Jamaican Pumpkin Rice

Learn how to make this flavoursome Jamaican pumpkin rice. It's so easy to make, delicious and such a perfect way to jazz up a savoury side dish.

Pumpkin rice is one of those must try side dishes, it is very simple to make and tastes amazing.

It really transforms a would be boring, plain old rice dish into something more gourmet on a budget.

Many Jamaican households can attest to making this particular rice while growing up. It's packed with flavour, healthy courtesy of the pumpkin and it's effortless.

Pumpkin rice is pretty much self-explanatory, it's rice is made with pumpkin. More specifically the West Indian/Calabaza pumpkin (the one with the dark green skin) is used to make the recipe.

This type of pumpkin tends to be naturally sweet which makes the recipe taste slightly sweet and offers a uniqueness to it.

The pumpkin is chopped and cooked with the rice and other ingredients such as pimento, butter, thyme, scallion garlic, coconut milk , just to name a few.

Some people add the powder from the cock soup mix for colour additional flavour.

Each household will make theirs slightly different from the other. Adding or omitting any of the aforementioned.

The different types of squash

The term squash is an umbrella description for a number of squash varieties and some of them include;

• Kabocha
• Butternut squash
• Calabaza (West Indian pumpkin)
• Acorn
• Yellow summer
• Bonbon
• Gold Rush

As mentioned earlier, in the Caribbean and Latin America the most commonly used pumpkin for culinary use is the Calabaza/West Indian one.

It's a complete contrast to the Western society pumpkin. It is round and varies in size and comes if different shades - green skin orange/yellow flesh and is naturally sweet.

The health benefits of pumpkin

Like many super foods out there pumpkin is certainly no exception to the rule so let's have a look at what pumpkin is rich in

• Low in saturated fats
• Low in cholesterol
• High in vitamin A and E
• Potassium
• Copper
•  Fiber (source)

The preparation

My version of pumpkin rice will differ from most peoples and also how it was cooked for me when I was growing up.

I modified the recipe in various ways which I will highlight throughout this section.

To really give the rice that nice yellow hue I added my homemade curry powder. This gives the rice more flavour and a beautiful colour.

I also like to use brown rice and if you have been following my recipes then you will have already known that I don't endorse white rice.

I like to use brown rice because it is highly nutritious with an abundance of minerals. It is a complex carbohydrate that keeps you feeling fuller for longer.

I do like to use a combination of vegetable stock and coconut milk. Most people will typically use coconut milk and/or water.

I personally like the taste of both, the vegetable stock yields more seasoning and the coconut milk offers that creamy texture in true Caribbean style.

Getting the ratio of liquid to rice is important so that the rice isn't too soft or mushy like risotto.

The rest of the ingredients are pretty much the usual ones i.e thyme, pimento berries, all purpose seasoning, vegan butter, garlic, onion, scallion, black pepper/pink salt and scotch bonnet.

Make sure to add the pumpkin last, as it cooks quite quickly, but please don't keep stirring the rice as it will turn mushy.

Also, the pumpkin will breakdown a lot easier and compromise the texture of the rice.

The steps

• On medium heat, in a medium sized non stick saucepan, add the olive oil.
• Saute the scallion, onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
• Stir in the coconut milk and vegetable stock.

• Add the curry powder, all purpose seasoning, pimento berries scotch bonnet, thyme and vegan pumpkin and stir everything together.
• Add the brown rice and pumpkin.
• Bring saucepan to a rolling boil then reduce the heat to medium/low.
• Put the lid on the saucepan and allow the rice to cook for 25-30 minutes.

• Leave the rice to cook for the given time, don't stir the rice too much or the pumpkin will turn to mush. The rice should be fluffy, not mushy and the liquid absorbed completely.
• Once the rice is cooked, add the black pepper and pink salt to taste.
• Discard the thyme stems and scotch bonnet pepper before serving.

If I use store bought vegetable stock, so I need to add any more sodium?

• You will need my All Purpose Seasoning and Curry Powder for this recipe.
• My Homemade Vegetable Stock is also recommended but optional.
• The amount of additional sodium is subject to the type of stock that you use so be sure to do a taste test, prior to adding.
• Refrigerate any leftover rice for no more than 24 hours.
• Freeze the rice for up to 3 months.
• DON'T use frozen pumpkin, it will make the rice too soft/mushy, you need FRESH pumpkin for this rice dish.
• If you cannot source pumpkin then use butternut squash as a great alternative.
• Please follow the liquid ratio to the TEE, this will ensure that the rice won't be too soft/mushy.
• Please refer to my How to Fix Rice article, for any troubleshoot issues.
• Remove the thyme stems and scotch bonnet before serving.
• Don't chop the pumpkin too small or it will breakdown during simmering and make the rice mushy.
• Make sure you are using BASMATI BROWN RICE for this recipe, don't use any other and especially not white rice as the liquid ratio won't work.

Serving suggestions

• Brown Stew Fish
• Pan Fried Garlic Butter Shrimp
• Ground Turkey
• Nutmeg Chicken
• Black Eyed Peas Curry
• Ital Stew
• Plantain Curry

Pumpkin recipes to try

• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
• Jamaican Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Fritters
• Vegan Pumpkin Parfait
• Curry Pumpkin
• Vegan Pumpkin Spice Drink
• Vegan Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
• Pumpkin Lentil Soup
• Pumpkin Pone

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