Pumpkin "Curry"

This is what I made for dinner last night. I call it Pumpkin "Curry", because I left out most of the spices that would normally categorize a dish as curry in order to adapt the recipe to suit my family's taste preferences. Nevertheless, it was very good! I came along the recipe in a cooking magazine, and it sounded very intriguing. Although pumpkins are most commonly associated with carving, followed by baked goods, they also work very well in main dishes as they are very similar to any other squash. Obviously fresh pumpkin must be used in this recipe, because it is kept in pieces and not pureed. I used a fresh pie pumpkin (or sugar pumpkin). When choosing pumpkins to eat, the smaller the better in terms of taste and texture. The recipe called for stir-frying the pumpkin with onion, and then adding some spice, tomato paste, and chicken broth and simmering into a sauce. Since the pumpkin was only cooked for a total of less than 20 minutes, I decided to wrap it up in foil and bake it for an hour beforehand at 350F, and then dice it. Without this step, I don't think the pumpkin would have been tender enough, as even now it was not the least bit mushy. The recipe did not call for chicken at all, but I decided to add some for extra protein. I prebaked the chicken breasts with the pumpkin, but instead of dicing and adding directly to the sauce, I just served it on the side with a drizzle of the sauce. It was much easier and less time consuming. Serve the curry over rice, and you've got yourself a delicious, hearty fall meal! 

P.S. Don't forget to save the pumpkin seeds for roasting. I did mine with a little olive oil, salt, and paprika for 25 minutes at 350F along with the pumpkin. Makes a great appetizer!