One of my favourite vegetables to come into season in October is butternut squash. Everyone starts stockpiling the pumpkins ahead of Halloween, yet all I want to do is go for this sweeter, more delicious gourd. Forget carving. Make a dhal!
And that’s exactly what we did. One medium-sized squash can provide enough deliciously sweet flesh to make not just this 4-person curry, but also some roasted squash to garnish the dish with too. Bon àppetit!
Butternut Squash & Lentil Dhal Recipe
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- Medium butternut squash (around 600g)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1.2l vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp mango chutney
- 300g red lentils
- Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
- 300g basmati rice (75g per person)
- Vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 200 °C. Peel and chop the butternut squash into 2cm cubes. Place 1/4 of the cubes onto a glass baking tray (or lined tray) and drizzle over oil, salt and pepper.
- In a saucepan, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the onion until translucent. Add garlic and spices and cook until fragrant, around 1 minute. Add the remaining cubed butternut squash to the pan and stir. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, and chutney to the saucepan. Bring to the boil, and then leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add lentils and simmer for a further 20 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
- Place your tray of butternut squash cubes on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, until crisp.
- To prepare your rice, start by boiling half a kettle of water. Get a small saucepan and heat a tbsp oil. Measure out your desired amount of rice in a jug or cup and then place in a sieve to wash under cold water. Wash until the water runs clear. Add the rice to the oil and stir to coat. Add a pinch of salt. Add the same amount of water as rice, 1:1 ratio. Cover with lid and leave to cook on a low flame for 10-12 minutes.
- Once the food is ready, sprinkle the coriander into the dhal and assemble in bowls: rice first, with dhal spooned over the top, and top off with roasted squash. Enjoy!
