Kumro Seddho/Kumro Bhaate -- Mashed Butternut Squash

So here we are, back to hectic Monday, from a long luxurious weekend. My high point of last week was getting the Cuisinart Hand blender from CSN Stores.Yep, that is what I finally ordered, thanks for all your wonderful comments. I still have some left over points and have to finish them up by this month end. I am not going to get extra tall bar stools, but they are selling those if you like.

Now back to the weekend we were discussing. Hope you all had fun, cooking, cleaning and clearing up.

Kumro Bhaate

Me ? I really had fun. Not to make you jealous or anything but all I did this holiday was eat food cooked by friends and sit at the corner couch with my feet tucked beneath reading Judy Blume. Typical "lyad khaoa" as we call such relaxation in Bong lingo.

Of course it wasn't totally peaceful, because there is LS to account for. But she spent a lot of time with BS and our friend's daughter and didn't cause much harm except scribbling with a pencil on the walls of their new home. Now these friends are practically like family, so they didn't mind the graffiti and continued to feed us good food throughout.

I wouldn't have done that. Before LS came into our life, I was very particular about walls and such stuff. I would internally hyperventilate if a child so much as brought a crayon to my Western Flaxed wall. And then LS came and changed everything. In the scheme of things, Western Flax suddenly was not that important.

I didn't tell my friends that though. I mean here was this guy effortlessly making rosogolla from scratch, just to give us the fresh wonderful taste of warm soft rosogollas bobbing in light syrup and here was I doing nothing but sitting on the corner sofa and there was my little girl practicing "Sircol" on their fresh white walls. How could I tell them fresh white walls was not important ?

Apparently they knew.

Back home yesterday, I was not up to cooking much. It was D's dinner making day so I had to do something for lunch. While I cooked the chicken, I thought how exactly I should serve the Butternut Squash in the refrigerator.

I am not particularly fond of cutting and peeling B. Squash. I never said this, because I thought it was my personal problem. But it seems it is a global phenomenon(does 2 people make global ?) and peeling butternut's tough outer skin is not everybody's idea of fun.

I usually do Mandira's roasted butternut squash . That way, there is no peeling and it tastes good too. But the soul craved some sunny kumro bhaate or kumro sheddho with steaming rice.Yes, I could have hacked the squash in chunks, boiled them and then peeled the skin to make kumro sheddho. That would be normal but also b..o..r..ing.

So I hacked them, tossed them in olive oil, red chili pepper, roasted cumin powder, salt, little honey and roasted them as Mandira said. I kept the honey and spices low, 'coz ultimately I was going to mash it up and spike it up with mustard oil.

After it was done, I peeled the skin off. You could also scoop out the orange fleshy innards, that would be easier. It came off effortlessly like hair off my scalp. I then mashed the soft flesh. Added a tsp of mustard oil, 3 finely chopped green chili, sugar and salt to taste and lightly worked everything in.

It tasted delicious. Not exactly my kind of comfort food, but the kind of food I am at the right age to go back to seeking comfort.

For posterity's sake, BS loved this and asked for seconds.


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Kumro Seddho -- Mashed Butternut Squash

Cut a butternut squash vertically through the center. Scoop out the seeds. Now hack large chunks of it(same or larger than the ones in the picture).

Toss the chunks with
1 tbsp Olive Oil
a pinch of Dry Roasted Cumin Powder
1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder
salt to taste
1 tsp of honey

Preheat oven to 350F. Roast the squash in a single layer till you see squash is done and the skin is just starting to shrivel. Do not over roast it, because we are now going to mash it.
Note: With regular Indian pumpkin skip the roasting part and just boil, mash and season

When done, peel the skin off and scoop out the orange soft flesh in a wide mouthed bowl. Mash it, yeah, mash, mash.Add 2 tsp of Mustard Oil, 3 green chili finely chopped, a little sugar and salt to taste. If you like it hot, crumble two dry red chili pepper and add the flakes. Work everything in lightly with your fingers. Garnish with freshly chopped corriander leaves.

Serve with steaming white rice.

Note: If you want to skip the oven, you can boil the butternut squash on stove top till tender. You can also cook in the microwave for 10-12 minutes or until tender and fully cooked. Remember to cover and add a little water while cooking in the Microwave.
If you have a Pressure cooker, cook in the pressure cooker. It should be done in 5-6 minutes, I am thinking, check this.
In the MW or boiling method, the squash may become watery. So after mashing remove extra water and then add the seasonings.