Afghan-Style Pumpkin (With Yogurt Sauce) Recipe (2024)

Mark mentions in his Kitchen Matrix cookbook that you can simply skip the beef to make this a vegetarian recipe. He says that a 4-pound pumpkin will yield about 8 cups of cubes. He recommends cutting the pumpkin just as if you were carving a jack-o'-lantern: cut a circle around the stem, then pull up on the stem and discard it. Using the cavity as a handle, peel the pumpkin with a sturdy vegetable peeler. Then cut the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds.

The original Afghani recipe calls for roasting the pumpkin with sugar and cinnamon, not for simmering on the stovetop. Not sure why MB went with stovetop.Search for other kaddo borani recipes and you will find the technique.Peel and clean the pumpkin, cut into big chunks, cover with oil, sugar, cinnamon and roast on a lower heat. You will get a much better texture and flavor profile.

I read once to always use butternut squash in place of pumpkin. It's served me well.

Squash can be runny, watch out for thatFire roasted crushed tomatoes plus mushrooms worked well (try eggplant next time?)Paired well with NYT cauliflower rice pilafThere is never enough squash, try doubling what is described here for 4 adults

Not sure if it's fair to rate this because I made this with butternut squash (no pumpkins were at supermarket yet) and did vegetarian version without meat and chicken stock. Otherwise I did follow recipe as given. Overall flavor was excellent. I overcooked the squash and it went too far to mushy. Possibly pumpkin would be more forgiving, but would watch more closely in the future. Yogurt/garlic topping was great. Also squirted on some sriracha to finished dish. Served with flat breads.

We made it following the directions, using kabocha squash, but left out the ground beef. The kabocha cooked very quickly. The flavors are amazing, especially topping it off with the mint and garlic yogurt.

We made this dish tonight (the vegetarian version) and it was amazing! We would not change a thing!! We also made basmati rice and served the dish over the rice. All so good! Looking forward to tomorrow night for the leftovers!

This was excellent. Must confess I upped the ginger and turmeric.

Absolutely excellent. Cook the beef and tomato for at least 30 minutes.

I loved this dish. The flavors of the jalapeño, turmeric and ginger went so well with the pumpkin. It's a lot of work but I thought it was worth it. I didn't have fresh mint for the yogurt so I used dried spearmint. Next time I'll halve the recipe because it was a lot for two adults. Lots of leftovers. I wonder if it freezes okay? Baking the pumpkin seeds today.

I really like this! I used butternut squash and microwaved it for 3 minutes, turning every minute, in order to soften a bit and make it easier to peel, as a commenter suggested. Butternut cooks more quickly than pumpkin, so I only added a small amount of water and some soy sauce (omitting salt) to the skillet and steamed the cubes until tender. I found the raw garlic in the yogurt too much. Will omit next time and sprinkle the finished dish with fresh mint when I have it.

Delicious recipe!!! I added minced mushrooms in lieu of ground beef and I had a kabocha squash from the backyard so used that. I also upped the coriander and added cumin seeds. It worked perfectly!! I love the fact that the recipe didn't ask for sugar to be added to the pumpkin while cooking. Kaddu bouranee often asks for extra sugar to be added but the pumpkin is wonderfully sweet on its own. Individually, all the ingredients are tasty but together, it's simply a wonderful symphony of flavors!

Squash can be runny, watch out for thatFire roasted crushed tomatoes plus mushrooms worked well (try eggplant next time?)Paired well with NYT cauliflower rice pilafThere is never enough squash, try doubling what is described here for 4 adults

I used mild Italian sausage rather than beef, and it was great.

I’ve made this twice now and love it. The only modification I’ve made is to the yogurt sauce - I use full fat plain Greek yogurt and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Question: Would this recipe lose its flavor if I roasted the pumpkin instead of simmering? Maybe slather the roasting squash in the spices? Roasting squash is easier and it carmelizes so nicely. Or is the simmering really integral to the flavors?

Not sure if it's fair to rate this because I made this with butternut squash (no pumpkins were at supermarket yet) and did vegetarian version without meat and chicken stock. Otherwise I did follow recipe as given. Overall flavor was excellent. I overcooked the squash and it went too far to mushy. Possibly pumpkin would be more forgiving, but would watch more closely in the future. Yogurt/garlic topping was great. Also squirted on some sriracha to finished dish. Served with flat breads.

I didn't have enough pumpkin (my cute little sugar pumpkin yielded only about 4 cups) so I substituted acorn squash and couldn't tell the difference. I felt the meat sauce needed more flavor, so I put in at least 1 teaspoon of coriander. That being said, this was delicious, relatively easy to make and I'll do it again (with perhaps even more coriander).