Butternut Chickpea Curry

A hearty plant-based curry with butternut squash, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, garlic, both sweet and hot peppers and chickpeas. I used a red Thai curry paste, cumin, turmeric, and bay leaf to give the curry a deep, earthy flavor along with sweet cinnamon, ginger and a bit of honey to accentuate the sweetness of the squash.

My parents brought me a big bunch of squash and pumpkins earlier this month. The squash were starting to get to the point where they needed to get used before they went bad, so mom and dad brought them to me to “rescue” them. I was super excited to take on the task and my mind immediately started spinning, thinking of what to make with all of these beautiful winter squash.

Now, my parents like to cook up the squash and eat it right out of the skin, but personally, that’s just too much sweet (and plain) for me. I want more balance in my dishes … a bit of savory, a bit of kick, a hint of sweet, a little crunch. Of course herbs and spices too! The idea of making a butternut curry came to mind. I had never thought to use squash in a curry, but I always like my curry a little sweet, so it seemed like it would totally be my dream curry to make it with sweet squash. I decided to give it a go and set out to create my curry.

I was super pleased with the results! The tender orange squash gave the curry a beautiful color and nice sweetness, but not overpoweringly so. The spiciness of the hot peppers cleared out my sinuses and left my taste buds dancing with all the other lovely flavors of the spices in the dish. The mushrooms and garbanzos added a little “meaty” touch plus there was a little salty crunch from the nuts on top which was a nice contrast to the tender veggies and the bright fresh cilantro and basil, a little reminder of summer.

I totally love that this meal is plant based (which means it’s also better for our planet), gluten free and full of heart healthy ingredients so I can enjoy it to my heart’s content (literally). I used my favorite new fat: Kerrygold grass fed butter (for the vitamin K2), but this could easily become a vegan meal simply by using oil in place of the butter. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to love this dish, though … even the meat eating curry lovers will be entranced by the sweet/savory mix of flavors in this meatless dish.

Butternut Chickpea Curry

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 4 - 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1/2 Tablespoon grass-fed butter (such as Kerrygold) or avocado oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• a generous pinch of cinnamon
• 1-inch knob of ginger root, peeled and grated
• 3 – 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• About 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup seeded sliced bell peppers or mini sweet peppers
• 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 pint home-canned tomatoes (or 1 15-oz. can)
• 2 Tablespoons red Thai curry paste
• 1 15-oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, or 1 1/2 – 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 Tablespoon honey
• Finely chopped hot peppers or cayenne, to taste
• To garnish: fresh cilantro (or basil or parsley) leaves, chopped cashews or peanuts

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Instructions

1. Heat the butter or oil over medium heat in a large wok or saute pan. Add the bay leaves, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and cook for a few minutes, stirring, until the spices are fragrant.
2. Add the ginger, garlic and onion and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the mushrooms and peppers, cover and cook for several more minutes until they are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Next, stir in the tomatoes, curry paste, chickpeas and honey. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 – 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender but not falling apart.
4. For a little kick, stir in finely chopped hot peppers or some cayenne until the dish is spiced to your liking.
5. Serve alone or with cooked brown basmati rice or quinoa. Garnish with fresh cilantro, basil and/or parsley and chopped cashews or peanuts. Enjoy!

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2019, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

Looking for more butternut squash recipes?

My blogger friends and I have some fabulous butternut squash treasures for you:

• Butternut Squash Bread with toasted, salted pecans ~ Cooking With Mary & Friends
• Spa Lunch – Butternut Black Bean Wrap – ChinDeep
• Butternut Squash Soup ~ Cooking with Mary & Friends
• Butternut Spinach Souffle Muffins ~ ChinDeep
• Butternut Lentil Soup ~ Cupcakeluv
• Roasted Butternut & Beet Salad
• Rosemary Sage Roasted Butternut Squash
• Rosemary White Chocolate Butternut Soup
• Baked Butternut Brown Rice Risotto ~ the easy, healthy version of risotto, without sacrificing creaminess and flavor!
• Autumn Butternut Cranberry Quinoa

Wanting more curry recipes?

Curry is so versatile and there are SO many different kinds of curry in the world. Check out these lovely recipes:

• Chicken Curry with Mezza ~ Hadia’s Lebanese Cuisine
• Carrot Cheddar Curry Tea Sandwiches ~ ChinDeep
• Quick Curried Squash Soup ~ Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Haikkaido Pumpkin Curry ~ Cupcakeluv
• Nepalese Cauliflower Curry
• Potato and Eggplant Curry
• Summer Garden Curry Baked Eggs
• Cilantro Curry Potato Salad
• Watermelon Coconut Curry
• Red Thai Curry Pepper Mushroom Chicken