Let’s move to the first vegetarian dish of this blog, a type of pumpkin curry! I’ve followed this recipe but added a bit more pumpkin… about 3 times the amount… We had pumpkin curry for 3-4 days in a row! We liked it the first day, the second day was a bit better because all the flavors came nicely together. Third and fourth day was just ok, but I think it had to do with that probably, maybe it got a bit repetitive! But I may be just guessing!
Ingredients
Main
600 g butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled & cut in 2 cm cubes
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
minced 150–200 ml crushed tomatoes or passata
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp sweet paprika
Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
1 tsp salt (to taste) and black pepper
2–3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1–2 tbsp water as needed
Squeeze of lemon or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (to finish)
Garlic yogurt
2 dl thick yoghurt
1 small garlic clove, grated
Pinch salt
1 tsp dried mint (or a little fresh dill/mint), optional
To serve Naan or plain basmati rice
Steps
1 Yogurt sauce (1 min): Stir yoghurt, garlic, salt (and dried mint if using). Chill.
2 Sauté (5–6 min): In a wide pan, warm oil over medium. Cook onion with a pinch of salt until soft. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, chilli; stir 30 seconds.
3 Braise (12–14 min): Add pumpkin, sugar, tomatoes, 1 tbsp water and ½ tsp salt. Stir, cover, and simmer gently, stirring once or twice, until pumpkin is tender but holds shape. If it dries, add another spoon of water.
4 Finish (1 min): Season to taste with salt/pepper and a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar to brighten.
5 Serve: Spoon a bed of garlic yoghurt on plates, pile the pumpkin on top, drizzle a little of its sauce and more yoghurt. Eat with warm bread or rice.
Notes Even faster: use pre peeled butternut or microwave the cubed pumpkin 3–4 minutes before step 3. Add protein: a handful of cooked chickpeas can steam with the pumpkin. Make it richer: finish with a knob of butter.
Lambros' kitchen travellog 