Squash and Coconut Curry

Chef: Zoe From: Sri Lanka Serves: 4
Time: 10 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

• 500 grams of butternut squash

• 60 grams of creamed coconut or half a tin of coconut milk

• Half a teaspoon of black mustard seeds (or mustard powder)

• 10 curry leaves

• 5 cardamom pods, bashed slightly

• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

• 2 teaspoons of curry powder

• Half a teaspoon of turmeric

• 1 tablespoon of lime juice

• 100 grams of baby or chopped spinach

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This recipe was inspired by a trip to Sri Lanka, where Zoe, our Community Food Programme manager got carried away with attending quite a few cookery lessons! We thought we’d share it here as we have had a glut of butternut squash in surplus this week.

Sri Lankan cuisine shares some similarities to South Indian cuisine, using lots of spice and coconut. Curry and rice is the most popular dish in Sri Lanka, with curry normally consisting of somewhere between 3 to 6 side curry dishes.

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Method 

1. Cut the butternut squash into 1 and a half inch pieces (you can leave the skin on but remove the seeds). Place it in a medium sized saucepan. Crinkle the curry leaves with your hands and add these to the pan alongside all the other ingredients except the coconut milk and lime juice. Stir and then add 200 millilitres of water. Bring to the boil, simmer and cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the butternut squash is slightly soft.

2. Meanwhile whilst you are waiting for the squash to cook, place the creamed coconut in a measuring jug alongside 100 millilitres of hot water. Stir until the coconut has mostly dissolved. Once the butternut squash is almost ready add the coconut and cook for a further 3 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and stir through the lime juice and spinach leaves.

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Serve with

Sri Lankan rice

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 300 grams of brown basmati rice

• 600 millilitres of hot water

• 1 white onion, finely chopped

• 10 fresh curry leaves

• 4 cardamom pods

• 1 cinnamon stick

• Half a teaspoon of turmeric 

Method

1. Place the rice in a medium sized saucepan, pour over the water and bring to the boil.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, stir once, cover and turn the heat to a simmer. Simmer gently for approximately 25 minutes until the rice is cooked.