Butternut Squash, Chickpea and Kale Curry

Butternut squash, chickpea and kale curry is my favourite curry at the moment. This warming dish is so creamy and comforting – that’s what you need just now when it gets so chilly in the evenings and all you want to do is sit in front of the fire with something wholesome.

I served my curry with brown rice, but it goes very well with quinoa, bulgur wheat or on its own with some extra greens on the side.

The key to this dish is a home made curry paste and you can vary the ingredients to your liking as the shop bought ones are pretty standard and it’s difficult to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. So home made curry paste is the way forward to enjoy mouth watering curries through the colder weather.

It’s worth making a bigger batch of this paste as it could be kept up to two weeks in an air tight jar in the fridge or could be frozen in an ice cube tray and kept even longer. This way making delicious and nourishing meals will become even quicker.

Ingredients – Serves 4

• 120 g brown rice;
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil;
• 400 ml coconut milk;
• 600 g butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite size chunks;
• 50 g kale, stems removed and cut into strips;
• 1 lemon grass stalk, chopped;
• 30 g raisins;
• 240 g cooked chickpeas;
• 30 g toasted almond flakes (optional);
• chilli flakes to garnish.

For the paste

• 1 onion, chopped;
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped;
• 2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped;
• juice of 1/2 lemon;
• 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste;
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric;
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin;
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon;
• 1 teaspoon of coriander;
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt;
• ground black pepper to taste.

Recipe Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions. I usually rinse & soak my brown rice for a few hours so it’s quicker to cook.
2. Start with the curry paste. Place all the paste ingredients in a blender and whizz for a minute or so.
3. Melt the coconut oil in a large pan, add the paste and cook on a low heat for a few minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk, butternut squash, lemon grass and raisins, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add the chickpeas and simmer for another 15 minutes until the butternut squash starts to soften.
6. Finally, add the kale,  turn off the heat, leave the lid on and let it to sit for 5 minutes.
7. Add a sprinkle of chilli and toasted almond flakes and serve with the rice.

Enjoy!