Set the oven at 350F

.

Cut the pumpkin into quarters. Remove seeds and strings, peel the skin with a vegetable peeler, and cut down into about 2-inch chunks.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in an oven proof skillet (such as an AllClad) Brown the pumpkin pieces, turning frequently, until golden brown (about 5 minutes) taking care not to scorch it. Mix sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over pumpkin. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender.

While this seems like a lot of sugar, the dish does not come out sweet in the end, and it needs this much the sugar. If you want to cut carbs & calories, use Splenda instead of sugar

While the pumpkin is baking, make the yogurt sauce and the meat sauce.

Yogurt sauce: mix together yogurt with one clove of crushed garlic in a bowl; season to taste with salt & pepper.

Meat sauce: in a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and cook the onions until lightly browned. Add ground lamb or beef, the second clove of crushed garlic, and salt & pepper. Mix well and cook until meat is browned. Add tomato sauce and water, mix thoroughly and bring to a simmer, lower heat, and cook about 20 minutes until it cooks down to a thick sauce.

A vegetarian version of the sauce can be made by eliminating the meat.

To serve: spoon yogurt sauce onto dinner plates, add a portion of the cooked pumpkin, and top with meat sauce.

Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as an appetizer.

This goes nicely with a rice pilaf or cooked quinoa.

As served at the Helmand restaurant in Boston.

Each (dinner portion) serving contains an estimated:

Cals: 570, FatCals: 350, TotalFat: 40g

SatFat: 14g, PolyFat: 3g, MonoFat: 23g

Chol: 84mg, Na: 300mg, K: 1175mg

TotalCarbs: 29g, Fiber: 5g, Sugars:10g

NetCarbs: 24g, Protein: 26g