TheCatWoman's Curries

Chick Pea and Butternut Squash Curry

2 tins of ready made chick pea curry

1 medium butternut squash, pealed and deseeded

3 large onions pealed and sliced into semi circles

2 tblsps ginger and garlic paste

2 heaped tsps of hot curry curry powder

1tsps of cumin seeds

veg oil 

salt

I know it sounds like an odd start to a recipe to use tinned stuff, but it's loads easier and tastier and how the recipe came to me, from my son, via his friends Mum.

Chop the butternut squash into bite sized pieces, put on a baking tray and drizzle with some oil and rub it in to coat the pieces. Bake in a medium oven for about 45 mins.

Put some more oil in a heavy bottomed large pan and heat slowly add the onions cumin seeds and a biggish pinch of salt, turn the heat right down and let the onions slowly caramelise and turn brown, you will need to give them a stir and they take quite a while, almost as long as the squash takes to roast. You may need to sprinkle them with a little water if they start sticking.

When the squash is soft and starting to brown at the edges remove from oven and add to the onions along with the ginger and garlic paste and curry powder, give it all a good stir and then add the chickpeas along with thier juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce the hear, cover with a lid and simmer for about 30 mins, stirring occaisionally then serve. 

This freezes well

I always have a butternut squash in stock.

I have never seen chick pea curry in a tin. My usual online store only has chick pea and vegetable curry in a tin. 

I will improvise.

The fenugreek too is proving difficult to source.

I think I remember you saying you are a vegetarian. 

Do you have a heath food shop you visit?

What I'm asking is where do you get your ingredients from, the weird ones?

Thank you 

I am vegetarian, but my local whole food shop dosen't sell much Indian food. I've lived in some very racially mixed areas and had access to lots of different ingredients, often far cheaper than I could get anywhere else. Food was always a way to connect with other cultures, my dhal recipe is based on one given to me by my old Sikh newsagent, they used to hold an open house every xmas for thier customers who lived alone and had no family. Some of my recipes come from daughter in law who's from Southern India, she's taught me a lot about Indian cooking, like the importance of onions and caramelising them, it seems weird to a European cook to cook so many onions for so long, but they form the basis of so much Indian food. Although we in the west think about Indian food as if it's all one thing and style, but India is huge and includes the mountanous regions of North India to the tropcal areas of Kerala.

I think having the right equipment is important too, heavy based pans, the ones I use the most are tesco's take on Le Crusier, just as good and much, much cheaper.

Pretty much all my measurements are approximate, as I rarely weigh anything and just chuck in what looks right, unless I'm baking which needs more precise measurements

I am vegetarian, but my local whole food shop dosen't sell much Indian food. I've lived in some very racially mixed areas and had access to lots of different ingredients, often far cheaper than I could get anywhere else. Food was always a way to connect with other cultures, my dhal recipe is based on one given to me by my old Sikh newsagent, they used to hold an open house every xmas for thier customers who lived alone and had no family. Some of my recipes come from daughter in law who's from Southern India, she's taught me a lot about Indian cooking, like the importance of onions and caramelising them, it seems weird to a European cook to cook so many onions for so long, but they form the basis of so much Indian food. Although we in the west think about Indian food as if it's all one thing and style, but India is huge and includes the mountanous regions of North India to the tropcal areas of Kerala.

I think having the right equipment is important too, heavy based pans, the ones I use the most are tesco's take on Le Crusier, just as good and much, much cheaper.

Pretty much all my measurements are approximate, as I rarely weigh anything and just chuck in what looks right, unless I'm baking which needs more precise measurements

Great.!!

Thank you for the tips!!

(⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)

TheCatWoman said:

my dhal recipe is based on one given to me by my old Sikh newsagent, they used to hold an open house every xmas for thier customers who lived alone and had no family

Thanks for typing out the recipes. I'm sure many on here will try them! I find Indian people very friendly too. I used to live in Bourne End, near the Vedanta Centre [Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother] and attended their service every week. Swami said I could walk in the gardens as I had no garden of my own. The devotees were very kind. I wish I still lived there as people here are, lets say, very independent.