Stuffed Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin is a plump, creamy vegetable, and highly nutrient-dense food. It is low in calories but rich in vitamins and minerals. It is a versatile cooking vegetable. Pumpkin soup, stew, curries, and so on are always win-win dishes. I have stuffed this creamy and gorgeous pumpkin with a bowl of simple spicy brown rice along with spinach, chicken, herbs, walnuts, and sauces. In this dish, you can relish the pumpkin taste with every bite. With just the basic ingredients you have in your kitchen you can make this hearty and food art meal for your entire family.

Note: I bought a pumpkin cut in half from the store. However, you can cook the entire pumpkin by cutting the head and stuffing the entire pumpkin.

Calories – 200c per serving
Prep time – 15 minutes
Cook time – 25 minutes
Serves – 2

Ingredients :

2 cups Brown Rice
200gm Chicken Cubes
Handful Spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 Onion
1 Tomato
2 Green Chilies
2 Garlic Clove and a small piece of Ginger (or 1tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste)
1 Chicken Stock cube
Seasoning (salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, 1tbsp lemon juice, and cumin powder)
Garnish (cilantro/coriander, walnuts, and raisins)

Recipe :

• Rice stuffing: Heat 2tbsp oil, add chopped garlic and ginger, add chopped onions, chopped green chilies and cook until the onions are fragrant and translucent. Add chopped tomato, spinach, salt, 1tsp black pepper, 1tsp cumin powder, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1tbsp red chili flakes, and chicken cubes. Mix all well. Cook for about a minute. Add 2 cups of brown rice, 4 cups of water mixed with 1 Chicken Stock cube and give all a good stir. Let the rice cook for about 10 minutes or until done.

• Pre-heat the oven at 200c for 10 minutes.

• Pumpkin: Deesed the pumpkin and remove the slimy portion. Apply a generous amount of oil inside and outside the pumpkin. Stuff the hollow portion of the pumpkin with the above rice mixture. Cover the stuffed pumpkin with foil paper and cook in the oven at 250c for about 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft and cooked.
  Carefully remove the foil.

• Garnish with walnuts, raisins, and cilantro/coriander. Gently cut into pieces along with the rice portion and serve with your choice of stew or a salad.

Let me know if you like this easy and appetizing dish in the comments section and share more ideas with me via contact me on the homepage.