Kaddo Bourani

Kaddo Bourani

So you might be wondering, what is Kaddo Bourani?  At a high level, it's an Afghan dish of caramelized pumpkin topped with two sauces: a mint-garlic yogurt sauce and a savory meat sauce.  I like this dish because it's bursting with flavor.  The dish incorporates very contrasting flavors while maintaining balance.  Each of the three components of the dish can be too much on it's own: the pumpkin perhaps too sweet and the yogurt, too sour, tangy, and cold.  However when all combined together: cool, sweet, tangy, savory, minty, the results are quite amazing!

As an added bonus, it's totally Primal and Paleo (depending in your definition) =P

Tools:

• Vegetable Peeler
• Baking Pan
• Skillet

Ingredients for the Pumpkin:  

• 1 Sugar Pie Pumpkin (~3lb)
• Maple Syrup
• 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ingredients for the Mint-Garlic Yogurt Sauce:  

• 1 cup Plain Yogurt
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh Mint, minced
• Sea salt, to taste

Ingredients for the Meat Sauce:  

• 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 medium-sized Yellow Onion, finely chopped
• 1lb Grass-fed Ground Beef
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1.25 tsp Ground Coriander 
• 1.5 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Ground Tumeric
• 1 Roma Tomato, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1.25 cup Water

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.  Gather ingredients.  Cut the top and bottom of the pumpkin.  Peel the pumpkin.
2. Cut the remainder of the pumpkin in half.  Scrape out the insides (seeds + stringy bits).  Cut the pumpkin into 3" pieces.
3. Place the pumpkin pieces hollow side up in a baking dish.  Coat with the 3Tbsp olive oil.  Then place a dime-size drop of maple syrup into each slice and rub.
4. COVER the pan and bake for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until the pumpkin is soft.
   
   
   2. Ready for the oven.
   
   
   

   

   3. 3 hours later! and super soft.
5. While the pumpkin is baking, make the yogurt sauce by combining all the ingredients: 1 cup Plain Yogurt, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 Tsp of fresh mint, and sea salt to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
   

   4. Mint-garlic  yogurt sauce
6. Also while the pumpkin is cooking, prepare the meat sauce.  Heat the 3 Tbsp Olive Oil in skillet.  Sautee the chopped yellow onion over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
   

   5. Onions
7. Add the 1lb grass-fed beef.  Break the meat up into tiny pieces.
8. Add the spices: 1.25 tsp Ground Coriander, 1.5 Tsp Sea Salt, 1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper, 1/2 tsp Ground Tumeric.  Then add the 2 cloves of minced garlic and chopped Roma tomato.  Cook the beef until there is no more pink.
   
   
   6. Cooking the beef.
9. Blend in the 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste and add the 1.25 cup water.  Bring the meat sauce to a boil over high heat.  Cover, reduce and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
   

   7. Bringing meat sauce to a boil.
   
   
   

   

   8. Reduced meat sauce.
10. To serve, place the pumpkin on the bottom, then a spoonful of the yogurt sauce, and cover it with meat!  Enjoy!
    
    
    10. mmmm Kaddo Bourani

Try it out before pumpkin season ends!  I also know of people using butternut squash instead of pumpkin.  Enjoy it as an appetizer or as a small meal.  Be open.  I know it's quite different from what we normally eat!