By Tejal Rao
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- 4(360)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Mix dry coconut, dry chile and garlic together, and you can easily brighten a batch of roasted winter squash. But this South Indian home-cooking technique is versatile and works with many kinds of vegetables too. Cut a head of cauliflower into florets, and roast that instead. Or shave brussels sprouts or red cabbage very thinly, and cook it in a skillet, adding the coconut-chile-garlic mixture when the vegetable is cooked. In the spring, try it with fresh peas or fava beans. In the summer, try corn kernels. The variations are endless.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings as a side
- 1½ to 2pounds mixed winter squash (such as delicata, acorn and butternut)
- 2tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2 to 3dried chiles de árbol
- ⅓cup unsweetened dried, shredded coconut
- 1small garlic clove, peeled
- 1teaspoon coconut oil
- ¼teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)
- 1sprig fresh curry leaves (optional)
- Half a lemon
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
189 calories; 13 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 515 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and heat the oven to 400. Wash, slice and seed the squash, cutting it into approximately ½-inch-thick rings and wedges. Arrange on a sheet pan, drizzle with oil and season with salt. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, turning the pieces about halfway through, until the squash is tender and slightly browned in places.
Step
2
In the meantime, put the chiles in a bowl, and cover with very hot water so they soften for about 2 minutes, or longer. In a mortar and pestle or a small food processor, add the coconut and garlic. Grind until the garlic is completely broken down, then fish the chiles out of the water, and add them. Grind, until the chiles are in small but still-visible red pieces.
Step
3
In a sauté pan, heat coconut oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add mustard seeds and curry leaves, if using. When seeds start to pop, add coconut-chile-garlic mixture, and stir well. Cook for about 1 minute, or less if the paste is very dry and starts to brown quickly, then remove from heat. Toss the warm roasted squash into the coconut mixture, along with a generous squeeze of lemon. Taste a piece for salt and lemon, adjust as needed and serve.
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360
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Cooking Notes
Rachel
Can you tel us why you chose chiles de arbol? I am mystified by chiles and always worry I will choose one that is too spicy. Thanks!
Bill
Curry powder and curry leaves are very different things, one being a blend of ground spices and the other being fresh leaves. In my town I get curry leaves at a Korean grocery store that carries a lot of different ethnic foods. Bigger towns with larger Indian populations have Indian groceries which often carry fresh curry leaves.
Jenny
I had roasted a whole spaghetti squash yesterday and hadn't decided what to do with it. I wasn't sure if spaghetti squash would work well with this particular recipe, but it sure did. I made the coconut-chile-garlic spice mixture and tossed the spaghetti squash in the hot pan at the end. Wow- it was delicious. If you (like me) dislike treating spaghetti squash as a pasta-like medium for Italian sauces, try this instead.
Denise
May this be made in my new instant pot?
Jess
It would be a very different dish. You would lose the benefit of the drying and browning of the squash, which usually intensifies the flavor and sweetness of a vegetable.
lavanya r
Re: the difficulty finding curry leaves: As a South Indian having living in various places around the world and in the states, one of the best ways to find this irreplaceable and very impactful ingredient is to simply search “Indian store near me” in google. Curry leaf is a unique flavor that I’ve tried to find a substitute for over 25 years as sometimes I’m too lazy to pick some up. It can be grown at home and is a very sturdy plant. Delicious and worth the effort sourcing if possible. G’luck!
alternative spices
The chilis are very easy to break up in their dried state; then soak the pieces. Try to break them open lengthwise, so you can easily remove the seeds (wear gloves until you're more familiar with how chilis affect your skin!) Set the seeds aside and add after cooking, if the finished dish is not spicy/hot enough.
whiteyk0
I didn't have enough squash on hand so used sweet potato rounds. Everyone thought the sweet potatoes tasted better than the squash.
PNRN
"Red chiles, only slightly hot". How do you determine that a dried red chile is only mildly hot? Once scorched, twice shy!
Rita
Kalonji is not mustard seeds! Please use the spice labeled black mustard seeds
PRich
You could always put them in a food processor.
Diane
I didn’t have mustard seeds or curry leaf, and I used packaged peeled and cubed butternut squash. One of the most delicious preparations ever!!! A definite keeper. Can’t wait to try it with every vegetable I can find!!!
Christine
Made this with red pepper flakes and brown mustard seeds. Fantastic.
MS
I thought this was going to be way too much work— too many steps and way too many dirty dishes (the food processor, the sheet pan, plus a skillet!) for one little vegetarian side dish that still required a protein and also a side of rice and - ideally- also a side of naan (homemade, in our case) but the end result — served with tofu “butter chicken” and leftover “bright rice” was transcendent.
ester
really good! do use the mustard seeds. i used yellow mustard seeds
jdt
I used more squash so increased the other ingredients except oil which I brushed onto the squash rather than drizzle. Didn't have curry leaves as don't cook a lot of curries and used extra yellow mustard seeds as that's what I had. Would add more garlic as just like garlic. Not tried it with lemon yet as just tasted as cooking but still very nice. Excellent and easy recipe. Will try it with sweet potatoes as another commenter mentioned.
Daniela
This was DELICIOUS! The squeeze of lemon at the end really made the flavors pop. I didn’t bother grinding the coconut, garlic and chilis into a paste. Just minced the garlic and chilis then stired them into the unsweetened dried coconut. Then toasted the mix in the mustard seed butter. Don’t skip the mustard seeds!
Katherine
Do you deseed the chiles before you soak them?
DMP2
I made this recipe with delicate and butternut squash and it was delicious. I made some modifications based on what I had on hand (avocado instead of coconut oil; curry and chili de arbol powders). I will look for curry leaves and dried peppers for next time.
Lisa
The spice combo sounds like it would be tasty on anything.
ilyssa
Coconut stuff amazing.
liz
Soucy sauce ok Nothing special
Joyce
Unsure about all that messing with chiles, so I just used a locally grown chile powder. Made the coconut-garlic mix in the mortar and pestle and it turned out fine, tasty!
ali
SO, SO good!! We demoed six delicata between three of us...couldn't stop grabbing a few more pieces! In the absence of my mortar and pestle, I just minced the heck out of the garlic/coconut/chile pile and it worked just fine. May have "accidentally" put in a bit extra coconut oil (only because I couldn't imagine how this was going to result in a spreadable topping; know now it would have been fine with the amount indicated in the recipe). Put this topping on anything--it's the new chili crisp!
Anna V
This crumble is a gift that keeps on giving. Put it on yogurt and add a bit of rice, and voila an instant, delicious snack. I also used the crumble to coat baked chicken breasts and then again in fried chicken recipe with rice flour. It is a multi tasker, much like dukkah.
Judie
So the squash are not peeled first before roasting?
Chris Bakes Knox
Wow, what a great recipe. I made it pretty much as directed and this will now be my go to butternut squash recipe. My wife is a bit sensitive to heat, so next time just one Chile de arbol, but even so we ate 1 1/2 lb of squash in one sitting. I’m also going to be trying this technique with other veggies as it meets two of my main cooking goals: fast and delicious.
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