Don’t ask my why this dish is called patio. Whatever the reason, if you like spicy, this one is addictive!

Reva emailed the recipe a while back, and I’ve made it a couple of times. Here’s how:

Red pumpkin patio (4 servings)

Ingredients: ½ kg red pumpkin, 1 large onion finely sliced, 2 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste, grind into a paste the following: 6 cloves garlic (¾ tsp), 2 tsp cumin seeds, 3 dried red Kashmiri chillies, 1 medium onion

Method: Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Cut into 2 cm cubes. In a pan, heat oil, fry the sliced onion until soft but not brown. Add the masala paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, salt, ⅓ cup water (I end up adding some more), bring to a boil, then cover and cook on low heat till the pumpkin is tender (about an hour). Mash the pumpkin in the pan. Add lemon juice and sugar (I skip the sugar, as the pumpkin is sweet already) and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rice.

Finger-licking good!