08 Jan a quick curry

A bowl of hot, fragrant curry can be the perfect reward for taking a bracing winter’s walk. But curries can seem like a daunting task. So many spices!

Just because a list of ingredients is lengthy doesn’t mean that you’ll be chained to the oven for the rest of the evening. As ever, it’s more a case of having a well-stocked spice cupboard and not being afraid of using more than one spice at a time. I use a garam masala spice mix here, which makes things easier for us, too. After all, there is no shame in a few carefully chosen short cuts.

Quick Curry (serves 4)

This quick squash curry can be ready within a half hour. This recipe is quite mild so feel free to turn up the heat volume by being more liberal with your chillis.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

Sunflower oil

2 onions

4 cloves of garlic

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger

1 red chilli

2 tsp of garam masala

2 tsp of ground coriander

2 tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of turmeric

1 x tin of tomato

1 x tin of chickpeas

To serve

Yogurt

Fresh coriander

Method

1. Peel the squash, slice in half to remove its seeds and then chop into bite-sized chunks. Transfer to a large saucepan of boiling water and boil the squash for 5 minutes. Once done, drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Peel and finely slice the onions and fry in the oil for 5 minutes, until starting to soften.

3. Next, use a fine grater to grate in the garlic cloves and the ginger. Deseed and finely dice the red chilli. Add the ginger and chilli to the onions and fry for a further minute, mixing well. Now add the coriander, chilli flakes, garam masala, cumin and turmeric. Mix well and fry for a further minute.

4. Add the parboiled squash and the tin of tomatoes. Top up with water until the squash is just covered. Simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the squash is tender. Drain the chickpeas and add to the curry, simmering for another few minutes so the chickpeas can heat through.

5. Serve the curry with a dollop of yogurt, some fresh coriander, and rice or naan bread on the side.

This recipe first appeared in The Irish Independent on January 8th.