Saturday 2nd October, started as a pretty miserable day, in terms of the weather at least. I thought that this day was as good as any to harvest some of the plants I’ve been growing. There appears to be a lone spinach patch and a fulsome patch of coriander.

Every-time I have looked out of the kitchen windows, I’ve been wondering what I’m going to do with the spinach. Then I remembered a curry I used to make a few years which I thought might be nice to eat again. The recipe is from Leon Happy Curries and normally would be made with butternut squash and kale but I had sweet potatoes and spinach.

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil

 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 

2 teaspoons cumin seeds 

1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes 

1 teaspoon coriander seeds 

6 cloves 

6 green Cardamon pods 

2 onions finely diced 

3 cloves of garlic crushed 

4 cm piece of ginger peeled and finely grated 

2 tablespoons tomato purée 

750 g butternut squash peeled deseeded and cut into 2 cm chunks

400 g canned cooked chickpeas drained 

400 ml hot water or enough to cover 

250 g of kale or Cavolo Nero stems removed leaves finely shredded

freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper 

a handful of fresh coriander to garnish 

rice to serve

Methods

Heat the oil in a large, deep pan with a lid, set over a medium heat.

Add the mustard seeds and,  when they start to pop reduce the heat and add the cumin, chilli flakes, coriander seeds, cloves, cardamom pods and onions.

Cook for about 8 minutes stirring until the spices are very fragrant and the onions are soft.

Add the garlic ginger and tomato purée and cook for about 3 minutes stirring until the raw smell is cooked out.

Add a pinch of salt, the butternut squash chickpeas and enough hot water to cover.

Cover with a lid and gently simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the squash is tender.

 Remove the lid and stir well letting the squash break down a little to thicken the source.

Add the kale or Cavalo Nero to the pan pushing it down to submerge it in the sauce. increase the heat and simmer for five minutes.

Squeeze over a little lemon juice then taste for salt and pepper.

Serve with rice scattered with a handful of fresh coriander leaves.