Garden Fresh Pumpkin Vine Shoots (Pharsi ko Munta) Recipe

Garden Fresh Pumpkin Vine Shoots (Pharsi ko Munta)

Fresh Pumpkin Shoots are the young, uppermost tender shoots, tendrils, leaves, and delicate stems from pumpkin plants. Pumpkin Shoots are considered a delicacy in Nepal. The shoots are harvested from the growing end of the vine (the top 3 to 4 inches) by pinching off the tender ends. The plants will put out a new shoot or growth after the vine has been harvested. Pumpkin shoots have a distinct light flavor that can be described as a cross between squash and spinach. 

Pumpkin Shoots should be cooked within a day of picking or they will lose their freshness and flavor. Like any leafy green, the volume of this vegetable reduces by half after cooking. My husband is growing a small patch of pumpkin vine in the corner of our home garden along with other vegetables. 

This summer the vine was growing in abundance and we have been eating munta once a week. Once you taste these delicious vegetable, you will come back looking for it...

Enjoy Nepal's most loved exotic vegetable. Recipe is available in the book "The Taste of Nepal." page 169 under Vegetables (Tarkaari).

Pumpkin plant - very versatile vegetable - most parts of the pumpkin are edible, the flowers, the fleshy shell, the seeds (roasted), and the young shoots (munta).

Tender shoots and young leaves of pumpkin vines

Stir Fried Pumpkin Shoots Recipe:

Stir fried pumpkin shoots have a great a crunchy texture with a mild flavor.

4 Servings, 

Prep Time: quarter-hour, 

Total Time: quarter-hour 

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 1/2 lbs Pumpkin Shoot

Preparation: 

The very tip of a shoot (first 1 1/2 inch), the flesh is tender and requires no peeling, but the opposite end (closer to the roots) requires it. you'll be cutting the tender a part of the shoots 1 1/2 inch (4cm) long parts. Start at the tip, remove and discard any tendrils, cut 1 ½ inch from the very tip and place during a container. Remove fuzzy skin below by taking a touch piece and peeling down toward the opposite end. an enormous long piece of skin should come off. Go all around until all the fuzz is gone. 

Cut another 1 ½ inch when the peel is removed. Remove any leaves that are open and large , they're going to resemble sand paper. The young and unopened leaves are tender and great. Keep the baby pumpkins. Repeat the method until you reach the top . Toward this end, the shoots are often fibrous and old; discard any that appear too tough.

The weight ratio of cut and cleaned shoots to waste is consistently 1 to 1. My bundle weighs around 1 ½ pounds, I seem to always get exactly ¾ pound of the cleaned shoots.

If you're storing the shoots for later use, don't rinse now. Rinse before cooking to stay the shoots fresh longer.

When you are able to cook, rinse the shoots and drain the water out. you would like the shoots to be as dry as possible in order that they're cooked in oil, not steamed in water.

Chop 3 cloves of garlic. Place garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt on top of the shoots. When the wok is prepared , everything will enter directly .

Final product.....cooking time is minimal -  the shoots are very soft and delicious.

Cooking:

This takes just 2 minutes. Heat your wok or pan up to be extremely popular . I let my wok sit on the hearth for five minutes. When your wok is prepared , add 3 tablespoons of oil. once you see smoke, put the shoots, garlic and salt altogether directly . Stir around in order that salt is evenly distributed and therefore the shoots get an opportunity to cook. Your pumpkin shoots should be ready in 2 minutes. 

Serve hot with rice.

Close-up look of tender shoots.

A pumpkin flower attached to the vine are edible -  dipped into spiced batter and fried.  They are very delicious and have a pleasant, moist, and silky texture.

Collecting several tender shoots and the young leaves as shown above

Picking through and discarding any tough, large stems and matured leaves from the vine shoots and using only young shoots and tender leaves.

Removing fuzzy outer covering and fibers from all sides.

When fuzzy covering is removed from the stem,  it is shiny - breaking the stems into 1 1/2 inch pieces.

The outer coverings, mature and fibrous leaves are headed to the compost pile.

Washed and drained

Getting ready to cook

Spices used - dried red chili, fenugreek seeds, ground turmeric, minced fresh ginger and garlic, cumin, and salt.

Frying the whole spices until fully fragrant before adding pumpkin shoots.

Cooking until shoots are tender and have reduced to half of their original volume

They wilt down like cooking any green vegetables.

They are so delicious sauteed in fenugreek scented oil with fresh ginger paste and smashed garlic pod and other spices.  Once you taste them, you will come back looking more of it.

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