Indian Wednesday #3: Last of the winter stews

Menu
Butternut squash stew with jaggery

I wanted to try this recipe while it was still winter since it sounded amazing and I didn't fancy waiting until next year. It was the first time I've really cooked with butternut squash—yes, I know—and realized I had no idea how to butcher it, and so butcher it I did. Any information on how to do it correctly can be sent on a postcard to ...

Jaggery, an essential ingredient in this recipe is a kind of unrefined sugar, and it adds a distinctive rich caramel flavor reminiscent of molasses. Having said that, it's not over present in this dish, so if you're not into sweet and savory, don't be put off. 

The stew itself, wonderful for vegetarians and confirmed meat eaters—like me—alike, is like last week's dish: wonderfully misleading. Once all the ingredients are in the pot, you ask yourself what's Indian about this? It seems just like any old butternut squash stew. But then, when you taste it, you discover the Indian flavors that jump out, and throw a garland around your neck and shout 'namaste'!

The comfortable butteriness of the squash, enhanced by the sugar, was cut but by the fruitiness of red and green peppers with a spicy descant from the chilli played over the top, as if on high-pitched Bollywood strings. My mouth was savoring the flavors as my forehead became a little spice moist, for me the perfect combination. 

This will easily become one of my go to winter dishes both for its ease and wintry flavors and could be served on its own, or as a vegetable accompaniment to meat.