2010 Cooking Club Week 46: Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

... with flatbreads!

I've been making this recipe for a while now, but watching Jamie's 30 min meals - he made something VERY similar and added cauliflower. Which I've since done, and it tasted great. So add it yourself if you fancy it.

Start on the flatbreads. I find if I leave them for a while before rolling & cooking they rise better. All they are is self raising flour and enough water to make a soft dough. I add different ingredients into the flour before the water - cumin seeds, grated garlic, coriander etc. Whatever I have knocking around really. Give it a bit of a knead and cover it with clingfilm while you work on the main event.

You'll need:
1 Butternut squash (if you can't get one, a sweet potato will do) peeled & cut into cubes
Can of chickpeas
Can of tomatoes
Spinach
1 clove of Garlic
1 Onion
Natural Yoghurt (optional!)
Curry paste (I use Patak's, you can use spices if you prefer)
And whatever extra spices you like to pop in, I like to put in fresh coriander, and some toasted ground cumin seeds.
Rice - whatever type you fancy

I just pop some paste in a pot, and add chopped onion & garlic. Fry over a lowish heat until the onion is softened. Add in the tin of tomatoes and the butternut squash and bring to a simmer. The squash should take about 20 mins to cook, so about 15 mins in add in the drained chickpeas and give it a taste. You can add your extra spices in now too. Just before it's cooked, you can throw in some yoghurt if you like it creamier style. And put a good few handfuls of spinach. When the spinach is wilted, it's good to go.

The flatbreads, I do these while the curry is cooking. Get a heavy bottomed pan and heat it (dry) to as hot as you can get it. Roll out rounds of the flour mixture - whatever size you want. Put the bread in the pan, let it sit on one side for about 20 seconds, then flip. Leave for about another 40 seconds and then flip again and leave until cooked. This way they'll bubble up nicely and look more 'authentic'! Wrap them in tinfoil or a teatowel and leave them in the oven to stay warm, they keep successfully like this for a while.

This is the way I cook my basmati - cover the rice in the pot with about 1" of water. Bring to boil and let the surplus evaporate (you'll see holes in the rice at this stage) then cover the pot with a square of kitchen paper and a good tight fitting lid. Keep over a VERY low heat for at least 10 mins.

I'll add pics during the week, and as always this tastes even better the next day A whole butternut squash will feed 4 people, esp if you add in the cauliflower.