Thick, creamy and flavoursome, this is a great curry to turn to when you don't have a lot of fresh ingredients in the kitchen and you want to brighten up a dull day. The blended red peppers create a bright, colourful base which compliments the spices and coats the roasted squash and paneer to create a creamy and rich curry. We've used paneer and butternut squash in this version but if you don't have those there are lots of other vegetables that would work well; aubergine, sweet potato and even roasted new potatoes would all be delicious in this curry.
Serves 4 & takes 45 minutes to cook
Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 pack of paneer, cut into bite-sized chunks
1x 400g can of coconut milk
1x 465g jar of roasted red peppers, drained
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of ground almonds
1 teaspoon of sugar (or a teaspoon of honey/maple)
Large handful of spinach
Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
Dollop of plain yoghurt (optional)
Olive oil
Salt
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, fan setting.
2. Place the butternut squash chunks onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, a pinch of salt and the chilli powder. Mix well until all of the squash is coated in the oil and roast for 30-35 minutes, or until the squash feels soft.
3. While the squash is cooking, place a large pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once warm, add the diced onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the onion feels soft.
4. At this point, stir through the paprika, cumin and cinnamon, and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the chunks of paneer.
5. Pan fry the paneer in the oil and spices for around 5-8 minutes, mixing every so often to ensure the paneer doesn’t stick to the bottom. Once the paneer has turned golden, pour in the coconut milk.
6. Place the roasted red peppers and lime juice into a powerful blender (we use a NutriBullet) and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the curry and add the ground almonds and sugar. Mix everything together and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Once the butternut squash has finished cooking, spoon the chunks into the curry sauce and add the spinach, allowing it to wilt before serving.
8. Serve the curry with a big dollop of plain yoghurt mixed through and a pinch of chilli flakes for an extra kick of spice.
Tip:
For a vegan version, simply leave out the paneer or swap with roasted aubergine chunks.
