Instant Pot Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry with Spinach
Butternut Squash Curry with chickpeas and Spinach – Delicious one pot vegetarian and vegan curry made with garbanzo beans, butternut squash, spinach and spices. Serve with rice or Indian breads.
Servings 5 people
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil Use any neutral flavor oil
- 1 teaspoon Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- 2 Onions medium size, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 3 Tomatoes medium size, pureed in a blender (1 & 1/2 cups)
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 660 g Butternut Squash approximately 4 heaped cups of diced butternut squash
- 1 cup Chickpeas cooked
- 1 ½ cups Water
- Salt to taste
- 4 cups Spinach finely chopped
- ½ cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
Instructions
- Prep the Ingredients - Wash, Peel, remove the guts and seeds of butternut squash and dice into thick chunks. Finely chop the Onions and puree the tomatoes in a blender (skip this step if using canned tomatoes) and keep aside.
- Switch On Instant Pot, Press Sauté Mode. Once it displays “HOT” or “ON”, add oil and cumin seeds.
- Once cumin seeds have roasted, add the finely chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and sauté until onions are translucent.
- To this add tomato puree and spices. Sauté for a couple of minutes until there is no raw smell of tomatoes.
- Add the diced chunks of butternut squash, cooked chickpeas, salt to taste and water. Mix well. Press Cancel.
- Cover the Instant Pot with lid, move vent to sealing and pressure cook the curry on HIGH for 5 mins. After 5 mins, do a Quick Pressure Release.
- Once the pin goes down, open the instant pot. Press Sauté Mode.
- Add the finely chopped spinach and cook it for a couple of minutes until it wilts completely. Switch off Sauté Mode and add coconut milk, mix well. The curry will continue to bubble with the residual heat.
- Serve piping hot or warm with Indian breads, rice or quinoa.
- You can top the curry with toasted cashews and raisins, if you like. Drizzle some coconut milk on top just before serving. This is optional.
Notes
Ingredients and Substitutes -
- 660 grams of Butternut Squash used for the recipe which approximately yields 4 heaped cups of diced chunks of squash (after peels, guts and seeds are removed)
- Thick chunks are perfect for curries as it won’t disintegrate completely while cooking, especially in a stove top pressure cooker or instant pot.
- Substitute butternut squash with pumpkin or any other variety of squash, available.
- If using canned chickpeas, drain the water, rinse and use.
- Spinach can be substituted with Kale. It can be skipped entirely if your family doesn't like greens or its unavailable. It will not affect the taste of the curry.
- If you are not particularly looking for a vegan recipe, feel free to substitute coconut milk with dairy cream. 3 heaped tablespoons of thick cream would be perfect for the recipe.
- Instead of water, you may use vegetable stock for cooking the curry. Use low sodium broth or stock. However, it is optional as the curry is rich with spices and coconut milk, has tons of flavor.
- The curry easily serves a family of 4-5 for weeknight dinner.
- Curry stays fresh under refrigeration for 2-3 days. If the weather is warm, I would give it 48 hours in the fridge.
- The curry is freezer-friendly. Freeze in small portions. When ready to use, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and re-heat on stove-top or microwave, as required.
- The curry thickens with time. Use hot water to adjust consistency