Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry

Sometimes the excitement of trying out a new recipe sets me in a great mood all day long. I recently stumbled upon Tasty Yummies' post on Butternut Squash & Chickpea Coconut Curry (crock pot recipe) and it looked and sounded so good, I was very anxious to make it the following day. It had chickpea (foodwise, my biggest weakness) and curry powder (my favourite spice mix), so I was easily seduced. I eagerly went and bought the missing ingredients in the morning and by lunchtime I was enjoying a generous serving of this incredibly delicious curry with a few parathas. The curry brings together butternut squash, chickpea, spinach, peas and coconut milk, making it very rich, creamy and filling. Its sweet and spicy flavours are perfectly balanced. I barely had the patience till dinnertime to enjoy it again. I even walked all the way to the supermarket to get more parathas, since they were over and I wouldn't have my curry without them:)

I will not post the recipe here, but I will make a few notes on how I cooked it on the stove, for lack of a slow cooker.

I heated 1 Tb olive oil in a pot on medium, added the onion and sautéed it for a few minutes till soft. I then added the butternut squash (about 3 cups), covered the pan with a lid and allowed the squash to warm up and begin to soften (5-10 minutes, stirring a couple of times).

I added the water along with 1 vegetable stock cube and let it simmer gently for about 30 minutes till the squash became a little tender. I added the chickpea (about 500 g from an 800 g can), garlic, coconut milk, tomatoes, salt and curry powder (my good old mild Madras mix), covered the pan and let it cook for about another 30 minutes till the liquid reduced and started to thicken. I then added the peas and spinach (100 g baby leaves, roughly chopped for more texture) and cooked it for another 10 minutes. I could have cooked it a bit longer but I wanted more gravy in my curry so I added half a medium potato finely grated to thicken it further. Lastly I added the chopped fresh coriander. The whole cooking process took an hour and a half and the curry was so worth waiting for.

If I made you curious enough to want to try this recipe please head over to Beth's blog Tasty Yummies and while you're there check out the many other mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free recipes. She has a unique writing style and her posts are highly captivating.

Enjoy this super delicious curry and spread the magic:)

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