Traditionally, this Bengali Vegetarian side dish is prepared with lots of assorted veggies and spinach. I wanted to keep it simple by using only pumpkin. The sweetness of pumpkin with the spinach makes this a very comforting meal on a cold winter night. Just like Labra and Shim Beguner Chorchori, this dish too pairs best with rice.
Ingredients you need for Kumro Palak:
Pumpkin - In India we always use the green skin pumpkin which doesn’t get very waxy on cooking. It stays fluffy with a lovely bite. If I don’t find the green skin pumpkin, then I use acorn squash, which I find very similar to the taste of the pumpkin we get in India. Spinach - You can either use the baby spinach or the big variety that comes in a bunch. I personally like to use the large leaves that come in a bunch. Onion - Indian dishes prefer using red onion, but you can use any variety that works for you. The onion is also not a mandate here and a lot of Bengali Vegetarian dishes skips onion, but I like the sweetness it adds. Spices - The dish is not heavy spiced and only a few things are added to enhance the flavor of the pumpkin. Fennel seeds and Cumin seeds always work beautifully with pumpkin. Few ground spices, like cumin powder, fennel powder, and chili powder is added. Ghee - Just a hint of ghee at the end adds a warm aroma to the dish. You can skip ghee if you want to keep the dish vegan. Mustard Oil - The dish is typically cooked in mustard oil, which adds a pungent, but you can definitely use vegetable oil too.
Steps to prepare Kumro Palak
- Heat mustard oil and then add bay leaves, fennel seeds and cumin seeds. Allow it to sizzle for a while.
- Scatter the onion, add salt, turmeric and sauté for a while.
- Add the pumpkins, stir it around and add all the spices and stir it around. Then add a little water, cover the pan and let it simmer until the pumpkin is cooked though. You don’t want it to get mushy, you want it to be soft and retain shape.
- Add the chopped spinach and cook for a few more minutes.
- Finish it with a drizzle of ghee. Ghee is optional, but it adds warmth and enhances the flavor.
- Serve Kumro Palak with steamed rice.
Recipe Video
The dish hardly takes any time to prep and can be paired with rice or roti. You can definitely make more spicy, and feel free to add more vegetables to the medley.
Try these Vegetarian dishes:
Aloo Begun Jhol Kumro Pata Torkari - If you are growing pumpkin, you have to try this dish with the stems and the leaves. Phulkopir Aloo Dalna Aloo Peyajkoli Bhaja Chanar Dalna
