Who else is a fan of curry?? I love all curries from yellow to red and enjoy mixing up the ingredients for new recipes. Being that Fall is upon us and more spicy, warm, rich dishes are sounding more appealing I thought what better way to get in the spirit than with some squash and curry together. I think you will love this combination!
If you have visited your local market, or pumpkin patch, I am sure you have seen a plethora of different types of squash. Summer squashes are saying their goodbyes but still available, which is why I choose to add in a yellow zucchini as, well, I kind of felt bad for it; sitting there knowing most people are over zucchini by this time. I honestly have not cooked a lot with pumpkins but I was feeling inspired so I grabbed a small sugar pumpkin and medium butternut squash. That is what I love about cooking, stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new cooking methods, using different fruits and vegetables, different food combinations, and trying out different cultural and regional foods. You definitely do not ever have to be bored with the food you cook.
Did you know that the term curry mean something different for many different regions? A curry is a blend of different spices with many different variations into pastes and powders. Curries can be categorized into either a Thai curry or Indian curry. For this dish I used a yellow curry powder which is seen more in Indian curry and blended in a creamy coconut milk which is mostly seen in Thai curries so we get the best of both with this dish. A yellow curry powder generally contains turmeric (responsible for that orange hue), coriander, and cumin. Other spices you may see in a curry dish could be mustard seed, lemongrass, ginger, chili, clove, ginger.
So what’s the nutritional benefits of this curry dish?
With the deep orange colored butternut squash and pumpkin you’ll be taking in some amazing antioxidants in the form of beta-carotene as well as all of the benefits of vitamin A.. Carotenoids, also known as provitamin A, are precursors to vitamin A. Vitamin A is an essential vitamin meaning we need to obtain this from our diet. This fat soluble vitamin is important for our vision, immunity, cellular support and reproduction to name a few. More research is also presenting a link between vitamin A and obesity. Studies are seeing a repeated observation of low vitamin A status in obese individuals causing a more in-depth review of the reasonings behind this. There are several ways beta-carotene and vitamin A have assisted with obesity treatment which includes decreased inflammation, better regulation of carbohydrate metabolism, increasing insulin sensitivity as well as decreasing the creation of new adipocytes (fat cells).
The yellow curry powder with that deep yellowish orange color also provides some great antioxidants. Turmeric with its active compound curcumin have vast amounts of studies on the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits. Some of these benefits include cancer prevention and management of inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and metabolic syndrome.
Now lets get cooking! (if you just want the recipe card click here)
To start: I encourage you to have everything chopped and prepped before starting the cooking process so it is not so stressful trying to rapidly cut everything up. Pumpkins and butternut squash are a little challenging to peel and chop so give yourself time and be careful. Please do not cut yourself! I definitely recommend investing in a good knife set as well as a quality (sharp) food peeler. Take care of these items by having your knives sharpened periodically and hand-washing. I used a vegetable peeler making short, fast swipes across the squash and removed as much of the skin as possible. I then chopped up the squash and used a paring knife to remove the rest of the skin.
Once all your veggies are chopped set aside and start heating up the oil in a large pot. Coconut and curry go so well together so I used coconut oil as the start to the dish so all the vegetables immediately start picking up the sweet, nutty aroma. This recipe makes a lot (about 6-8 large servings) and it is cooked all in one pot so definitely make it a larger pot
As with most of my recipes the ingredients can be flexible. You could omit one of the squashes and just do all pumpkin or all butternut squash. Other ideas would be using carrots and/or potato or any color bell pepper, adding mushrooms is also something I was thinking would be delicious.
A note about the Thai chili’s…I love the spice these small, but powerful, chili’s provide but they are a little too hot to bite into. What I did was cut the stems off the chilis and add them to the dish after the coconut milk is added and then removed right before serving. This way they are simmering with all the other ingredients and infuses the perfect spice. Of course if you like that intense heat just leave them in and maybe add more! Conversely if you don’t like a lot of spice you can omit the chili’s all together. The curry will also bring a little spice and deepen the flavor of this dish. Personally more curry the better for me so I used 4 tablespoons for this dish but you can dial it back with just 3 tablespoons per your preference.
You will also notice that I used an apple for this recipe and here is why. The apple adds a touch of natural sweetness that balances out the spices from those chili’s that set’s this dish apart from other curries!
I used beans as my protein for this particular recipe but about 1.5-2# of chicken is also something I’ll do next time. If you are going to use chicken I would dice in to 1″ pieces and stir fry separate. Here’s how: In a pan over medium-high heat add 2 teaspoons coconut oil and add chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink in the middle (internal temperature should be 165F). Add the chicken to the curry at the same time you are adding your greens.
To serve I had some brown rice cooked and ladled the curry over the warm rice. I served with a few lime wedges and toasted pumpkin seeds. To toast: heat a pan over medium heat (no oil) and add 1/4-1/2 cup of the pepitas and stir or shake pan frequently until you start to smell them cooking and they turn a golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Like most nuts they can go from raw to burnt very quickly so don’t leave them unattended.
Enjoy this recipe and if you end up making it please tag @renew_nutrition_consulting on IG if you make this dish!
