Pumpkin, Chickpea, and Banana Curry

Tonight I made a lovely curry. I got the recipe from theppk.com there were some things I modified and comments I have to add, so if you want the original recipe go to the post punk kitchen.

Pumpkin, Chickpea, & Banana curry
prep time: 20-25 minutes | cooking time: 30min-1 hour | makes 4-6 servings

Equipment:
large pot with lid

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander (I forgot to add this, and it was fine without)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 lbs pumpkin, peeled,seeded and cubed (about 2 ½ cups) (you can also use yams or sweet potato or other winter squash)
1 tablespoon hot curry paste (I used 1.5T thai green curry, and found it to be so spicy that I added a can of coconut milk after eating my first bowl)
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped (I substituted a 14oz can of diced tomatoes)
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock (I omitted and instead used the liquid from the can of chickpeas)
1 3/4 cups canned chick-peas, drained (see above, I drained, but used the liquid in lieu of veggie stock and used the whole can of chickpeas)
1 large banana, peeled, sliced 1" thick (could omit, could also use a plaintain)
optional:
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro or parsley (yay for cilantro!)
1/2 cup pine nuts, to garnish (I omitted)
1 can coconut milk

Directions
1. Heat 2 tbls. of the oil in a saucepan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and ground spices, and fry over a medium heat for 5-6 mins until the onion is lightly browned.
2. Add the can of tomatoes and liquid from the chickpeas to the onion mixture, and bring to the boil, simmering gently for 15 mins. (I'm not sure why this is 15 min...seems worth a try to reduce the time, or just bring to a boil and proceed to next step)
3. Add the pumpkin, curry paste, and chickpeas to the tomato sauce, cover and cook for 20 mins, or until the pumpkin is tender.
(At this time, if you are making rice, start that going!)
5. Five mins before the end of the cooking time, stir in the banana, and/or the coconut milk, if using.

Stir in the optional chopped cilantro or parsley, and sprinkle the pine nuts over the top.
Serve immediately. Eat served over rice, couscous, or just by its awesome curry self.


Note: the original recipe calls for mixing the curry paste directly with the pumpkin in a bowl, and then frying the curry paste coated pumpkin in a skillet--this was a disastrous idea, and I'm still trying to get the vaporized curry out of my lungs. I don't see any reason to torture self or others with curry vapor, thus my suggestion of adding un-fried pumpkin and curry paste directly to the tomato/onion mixture.