This curry is perfect for October and November evenings as the cold starts to draw in. Using seasonal veg and warm comforting spices, this will make you wish we Brits celebrated Halloween just as ferociously as Americans.
I actually cheated a bit with this recipe and nicked the sauce straight from the lovely Meera Sodha’s ‘Paneer Butter Masala’ for this Autumnal curry. The sauce is totally hers so I can’t take any credit for that – although I did up the spice very slightly. Please go buy her book ‘Fresh India’ or read her Guardian weekly column!
I did it for a very legitimate reason…because it’s bloody delicious!! And I am very obviously not trying to pass it off as my own. When I first thought of making an autumnal curry her recipe came straight to mind, specifically the flavours in the base. Rich tomato sauce, made even richer by the luscious cream and butter, mixed with warm seasonal spices.
Meera serves hers with paneer, peas and almonds – delish! For my autumnal twist I’ve opted for butternut squash - sweet, meaty and perfect with the skin left on and roasted till caramelised – and crispy chickpeas. Now a lot of curries incorporate chickpeas into the main dish (chana masala) but I wanted to add texture and a bit of crunch. So baking them in the oven with a little oil gets them nice and crispy.
This is a novel way of cooking and eating chickpeas that I think brings out a completely different flavour and texture. They work wonders in salads too – especially as a gluten free alternative to a croton.
This dish is guaranteed to get you toasty and warm in time for winter.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of butter (I use vegan flora)
1 large brown onion
4cm ginger
6 cloves of garlic
800g passata
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp honey
1 ½ tsp salt
100ml double cream (dairy free equivalent)
Small butternut squash
Can of chickpeas
White basmati rice (and optional cardamom pod 2x)
Vegetable or sunflower oil
Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Chop butternut squash in half, de-seed and cut width ways 1 cm size pieces. Keep skin on. Place in baking tray and cover with oil. Cook for 25 minutes or until golden on the edges.
Line another baking tray for the drained chickpeas. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until slightly white in colour. Take them out, cover with oil (about a tbsp, not too much) and place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden and move around the tray freely. These can be served cold so fine to take out and leave on the side while you prepare the rest.
Heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and sweat onions until soft and translucent – about 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, stir until you can smell the aroma and then add the passata. Cover with lid and leave for 15 minutes until reduced and slightly thicker.
While the sauce is cooking prepare the rice. Measure the quantity for the number of people. I use a cup or glass. Where you filled the rice up to, pour 2x the amount of hot water in the pan – perfect rice every time! Crush the cardamom pods; add to the rice and cover. Place on medium heat.
Add cinnamon, cloves, chilli powder, honey and salt to the sauce. Leave to incorporate for another 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add the cream.
You can now bring everything together by serving the sauce over the rice, topped with roasted butternut squash and crispy chickpeas. Serve with naan.
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