegan and gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy it!
A satisfying and wholesome meal for the whole family
Fun to eat - this dish is exploding with amazing flavour!
Is Aloo Kohra sabji Healthy?
Yes, this is a very healthy meal! The stars here are just potatoes and pumpkin! While potatoes tend to be demonized, they really shouldn’t be! Both potatoes and pumpkin are excellent sources of fibre, which help keep you full so you don’t overeat! Additionally, potatoes and pumpkin contain antioxidants that help prevent heart disease and cancer. Potatoes may improve blood sugar control because they contain resistant starch. This also aids in digestive health. Potatoes also contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and folate. Read more about the health benefits of potatoes in this Healthline article.
As for pumpkin, it contains an impressive amount of Vitamin A - 209% of your Recommended Daily Intake per one cup of pumpkin to be exact! Pumpkin has beta carotene, which helps promote immunity and eye health. There is also a significant amount of Vitamins C and E which help assist in skin health and heart health. The high fibre content can promote healthy digestion. Learn more about the health benefits of potatoes in this article.
We’ll be cooking our Aloo Kohra Sabji with olive oil. Olive oil is an excellent nutritious plant-based fat. It contains monounsaturated fat that reduce bad LDL cholesterol and increase your good HDL cholesterol. Having the olive oil with the carbohydrates from the potatoes and pumpkin make the dish balanced and wholesome. If you’re looking for some added protein, then feel free to eat enjoy some dal such as Masoor Dal or Chana Dal as plant-based protein options.
Equipment for Aloo Kaddu Sabji
Here are tools you’ll need for our Indian Potato & Pumpkin dish:
How to cut pumpkin safely
Use a sharp, solid knife and using the the pointed edge, cut straight down the middle and go as deep as you can. Then, apply pressure on the back side of the knife, and using force cut the pumpkin straight through. Then, on another, perpendicular side of the pumpkin, repeat the same to create a quadrant. With these two cuts, you should be able to slice out a quarter of the pumpkin.
You should now be able to cut out the rest of the pumpkin easier since the flesh is much softer than the hard exterior. Then, cut out the skin of the pumpkin and using a spoon, remove any fibres and seeds.
Dice the pumpkin as advised.
Ingredients for Aloo Kohra
It’s time to review the ingredients that will be needed for our Aloo Kohra Sabji. Remember, all quantities can be found at the bottom of this post in the FULL, PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD! You can also press the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page. You can save the recipe and print it for later when you’re ready to cook! The recipe card will also allow you to scale the recipe based on how many portions you want to make - all ingredient quantities will automatically be adjusted for you!
Potatoes: I’m using Yukon gold yellow potatoes here. If you can’t find them, you can use russet or white potatoes.
Pumpkin:The pumpkin I’m using is a Jamaican pumpkin. Traditionally, we’d use an Indian pumpkin, but that’s not available in Canada, or at least where I’ve seen. A Jamaican pumpkin is the closest substitute!
Olive oil: This will be used to cook the spices and the veggies for our Aloo Kohra Sabji! You can also use ghee to cook, but keep in mind that if you do this will no longer be vegan. Another alternative oil that is plant-based is mustard oil. If you have that available to you, I recommend you try this out! It really changes the entire dish, and that’s what was used when I ate this dish as a kid!
Other ingredients: We’ll be pureeing ginger, garlic, and green chilies to make a paste, added to the sabji.
Onions: Use sliced red onions here.
Spices: We will be making a Panch Phodan, which translates to “five spices.” The five spices used here are cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, and nigella seeds. You can learn more about Panch Phodan by checking out my recipe here, but in this case we’ll just be adding the spices directly to the pan and roasting them for our dish. We’ve got other spices too in this dish including hing, turmeric, ground coriander and garam masala.
Salt: Always to taste!
Lemon: We’ll freshly squeeze a lemon to add some extra zing when our dish is finished!
Cilantro: Freshly chopped, for garnish.
How to Make Aloo KoRha
Add ginger, garlic and green chillies to a food processor with some water and purée until smooth.
Heat a wok or pot on medium heat and add oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the panch phoran and hing.
Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute and once fragrant, add onions. Stir well and cook until the onions become lightly fried.
Add turmeric and stir well.
Continue cooking and stirring the onion for few minutes and once golden brown, add the puréed ginger, garlic and green chilli. Continue to stir and cooking until the mixture starts to thicken up.
Add ground coriander and garam masala and mix. Add water as needed if mixture starts to stick.
Continue to cook this masala until some oil is released on the sides. Add water as required and stir until this stage.
Then, add potatoes and mix well.
