Ghapama

Ingredients

• 1 round pumpkin, about 3kg, with an even base
• 300g long-grain or basmati rice
• 80g butter, melted, plus more for the pumpkin walls
• 4 tbsp honey
• 100g dried apricots, chopped
• 80g prunes, chopped
• 80g raisins
• 60g dried figs, chopped
• 100g walnut halves, roughly broken
• 60g blanched almonds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.25 tsp ground cloves
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 300ml hot water
• 1 tbsp honey to glaze

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and soak it in warm salted water for 30 minutes.
• Cut a wide lid from the top of the pumpkin at a slight angle and set it aside.
• Scoop out all the seeds and stringy fibres with a spoon, leaving the flesh walls intact and at least 2cm thick.
• Soak the chopped dried fruit in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain well.
• Check that the pumpkin sits flat and steady, trimming the base slightly if it wobbles.

Steps

1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
2. Drain the soaked rice and boil it for 4 minutes only, so it is still very firm.
3. Drain the rice thoroughly and tip it into a large bowl.
4. Fold in the melted butter, the honey, the drained dried fruit, the walnuts, the almonds, the cinnamon, the cloves and the salt.
5. Heat the oven to 180C.
6. Rub the inside walls of the pumpkin with a little soft butter and a pinch of salt.
7. Spoon the rice mixture into the pumpkin, filling it to about 3cm below the rim so the rice has room to swell.
8. Pour the hot water in around the rice.
9. Put the pumpkin lid back in place and set the whole thing on a baking tray lined with foil.
10. Bake for 90 minutes.
11. Lift the lid and test the pumpkin wall with a skewer, which should slide in with no resistance.
12. Brush the outside of the pumpkin with the extra honey and bake uncovered for a final 15 minutes.
13. Rest the ghapama for 20 minutes before moving it.
14. Carry it whole to the table and cut down through the wall into thick wedges, so each serving gets pumpkin flesh and spiced rice together.