***BE THE CHANGE***

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Food: Curried Butternut Squash Dhal

Internet, I can't even believe I'm about to admit this but it's true....I HEART Facebook! Not only has it put me back in touch with tons of long lost friends but it's been an incredible resource for sharing information. I received two Butternut Squash in my most recent CSA Box and no sooner did I put the word out on fb did a flurry of recipes fly my way. Sarah, a friend from back-in-the-day, sent me this amazing-sounding Dhal recipe. Mmm, spices...I couldn't resist!



Curried Butternut Squash Dhal

*1 Medium Yellow Onion, quartered
*1/2 can Coconut Milk
*3 Garlic cloves, sliced
* 1 TBL Ginger root, minced
*1 tsp Garam Masala
*1 tsp Cumin
*1/2 tsp Cinnamon
*1 tsp Real salt or sea salt
*1/4 tsp Coriander
*1/4 tsp Turmeric
* 2 cups Vegetable stock or water
*1 TBL Olive oil
*2 cups Fresh tomatoes, diced
*2-4 Sun-dried tomatoes, minced
*4 cups Butternut squash, peeled & diced
*2 cups Black-eyed peas, cooked
*2 cups Spinach or kale chopped
*1 cup Green peas

Curried Butternut Squash Dhal

Combine onion, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, garam masala, sun-dried tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, salt, turmeric, coriander and 3 Tablespoons of veggie stock in a blender. Puree mixture to paste.

Heat oil in a large sauce pan. Add spice paste and cook, stirring often for 10 minutes. Add remaining veggie stock, tomatoes and squash. Cook over medium heat until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Pour into a blender (in 2 batches, if necessary) taking care to avoid burns by not filling the blender more than halfway. Puree then return mixture to your sauce pan. (I suppose an immersion blender would do the job as well.)

Mix in black-eyed peas, green peas and spinach. Continue to cook, stirring often until spinach is tender, (about 10 minutes)

Serve over Basmati rice or your favorite grain. Farilla and I really enjoyed our Dhal with quinoa and garlic Naan. Mmmm

Thanks, Sarah! We loved this delicious and healthy meal. I'll definitely make this dish again, however, next time I'm going to experiment with being a little more liberal with the spices. Worth noting...this Dhal took me a couple of hours to prepare. When it comes to cooking I'm still, very much, a novice so I suppose my prep time is a little slower than the norm. If you've never prepared Butternut Squash before then consider yourselves warned...this squash is no joke! I spent more time peeling, de-seeding and cubing the squash than prepping any of the other ingredients. That said...ENJOY! It's totally worth the effort. And be sure to let me know if you make this recipe. I'd love to compare notes.

1 comment:

  1. yUM AGAIN! Could you just roast it and then cut the meat off when it is tender? Might make for a good flavor and less prep time!

    ReplyDelete

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