🔗 Share this article

This marks squash season and most anticipated season, especially for all the spiced dishes and other hearty meals of autumn. Today's Northwest Indian sautéed dish is one I cook often, and the combination of fresh ginger, chili and jaggery lends it a wonderful balance of flavour. This layered rice dish, on the other hand, is loaded with aromatic spices, basmati and ghee, which give so much more flavour to the strata of rice and produce.

Mushroom and Squash Biryani

National curry week begins around October 6, so what better way to mark the occasion than with a flavorful, comforting, single-pot layered rice dish? If you like, prepare the spiced vegetable mixture component ahead of time and assemble everything on the occasion you plan to eat.

Preparation 20 min
Cook 2 hr
Yields 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, 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, cubed
300g button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
400ml vegetable stock, or water
Salt, as needed
2 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish

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, 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, to serve

Begin by preparing the gravy. Melt the clarified butter in a sizable, heavy-based saucepan on a moderate flame, incorporate the cumin, bay and clove spices, and fry for a few seconds. Add the sliced onion and cook, frequently turning, for about half an hour, until tender. Once onions begin caramelizing, transfer half of them to a separate dish and set aside (for later use during the layering).

Add the fresh chilies and ginger to the remaining onions, fry for a minute, then stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, turmeric and coriander, and fry for a minute. Turn down to a gentle flame, stir in the yoghurt and cook for two minutes.

Add the pumpkin pieces and mushroom halves, stir to coat in the spices, then fry for several minutes. Add the stock or water, and add salt to taste. Heat until boiling, then turn down the temperature, cover and cook gently for 18-20 minutes, mixing midway to ensure no sticking to the base of the pan. Sprinkle with coriander, then take off the stove.

Preheat the oven to moderately hot temperature. Rinse the rice, then place it in a pot with a litre of water and the bay, cardamom pods and seasoning. Bring to a boil, simmer for around ten minutes, until three-quarters cooked, then drain.

For assembling the layered dish, place a tablespoon of melted ghee in a casserole pot for which you have a secure cover. Ladle in half the vegetable curry, then top that with some the cooked grains. Add a portion the saffron infusion, ginger strips, mint leaves, cardamom powder and spice blend, then top with the reserved fried onions. Layer with the remaining curry mixture, then spoon on the remaining grains. Finish with the remaining clarified butter, saffron liquid, ginger, mint, cardamom powder and spice mix.

Seal with parchment, cover with the lid, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about fifteen minutes, so the aromas infuse the rice. Take out of the heat, allow to stand, keeping covered, for several minutes, then lift off the lid and present with raita and salad.

Traditional Indian Achari Kaddu (Pumpkin with Spice Blend Sauté)

The Indian word "pickling style" refers to flavouring a dish using pickling spices, and the combination contains mustard, fennel seeds, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida and nigella, but they're not used only in preserved foods. The blend also features in various types of spiced dishes and stir-fries, like this recipe.

Preparation 10 min
Cook 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 pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, as needed
1 tbsp jaggery, or dark brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Put the mustard, fenugreek and fennel in a mortar, roughly grind, then reserve. Put the oil in a spacious skillet or kadhai on a medium heat. Add the ground spices and the hing, and fry, mixing, for a few seconds. Add the ginger, cook for a short while, then add the pumpkin pieces, chilli and turmeric, and sauté, stirring, for five minutes more.

Add a small amount liquid to the pan, salt with salt to taste and heat until bubbling. Place lid, reduce the flame, and leave to cook for 20 minutes, mixing midway through. Add the jaggery, breaking up chunks a little, then incorporate the mango powder, mix thoroughly and present hot with flatbreads or naan.