Butternut pumpkin is a versatile vegetable that works well in multiple recipes. Roasting it makes it sweet and tender and it’s so filling you definitely won’t miss the meat in this delicious curry.
The creamy, spicy, rich sauce pairs beautifully with pumpkin and chickpeas. Perfect for a vegie dinner and ready in under an hour.
Whip up a big batch of this comforting curry and enjoy it throughout the week – or freeze it for a later date. It’s even better the next day when the flavours have had time to develop.
Read: The benefits of meat-free days
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 butternut pumpkin (1.2kg)
- olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4cm piece of ginger
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon medium curry powder
- 300g ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 tinned pineapple rings in juice
- 1 400ml tin of light coconut milk
- 1 400g tin of chickpeas
- optional: sprigs of coriander, to serve
Method
You can whip this up on the day, or prepare it ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Scrub the pumpkin (there’s no need to peel it), carefully halve it lengthways and deseed, then chop it into 2cm chunks. Place in a roasting tray, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then roast for 1 hour, or until soft and caramelised.
Read: Spiced Lentils with Pumpkin
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion, peel the garlic and ginger, and dry fry in a non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with the coriander and fenugreek seeds and the curry powder, stirring until lightly charred all over. Add the tomatoes and pineapple rings (reserving the juice), and cook for 10 minutes to soften and char, stirring regularly.
Tip it all into a blender, add the coconut milk and blitz until very smooth. Return to the pan, tip in the chickpeas, juice and all, and simmer gently until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the roasted pumpkin, then season the curry to perfection, tasting and tweaking, and loosening with the reserved pineapple juice. Serve immediately or allow to cool, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Read: Spiced Coconut Lamb Curry
To serve from the refrigerator: preheat the oven to 150ºC. Place the covered pan of curry in the oven until hot through – about 1 hour. Nice with fresh coriander leaves.
Together by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House © Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2021 Together). Photography by David Loftus.
Are you vegetarian or just keen to eat less meat? Share how the recipe turned out in the comments section below.
– With PA