All Treat, No Tricks —Pumpkin Talkari (Caribbean Curried Pumpkin Dip)

Forget pumpkin spice lattes. For real pumpkin and spice, dip into pumpkin talkari, aka Caribbean curried pumpkin dip. It’s Trinidad’s comfort food — belly-filling, with warming flavors that dance on the tongue, vitamins C and A to keep you nourished and glowing, and something else you can’t see but you can feel — a dish that speaks of its African heritage.

Pumpkin isn’t just a sweater weather gourd. Calabaza, also known as West Indian pumpkin, and confusingly, Mexican pumpkin, absolutely loves the heat, and thrives in the tropics. It’s a staple crop.

Calabaza is green-fleshed on the outside, pale orange on the inside, mild-flavored and sweet.  And large. So large that in Miami and environs, stores sell it in chunks, because really, not everyone knows what to do with a twenty-pound calabaza. It’d make a whole lot of pumpkin talkari, and that might be a good thing.

How to Make Pumpkin Talkari

1. Pour pumpkin puree into a colander and let it drain for a few minutes, yielding a thicker puree.
2. Pour remaining pumpkin into a medium-sized bowl, and stir in curry powder. Set aside.
3. Pour coconut oil into a skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the ginger, and stir. 
4. Add the cumin, fennel and nigella seeds, curry leaves and cinnamon sticks, and, if you like, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Keep stirring.
5. When the spices sizzle and turn fragrant, about three to five minutes, remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick and curry leaves.
6. To serve, line a plate or shallow bowl with greens. Spoon the pumpkin mash on top and make dimples all over the surface with a chopstick or handle end of a spoon. Drizzle on the ginger and spices, then sprinkle the lime juice over everything. Finish with a pop of sea salt and garnish lavishly with cilantro, pumpkin seeds, sprouts and grape tomato halves.
   

Tips

Jack o’lantern pumpkins are fun — and sometimes scary — but they don’t always make the best eating. They’re stringy inside, and not as sweet and tender as other varieties like sugar pumpkin or cheese pumpkin (don’t worry, fellow vegans, there’s no dairy involved, it just looks like a wheel of cheese).

Make whole pumpkin or any winter squash easier to chop by popping it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, just long enough to soften. Let it cool till it’s easy to handle, then peel and chop. 

You can keep chopped pumpkin uncooked and sealed tight in the refrigerator for several days. 

For homemade pumpkin puree, steam fresh pumpkin cubes in a covered steamer or double boiler for 25 minutes, or until you can pierce the flesh easily with a knife point.

Jamaican curry powder is a milder curry blend, bending more towards turmeric and coriander and away from chile heat.

Resist the urge to stir the pumpkin puree, spices and lime juice together.  Layering the spices, lime juice, seeds and vegetables makes for a hauntingly nuanced talkari.

Enjoy pumpkin talkari warm with crackers or flatbread for scooping and spreading. 

Pumpkin Talkari – Curried Caribbean Pumpkin Dip

For real pumpkin and spice, dip into pumpkin talkari, aka Caribbean curried pumpkin dip. It’s Trinidad’s comfort food.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Appetizer

Ingredients

  

• 1-1/2 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling, preferably fresh*
• 2 teaspoons Jamaican curry powder or your favorite curry blend
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1- inch piece of ginger sliced into matchsticks
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoon nigella also known as black onion seed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• red pepper flakes optional
• juice of 1/2 lime
• pinch of sea salt
• to garnish: any or all:
• cilantro chopped
• pumpkin seeds
• green sprouts
• thyme leaves
• grape tomatoes halved
• whole grain bread or crackers for serving

Instructions

 

• Pour pumpkin puree into a colander and let it drain for a few minutes, yielding a thicker puree.
• Pour remaining pumpkin into a medium-sized bowl, and stir in curry powder. Set aside.
• Pour coconut oil into a skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the ginger, and stir.
• Add the cumin, fennel and nigella seeds, curry leaves and cinnamon sticks, and, if you like, a pinch of red pepper flakes. Keep stirring.
• When the spices sizzle and turn fragrant, about three to five minutes, remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick and curry leaves.
• To serve, line a plate or shallow bowl with greens. Spoon the pumpkin mash on top and make dimples all over the surface with a chopstick or handle end of a spoon. Drizzle on the ginger and spices, then sprinkle the lime juice over everything. Finish with a pop of sea salt and garnish lavishly with cilantro, pumpkin seeds, sprouts and grape tomato halves.

Notes

*Make whole pumpkin or any winter squash easier to chop by popping it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, just long enough to soften. Let it cool till it’s easy to handle, then peel and chop. You can keep chopped pumpkin uncooked and sealed tight in the refrigerator for several days.
Steam fresh pumpkin cubes in a covered steamer or double boiler for 25 minutes, or until you can pierce the flesh easily with a knife point.

Keyword pumkin talkari

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