Sri Lankan · lunch, dinner, side

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry (Wattakka Kalu Pol)

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry (Wattakka Kalu Pol) — from Ceylon Kitchen's cooking video Watch how it’s made · 6:00

Video by Ceylon Kitchen on YouTube · Open on YouTube

40 minServes 4346 kcal a serve
  • Vegan
  • Gluten-free ingredients
  • Nut-free

Contains: none of the common allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.

A vegan vegetable curry: pumpkin makes it rich in vitamin A, a serve has about 6 g of fibre, and the gravy is thickened with roasted rice and coconut instead of cream. Coconut milk makes it rich, so it suits being one of several dishes with rice.

Printable PDFA4

The printable card is ink-friendly, fits on one page and has a QR code back to this recipe.

Ingredients 19

Method

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Dry-roast the rice, grated coconut, cardamom and a little cinnamon in a pan until golden brown, then cool and crush to a fine powder. 0:24
  2. Put the pumpkin in a clay pot or saucepan with ¼ cup onion, the green chillies, garlic, some curry and pandan leaves, the rest of the cinnamon, fenugreek, curry powder, ½ tsp turmeric and the salt. 1:43
  3. Pour in the water and coconut milk, mix well and cook over medium heat, then cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the pumpkin is tender. 2:44
  4. For the tempering, heat the oil, fry the mustard seeds, curry leaves and pandan, then the remaining onion; stir in ½ tsp turmeric and tip it all into the curry. 3:29
  5. Stir in the roasted rice-and-coconut powder and the pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the gravy thickens. 4:58

Tip. Serves 4 (our estimate) as part of a rice-and-curry meal. Keep the pumpkin skin on so the pieces hold their shape. Butternut squash works too.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.

One serve gives you 1 of 4

Energy346 kcal1,450 kJ
Protein4.8 g10% of a day
Fibre6.2 g22% of a day
Carbohydrate29 g23 g net · 3.9 g sugars11% of a day
Fat26 g19 g saturated34% of a day
Sodium890 mg39% of a day

Where the energy comes from one serve

  • Net carbs 27%
  • Protein 6%
  • Fat 67%

For comparison, low-carb eating usually gets under 26% of its energy from carbs, and ketogenic eating under 10%. Why this is here

Vitamins & minerals % of a day, one serve · tap for more

Vitamin A High78%

701 µg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (100%). Keeps eyes, skin and the immune system healthy. Orange vegetables and dark greens give beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.

Omega-3 High34%

0.5 g a serve, mostly from oil (85%). Omega-3 fats support the heart and brain. Oily fish give EPA and DHA; walnuts, flax, chia and canola give ALA, which the body converts only a little.

Vitamin C High28%

25 mg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (75%). An antioxidant needed for collagen, immunity and iron absorption. Long cooking destroys some, so raw herbs, citrus and capsicum help.

Iron High27%

4.9 mg a serve, mostly from thick coconut milk (61%). Carries oxygen in your blood. Iron from plants absorbs better with vitamin C in the same meal — lemon, tomato or capsicum.

Magnesium High21%

87 mg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (42%). Takes part in hundreds of reactions — energy, muscles, nerves, blood sugar and bones. Nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains are good sources.

Vitamin E High21%

3.1 mg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (52%). An antioxidant that protects cell membranes. Nuts, seeds and plant oils such as olive oil are the main sources.

Selenium High20%

11 µg a serve, mostly from thick coconut milk (49%). Part of the body's antioxidant enzymes and needed for thyroid hormones. Seafood, eggs, meat and Brazil nuts are rich sources.

Vitamin B6 Source17%

0.3 mg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (52%). Helps turn food into energy and make brain messengers. Chickpeas, fish, poultry, potatoes and bananas are good sources.

Potassium Source14%

670 mg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (53%). Balances sodium to help control blood pressure and keeps muscles and nerves working. Beans, potatoes, leafy greens and fruit are rich sources.

Folate Source11%

46 µg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (52%). Needed to make DNA and new cells — especially important before and in early pregnancy. Legumes and leafy greens are rich sources.

Zinc Source10%

1.1 mg a serve, mostly from thick coconut milk (50%). Needed for immunity, wound healing, taste and growth. Meat, seafood, legumes, seeds and whole grains supply it.

Show the other 4
Calcium8%

101 mg a serve, mostly from pumpkin (50%). Builds bones and teeth and helps muscles and nerves work. Dairy, calcium-set tofu, sardines with their bones and some greens supply it.

Vitamin K8%

9.4 µg a serve, mostly from oil (38%). Needed for blood clotting and bones. Leafy greens and herbs are very rich in it. If you take warfarin, keep your intake steady and talk to your doctor.

Vitamin D0%

0 µg a serve. Helps you absorb calcium for bones and supports muscles. Few foods have much — oily fish, eggs, UV-exposed mushrooms, fortified milks. Sunlight is the main source.

Vitamin B120%

0 µg a serve. Keeps nerves and blood cells healthy. Found almost only in animal foods and fortified foods (some plant milks, nutritional yeast), so vegans need a reliable source.

Estimated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central values; % of a day uses the food-label daily values. How this works

You might also like

Browse all 953 recipes

Recipe and video by Ceylon Kitchen; the method summary, nutrition estimate and diet notes are Notbroken’s. General information about food, not dietary advice.