This fragrant roasted butternut squash curry is a vegetarian curry like no other and can warm up any autumn or typically grey day without much fuss. In our house, my husband is the curry expert as he enjoys making his own pastes and trying out flavours so this really is his recipe. Even though this version is not strictly a traditional Indian curry it does deliver well rounded and comforting flavour.
Butternut squash is typically seasonal in the autumn but we tend to get them within our organic veg box throughout the year. Every time there is butternut squash or sweet potato in our box it lights me up as it means we’ll be having this beautiful curry or sweet potato curry, two of my favourite veg dishes that week.
Making your own curry pastes from scratch makes the meal extra special as you can control the spice and flavour of the dish. The trick is in getting the balance just right. That’s exactly what we did with this paste.
Butternut or Pumpkin
Technically you can also use pumpkin, but this will make the texture of the curry a little different. Butternut feels a bit lighter where pumpkin is more dense and stodgy. We like swapping the butternut out for pumpkin on occasion, but when it comes to nutrition butternut has a few extra benefits on its side as it contains more Vitamin A, C and Iron than a traditional pumpkin.
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Ingredients for the paste
Putting the paste together is not as hard as you might think, toast the seeds and whiz everything together in a blender. See the recipe instructions for the full details.
- cumin seeds
- coriander seeds
- vegetable oil
- fresh coriander
- ground coriander
- garlic
- ginger
- turmeric
- paprika
- chillies
- garam masala
- mild curry powder
- olive oil extra virgin organic
- organic tomato paste
- plain coconut yoghurt
Recommended Cooking Time
Cooking time for curry can vary depending on a range of factors. To truly know when your curry is ready you need to keep an eye on the oil in the dish. Once it starts to separate and float on top, you will know that it’s cooked through and that it’s ready to serve. That’s exactly what the curry house curry looks like as well, keep an eye out for this when you order in next time. Note that you will need to use enough oil as per the recipe or even a tad bit more for this to happen, if not you won’t see the oil separate.
Serving Suggestion
Serve with rice or naan bread and a dollop of yoghurt. If you’re going with vegan yoghurt we’d recommend coconut for a richer taste.
The Ultimate Roasted Butternut Squash Curry
Ingredients
For the paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil for toasting
- 1 bunch fresh coriander chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 thumb ginger finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1-2 chillies chopped, depending on how spicy you like your curry
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin organic
- 2 tbsp organic tomato paste
- 1 tbsp plain coconut yoghurt
For the curry
- 1 butternut squash cubed
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 can chopped organic tomato
- 1 can coconut milk
- 3 Bay leaves
- 300 ml organic vegetable stock
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4-5 curry leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Start by cooking the butternut
- Heat the oven to 210C / 190C fan. Place the butternut in a baking tray, sprinkle 1 tsp of turmeric, salt and pepper over the butternut. Splash with some olive oil and roast in the oven for 30 mins. Turn halfway through.
- While the butternut is roasting, make the paste.
Make the paste
- Slowly heat the vegetable oil in a large pan, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and toast the spices until it becomes fragrant then remove from heat.
- In a small mixing bowl add all the curry paste ingredients including the toasted spices and blend until it becomes a paste. You can either use a stick blender or a small food processor to blend the paste.
Combine to make the curry
- In the large pan used to toast the spices add the olive oil and chopped onions. Gently fry with the lid on, until the onions soften. Don't brown the onions.
- Once the onions have softened add the tomato and the butternut to the pan. Then add the vegetable stock and half the paste. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Next, add the coconut milk and the rest of the paste, simmer on low heat until the oil rises to the top to form little oil pools. This will take roughly 40 mins.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve with rice, poppadoms, mango chutney and a little bit of yoghurt on the side.
Notes
Equipment links
Le Creuset / Hestan
Frying pan
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Bamix
Stick blender
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