Vegetarian mains
Squash and chickpea curry
This gloriously spiced curry can be made with any kind of squash or pumpkin, though butternut gives a particularly good texture. Make it as hot (or not) as you like by upping the chilli content or including just half of one. For added greens, stir in spinach, kale or spring greens to wilt down right at the end of cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- oil for frying, e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 25g fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 red chilli
- ½ butternut squash, peeled and chopped in 2cm dice
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1 tin chickpeas, drained
- 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 lemongrass stalks, bruised
- 250ml hot veg bouillon stock
- 150g basmati rice
- fresh coriander, chopped
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Fry the onions for 10 minutes to soften. Give the plump ends of the lemongrass a few firm smacks. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and squash to the onions, fry gently for 2 minutes.
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Step 2
Tip in the cumin, turmeric and coriander and fry for 1 minute, stirring continuously to avoid sticking. Add the coconut milk, stock, chickpeas and tomatoes. Place the lemongrass sticks in the pan, leave the thin end poking out to make them easy to extract.
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Step 3
Simmer for about 30 minutes until tender. While the curry cooks add the rice to 350ml boiling water, stir once and drop to a simmer, cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff it up with a fork and leave it to sit with a lid on for 10 minutes.
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Step 4
When the curry is ready, remove the lemongrass, check the seasoning and finish with coriander.
