Khatta Meetha Kaddu Sabji

There are some dishes that don’t just fill you up — they take you back.

For me, that’s Khatta Meetha Kaddu.

Every week, like clockwork, we’d go to my Nani’s house for dinner. And without fail, the table would have the same spread — poori, aloo ki sabji, and a bowl of khatta meetha kaddu that smelled like comfort itself.

Her house always had this warmth — partly from the food, partly from her. The kind of place where time moved slower, and you could just be. I still remember the sound of her steel kadhai, the soft sizzle of hing in oil, and that sweet-spicy aroma that somehow lingered even hours after dinner was done.

She’d always say, “thoda aur le le, kya hi rakha hai bachaane mein.”
And even if I was full, I’d somehow find space for more.

Now when I cook this at home, I find myself doing all the same things — the extra spoon of jaggery, the pinch of hing, the little pause before tasting it straight from the kadhai. And every single time, it feels like she’s right there with me.

They say food connects generations. I think it does more than that — it keeps them alive in tiny ways. In how we stir, how we season, how we smile when something tastes just like it used to.

So here’s my version of her Khatta Meetha Kaddu — sweet, tangy, and a little sentimental.
Because sometimes, the simplest food carries the heaviest memories.

A plate of poori, a bowl of kaddu, and a memory that never really leaves you.
That’s all it takes to bring a little bit of Nani’s kitchen back home. 💛

---

Ingredients

• 500 g pumpkin (kaddu), peeled and cubed

• 2 tbsp mustard oil or ghee

• ¼ tsp hing

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1–2 green chillies, slit

• 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf), lightly crushed

• ½ tsp turmeric powder

• 1 tsp red chilli powder

• 1 tsp coriander powder

• 1 tbsp tamarind Chutney (Saunt)

• 1½ tbsp jaggery (Optional)

• Salt, to taste

• ½ cup water

Method

1. Heat mustard oil till it just starts to smoke. Lower the flame and add hing and cumin seeds.

2. Once they crackle, add green chillies and saunf.

3. Add the pumpkin and toss to coat it in the tempered oil.

4. Add all the spices and salt. Stir well.

5. Add water, cover, and cook on low heat till the pumpkin softens (about 10 minutes).

6. Add tamarind pulp and jaggery. Cook uncovered for a few more minutes till the sauce thickens and clings to the pumpkin.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm with poori or paratha.