ummm Dave.....recipe please! sounds great.
It was good...
Ok.. First make up the mince mixture.
1kg beef mince
2 large onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tin tomato puree
tablespoon cumin seeds
tablespoon or two of baharat (middle eastern spice blend.. I make it myself but I think you can find it around... if not I'll post the recipe)
chilli flakes (as much as you like)
1 1/2 cups lentils (I used a mix of brown and black mostly because I didn't have enough brown).
Heat olive oil in a large pan.
Brown onion.
When brown add the cumin seeds.
When they start to pop add the mince, garlic, chilli flakes and baharat.
Brown mince.
When browned add the tomato and lentils.
Add about a litre of water (enough to cook the lentils)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Cook about 45 mins to an hour or until lentils are soft.
Evaporate off most of the liquid so you have a fairly dry mix (otherwise it spills out of the pumpkins)
For the pumpkins you want little ones. Golden nugget are good. Mine were teeny tiny baby golden nuggets about the size of a tennis ball.
Cut pumpkins in half and de-seed. Place on a baking sheet. If they fall over, trim a little off the bottoms so they sit straight.
Fill the middles with mince mix. Heap it up as it will settle during baking.
Bake at 180 until pumpkins are soft (mine only took 35 mins as they were tiny). Yours may take longer.
For the tzatsiki-
1 cup yoghurt
1 clove garlic (crushed)
pinch chilli powder
juice of half a lemon
about a tablespoon of finely chopped cucumber
Mix together. Even better if you can make it the day before as the flavours mature.
Serve with an appropriately middle-eastern bread.
Cheers
Dave