Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry
This curry was divine – if I do say so myself. The base is completely vegan, however, feel free to add some chicken or whatever protein of your choice! I had 2 chicken thighs left over from a previous dinner, so I simply cooked, shredded and added in at the end!
I opted to roast the butternut squash before adding it to the curry, this meant it all kind of melted into this beautiful sauce. Same with adding the chickpeas early, it really softened it all together. If you like yours with a bit more of a bite, simply peel and add the butternut squash into the curry raw and add the chickpeas around 10 minutes before plating.
To serve to my 1-year-old, I mashed the chickpeas, so they were all squished. This ensures no pesky choking hazards!
Ingredients -
1 butternut squash
1 large/ 2 small onions (any colour is fine, I used red)
1 tin of chickpeas
2 tsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tsp mild curry powder (or your spice preference)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of coconut milk
Big ol’ handful of spinach
Rice or whatever you please to serve!
How to do -
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan (200 conventional) and slice the butternut squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and drizzle with a little oil and pop in the oven for around 30 mins or until soft. No need to peel!
Dice the onion and in a saucepan, heat on a medium heat with a little oil. Sauté the onion for around 2-3 minutes or until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and ginger paste, curry powder and cumin. Stir and allow to become nice and fragrant for a couple of minutes.
Tip in the coconut milk and chopped tomatoes, drain and add the chickpeas also. Give it a good stir and drop down to a low heat/ simmer. We want to focus on slowly reducing the liquid.
Once the butternut squash is done, carefully scoop out the innards from the flesh, dice and add to the curry.
Once the curry has reached a thickness you're happy with, grab some generous handfuls of spinach and stir together until nicely wilted.
And you're done! I opted to serve ours with some long grain rice. Feel free to add chilli flakes or a higher spice curry powder if not serving to littles.
