in kitchen 13

Pumpkin.
Sounds so unappetizing !
I always buy the sweet ripe pumpkin.

Cut a kilo of pumpkin into big chunks.
Heat a little oil in an open cookware that has a matching lid. Mustard oil is preferable.
Add a few mustard seeds. They start sputtering. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste.
Add all the chunks of pumpkin, stir well and cover it with the lid.
Turn the gas to sim. Use the bigger burner.
After 2 mins, stir again and cover again.
After another 2 mins. add a tablespoon of sugar and stir and cover again.
After another 2 mins. use a fork or a knife to check if the pumpkin has softened.

You can decide whether to eat the chunks as in shape or turn the whole thing into a pulp. The tastes will differ.

I like it in the form of a pulp. For this, you will have to stir vigorously for half a minute.
It tastes sweet and tangy, almost like a sauce. Children love it more. It is rich in iron and vitamin A.
Any other method of cooking sweet pumpkin is likely to deprive you of its nutrients.

in kitchen 12

One of our taste buds senses bitter.
If you want your child to appreciate the bitter taste, start early. it is only grown ups who dislike it.

Buy dark green bitter gourds. The light ones are better.
Take one bitter gourd and cut it into thin rings.
Wash the rings and remove the hard seeds. If the seeds are white and soft, there is no need to remove them.
Smear them with just a little salt and turmeric.
Heat oil in an open cookware that has a matching lid.
Drop the rings in the heated oil, stir and then close the lid.
In 3 mins. the bitter gourd will get cooked.
Remove the lid and use a sieve to take out the rings on a plate.
Although it is not a traditional 'deep fry' technique, much oil is required. The sieve is required. The left over oil can be used the next time to fry bitter gourd.

If you give it to a one-year-old child without a fuss or any signs of dislike or apologies for the bitterness in the taste of the food that you have offered, they will not dislike it. A child will eat it like any other food. Make sure that the salt is mild.

in kitchen 11

Ladyfingers or okras have a taste of their own.

Chop the ladyfingers so that each piece resembles a cube.
Heat refined oil in an open cookware or kadhai.
Add salt according to the quantity of the ladyfingers.
Add the entire amount of chopped ladyfingers. It is better to cook 1kg and not less than 1/2kg.
Stir until all the chopped pieces are smeared with the salted oil. Add oil if necessary.
Cover the cookware with its matching lid.
Cook it on the small burner at low flame for 10 mins.
Open the lid and stir gently. Do not worry if a little bit is stuck at the bottom. Or use a non-stick cookware.
When you feel that the sliminess of the ladyfingers is gone, cover the cookware as before.
Turn the gas off.
After waiting for 2 mins. stir again. All that was stuck to the vessel comes off loose.
Serve with chapattis or rice with daal.

NOTE:
1) The same recipe with a greater amount of oil is called 'deep-fried ladyfingers' in Bengal. The ladyfingers are lifted off the oil-well with a sieve (like chops or french fries).

2) A spoonful of sugar can be added at the end, after the gas is turned off. It makes children like it more.
3) It is better not to add turmeric (usually people do) as it turns the ladyfingers black.

in kitchen 10

A bottle gourd has its own water.
Chop it into large chunks, fill the pressure cooker and add a spoonful of salt on top. 
Close the lid and cook it on low flame of the big burner of the gas stove.
After 10 mins, turn the flame high. Soon you will hear the whistle. Turn the stove off.
In the pressure cooker, you will find the cooked chunks of bottle gourd swimming in a little water. 
THAT"S GREAT !!
It is the most nutritious water.
You can add a spoonful of oil heated on a pan and the cumin seeds cooked in it. Or you can add whatever spices that you like. Turmeric reduces the sweetness of the bottle gourd so I don't add it. Instead, you can also add a spoonful of sugar.
This preparation can be had with chapattis mainly.