Butternut Squash Curry

I am not sure how something so simple with so few ingredients can be as delicious as this curry dish is. This is a complete meal on its own with the addition of a starch if you want, but if you are not so much into a completely vegetarian meal, I think this curry would be a wonderful accompaniment to a simple chicken breast, or even add some cooked shredded chicken right into this curry.

The recipe is from Minimalist Baker. I have made a couple other recipes from this website.

Date & Cocoa Energy Balls 

and

Energy Balls #4 Peanut, Oats, Dates & Chocolate

I have adapted the original recipe for this curry using butternut squash instead of pumpkin & I added a can of chickpeas to it.  Also, changed the spices a bit

I served this curry over quinoa & had some toasted naan bread alongside. You could serve it over Coconut Quinoa if you would prefer rather than plain quinoa.

Here is the recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp oil, I used vegetable oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 tsp ground ginger *** you can use a couple of tablespoons of freshly grated ginger …I just didn’t have any!

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, sliced thinly

3 tbsp Red Thai curry paste

4 cups of cubed butternut squash

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

2 cans of coconut milk

3 tbsp maple syrup

pinch of salt

1 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice *** this is added at the end of the cooking process

2/3 cup roasted cashews, the ones I used were unsalted

Method

1. Use a medium size pot
2. Add the oil, shallot, ginger, garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently
3. Add the curry paste & stir
4. Next, add the red pepper & cook for about 2 minutes
5. I added the butternut squash, broccoli & the chickpeas next…you can add the broccoli later (#8) if you want it to be more crisp…,mine got overcooked… stir the ingredients in the pot well so that they all get coated with the spices & I cooked this for a few minutes to soften up the vegetables
6. Add the coconut milk, maple syrup, salt,  turmeric & soy sauce. Stir well
7. Bring this to a good simmer, than lower the heat & cook until done to your liking…I cooked mine for a long time & all the vegetables were kind of mushy but we like it like that. If you want your vegetables to be more firm, cook it for around 10-15 minutes..that is the recommended time in the original recipe
8. Once the butternut squash is tender, you can add the broccoli if you have not added it already
9. Add the lemon juice & cashews now
10. Cover & simmer for another few minutes… 3-4 minutes.
11. In the recipe there was an option to blend some of the butternut squash to make this thicker, I did this. I took out some sauce & some of the butternut squash & puree it in the blender, then added it back to the pot.. this made a nice thick curry
12. this makes quite a bit of curry. We had leftovers for several days. It can be frozen if you want to eat it at a later date

Enjoy!