🔗 Share this article

It's squash season and my favourite season, especially for all the curries and other hearty meals of fall. This Rajasthani stir-fry is a regular in my kitchen, and the combination of fresh ginger, chilli and palm sugar lends it a wonderful balance of flavour. This layered rice dish, on the other hand, is packed with aromatic spices, long-grain rice and ghee, which give so much more taste to the layers of rice and produce.

Squash and Mushroom Biryani

National curry week starts on early October, so how perfect to mark the occasion than with a flavorful, comforting, all-in-one-pot layered rice dish? If you like, prepare the spiced vegetable mixture element ahead of time and assemble everything on the day you want to serve.

Prep 20 min
Cook 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, thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, lengthwise slit
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, cubed
300g button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
400ml vegetable stock, or water
Salt, as needed
2 tbsp chopped coriander, for serving

Rice preparation
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, julienned
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 ghee in a sizable, heavy-based saucepan on a moderate flame, incorporate the cumin, bay and clove spices, and sauté for a few seconds. Stir in the sliced onion and sauté, stirring often, for 30-35 minutes, until softened. Once onions begin caramelizing, transfer half of them to a separate dish and set aside (for later use during the layering).

Add the green chillies and ginger strips to the onions in pan, fry for a minute, then stir in the tomato puree, chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder, and fry for a short while. Turn down to a gentle flame, blend in the yoghurt and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the pumpkin pieces and mushroom halves, stir to coat in the spices, then cook for three minutes. Pour in the stock or water, and add salt to taste. Heat until boiling, then turn down the temperature, place lid and simmer for 18-20 minutes, stirring once halfway to ensure no sticking to the base of the pot. Garnish with coriander, then remove from the stove.

Preheat the oven to moderately hot temperature. Wash the rice, then put it in a saucepan with a quart of water and the bay leaves, cardamom pods and salt. Heat to boiling, simmer for around ten minutes, until partially cooked, then strain.

To build the biryani, put a spoonful of warmed ghee in a oven-safe dish for which you have a secure cover. Ladle in one portion the vegetable curry, then top that with some the cooked grains. Sprinkle a portion the saffron infusion, ginger, mint leaves, cardamom powder and garam masala, then top with the reserved fried onions. Top with the rest of vegetable curry, then arrange the remaining grains. Finish with the rest of clarified butter, saffron water, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and garam masala.

Cover with baking paper, cover with the lid, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about fifteen minutes, so all the flavours infuse the rice. Remove of the oven, leave to rest, still covered, for several minutes, then lift off the cover and present with raita and fresh salad.

Rajasthani Achari Kaddu (Squash with Spice Blend Sauté)

The Hindi term "pickling style" describes seasoning a preparation using preserving spices, and the mix includes mustard, fennel seeds, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida and nigella, but they're not used only in pickles. This mixture also features in all manner of curries and sautéed preparations, like this recipe.

Prep 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, to taste
1 tbsp jaggery, or dark brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Place the mustard seeds, fenugreek and fennel in a spice grinder, crush coarsely, then set aside. Heat the cooking oil in a spacious skillet or Indian wok on a moderate flame. Add the crushed spices and the hing, and fry, mixing, for a brief moment. Add the ginger, cook for a minute, then stir in the squash, chili powder and turmeric, and fry, stirring, for five minutes more.

Pour 50ml liquid to the pan, season with salt to taste and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat, and leave to cook for about twenty minutes, stirring once halfway. Mix in the palm sugar, breaking up chunks a bit, then add the dried mango, mix thoroughly and serve warm with flatbreads or leavened bread.