Butternut Squash - Lentil curry

V and I are welcoming this new year as always with old & new resolutions about health and food. One of them is a good old one of cooking seasonally as much as possible. In that vein, we picked up a large Butternut Squash from the friendly neighborhood farmer's market a couple of Saturdays back. Butternut squash keeps well if stored like sweet potatoes and potatoes in a cool place). I used half of it to make a lentil curry to go with rotis (could be used with rice too) based on an idea I got from another butternut squash lover at Zaayeka blog. The other half, I will bake and add to a roasted vegetable salad. So here's the recipe for my version of the butternut squash - lentil curry.

Ingredients:

Half of a large butternut squash - peeled, and cubed
1 cup of lentils - I used a mixture of toor dal, moong dal and chana dal. Chana dal adds more of a bite to it, and the other dals make the gravy
1 pinch turmeric
1/2 inch piece ginger grated
4-5 green chilies slit in the middle (more if you want it to be more spicy)
3 cloves garlic minced
salt to taste
1 tsp garam masala
chopped cilantro for garnish

For tempering:
One tablespoon of vegetable oil
cumin seeds (jeeragam) - 1 tsp
carom seeds (omam/ajwain) - 1/2 tsp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajwain - aids in digestion)
fennel seeds (sombu / sonph) - 1/2 tsp
2 red chilies broken

Method:
1. Cook the lentils, preferably in a pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric until very soft and mushy

2. In a wok, heat the oil and add the ingredients for tempering

3. When golden, add the green chilies and garlic

4. Within few seconds, add the butternut squash cubes and grated ginger. Sprinkle some water on the squash and reduce the heat. Close the lid and let the squash cook.

5. After the squash has cooked, add the cooked lentils, salt, and garam masala and heat through.

6. Switch off the heat and add the chopped cilantro

I am submitting this recipe to "My Legume Love Affair" hosted at "Cooking 4 All Seasons". The love affair began at "The Well-Seasoned Cook", where there is an astonishing round up of recipes!