Biryani and Thick-Cut Chilli Pumpkin: Delicious Indian-Style Squash Recipes

It's squash season and my favourite season, not least for all the spiced dishes and other comfort food of autumn. Today's Rajasthani sautéed dish is one I cook often, and the blend of fresh ginger, chili and palm sugar lends it a lovely balance of flavour. The biryani, meanwhile, is packed with aromatic spices, long-grain rice and clarified butter, which provide so much more taste to the layers of rice and vegetables.

Mushroom and Squash Biryani

A celebration of curry dishes starts on early October, so how perfect to celebrate than with a flavorful, comforting, all-in-one-pot layered rice dish? If you like, make the spiced vegetable mixture element in advance and assemble everything on the occasion you want to serve.

Prep 20 min
Cook 2 hr
Serves 4

For the vegetable curry base
4 tbsp ghee, or use butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g white onions, thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, slit open lengthways
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
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 use water
Salt, as needed
2 tbsp chopped coriander, for serving

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

For the biryani
2 tbsp melted ghee
1 pinch saffron threads, steeped in 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

Begin by preparing the curry base. Heat the clarified butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat, add the cumin, bay leaves and cloves, and fry for a few seconds. Stir in the sliced onion and sauté, stirring often, for about half an hour, until tender. Once onions begin caramelizing, transfer half of them to a plate and set aside (you'll use them later during the assembly).

Add the green chillies and ginger strips to the remaining onions, cook for a brief period, then stir in the tomato puree, chili powder, turmeric and coriander, and fry for a short while. Reduce to a gentle flame, stir in the yoghurt and simmer for two minutes.

Add the pumpkin pieces and mushroom halves, toss to cover in the spices, then fry for several minutes. Pour in the stock or water, and add salt to taste. Heat until boiling, then lower the heat, cover and cook gently for about twenty minutes, mixing midway to ensure nothing's stuck to the bottom of the pan. Garnish with fresh cilantro, then remove from the stove.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Rinse the basmati, then put it in a saucepan with a quart of water and the bay leaves, cardamom and salt. Heat to boiling, cook for around ten minutes, until partially cooked, then drain.

To build the layered dish, place a tablespoon of melted ghee in a oven-safe dish for which you have a secure cover. Ladle in half the spiced vegetables, then top that with half the rice. Sprinkle half the saffron infusion, ginger, mint leaves, cardamom powder and spice blend, then top with the caramelized onions. Top with the remaining vegetable curry, then spoon on the remaining rice. Top with the remaining clarified butter, saffron water, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and garam masala.

Cover with parchment, cover with the lid, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 15-17 minutes, so the aromas soak into the rice. Remove of the oven, leave to rest, keeping covered, for several minutes, then lift off the lid and present with yogurt sauce and salad.

Rajasthani Achari Kaddu (Squash with Spice Blend Stir-Fry)

The Hindi term "pickling style" refers to seasoning a dish using preserving spices, and the mix contains mustard, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin, hing and nigella, but they're not used only in preserved foods. This mixture also appears in various types of curries and sautéed preparations, such as this one.

Prep 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, peeled and finely chopped
750g squash flesh, or pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp jaggery, or substitute with brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Put the mustard seeds, fenugreek and fennel in a spice grinder, crush coarsely, then reserve. Heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan or kadhai on a medium heat. Introduce the ground spices and the hing, and fry, stirring, for a brief moment. Mix in the chopped ginger, cook for a minute, then stir in the squash, chili powder and turmeric, and fry, stirring, for several additional minutes.

Add a small amount liquid to the pan, season with salt to taste and heat until bubbling. Place lid, turn down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, mixing midway through. Mix in the palm sugar, crushing some of the pieces a bit, then add the dried mango, mix thoroughly and present hot with flatbreads or leavened bread.