How to turn Pumpkin into Gold Nuggets

My wife and I had completely forgotten about a big pumpkin that we had bought from the market two months ago until it was discovered again when we were spring cleaning the storage under the house. To our surprise, it looked the same as the day we purchased it from the market except it looked a shade darker and lighter. We couldn't wait to cut it open to see whether it was still okay and edible. That's where my trouble begun. What to do with these two big halves of pumpkin? Since I had chopped the pumpkin into halves out of curiosity and could not perform the Mother Goose story of Cinderella, in which the fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a carriage, but it later reverted to a whole pumpkin again, I had to cook them quickly. Well, I suppose pumpkin being a very versatile vegie, I can roast it, mash it, steam it and turn it into soup or scones and have a happy fairy tale ending. I did better. I turned them into golden Sesame Pumpkin Nuggets.

Golden Sesame Pumpkin Nuggets Recipe:
Ingredients:
500 g pumpkin
21/2 cup glutinous rice powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sesame seeds
300 g red bean paste
1 litre cooking oil




Peel pumpkin and cut into 1cm slices; steam for 20 minute until tender. Mash the cooked pumpkin and add sugar and glutinous rice powder. Mix and knead into a smooth dough. Roll into a long 30mm thick roll. Flatten
dough on the palm into 50 mm round circle and form a dimple in the centre. Place a ball of red bean paste in the centre and gather edges around the filling. Roll into oblong shape and then roll in sesame seeds. Heat oil for deep frying. Add the sesame coated rolls and deep- fry over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and drain.