Burmese Pumpkin Curry with Mint & Tamarind
This vegan Pumpkin Curry is inspired by a Burmese recipe, it features the flavours of mint, tamarind and is both quick and easy to cook!
Quick and Easy Vegan Squash Curry
This recipe is responsible for a newfound love of all things squash and pumpkin.
Inspired by a recipe from a book called Burma by Naomi Duguid, it has become a regular feature on our weekly dinner menu.
This pumpkin curry is very different from my usual curries. Most of them are Indian and rely on dried spices and seeds, things like my beef dopiaza or chicken jalfrezi.
Or are from Southeast Asia and rely on complex pastes like my Thai Prawn curry or Beef Massaman curry.
This easy squash curry recipe relies on a far simpler set of ingredients.
It is hot and sour with a hint of sweetness, it is also vegan and takes a shade over 30 minutes to cook!
Frequently Asked Questions
What sort of pumpkin or squash should I use?
I usually make this curry with a butternut squash. The primary reason for this is that they are on the smaller side, which is really important when cooking for two!
What can I make with leftover pumpkin?
If I can only get a larger pumpkin, I will usually call it squash week. I will maybe have this, my butternut squash tagine and then possibly my roasted butternut squash pasta or butternut squash chilli.
I may even roast off the leftovers and turn them into puree and use it in my butternut squash risotto recipe!
What is mint sauce?
My British readers will be more than aware of mint sauce, but if you are from the US, then you may need a hand. Mint sauce is a mix of mint, vinegar and sugar.
Here is my homemade mint sauce recipe.
It is far from being a typical Burmese ingredient! Originally, this recipe calls for a type of acid, some sugar and mint. So in reality, pretty analogous!
One final hint!
If you are not sticking to vegan, then switch out the soy sauce for fish sauce, it adds a wonderful complexity of flavour!
Serving Suggestions
I like curries served with rice; my usual go-to is simply steamed or boiled jasmine rice.
I have served this pumpkin curry with coconut rice, and it is delicious.
My love of flatbreads with curry means that this recipe has also been served with my very Indian chapatis.
It worked a treat with this dry style of curry.
If you wanted to pair it with a salad, then this Burmese ginger salad would be ideal!
Equipment Used
I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 28cm or 11" frying pan or skillet.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Vegetable peeler.
- Grater.
- Stirring and serving spoons.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Easy Burmese Pumpkin Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g Butternut Squash or Pumpkin 17oz
- 50 g Tamarind Pulp 35mm or 1½" cube
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 1 teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- 1 Small Onion 75g
- 15 g Grated Ginger ½ thumb sized piece
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Red Chilli Pepper
- 1½ tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Mint Sauce
Instructions
- Roughly chop the Tamarind pulp and place it in a bowl with 50ml (3 tablespoon + 1 tsp) boiling water. Allow it to steep for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and then pass it through a fine mesh sieve.
- Peel, deseed and cut the pumpkin or squash into a 20-25mm (¾-1) dice.
- Peel and grate the onion.
- Mash the garlic cloves.
- Peel and grate the ginger.
- Finely chop the chilli pepper.
- Add the cooking oil to a 28cm or 11" frying pan or skillet over a medium heat. When the oil is up to temperature, add the turmeric and stir.
- Throw in the garlic, ginger, chilli and grated onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tamarind pulp, mint sauce and soy sauce and stir.
- Add the pumpkin and 125ml (½ Cup) water, then stir and add a lid. Cook for 20-25 minutes on low to medium or until the pumpkin is cooked through.
- Before serving, have a taste and add more soy sauce if you need more salt and maybe a sprinkle of sugar; the latter will depend on your pumpkin.
The amount of water to add is missing from the recipe!
Thanks for pointing that out Jenna, I have updated the recipe.
So many fantastic flavors! There's nothing like a good pumpkin curry. 🙂
I'm a pumpkin addict so this is extremely intriguing to me! So many great spices and flavors going on. Perfect!
