Gnocchi in Pumpkin Chilli Sauce

When Kalyani announced this months Magic Mingle Ingredient, I was suddenly disappointed. Pumpkin and Chilies ?? I had never cooked with Pumpkin in my life and the only dish I could imagine was a bread with pumpkin puree in it. I was still thinking and other members in the group starting pouring in their recipes. Am still awestruck with the way these ladies come up with unique ideas so quickly. And I cant even give the excuse of being working and holding a family, I dont even have kids yet !!!!!

Lazy as I am, after hours of meaningless pondering over the recipe, I came up with idea of this Garlic Pumpkin bread from Priya's blog. But then since S doesnt like savory breads that much, I had to drop the idea. Now what.. Phew !!  That's really an unusual combo you know, I have always had Pumpkin in sweets, never in savory somehow. I flicked around some books and got hooked to a Gnocchi recipe in Tandoori sauce.. Hmm !! Quite interesting.. I just had to tweak the recipe with the addition of pumpkin in it, easy as it seems, it is difficult to incorporate a sweet vegetable like pumpkin and sweet potato in a savory sauce.

However, the end result was actually fabulous and we did not taste the sweet sense of pumpkin at all.. Nada  !! .. Infact that hint of sweetness was very well complimented with the tandoori masala I used and to top it all, the addition of cheese made it such a creamy and heavenly experience. S is not a fan of Gnocchi in particular so I dont make it so very often. He finds it very bland, and not that appealing which is true to some sense since I never baked it before. So baking Gnocchi  in this recipe was a first for me too and am glad I did that. The sauce was very well engrossed in the dumplings making it very tasty and finger licking ;)

I ave used store bought Gnocchi in this recipe but I will try to make it from scratch next time. If you are not sure what exactly this thing called Gnocchi is, its just potato dumplings which you can cook along with your preferred sauce. For more details, you can have a look here.

What you need ?
2 cups uncooked Potato Gnocchi
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Yogurt
5-6 dried red chilies
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup Mascarpone Cheese
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese
4 Large Tomatoes
2 tbsp Oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 large Garlic pods, minced
1/4 tsp Mace powder (optional)
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder (optional)
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Double cream

Preparation:

• Boil Gnocchi in 4 cups of water with 1 tsp oil and a pinch of salt for 4-5 minutes and simmer for next 2-3 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
• Preheat oven at 170 degrees

How to make ?

• Heat oil in a pan, fry minced garlic and chopped Onion. When it turns translucent, add chopped tomatoes and cook covered till soft. Add salt and red dried chilli in to it and simmer further for 5-6 minutes. 
• Throw in Mascarpone Cheese and simmer for next 10 minutes. Turn off the flame.
• Blend in a blender when cool off. Strain through a sieve to give a smooth texture.
• Heat butter in a pan and pour in in this tomato puree. Add pumpkin puree and cook on medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Turn off the flame.
• Now, in a baking dish, pour this mixture. Throw in cooked Gnocchi and mix well. 
• Top it up with Cheddar and Mozzarella and sprinkle some red chili flakes over it. 
• Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Take off and drizzle double cream on top. Serve hot !! 

My Notes:

• You can reheat the dish in microwave and this will be as good as first time. 
• This will be a spicy and hot dish, mixing double cream with it makes it mild. You can skip it altogether though. 
• You can make it without Pumpkin as well, sweet potato can also be added as an alternative. 

Specially cooked for Magic Mingle #9 with pumpkin and chilies