thanks to the popularity of halloween traditions the month of october often becomes synonymous with pumpkin with the social media feeds being filled with images and stories related to the vegetable also as temperatures continue to dip foodies are already trying out different pumpkin dishes that are not only comforting but also provide nutrition eating pumpkins many say is also beneficial for the skin we explore morea variety of dishes can be prepared with pumpkindescribing it as a versatile vegetable bengalurubased chef prashant says there are several dishes that one can prepare with pumpkin pumpkin soup and pie aside the little sweetness and creamy texture that this vegetable comes with can add taste to several other dishes in fact at our restaurant we also serve pumpkin paniyaramdermatologists give pumpkin extracts the thumbs upaccording to dermatologist dr shoba sudeep in terms of cosmetics and dermatological products pumpkin extracts can be helpful in treating eczema and psoriasis as it has excellent antiinflammatory properties the zinc vitamin a and c and beta carotene make pumpkin a powerhouse of a product for various skinrelated issues she says adding that the colour of the vegetable itself indicates that it is loaded with nutrientsits an effective skincare product be it in the form of cleansers lotions masks creams or moisturisers pumpkin extract is also used in eyelash serums as the phytosterols in it can boost the growth of eyelashes meanwhile the zinc vitamin c betacarotene and aha present in pumpkinbased products can help in effectively reducing the pigmentation of lips and repair sun damage these are used in peels to give fresh glow to the skin dr shoba explainspumpkin recipescaramelised pumpkin and upmaingredientspumpkin 150 gm to 200 gmrava 1 cupfinely chopped onions 13 cupschopped chilies 1 tablespooncurry leaves 8 to 10cashew nuts 15 to 20chana dal 1 teaspoonurad dal 1 teaspooneggs 2fresh figs 3 to 5a few coriander leaves for garnishingmethod the recipe is divided into two parts we begin with the caramelisation of the pumpkin and then prepare the upmapart 11 take a saucepan pour some water and then put some coriander roots salt and pepper add thinly sliced pumpkin to it and boil cook it till 75 done2 dunk the boiled pumpkin in chilled water3 take another sauce pan and put butter in it with finely chopped thyme add the blanched pumpkin to it then add sugar to it and once you get the dark brown colour take it off the stove and keep it aside 4 then take a frying pan and put some butter and keep it on a low flame add the finely chopped thyme and place the figs upside down keep stirring it5 add the sugar when you see a little blonde colour and cook it a little more so that it gets caramelised properly switch off the flame add butter and a little balsamic vinegar at the same time toss it and keep asidepart 21 take a pan