A visitor to my house made this, and then referred me to the Kitchenist website. The stew was delicious. Here are some top tips for making this.
First of all, I made Barbari Naan to go with it, but haven’t perfected the techniques for that yet, so you’ll need to wait for the recipe. Nan or pitta bread should be good. I also served this with home-made labneh, which was delicious. Recipe for that coming soon. A Greek salad with lots of feta cheese in is also good.
I also found that the recipe needs a bit of salt and pepper, just my own taste, I suspect.
There’s a bit in the recipe that calls for garlic, ginger and lemongrass to be mashed together. I have a small coffee/spice grinder attachment for my bamix blender that I use just for this sort of thing, small and quick. There are a few similar products on the market, really worth while for this sort of cooking.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, or 2-3 tsp lemongrass powder
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 4 cardamom pods, crushed
- 2 hot red chillies, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp. crushed chilli flakes, or 1-2 dried birdseye chillies, crushed)
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 200g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and simmered until tender (or use 2 x 400g cans)
- 1 x 400g can of coconut milk
- 250ml stock or water
- 1 bunch chopped fresh coriander
METHOD:
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook gently until soft and translucent.
- Meanwhile, make a rough paste of the garlic, lemongrass, and ginger, either using a food processor or a mortar and pestle. Add this to the onions, along with the coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and chillies. Stir well and continue to cook over a low heat (you may need to add some water to keep the mixture from sticking).
- Add the squash and chickpeas, and pour in the coconut milk. Add just enough stock or water to almost cover the squash, then cover the pan and simmer until the squash is tender to your liking. This should take 20 to 25 minutes. If you feel there is too much liquid, remove the lid toward the end of the cooking time and reduce by simmering off some liquid.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped coriander. Serve with naan or similar plain flat-bread, and perhaps some sour cream or Greek yoghurt.