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Pumpkin Dessert

A much-loved Turkish dessert. You can find the large orange-fleshed pumpkins sold in slices in Middle Eastern and Indian stores.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound pumpkin (weight without stringy parts and seeds)
1/4–1/2 cup sugar
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2–3/4 cup kaymak (page 407) or clotted cream (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut off the rind, remove the pips, and cut away the stringy bits. Cut the pumpkin into pieces of about 1 1/4 inches. Put them in a wide saucepan with about 1/2 cup water and cook with a tight lid on (so that they steam) over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until tender. The pumpkin will release its own juice.

    Step 2

    Add the sugar, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until the sugar has melted and the syrup is reduced, turning over the pumpkin.

    Step 3

    Serve cold, sprinkled with chopped walnuts. If you like, accompany with kaymak or clotted cream.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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