🔗 Share this article

This marks squash season and my favourite season, not least for all the spiced dishes and other comfort food of fall. This Rajasthani sautéed dish is a regular in my kitchen, and the combination of fresh ginger, chilli and jaggery gives it a lovely flavor harmony. The biryani, meanwhile, is loaded with whole spices, long-grain rice and clarified butter, which provide so much more taste to the layers of rice and vegetables.

Mushroom and Squash Biryani

National curry week starts on early October, so how perfect to celebrate than with a flavorful, warming, single-pot biryani? For convenience, make the vegetable curry element in advance and assemble everything on the day you want to serve.

Preparation 20 min
Cooking 2 hr
Yields 4

For the squash and mushroom gravy
4 tbsp ghee, or use butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g white onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, slit open lengthways
5cm piece fresh ginger, julienned
2 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp mild chilli powder, or kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tbsp greek yoghurt
300g butternut squash flesh, cut into bite-sized pieces
300g button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
400ml vegetable stock, or water
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander, for serving

For the rice
200g basmati rice
2 bay leaves
4 green cardamom pods
A pinch of salt

Biryani assembly
2 tbsp melted ghee
1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 3 tbsp warm water
1¼cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp ground cardamom powder
1 tsp garam masala
Raita and salad, as accompaniments

First make the gravy. Melt the clarified butter in a large, thick-bottomed pot on a moderate flame, incorporate the cumin, bay and clove spices, and fry for a brief moment. Add the sliced onion and sauté, frequently turning, for about half an hour, until softened. Once onions begin caramelizing, transfer half of them to a plate and set aside (you'll use them later during the assembly).

Add the fresh chilies and ginger strips to the onions in pan, fry for a minute, then stir in the tomato puree, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder, and fry for a minute. Turn down to a gentle flame, blend in the yogurt and cook for two minutes.

Add the pumpkin pieces and mushroom halves, toss to cover in the spice mixture, then fry for several minutes. Pour in the liquid, and add salt to taste. Heat until boiling, then turn down the heat, place lid and cook gently for 18-20 minutes, mixing midway to ensure nothing's stuck to the bottom of the pan. Garnish with fresh cilantro, then take off the stove.

Preheat the oven to moderately hot temperature. Wash the basmati, then put it in a pot with a quart of water and the bay, cardamom and seasoning. Heat to boiling, simmer for around ten minutes, until partially cooked, then drain.

To build the layered dish, place a spoonful of warmed ghee in a casserole pot for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Ladle in one portion the vegetable curry, then layer with half the cooked grains. Sprinkle a portion the saffron water, ginger strips, mint, cardamom powder and garam masala, then add the reserved fried onions. Top with the rest of curry mixture, then spoon on the remaining grains. Finish with the rest of ghee, saffron liquid, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and garam masala.

Cover with parchment, cover with the lid, then bake on the center rack of the oven for 15-17 minutes, so the aromas infuse the rice. Remove of the oven, leave to rest, still covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the cover and serve with yogurt sauce and salad.

Traditional Indian Achari Kaddu (Pumpkin with Pickling Spices Stir-Fry)

The Indian word "pickling style" refers to flavouring a dish using pickling spices, and the combination includes mustard, fennel, fenugreek seeds, cumin, asafoetida and nigella, but their use extends beyond in pickles. This mixture also appears in various types of spiced dishes and sautéed preparations, such as this one.

Preparation 10 min
Cooking 30 min
Serves 4

1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pinch asafoetida
5cm piece fresh ginger, minced
750g squash flesh, or use pumpkin, cubed
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, as needed
1 tbsp jaggery, or dark brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Place the mustard, fenugreek seeds and fennel in a mortar, roughly grind, then reserve. Put the cooking oil in a large frying pan or Indian wok on a moderate flame. Introduce the ground spices and the hing, and fry, mixing, for a few seconds. Mix in the ginger, fry for a short while, then stir in the squash, chilli and turmeric, and fry, tossing, for five minutes more.

Pour a small amount water to the pan, season with seasoning to taste and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the flame, and leave to cook for about twenty minutes, mixing midway through. Mix in the palm sugar, crushing some of the pieces a little, then add the mango powder, stir well and present hot with chapatis or leavened bread.