Easy Panang Squash Curry with Steamed Rice, Fresh Cilantro, and Lime
Description
I cook butternut squash throughout the year, although I find my squash consumption increases significantly during the fall and winter months. There is something about the colder weather that seems to call for more cooking of these types of vegetables. Whether it’s roasted, boiled, pureed, or even fermented, I simply love squash!
For this particular dish, I’ve used butternut squash, onions, carrots, and chickpeas, which are cooked with a store-bought, gluten-free Panang curry paste and some vegetable stock.
The cooked vegetables, chickpeas and stock are subsequently blended to create a rich curry that goes wonderfully when served with some simple steamed rice.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Add the neutral oil to a large sauté pan, in addition to the coconut oil, diced red onion, carrot, and the bite-sized pieces of squash.
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Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook the vegetables while stirring for roughly seven minutes.
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Add the gluten-free curry paste, in addition to the minced garlic cloves and garlic powder, and stir to combine.
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Sauté the vegetables and curry paste for an additional two minutes.
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Add the drained chickpeas and vegetable stock, in addition to a teaspoon of Kosher salt.
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Bring the liquid to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to low.
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Cook until the squash is completely soft and tender, or roughly twenty more minutes.
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While the curry is cooking, prepare your long-grain rice.
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Rinse the dried rice under cold water for roughly three minutes, or until the water runs clear. Drain the excess water from the rice grains.
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Place the rinsed rice in a medium-sized rice cooking pot, along with roughly two cups of cold water.
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Bring the water and rice to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot with a tightly-fitting lid.
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Cook the rice covered tightly with a lid for an additional fifteen minutes, and then remove the rice from the heat and gently fluff the cooked grains with a fork.
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Cover again, and allow the rice to sit until you are ready to serve.
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When the butternut squash is completely tender, blend the curry liquid and vegetables together using an immersion blender.
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Pass the pureed contents through a wire mesh strainer if you want an even smoother consistency.
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Add the juice of one lime, and stir to combine.
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Taste, and add more Kosher salt if desired.
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When you are ready to serve, divide the cooked rice and curry among warmed bowls.
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Garnish each bowl with some fresh slices of lime, finely-sliced chives, along with some fresh cilantro.
Note
For a version with a bit less heat, reduce the quantity of gluten-free panang curry paste in the recipe. You can add mushrooms, potatoes, bell peppers, chickpeas, or really whatever you like to this base recipe!
Some added scallions on top at the end would have been nice, but the chives work wonderfully here.
Rinsing the dried rice under cold water helps remove some excess starch from the grains, which results in a less-sticky final product, where the individual grains are somewhat separated.
