The leaves, stalk and flowers of the summer squash are all edible.
Fritters: Cut the flowers into long thin strips. Dip in a mixture of corn flour, turmeric, salt and a dash of baking powder thinned with water and fry in oil -- the fritters are crisp and golden yellow in color. The leaves can also be chopped into small pieces and added to the corn flour mixture and fried as fritters. These end up being more greenish in color.
Vegetable medley: Chop pumpkin leaves, stalks, flowers into small pieces. Dice some potatoes, arbi, egg plant, pumpkin or squash. In hot oil, add jeera and mustard seeds until the mustard splutters. Add in chopped green chillies (to taste) and ginger. Put in all the diced vegetables, add turmeric and salt and let in cook covered for about twenty minutes. Stir to make sure that there is adequate water and the vegetables are cooking properly. When they all dry up, add hing and garam masala to taste. A recipe from rural Bengal, usually enjoyed with daal or kichuri -- on a rainy day with pitar pater of raindrops on the windows.
Kadhi: Take thick curd and mix with a pinch of salt and sugar. Add water to thin out the curd. In a wok heat onions, tomatoes and ginger and saute until they turn mushy. Add curry leaves and green chillies to taste. Transfer this mixture to the curd diluted with water (almost the consistency of butter milk). Add in the fritters from above and enjoy on a warm day!
