Aromatic Rice Dish and Chunky Spicy Pumpkin: Delicious Indian-Inspired Pumpkin Recipes

It's squash season and my favourite season, especially for all the curries and other comfort food of autumn. Today's Northwest Indian sautéed dish is a regular in my kitchen, and the blend of ginger, chilli and palm sugar gives it a lovely flavor harmony. This layered rice dish, meanwhile, is packed with aromatic spices, long-grain rice and ghee, which provide enhanced flavour to the strata of grains and vegetables.

Squash and Mushroom Biryani

National curry week begins around early October, so what better way to celebrate than with a rich, comforting, all-in-one-pot biryani? For convenience, make the vegetable curry element ahead of time and assemble everything on the occasion you want to serve.

Preparation 20 min
Cook 2 hr
Yields 4

For the vegetable curry base
4 tbsp ghee, or butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g white onions, thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, lengthwise slit
5cm piece fresh ginger, julienned
2 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp mild chilli powder, or substitute with mild paprika
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, 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

Biryani assembly
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, to serve

Begin by preparing the gravy. Heat the ghee in a sizable, thick-bottomed pot on a moderate flame, incorporate the cumin seeds, bay leaves and cloves, and sauté for a brief moment. Add the sliced onion and cook, frequently turning, for about half an hour, until tender. When the onions start to brown, transfer half of them to a separate dish and reserve (for later use during the layering).

Add the green chillies and ginger to the remaining onions, fry for a brief period, then mix in the tomato puree, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander, and fry for a short while. Reduce to a gentle flame, blend in the yogurt and cook for a couple of minutes.

Mix in the squash and mushrooms, stir to coat in the spices, then cook for three minutes. Add the liquid, and season to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature, place lid and simmer for about twenty minutes, mixing midway to make sure nothing's stuck to the bottom of the pot. Garnish with fresh cilantro, then remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Rinse the rice, then put it in a saucepan with a litre of water and the bay leaves, cardamom and salt. Bring to a boil, cook for 10-12 minutes, until partially cooked, then strain.

To build the biryani, put a tablespoon of warmed ghee in a oven-safe dish for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Ladle in one portion the spiced vegetables, then top that with some the cooked grains. Add half the saffron infusion, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and garam masala, then top with the reserved fried onions. Top with the remaining vegetable curry, then arrange the remaining grains. Finish with the rest of clarified butter, saffron liquid, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and garam masala.

Cover with baking paper, place lid securely, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 15-17 minutes, so all the flavours soak into the rice. Take out of the heat, leave to rest, still covered, for several minutes, then remove the cover and present with yogurt sauce and salad.

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

The Indian word "pickling style" refers to seasoning a dish using pickling spices, and the mix contains mustard seeds, fennel, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida and kalonji, but they're not used only in preserved foods. This mixture also features in all manner of curries and stir-fries, 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 use pumpkin, cubed
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp jaggery, or dark brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Put the mustard, fenugreek seeds and fennel in a spice grinder, roughly grind, then reserve. Put the oil in a large frying pan or Indian wok on a medium heat. Add the ground spices and the asafoetida, and sauté, stirring, for a brief moment. Add the ginger, fry for a short while, then stir in the squash, chili powder and turmeric, and sauté, tossing, for five minutes more.

Pour 50ml liquid to the pan, salt with seasoning to taste and bring to a boil. Place lid, turn down the flame, and leave to cook for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway. Mix in the palm sugar, breaking up chunks a little, then add the mango powder, stir well and serve warm with chapatis or naan.