michelle picker cooks

This lovely Sri Lankan curry, adapted from this recipe by Annabel Crabbe, makes a satisfying main.

Peel and cut 1 butternut pumpkin (squash) into wedges and place them in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat everything. You can roast the wedges of butternut in a hot oven but I chose to barbecue mine, giving them a bit of char. For the curry, heat some oil in a large fry pan over medium heat and add 10 curry leaves and 1 teaspoon each of black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds. When they start to pop, add 8 cloves, 8 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 finely chopped onions and 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric. Stir constantly and be careful not to burn the spices. Now add 8 finely minced cloves of garlic, an equal amount of finely minced ginger and a sliced green chilli or 3, depending on your heat tolerance. Cook a little longer, making sure there’s no sticking or burning. Add a 400ml (13½ oz) can of coconut milk and a modicum of tamarind paste (this will depend just how concentrated your tamarind paste is). Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and a little lime juice. Sri Lankan curries are generally not too tart. Finally, add the pumpkin and approximately 200g (7 oz) of raw cashews. Cook until the pumpkin and cashews are heated through. Serve with rice or roti.