Very rich, yet also very refreshing, this curry can be served as a meal on its own or as the vegetable component of a main course. Pumpkin, celeriac and even potatoes can be used instead of the butternut. Serve with steamed rice or couscous.
Ingredients
| 1 kg | Butternut, peeled, deseeded and cut into large chunks (Main) |
| 4 | Green cardamom, or 1/8 tsp ground cardamom or ground cinnamon |
| 2 | Red capsicums, quartered and deseeded |
| 3 | Tomatoes, quartered |
| 1 | Red chilli, more or less to taste |
| 3 | Garlic cloves, peeled |
| 1 piece | Ginger, or a ginger thumb, peeled and sliced |
| 3 Tbsp | Tomato paste |
| ½ tsp | Salt |
| 4 Tbsp | Water |
| 1 Tbsp | Vegetable oil |
| 6 | Portobello mushrooms, quartered (Main) |
| 400 g | Spinach, washed and stalks removed (Main) |
| 250 ml | Plain yoghurt |
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Directions
- Boil or steam the butternut until it's only half cooked — it should have some resistance when pushing a knife through to test it.
- Bash the cardamoms and pull the seeds out from the green husks. It might seem fiddly but the flavour is worth it.
- Puree the capsicums, tomatoes, chilli, garlic, ginger and tomato paste in a blender with the salt and water.
- Pour the puree into a wide pan with the cardamom seeds (or ground cardamom, or cinnamon) and oil and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. It will "plop" a bit so keep stirring it slowly. Cook for 1 minute.
- Once it's warmed up, stir in the butternut. Put a lid on the pan and simmer until the butternut is just about cooked.
- Gently stir in the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
- Lastly, stir in the spinach until it wilts, then mix in the yoghurt and take off the heat.
This recipe is from Peter Gordon's new book 'Eating Well Everyday'.