I do love pumpkin so will definitely have to try it in a curry - looks and sounds absolutely delicious. Love that it only takes a short while to make too!
Cooking with veggies you've grown yourself must be an amazing feeling, not to mention absolutely delicious. I envy you!
amazing recipe! I cooked this for my family and they LOVED IT.
It certainly is Marie, although it just feels normal now as we have been doing it for so long.
I'm a pumpkin addict so this is extremely intriguing to me! So many great spices and flavors going on. Perfect!
Thanks Lisa.
I do love pumpkin so will definitely have to try this - looks and sounds absolutely delicious. Love that it only takes a short while to make too!
It is really quick and proper tasty.
You might be a pumpkin newbie but this sounds glorious! In Sri Lanka, pumpkin with tamarind is very popular and this one you have here is making me wish I had some right now.
Well there yoU go, you learn something new every week... Thanks Shashi.
amazing recipe! I cooked this for my family and they LOVED IT.
Thanks Rose glad they liked it
Thank you 🙂
This tastes wonderful and you should have most of the ingredients based on what you cook 🙂 I name checked the book in the post and it is well worth hunting down, some really great recipes in there!
It's been a few years since I've had actual pumpkin. Now, I'm craving it! I've had pureed pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, but not big chunks of whole pumpkin. Looks great, B!
Thanks, I love big chunks of food, I have an inherent distrust of food that is mushed up or pureed, probably some childhood trauma thing 😉
You went and mentioned it again, I still have nightmares about 'C' wine shhhhhhh! Thank you the flavours in this dish are amazing, we love it!
I love Tamarind, and I can only imagine how awesome this tastes in this curry. Such a lovely and savory dish for fall 🙂
Thank you, it really is a special one, I love tamarind and the sour earthiness plays really well against the sweetness of pumpkin.
Stranger things could happen 😀 😉
Ha ha, I am so sorry 😉 This is a great dish and the one I credit with my current love of pumpkin... I am rather envious of your 25 mile away restaurant, I have not found a Burmese restaurant in Hungary at all!
Thanks Sara, the flavours really were wonderfully complex for such a simple dish.
Thanks Christine, dried shrimp pastes are a relatively common ingredient in Asian, particularly South East Asian foods... They add a subtle back end flavour to a dish and the stuff keeps forever so easy to have in the store cupboard. A word from the afflicted though, don't try a taste of the stuff it is pretty unpleasant until cooked, I learned that the wrong way 😉
Brian, another really nice recipe with your usual great pictures. I think pumpkin is so underrated and I love using tamarind. Yes a really good one for autumn (although it is spring here)! Cheers.
Thanks Mark, this is opnly my second year cooking pumpkin, I had convinced myself I didn't like it for years after too many really poor pumpkin soups... But it is the most incredibly versatile vegetable and I now love it!
I loove tamarind so much,that even reading your post just made me salivate! Never thought to use it iin curry, we just make juice and add it to chilli. But yea gonna try this , Still salivating
Thank you, the tamarind in this dish goes so well with the sweetness of the pumpkin. I use it in quite a lot of curries especially if I am adding something sweet as it set up that whole sweet & sour vibe 🙂
Cheers Howie, I struggled with pumpkin cutting too... I went through more than a couple of band aids but I am really on top of it now and it is a favourite Autumnal vegetable.
Thanks Heather, I'm one of them odd folk that love everything savoury, sweet not so much... However a touch of sweet with savoury is my heaven.
Thanks Claudia 🙂
I love tamarind. This flavor combinations sounds like a great balance of sweet and sour.
Thanks Mary, it works really well and the mint gives it a lovely lift too.
Thanks Sarah, I would not even know where to begin with a sweet pumpkin dish to be honest with you... Pumpkin pie is not really a big thing on this side of the Atlantic and I don't really have much of a sweet tooth 😉