Frugal Feasts 1

Butternut Squash and Cashew Biryani

This is the first of our budget busting meals for January coming in just under £5 for 4 people excluding dry spices and garlic, it’s hearty enough to feed the family or if piled onto a pretty serving dish, special enough to serve for friends. 

It is no accident that this meal is meat-free. I’ve overdone the meat over the festive period and while I feel no need to detox completely, my body is crying out for something more gentle on the digestive system. The textural contrast between the nuts and the roasted butternut squash provide a delightfully filling and healthy dish whilst the gentle spicing makes this suitable for all the family.

I’m using the slow cooker for this. It means a little preparation beforehand but once the onions, spices and squash are sorted just place all the ingredients into the pot and forget about it until dinner. You can of course cook this in the oven in a large casserole dish with a lid.

Ingredients

1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 large onions, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated
2.5cm fresh ginger, grated  
225g basmati rice
Seeds from 5 crushed cardamon
2 kashmiri chillies
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
5 cloves
Small cinnamon stick
1 litre vegetable stock of your choice10 peppercorns
1/2 tsp tumeric
100g cashew nuts (unsalted)
Salt and pepper

Spices Required for this dish

Method

• Place chopped butternut squash onto a baking tray, drizzle with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven 180 degrees for about 20 minutes until softened and nicely toasted on the edges. Remove from the heat.
• Grind the dry spices in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
• Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan, fry off onions on a medium heat until crispy and golden, add the  ground spices and garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minute to release the flavour. Make up 1 litre of stock and add this to the onion mixture. Add the sultanas and simmer for 5 minutes until the sultanas have swollen slightly. Check seasoning at this point as seasoning after will disturb the layers. Add salt and pepper if needed.
• Pour 2 ladles of the stock and onion mix into the slow cooker pot. Add a thin layer of rice, followed by half the butternut squash. Repeat, finally adding remaining stock mixture carefully.
• Place lid on slow cooker and place on a low setting. If cooking in a conventional oven, add layers as above to a large casserole dish with a lid. Heat oven to 150 degrees, check the rice after 1 hour. Once the stock has fully evaporated the rice should be fluffy and perfectly cooked.
• The slow cooker will take approximately 2 hours. Just before serving scatter with unsalted cashews and some coriander if you wish.

Costings are approximate

1/2 butternut squash £0.75
275g basmati rice £0.85
Vegetable stock pots £0.60
100g cashew nuts £1.20
40g sultanas £0.15
2 onions £0.40
2.5cm piece ginger £0.20