Pumpkin stew with warm spices, chickpeas and spinach – an easy vegetarian stew full of flavour. It is seasoned with garam masala, cumin and chilli, among other things – spices that give the dish just the right warmth alongside garlic and ginger.
This pumpkin stew is hearty and rich in protein and fibre – filling and really easy to make.
And don’t be put off by the ingredient list: these are ingredients you most likely have in the cupboard already, and if not, they are all easy to find in your local supermarket.
Pumpkin stew with masala
This pumpkin stew is a true autumn dish – perfect with the season’s pumpkins and relatively cheap to make if you already have the basic spices at home.
I use Hokkaido pumpkin (red kuri squash) for this dish, but you can also use butternut squash or sweet potato, for example.
Spiced Pumpkin Stew with Chickpeas and Spinach
Ingredients
- 500 g pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 sweet pepper, cut into small dice
- 2 handfuls fresh spinach
- 1 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1/2 red chilli, finely chopped – to taste
- 2 cm ginger, finely grated – about 1 tbsp
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 350 ml milk
- 100 ml whipping cream (38% fat)
- 1 tin passata or chopped tomatoes (polpa)
- 15 g butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp mild chilli powder
- 1 pinch sugar
- Salt and pepper
Serving suggestions
- Cooked rice
- Pan-fried naan – click here for the recipe
- Crème fraîche
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley
Method
- Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan and fry the pumpkin pieces for 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the onion, garlic, chilli, ginger and sweet pepper and fry for a couple of minutes more, then sprinkle over the spices.
- Add the tomato purée and cook it through for about a minute, then sprinkle the flour over and stir it in.
- Add the milk, stir well and bring to the boil, then pour in the tomatoes and cream.
- Let the stew simmer over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender.
- Add the chickpeas and spinach to the pan and stir everything together until the spinach has wilted.*If you prefer a thinner consistency, adjust with a little water.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve the pumpkin stew with cooked rice and/or pan-fried naan, cold crème fraîche and chopped parsley.
Nutrition
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