Dudde Upkari | Pumpkin Stir Fry

Dudde Upkari (Pumpkin Stir Fry) is a popular Mangalore temple-style recipe made with yellow pumpkin, sugarcane, and a simple Indian tempering—one of the best side dishes for your next meal. This stir-fry is ready in under 30 minutes and pairs well with rice, dalitoy, rasam, or sambar.

Mangalorean Dudde Upkari with Sugarcane

Dudde Upkari with Kabbu - where dudde means pumpkin, upkari means sabzi or stir-fry, and kabbu means sugarcane is a very popular recipe from Mangalore Venktaramana Temple, where this is made during samaradhane on the occasion of the car festival. But you can make it year-round.

I recently made this during Ganesh Chaturthi, as pumpkin is considered one of Ganapati Bappa's favorites. Since this has no onion or garlic, and pumpkin is allowed during vrat and fasting days, you can also make it during the 9 days of Navratri.

This dish is also known as kaddu ki sabzi, pumpkin thoran, and pumpkin stir-fry.

Season the stir-fry with mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilies, green chilies, hing, and freshly grated coconut. This is naturally vegan and gluten-free, and perfect for a South Indian meal.

Check out some of the best vegetarian Indian recipes and satvic no onion no garlic recipes.

Ingredients

Pumpkin: Yellow pumpkin cut into pieces

Sugarcane: The sweetness of sugarcane complements pumpkin's mild, earthy flavor.

Coconut: Freshly grated coconut adds a nutty flavor.

Chilies: Green chilies for sharp heat and red chilies for roasted flavor and mild heat.

Curry leaves: South Indian aroma and earthy flavor.

Other tempering ingredients: coconut oil, mustard seeds, and hing.

Jaggery: for additional sweetness. Can add brown sugar instead.

Check out the recipe card for the full list of ingredients.

Step-by-step instructions

• Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When it starts to splutter, add curry leaves and red chilies, and sauté until the curry leaves become crisp.
• Add green chilies and hing and sauté for a few seconds.

• Add sugarcane pieces and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the pumpkin cubes, jaggery, salt, and ½ to ¾ cup water, then cover with the lid.
• Once the pumpkin is completely cooked through, add the grated coconut and mix well.
• Cook this for another 4 to 5 minutes.
• Switch off the flame. Serve and enjoy.

Tips

• If all the water has evaporated by the time you add the coconut, add a little extra water and cook with the coconut for 5 minutes.  
• When to stop cooking completely depends on the consistency and texture you want in the dish. You can stop when tender, but for authentic temple-style upkari, cook until a little mushy.
• Sugarcane is optional. If you are in the USA or other Western countries and can't find it, you can skip it. I added it to make it temple style.
• The amount of green and red chilies may look like a lot, but it balances the pumpkin's sweetness.

Serving suggestions

• Serve dudde upkari with rice and dalitoy.
• You can serve it with curd rice or coconut rice.
• Try it with chapati, phulka, or Mangalorean neer dosa.

How long does pumpkin upkari last?

Store any leftover pumpkin upkari in an airtight conatiner in the refrigerator for 2-3 days—reheat before serving.

More pumpkin recipes

Recipe card

Did you like this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.