Australian chef, restaurateur and media personality Peter Kuruvita is all about cooking rich, hearty meals – perfect for these freezing-colder winter nights. Highly influenced by his Sri Lankan father and Austrian mother, his recipes are not only delicious but packed with vitamins to boost your immunity.

“Dad’s tasty pumpkin curry was a family favourite. He always used a tablespoon of mustard and this became the way I made it as well, as it makes the one pot dish rich, healthy and delicious,” says Peter. “In Australia we are in winter and it is a good time to boost your immunity and health. In Sri Lankan, cookery for health this is more important than the actual dish itself. Food is medicine and medicine can be delicious. There is nothing more nourishing and fulfilling than eating with the seasons. Buying organic from your local growers market and building your meals using the freshest in-season produce creates the perfect base for Ayurvedic cooking. The next step is building on this base by adding Ayurvedic medicinal spices to not only improve digestion, energy and boost your immunity, but to create those complex, in-depth flavours that make eating healthy heaven for your taste-buds.”

Check out the recipe below.

This recipe is from the Maille Tour du Monde digital cookbook, maille.com.au.

Ingredients

3 tbs Dijon mustard

1 kg Kent pumpkin, cut into 4cm cubes, skin on

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 sprig curry leaves

3 hot green chillies, chopped

¼ cinnamon quill

2 tbs raw curry powder

2 tsps cumin powder

6 cardamom pods cracked

½ tbs turmeric powder

400 ml water

400 ml coconut cream

½ teaspoon salt

1 tsp roast curry powder to sprinkle on top

Method

Use a large, heavy based pot. Place the coconut oil, curry leaves, onion, garlic and green chillies and fry until fragrant.

Add dry spices except for the roasted curry powder and gently cook for 3 minutes.

Add water, coconut cream and mustard to the spices and stir until combined.

Add pumpkin and salt. The liquid should just cover the pumpkin, add a bit more water if necessary. Bring to the boil slowly. Reduce heat, place a lid on the pot and leave on low, cooking for 10-15 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked but still firm.

Stir gently occasionally to ensure the curry does not stick.

When pumpkin is cooked through, remove the dish from the heat.

Serve the curry with a sprinkle of roasted curry powder.

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