Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry (Vegan + Oil Free)
A simple, Thai-inspired curry stew that’s hearty, healthy and satisfying. Fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime bring out the bright, bold flavors in this dish.
Heat about a tablespoon of water in a Dutch oven or large pot. Saute half the green onion, the garlic and the ginger over medium heat until softened and fragrant, about2 minutes. Add more water if things begin to stick.
Add a couple more tablespoons of water to the pot, and scrape up any brown bits. Then add the squash, cauliflower and red pepper to the pot, stir well, and saute until the vegetables are just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally, and add more water if things begin to stick.
While the vegetables are sauteeing, add the curry paste and the coconut milk to a n a medium mixing bowl, and whisk together. Taste, and add more curry paste and/or cayenne pepper for more heat, if desired. Add the coconut milk and curry paste mixture and the chickpeas to the pot.
Add the diced tomatoes and their liquid to the pot, and stir to loosen up any brown bits.
Then add the coconut milk and curry mixture, and the chickpeas, to the pot. Stir to combine.
Simmer on low heat, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender), about 20-25 more minutes. (The sauce will not be thick, but see notes if you like a thicker sauce.)
Stir in half the basil and cilantro.
Before serving, add a squeeze of lime to each bowl. Then garnish each bowl with some of the reserved the green onion, basil and cilantro.
Notes
For thicker stew. You can let the pot rest, covered for 1--15 minutes, and the stew will thicken a bit. Or, simply mash up some of the squash and cauliflower together with some of the liquid and add it back into the pot. A potato masher, food processor or blender all work well. For an Indian style curry. Substitute about 1 tablespoon of Indian curry powder --hot or mild--for the Thai curry paste. Leftover squash. If you don't want leftover squash, you can use all squash and skip the cauliflower, or freeze the other half of the squash. I've found one butternut squash is about 8 cups diced, which works perfectly to make this recipe twice or a double batch. For lower sodium. Use curry powder instead of curry paste, and make sure to use low sodium chickpeas and tomatoes.Cocounut milk. If you'd prefer not to use coconut milk, you can substitute plant milk or broth. For added richness, you can stir a tablespoon or two of almond butter or tahini into either one. For extra heat. Add up to ½ teaspoon of cayenne to the coconut/curry mixture, or add jalepeño slices or crushed red pepper flakes at the end. Substitutions.(See the article above for a full exploration of substations and variations). Eggplant works well in this dish, and goes well with squash. The butternut squash can be replaced with acorn squash, sweet potatoes, or even Yukon Gold potatoes or carrots with good results. I haven't swapped the fresh veggies with frozen, but I think this could be a winner--especially on super-busy weeknights.