Add the kohra/pumpkin right after and mix well to coat with the masala. Add salt, 1 cup of water and mix well.
Reduce heat to medium low and cover the wok/pot with a lid. Every 5-7 minutes, remove the lid and stir the veggies before putting the lid back on. Repeat this until the veggies are tender and add more water if needed.
Stir in freshly chopped cilantro and garnish with lemon juice.
Serve hot with puri or kachoris.
Storing Leftovers
I have a feeling you may not have leftovers, but if you do that’s okay! Simply transfer the remaining contents to an airtight container. This is a vegan recipe, so it won’t easily spoil. You can keep it in the fridge for at least a week! With that being said, this is an excellent dish to make in advance and have it prepped for the week!
This Potato & Pumpkin Curry can easily be reheated in the microwave. Heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the dish is entirely warmed through.
Tips for Delicious aloo koRha
If you can find mustard oil, I recommend you use it for cooking! It will completely transform the dish and add an incredible smokiness!
Rinse off any excess starch from the potatoes using cold water before adding to the wok/pot.
Be sure cook out the spices well until aromatic and lightly roasted for maximum flavour.
Look out for oil at the sides of the onion masala. Until you see this, keep stirring and if you notice the masala sticking, add a splash of water.
Check the doneness of the veggies by breaking them in half using a silicon/wooden/metal spoon
SERVING SUGGESTIONS For Aloo Kaddu Sabji
You can serve your Aloo Kohra Sabji with either basmati rice or with bread, such as roti or paratha. To keep it gluten-free serve with rice. However, my favourite ways to enjoy this Potato & Pumpkin Curry are with puris or with kachori! Both puri and kachori are puffy breads made with atta flour and they are fried in ghee. You can see in the video at the bottom of this post that I’ll be serving this Aloo Kohra Sabji with the first kachoris I’ve ever made. They turned out amazing! Please leave a comment below if you want to see a kachori recipe and I’d be happy to share it soon!
You can also serve with a lentil soup, such as Mixed Dal for added protein. I recommend some cucumber raita or yogurt to cool things down since there’s a bit of heat in this sabji! If you don’t have either of those, substitute with sour cream. I say this a lot on Instagram, but sour cream goes quite well with Indian food! Give it a shot if you never have before and comment below if you ended up giving it a try!
TRY OUT THESE OTHER INDIAN ALOO RECIPES!
Other Pumpkin Recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE aloo Kohra Sabji HERE:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Maseladaar Aloo Kohra - Vegan Potatoes & Pumpkin
Ingredients
- 3 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
- 2 tsp nigella seeds
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- Pinch of hing
- 1 Tbsp Panch Phoran (recipe above)
- 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 3-4 green chillies
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 Indian/Jamaican kohra/pumpkin, skinned and deseeded and diced into 1/2 inch cubes (about 625 grams)
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- salt to taste
- water as needed
- chopped cilantro, for garnish
- 1-2 Tbsp, lemon juice for garnish
Instructions
- Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight jar. Store in a cool and dry place.
- Use a sharp, solid knife and using the the pointed edge, cut straight down the middle and go as deep as you can. Then, apply pressure on the back side of the knife, and using force cut the pumpkin straight through. Then, on another, perpendicular side of the pumpkin, repeat the same to create a quadrant. With these two cuts, you should be able to slice out a quarter of the pumpkin.
- You should now be able to cut out the rest of the pumpkin easier since the flesh is much softer than the hard exterior. Then, cut out the skin of the pumpkin and using a spoon, remove any fibres and seeds.
- Dice the pumpkin as advised.
- Add ginger, garlic and green chillies to a food processor with some water and purée until smooth.
- Heat a wok or pot on medium heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the panch phoran and hing. Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute and once fragrant, add onions. Stir well and cook until the onions become lightly fried.
- Add turmeric and stir well. Continue cooking and stirring the onion for few minutes and once golden brown, add the puréed ginger, garlic and green chilli. Continue to stir and cooking until the mixture starts to thicken up. Add ground coriander and garam masala and mix. Add water as needed if mixture starts to stick.
- Continue to cook this masala until some oil is released on the sides. Add water as required and stir until this stage. Then, add potatoes and mix well. Add the kohra/pumpkin right after and mix well to coat with the masala. Add salt, 1 cup of water and mix well.
- Reduce heat to medium low and cover the wok/pot with a lid. Every 5-7 minutes, remove the lid and stir the veggies before putting the lid back on. Repeat this until the veggies are tender and add more water if needed.
- Stir in freshly chopped cilantro and garnish with lemon juice. Serve hot with puri or kachoris.
Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
