Butternut Squash, Coconut and Chickpea Curry

As with many other things in life, you can easily fall into a rut when it comes to food.

For us, that tends to be the type of ingredients we use in dishes, as opposed to always cooking the same meals time and again.

Peppers, onions, broccoli, courgette, chickpeas, butternut squash.

As you can see, this butternut squash and chickpea curry recipe is unfortunately no exception.

It is, however, a completely different sauce than I would normally cook with my curries – I often tend towards rich tomato-based, spicy sauces as opposed to creamy coconut ones – so I still feel like this was a bit of a win.

The sauce on this butternut squash and chickpea curry is fairly decadent and not highly spiced at all (despite the inclusion of a red chilli), so is perfect for those that shy away from hot Indian dishes. But because of that, I’d recommend serving with some wild rice, fresh naan bread and – if you’re up for it – a side of sliced chillies to sprinkle on top.

Butternut Squash, Coconut and Chickpea Curry

Recipe by Julia

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 1 big butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks

• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

• 4 shallots, finely chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

• 1 red chilli, finely sliced

• Olive oil

• 1 tsp mustard seeds

• 20 curry leaves

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 x tin chopped tomatoes (400g / 14oz)

• 2 x tins coconut milk (400g / 14oz each)

• 2 x tins chickpeas in water (400g / 14oz each)

Directions

• Pour 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over a high heat and add the ginger, shallots, garlic and chilli. Cook until softened and golden in colour.
• Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, continuing to cook until the leaves crisp up a little.
• Add the turmeric, tomatoes and coconut milk, then bring the mixture to the boil. Add the butternut squash and chickpeas, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for around 45 minutes.
• Remove the lid and continue to simmer for a further 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
• Serve over basmati rice with a side of naan bread and/or some freshly sliced chillies.

Notes

• Adapted from Jamie Oliver