Norfolk chef Polly Guy serves up tasty pumpkin recipes

Roasted Pumpkin Coconut Curry with infused rice

Ingredients

600g pumpkin or butternut squash roasted and cubed

1 white onion medium chopped

4 medium sized garlic crushed and chopped

1/2 red chilli 1/2 green chilli chopped up

Good thumb size of fresh ginger grated

Handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped up

1/2 tsp of mustard seed

1/2 tsp of coriander seeds

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

1 heaped tsp turmeric

1 heaped tsp garam masala

3 cardamom pods

1 tin coconut milk

1 tin plum or chopped tomatoes

Cooked white or brown rice to serve

Optional:

Deep fried kale

Roasted cashew nuts

Lime wedges

Method

Preheat your oven to 150 fan or 170. I like to roast my pumpkin or butternut squash so I do this job first!

Place your pumpkin/butternut squash onto a tea towel on a chopping board to stop it slipping. First slice the top off then slice lengthwise into two halves. Scoop out the seeds and slice into wedges or cubes. Coat in a little vegetable oil, salt and pepper and place onto a baking tray to roast for 25/30 minutes. Be careful not to over roast it as it will be cooked again in the curry later.

Hold back a good tablespoon of your roasted pumpkin/butternut squash to add as a garnish at the end.

Put a large pan on medium heat and fry the chopped onion in a good glug of vegetable oil. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Sweat for a few minutes then add the chillies , ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and fresh coriander.

Next, add in the spices and the roasted and cubed pumpkin / butternut squash and stir it all through. Finally, add in your tins of tomatoes and coconut milk. Cook on a low heat for around 40 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

I always find this curry tastes better the next day so it’s a great make ahead of time dish! It can also be frozen so you can pull it out as and when you would like it!

To serve, I like basmati rice that I cook with a few cardamom pods to infuse and add a depth of flavour. You could also add some turmeric powder to the rice to add further flavour and colour.

If you want to dress the dish up even further, I’d suggest garnishing with a few roasted cashew nuts (just put them on a tray middle to low shelf in oven on slow to gently roast them). You could also add a handful of fresh coriander leaves and some extra cubes of roasted pumpkin / butternut squash to go on top followed by some deep-fried kale for some extra crispness or fresh lime wedges for a contrasting tang. All these little additions will make this dish so comforting and enjoyable.

Pumpkin onion bhaji burger Ingredients

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for frying

1 large white onion / red

2 medium garlic crushed

chopped 1/2 green chilli

1/2 red chilli

200 g grated pumpkin/ butternut squash

Bunch fresh coriander

170 g plain flour

1tsp Ground turmeric

1 tsp Ground cumin

1 tsp Ground ginger

1/2 tsp Ground paprika

Toasted brioche buns sliced

Pinch black pepper and sea salt

Water Garnishes

Large beef tomato

Baby gem lettuce leaves

Peppery Mayo

Sweet chilli sauce, mango chutney 

Method

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the spices, flour and a pinch of pepper and salt. Then slowly add cold water to make a thickish paste. If it’s loose the bhaji will not hold.

Slice open your pumpkin / butternut squash and cut into large wedges (remove the seeds and pulp if using a pumpkin). Grate the flesh into a bowl, avoiding the skin on the outside. Next slice the onion, chillies  and garlic, and chop up a handful of fresh coriander. Mix this together with your grated pumpkin/butternut squash.

Slowly add the spiced flour paste to the mixture so you can control how runny or thick you wish your mixture to be. A little tip: make sure you make your mixture right before frying your bhajis as the onions will leak some juices and make your bhaji runny over time.

Take a rounded spoonful of the batter, using two dsp spoons and carful drop into the oil .

Fill a medium pan with oil up to the halfway mark, bring it to 170 /180 c and spoon in 2 bhajis at a time. Fry for a few mins on each side - about 5 mins should do. If you have your oven on you can keep them warm while you fry them in batches. I recommend putting them onto kitchen paper to mop up some the excess oil when they first come out.

Toast your brioche buns and add two bhajis to each bun. For the dressing, I like to add a little peppery mayonnaise, some baby gem lettuce, a small handful of fresh coriander, some sweet chilli sauce and a medium slice tomato. You could also try it with some mango chutney, yoghurt, crisp bacon, cheese, fried egg – the possibilities are endless!

However you decide to dress it up, it’s a delightful comforting vegetarian option and I promise you will not miss the meat! Enjoy!

*You can contact Polly about all things food related on 07583 437418.