Pumpkin Coconut Curry
At first glance these eye-catching chile peppers look like red jalapeno. However, they have a different flavor and are less meaty than Jalapeno. Red Fresnos are great roasted and added to salsas. Try grilling them alongside your steaks or in kabobs. When roasting these they should char, blister, and become soft. Try substituting these in your favorite chile recipes.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
about 600 g/ 21 oz. pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into equal size cubes
2 tbsp rapeseed / canola oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
½-1 hot red chile, sliced
¼ tsp hot chilli powder
1½ tsp garam masala
1½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp maple syrup
a handful of coriander, stalks chopped* + leaves for serving
2 cups / 1 tin full-fat coconut milk
½ tin chopped tomatoes / 1 large tomato (peeled and chopped)
about 1¼ tsp fine sea salt
lime wedges, to serve
handful of cashews, lightly toasted (to serve)
Method
OPTIONAL STEP: I prefer my pumpkin caramelised so instead of cooking it in the curry sauce, I roasted it in the oven. I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled with some salt and baked on a baking tray in a 200° C / 390° F oven for about 30 mins.
Heat up oil on a medium heat, in a heavy bottom pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and wait until they start popping, stirring from time to time. Wait another minute before adding onion.
Add chopped onion, sweat it gently, stirring from time to time until it gets almost soft.
Add garlic, ginger, fresh chile and chopped coriander stalks. Cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently so that ginger does not stick to the pan.
Now add all the ground spices and 1 tsp of salt. Reduce the heat to low and coat everything in the pot in spices. Stir frequently, cook for 1-2 minutes until all spices are fragrant.
Add chopped tomatoes and ¼ cup / 60 ml of water. Cook for 2 minutes until tomatoes become mushy.
Add coconut milk and pumpkin. Let everything come to a gentle boil, simmer covered until pumpkin is tender. If you’re roasting the pumpkin, simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes.
Taste and adjust spicing if needed. I added a bit more salt and a 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.
Serve with coriander leaves and chopped cashews on top, with basmati rice or a roti. A side of spicy coconut kale goes really well with it too.
Notes
* You can leave coriander stalks whole and remove them before serving the curry or chop them up finely and leave them in.
As with most curries and stews, the flavours of this dish benefit from being made a day ahead.
From lazycatkitchen.com