Sweet & Savory Butternut Squash with Yogurt Sauce
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A delicious Afghan inspired dish featuring soft butternut squash braised in warm gingered spices and served with a garlic yogurt sauce and topped with mint.
Author: Kelly
Serves: Serves 4
Ingredients
- For the Butternut Squash:
- 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 3½ Tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound butternut squash, cubed (I purchased preservative free pre-cut squash)
- 3-5 cloves of garlic smashed, salted & finely sliced
- ½ Tbsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup liquid: ½ cup vegetable (or chicken) broth + ½ cup water
- For the Yogurt Sauce:
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup sour cream
- good pinch of salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- For topping: pinch of dry mint
Instructions
- Prepare the Yogurt Sauce by whisking together: yogurt, sour cream, salt and garlic in a bowl - cover and place in fridge while prepping the remaining ingredients.
- Purée onion in a small blender/food processor.
- In a separate small dish, combine the dry spices: turmeric, cumin, chili, coriander & ginger.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet/wok over low-medium heat and sautée onion until golden, about 10 minutes. Add fresh ginger, garlic and the ground dry spices: turmeric, cumin, chili, coriander and ground ginger, stirring until the seasonings are well combined and fragrant (a minute or two).
- Add tomato paste, broth, water, sugar and salt, mixing well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the cubed butternut squash.
- Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes (lifting the lid to stir the squash once or twice during this time). Remove the lid for the remaining cooking time until the squash is tender but still holding its shape (about 10 more minutes). Continue to stir the squash on occasion and use more water or stock while cooking, if needed. The goal is to have about 80% of the seasoned liquid absorbed into the squash while retaining the remaining liquid as a golden sauce with visible bits of seasoning (garlic/ginger/onion).
- Remove Yogurt Sauce from the fridge and distribute 90% of it among 4 bowls or plates spreading it out to create a base for the squash - (retain about 2 Tbsp of sauce for topping). Sprinkle the yogurt base with dry mint, and a dash of cumin/chili.
- Top each yogurt base with some of the warm butternut squash - stacking it if you like - and making sure to scoop up some of the delicious sauce and bits of seasoning as you go along.
- Finally, top each of the butternut squash bundles with a final dollop of Yogurt Sauce and sprinkle again with dry mint and a final dash of cumin/turmeric/chili/ginger as desired.
- Enjoy right away for best results.
Notes
The Yogurt Sauce: I recommend making the Yogurt Sauce at least one hour before prepping the butternut squash to allow the flavors to permeate - the garlic is delightful but needs time. You could also prepare the Yogurt Sauce several hours ahead of time or the night before, being sure to store in fridge.
The Yogurt Sauce Ingredients: if you wish you can use 1 cup of yogurt and skip the sour cream all together. I happen to love the cream inclusion in this recipe.
Pre-cut Butternut Squash: I used a preservative free pre-cut butternut squash in this recipe. Pre-cut will cost you a little bit more but in my view, it is enormously convenient and well worth the time saving.
The Heat Factor: this dish is highly aromatic but not spicy. The subtle heat allows you to enjoy the full range of flavor but if you want to experiment with ranching up the heat on your next go through, you could opt for a warmer chile (as opposed to the generic/milder "chile powder" found in the grocery store) such as ancho, chipotle or cayenne.
The Yogurt Sauce Ingredients: if you wish you can use 1 cup of yogurt and skip the sour cream all together. I happen to love the cream inclusion in this recipe.
Pre-cut Butternut Squash: I used a preservative free pre-cut butternut squash in this recipe. Pre-cut will cost you a little bit more but in my view, it is enormously convenient and well worth the time saving.
The Heat Factor: this dish is highly aromatic but not spicy. The subtle heat allows you to enjoy the full range of flavor but if you want to experiment with ranching up the heat on your next go through, you could opt for a warmer chile (as opposed to the generic/milder "chile powder" found in the grocery store) such as ancho, chipotle or cayenne.
Recipe by Inspired Edibles at https://www.inspirededibles.ca/2015/11/sweet-savory-braised-butternut-squash-some-anniversary-memories.html