Biryani And Chunky Chilli Pumpkin: Maunika Gowardhan’s Recipes For Indian-style Squash

It’s squash play and my favourite clip of nan year, not slightest for each nan curries and different comfortableness nutrient of autumn. Today’s Rajasthani stir-fry is 1 I navigator often, and nan operation of ginger, chilli and jaggery lends it a beautiful equilibrium of flavour. The biryani, meanwhile, is packed pinch full spices, basmati and ghee, which springiness truthful overmuch much flavour to nan layers of atom and vegetables.

Mushroom and squash biryani

National curry week starts connected October 6, truthful what amended measurement to people nan juncture than pinch a rich, warming, all-in-one-pot biryani? If you like, make nan rootlike curry constituent successful beforehand and furniture everything connected nan time you want to serve.

Prep 20 min
Cook 2 hr
Serves 4

For nan squash and mushroom gravy
4 tbsp ghee, aliases butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g achromatic onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 greenish bird’s oculus chillies, slit unfastened lengthways
5cm portion caller ginger, peeled and trim into matchsticks
2 tbsp herb puree
¼ tsp mild chilli powder, aliases kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp crushed turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tbsp greek yoghurt
300g butternut squash flesh, trim into bite-sized pieces
300g fastener mushrooms, cleaned and halved if connected nan ample side
400ml rootlike stock, aliases water
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish

First make nan gravy. Melt nan ghee successful a large, heavy-based saucepan connected a mean heat, adhd nan cumin seeds, bay leaves and cloves, and fry for a fewer seconds. Stir successful nan sliced bulb and cook, stirring often, for 30-35 minutes, until softened. When nan onions commencement to brown, transportation half of them to a sheet and group speech (you’ll usage them later during nan layering).

Add nan greenish chillies and ginger to nan remaining onions successful nan pan, fry for a minute, past operation successful nan herb puree, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder, and fry for a minute. Turn down to a debased heat, operation successful nan yoghurt and navigator for 2 minutes.

Add nan squash and mushrooms, operation to overgarment successful nan spices, past fry for 3 minutes. Add nan banal aliases water, and play to taste. Bring to a boil, past move down nan heat, screen and simmer for 18-20 minutes, stirring erstwhile halfway to make judge nothing’s stuck to nan bottommost of nan pan. Garnish pinch coriander, past return disconnected nan heat.

Heat nan oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Wash nan rice, past put it successful a saucepan pinch a litre of h2o and nan bay leaves, cardamom and salt. Bring to a boil, navigator for 10-12 minutes, until three-quarters cooked, past drain.

To build nan biryani, put a tablespoonful of melted ghee successful a casserole cookware for which you person a tight-fitting lid. Ladle successful half nan rootlike curry, past apical that pinch half nan rice. Add half nan saffron water, ginger, mint, crushed cardamom and garam masala, past adhd nan reserved fried onions. Top pinch nan remaining rootlike curry, past spoon connected nan remaining rice. Top pinch nan remaining ghee, saffron water, ginger, mint, crushed cardamom and garam masala.

Cover pinch baking paper, screen pinch nan lid, past cook connected nan mediate support of nan oven for 15-17 minutes, truthful each nan flavours soak into nan rice. Take retired of nan oven, time off to rest, still covered, for 10 minutes, past assistance disconnected nan lid and service pinch raita and salad.

Rajasthani achari kaddu (squash pinch pickling spices stir-fry)

Maunika Gowardhan’s Rajasthani achari kaddu, aliases squash cooked pinch pickling spices.

The Indian connection “achari” refers to flavouring a crockery utilizing pickling spices, and nan operation includes mustard seeds, fennel, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida and nigella, but they’re not utilized only successful pickles. The blend besides features successful each mode of curries and stir-fries, specified arsenic this one.

Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4

1 tsp achromatic mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 tbsp rootlike oil
1 pinch asafoetida
5cm portion caller ginger, peeled and finely chopped
750g squash flesh, aliases pumpkin, trim into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp crushed turmeric
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp jaggery, aliases acheronian brownish sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Put nan mustard seeds, fenugreek and fennel seeds successful a mortar, crush coarsely, past group aside. Put nan lipid successful a ample frying cookware aliases kadhai connected a mean heat. Add nan crushed spices and nan asafoetida, and fry, stirring, for a fewer seconds. Add nan ginger, fry for a minute, past operation successful nan squash, chilli and turmeric, and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes more.

Add 50ml h2o to nan pot, play pinch brackish to sensation and bring to a boil. Cover, move down nan heat, and time off to navigator for 20 minutes, stirring erstwhile halfway through. Add nan jaggery, crushing immoderate of nan pieces a little, past adhd nan mango powder, operation good and service lukewarm pinch chapatis aliases naan.

• Maunika Gowardhan is simply a navigator and nutrient writer. Her astir caller book, Tandoori Home Cooking: Over 70 Classic Indian Tandoori Recipes to Cook astatine Home, is published by Hardie Grant astatine £25. To bid a transcript for £22.50, spell to guardianbookshop.com