Butternut Squash Skin and Walnut Chutney

And here is Ms. P with her counter ;)

Last fall I got this organic butternut squash from my local super market and my whole family took to it. I very eagerly washed and dried the seeds hoping to plant it in my own yard some day. This summer my DH decided he wanted to be a gardener in his spare time and my DD decided the only exciting thing to do this summer vacation was to be his helper. One of the first seeds we planted was off course the Butternut Squash. The plant took off well, grew and produced numerous yellow flowers. But finally only one flower successfully became a squash. Getting just one squash after seeing all those flowers was a sore disappointment. So I decided to make the best of that tiny squash. I used the flesh of the squash in sambar and saved the skin and the seeds from the center of the fruit. Both were quite tender and the seeds has not matured like in a very ripe squash. See the picture and you would understand.

Ingredients:

Walnuts  - 20

Hing – 1 teaspoon

Urud Dhal (whole white) – 6 tablespoons

Channa Dhal (yellow split) – 3 tablespoons

Grated coconut – ¾ cup

Tamarind – small lemon size

Red Chillies – 6

Skin and scrapings from inside the squash – 2 cups

Cooking oil – 4 tablespoons

Salt to taste

Note: Remember to clean the tamarind by removing the seeds and skin that may be stuck to it.

  

Seasoning:

Cooking oil – 1 talespoon

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves – 5

How to:

In a skillet add the cooking oil. I prefer to use sesame/gingely oil as it adds a distinct flavor. When warm add the urud dhal and channa dhal and roast till golden brown. Then add the red chillies, butternut squash skin/scrapings and tamarind and keep roasting till you see the squash turning translucent. Do not roast on high heat as you may burn the ingredients. Remember dry roasting needs medium heat and a lot of patience. You can add a little salt, set the heat to low and close with a lid for a few minutes to get the squash cooked. Again be careful not to burn the ingredients. Then add the walnuts and coconut and roast till the grated coconut turns golden brown. Before turning off the stove add the hing and roast for a minute.

Let the mixture cool before you blend it in the mixer. When blending remember to check and add salt as needed. Season with mustard seeds and curry leaves.