Red Pumpkin

Cucurbita moschata · Kaddu · lal kaddu · sitaphal

The vegetable of the feeding hall.

What it is

Red pumpkin has hard ridged skin over dense deep-orange flesh that collapses readily when cooked. It is sweeter and drier than the watery gourds it sits beside, which is why it takes sourness and heat so well and why it holds up when cooked in quantity.

Where it comes from

An American plant, long since absorbed into Indian cooking so completely that its arrival is invisible. On the Gangetic plain it is temple and community-kitchen food, cooked in vast pans for bhandara and festival feeding alongside poori.

What it's called

Kaddu · lal kaddu · sitaphal in western usage, which elsewhere means custard apple. Red pumpkin on grocers' labels.

In the kitchen

Cubed with the skin often left on, cooked down with panch phoron or cumin, dried chilli, amchur and a little jaggery into a sweet-sour mash that is deliberately soft. It needs almost no water and will catch if hurried.

What we know about the claims

Very high in beta-carotene, which is real and visible in the colour. Otherwise unremarkable, which is fine.

Choosing and buying

Sold whole or in cut wedges in South Asian grocers; the cut wedge is usually the more practical buy. Look for dense flesh and a dry cut face. Butternut squash is the closest common substitute and is a little wetter.